Meet the Band!

Blake has been playing fiddle since he was a small child, performing classical as well as traditional music. He traveled to London as well as Ireland for musical performances and competitions, and picked up the concertina in his early 20s. Up until 2020, he was working as a sushi chef, but he packed up his knives and decided to play music full-time!

Now Blake teaches fiddle and concertina to students of all ages (most of his students are kids). He's available for solo gigs teaching and performing on both instruments, as well as group performances with Ceo, Harmonic Convergence, and Covered With Moss...

Harmonic Convergence is a duo with Tai Evans (sometimes as trio with Alina) performing modern and trad folk songs around the Humboldt and Mendocino counties. You can hear them in this YouTube duet.

Covered With Moss is a trio with Chris Hinderyckx and Sam McNeill, performing trad tunes around California, at festivals such as KVMR Celtic Festival. You can hear them in this YouTube video.

Blake has also performed with Summer McCall, when she was based in Arcata CA. They performed at KVMR and as a duo around California. You can hear them playing in this YouTube video.

You can listen to Blake in a recent interview on Humboldt Hot Air (97.4 FM) here.

Alina started playing the uilleann pipes in May 2020 after finishing grad school and traveling to Scotland and Ireland.  She has been playing pipes every day since then (for over 5 years. Before that, she played whistles, hurdy gurdy, guitar, violin, and sang in choir. She still enjoys playing other instruments, but pipes and whistles are her main passion.

Alina also has a long history with dance, and would teach and DJ dances as a board member for East Bay Waltz. For a time, she was on the board of the Starry Plough Céilí Band, and co-founded Ceili Without Ceilings, a casual outdoor Irish dance picnic. You'll often find her playing for dances at the Plough and Stars in SF.

She currently works part-time for the Lark in the Morning Music Store. Alina helps with social media, newsletters, and writes articles for the website. At the end of July & beginning of August, you can find her working the Lark Store booth at Lark Camp in the Mendocino Woodlands. 

Alina has also recently stepped into the role of board member for the San Francisco Folk Music Club. She has been doing some social media work and manages the SFFMC Instagram page. She performs and leads sessions/workshops at various campouts and gatherings that the club puts on throughout the year.

In her spare time, Alina enjoys illustrating, attending sessions, and transcribing tunes  ^__^