2026 Staff
We encourage attendees who are at all levels of musical experience to drive the weekend by suggesting or leading workshops and by gathering for impromptu music sessions and conversations. We also hire staff to share their expertise in specific traditional folk genres and the contexts of those song traditions, and to mingle and mentor.
Macdara Yeates
Macdara Yeates is an Irish folk singer. Born and raised in Dublin, Yeates is one of a crop of artists associated with the recent resurgence of young folk talent in the Irish capital, alongside acts such as Lankum, Ye Vagabonds, and Landless. In 2012, Macdara became a founding member of The Night Before Larry Got Stretched, a monthly Dublin folk gathering, counting such luminaries as Lisa O’Neill, Ian Lynch and Radie Peat (Lankum) among its earliest attendees. Following the release of Traditional Singing from Dublin, Macdara was nominated for two RTÉ Radio One Folk Awards, including a nomination for ‘Best Folk Singer’ alongside Ríognach Connolly, Cathy Joran and Christy Moore.
With a stentorian voice described as “a bracing, baleful, baritone that sounds as if it’s been dug from the deepest, most fragrant turf” (Songlines), Macdara Yeates is ploughing his furrow as a solo performer, garnering wide critical praise and performing on some of the most coveted stages in folk music, from An Góilín Traditional Singers’ Circle to the Sidmouth Folk Festival.
With a stentorian voice described as “a bracing, baleful, baritone that sounds as if it’s been dug from the deepest, most fragrant turf” (Songlines), Macdara Yeates is ploughing his furrow as a solo performer, garnering wide critical praise and performing on some of the most coveted stages in folk music, from An Góilín Traditional Singers’ Circle to the Sidmouth Folk Festival.
Dan and Claudia Zanes
Grammy award winning children’s performer Dan Zanes and Haitian-American music therapist / jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes have been making music with each other since the day they met in the fall of 2016. The two decided while sitting at Dan’s kitchen table that afternoon that they would continue singing together and, in the spirit of progress and inclusion, would work with presenters to try and make all of their concerts sensory friendly.
Inspired by their artful modern-day all-ages folk music and their commitment to accessibility, the Kennedy Center commissioned Claudia and Dan to create a theater piece for young audiences. Night Train 57: A Sensory Friendly Comic Folk Opera premiered in October 2017 and has been performed several times since.
The two continue to adapt and reinvent and sing their way to new beginnings. In addition to music making, Claudia runs her flourishing handmade skin care business called CLEO Soaps and Dan continues his work with Constructive White Conversations, a white antiracist organization he co-founded in 2011.
Inspired by their artful modern-day all-ages folk music and their commitment to accessibility, the Kennedy Center commissioned Claudia and Dan to create a theater piece for young audiences. Night Train 57: A Sensory Friendly Comic Folk Opera premiered in October 2017 and has been performed several times since.
The two continue to adapt and reinvent and sing their way to new beginnings. In addition to music making, Claudia runs her flourishing handmade skin care business called CLEO Soaps and Dan continues his work with Constructive White Conversations, a white antiracist organization he co-founded in 2011.
3rd staff member to be announced soon!