John McGann

John McGann is a multi-instrumentalist who is widely respected in bluegrass and Celtic music circles, both as a solo artist -- he has his own album, "Upside" (Green Linnet) -- and as a sideman accompanying the likes of John Whelan, the Celtic Fiddle Festival, the Kips Bay Ceili Band and Blood Oranges.

John McGann has been living and working in Boston for the past 20 years. His long resume features live and session work in the Celtic, bluegrass, country, folk, jazz, and rock idioms. He is a National Guitar and Mandolin Champion, and has performed in clubs, concert halls, and festivals throughout the United States and in Europe, Scandinavia, and Japan. John is also a member of the all-star band Wayfaring Strangers, featuring Matt Glaser, Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, Lucy Kaplansky, Jennifer Kimball, and others. He is a founding member of the Beacon Hillbillies and has performed with The Celtic Fiddle Festival, The American Café Orchestra, Cathie Ryan, Pat Kilbride, Blood Oranges, John Whelan, Darol Anger, Johnny Cunningham, Kevin Burke, Hiro Arita, Seamus Connolly, Joe Derrane, and many others. He has recorded for Green Linnet, Rounder, and Narada, among others.

John McGann is thoroughly at home on Celtic, Bluegrass and Jazz guitar and mandolin, and is "One of New England's most notorious instrumental hotshots and sidemen-of-choice - McGann excels on mandolin, guitar, pedal steel and a bewildering array of other instruments!" (Elderly Instruments). John has published extensively, and his new book "Theory In Action: Developing Melodic Variations on Traditional American Fiddle Tunes", will be published in separate guitar and mandolin editions by Mel Bay this year. John has also recorded with Ruthie Dornfeld's American Cafe Orchestra, arranging and playing guitar, pedal steel, mandolin and mandola.