Bill Cameron 

Bill Cameron - Solo

​Carrying On The Tradition 

 

Bill Cameron has decades of performing experience as a folk musician.

He plays upbeat Celtic and Canadian music, (with an emphasis on  Scottish and Maritime sources). He also plays original songs and tunes, contemporary Canadian folk music, and swing classics.  Bill believes in bringing honest energy to any kind of music.

 

What this adds up to is:  this native of Gloucester, Ontario who now lives in beautiful Cape Breton through summer and fall, Ottawa Valley winter and spring, is a folksinger.  He sings authentically of seafaring, trains, love lost, log drives and battles fought, whether centuries past or today’s news, with a mellow, heartfelt vocal style, and an expert touch on guitar and mandolin-family instruments.  

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Bill's first major musical influences were his parents' collection of

Maritime folk music records, and his formative years in the Ottawa acoustic

music scene of the late 70's and early 80's. Some musicians who have made a lasting impression on him are Doc Watson, Dick Gaughan, Stan and Garnet Rogers, Archie Fisher, Ewan MacColl and Natalie MacMaster.

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He is a consummate flatpicking guitarist and an innovative fingerpicker, using

DADGAD and other alternative tunings to create a personal signature style

which often involves playing  melody on the guitar while singing it,

rather than just chording.  For some songs he accompanies himself on octave mandolin for that Celtic flavour.   Bill's guitar style has also been affected by

playing mandolin and fiddle; he creates innovative guitar arrangements of

tunes usually played on these or harp, accordion or pipes. Reels,

strathspeys, jigs and even the dreaded polka are not safe from his ministrations, and he composes original instrumentals too, such as “The Long Walk Home”, which has been played extensively on web radio stations and can be heard on his CBC Music page:  http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/BILL-CAMERON

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Bill has performed as a solo artist, in the duo "The Seldom Heard"

with fiddler James Stephens, and from 2006-2015 led the Celtic band “The Skirmish”.  Depending on your needs and budget, Bill can play solo, or (in Ontario) with The Lobster Buoys, at concerts, cafes, pubs, and special occasions.  His has released one CD, “There’s Always Time For Anachronism”, made with James Stephens, Nathan Curry and other worthies.