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Take a pair of veteran performers who have appeared at major folk festival across Canada, add Newfoundland & Labrador's most renowned flute and tin whistle player and two of our fastest-rising young stars of traditional music, and you've got A Crowd of Bold Sharemen.
Formed to play at the 2001 Newfoundland and Labrador Festival, the Sharemen have since performed to critical acclaim at the 2002 JUNO Awards festivities, Cape Breton's Celtic Colours 2002 & 2003, the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival 2003, Ottawa's Atlantic Scene Festival 2003 and the CBC National broadcast of the 2004 ECMA Award show. They released their first CD in 2002, successfully toured Ireland in March 2004 and have plans to continue touring nationally and internationally, including a tour of festivals in Tasmania (Ten Days On the Island) and Australia early in 2005.
The band consists of Jim Payne, one of the province's best songwriters; Fergus O'Byrne, one of our most recognizable voices; flute player Gerry Strong with his vast knowledge of traditional tunes; noted fiddle player and actor Daniel Payne and accordionist Corey Clarke.
Each is an accomplished performer in their own right, and together they provide an unbeatable musical experience. Their repertoire consists of Newfoundland & Labrador material - virtuoso playing and strong vocals with sweet harmonies, entertaining stage banter, and polished performances.
A Crowd of Bold Sharemen takes its name from a traditional Newfoundland song of the sea. With a line up of musicians that represent every region of the province, they perform a wide variety of traditional songs along with a healthy proportion of modern pieces, many from ECMA nominee Payne. Be sure to catch this fine Newfoundland group -- you'll be glad you did!
A Crowd of Bold Sharemen is made up of five of the island's finest traditional musicians, all multi-instrumentalists and strong singers. Veterans of Newfoundland traditional music scene, they come from all parts of the province and represent the diverse musical influences in the province's rich musical heritage. They are:
Jim Payne (vocals, accordion, mandola, guitar):
A native of Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland, Jim Payne is a leading performer, collector and producer of traditional Newfoundland music. He is also one of the province’s most prolific songwriters, as well as being a singer of traditional songs, a storyteller, writer, actor, step dancer and instructor and caller of traditional Newfoundland set and square dances. He has performed extensively on radio and television both in Canada and abroad, and has toured throughout North America, the US, Europe, Japan and Australia.
An ECMA nominee, Jim owns and operates his own record label, SingSong Inc., which has released eighteen titles featuring traditional and contemporary music that reflects the Newfoundland experience. They include recordings by legendary Newfoundland traditional musicians as well as those by contemporary folk and traditional artists.
He has appeared in twelve of Rising Tide Theatre’s annual REVUEs, and is one half of the musical comedy duo, Sods ‘n Rhymes. He is a recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Outstanding Cultural Achievement Award, and teaches a course in traditional Newfoundland accordion music at Memorial University’s School of Music.
Fergus O'Byrne (vocals, banjo, bodhran, concertina):
Fergus became a familiar voice on radio and television as a member of the renowned folk group, Ryan’s Fancy, with whom he recorded 14 albums. Since then, he has followed a busy solo and freelance career, touring throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong. He can be heard on recent recordings by Newfoundland artists Great Big Sea, and he has contributed to several anthologies of Newfoundland music. Fergus has also developed a curriculum-based school production that he tours throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
Fergus was a member of the legendary Newfoundland band Tickle Harbour, whose album Battery Included, besides being an ECMA nominee, won three awards at the 1999 Newfoundland Music Industry Association Awards. In 2001, along with Dermot O’Reilly, he produced a Ryan’s Fancy retrospective CD Songs From The Shows, featuring songs from the acclaimed 1970’s CBC National television series, Ryan’s Fancy. In 2004, as part of Ryan’s Fancy, he received the ECMA’s Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual who has had a profound and lasting effect on the Atlantic Canadian Music Industry. He is currently facilitating a program for young folk and traditional musicians under the auspices of the St. John’s Folk Arts Council.
Gerry Strong (flute, tin whistle, vocals):
Originally from Little Bay on the northeast coast of Newfoundland, Gerry first took up playing the whistle as a young boy while living with his family in Ireland.. Since then, he has gone on to become the most renowned flute and tin whistle player in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Combined with his encyclopedic knowledge of tunes, quiet wit, and penchant for humourous songs, Gerry has made significant contributions to the music scene of this province over the past 25 years.
A founding member of the award-winning traditional band, Tickle Harbour, Gerry has worked with many of the best players on the scene today. He was a guest performer on piper Paddy Keenan’s CD, Na Keen Affair, playing his own composition, The Kildevil Air. This track was featured on the critically acclaimed CBC National Television series, East Of Canada. He was also featured on Gros Morne: A Musical Journey, a recording inspired by the natural wonder of Gros Morne National Park on Newfoundland’s west coast. Gerry is also a composer, arranger and storyteller.
Daniel Payne (fiddle, accordion, whistle, vocals):
Daniel comes from a long line of traditional accordion and fiddle players from Cow Head on the Great Northern Penninsula of Newfoundland. He is a well-known singer, storyteller, actor and whistle player who teaches at the Vinland Traditional Music Camp in Gros Morne National Park. Daniel has performed both as a musician and actor throughout North America and Europe.
He is a recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Emerging Artist Award and played a leading role in the Newfoundland-Ireland production of the TV miniseries, Random Passage, a portrayal of life in early Newfoundland. He has recently appeared at New York City’s Lincoln Centre with Jack Five-O, a stage adaptation of a series of traditional Newfoundland folk tales
Corey Clarke (accordion, bodhran, guitar, vocals):
From Conception Bay on Newfoundland’s east coast, Corey is a much sought after session musician, with a wide repertoire of Newfoundland’s traditional accordion tunes. Having played with many of the leading musicians in Newfoundland’s traditional music community, he combines his Conception Bay repertoire with tunes learned while living and working on Newfoundland’s west and south coasts. He is also a composer of instrumental music.
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 Together, this band represents the finest in Newfoundland traditional song and instrumental music. Their repertoire includes rousing sea shanties and work songs, poignant ballads, comic ditties, folk tales and recitations, and powerhouse jigs, reels, polkas and singles on a variety of instruments. Besides the usual run of concerts, festivals, conventions, Come-Home-Years and weddings, they have also played Town Halls, Libraries, oil rigs, big tents, a variety of boats, Senior Citizens Homes, Art Galleries, pubs, private homes, Christmas, birthday, anniversary, corporate and office parties.
Band members also conduct workshops for all ages in topics ranging from the dynamics of musical instruments (the band plays 14 in all), to all aspects of traditional songs (shanties, work songs, comic ditties, sea ballads, etc.) including song writing, traditional Newfoundland square, set and step dancing, folktales and recitations, and explorations of why folk music has been important to the evolution of rural societies. They also do school shows for all grades and ages, using traditional music to enhance curriculum in music, social studies, marine biology, history, culture and language arts.
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