Joy Kills Sorrow
Emma
Emma Beaton is a young inventive folk cellist, vocalist, and banjo player from Qualicum Beach, Canada. She has performed across North America and Scotland with notable musicians such as Tristan & Tashina Clarridge, Jeremy Kittel, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Brittany Haas, Bruce Molsky, Simon Chrisman, Laurie Lewis, Back of the Moon, as a part of the Hanneke Cassel Band and as a soloist with the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers. Emma has appeared as part of a a feature act at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, as well as part of a duo with Gillian Frame on STV (Scottish Television). Emma likes fast jazz and dixieland jazz kazoo, but believes Cajun accordion is where her heart lies...
Jacob
Jacob Jolliff has been playing the mandolin since he was seven years old. Growing up in a musical family, he got his start taking lessons from his dad, Bill, a well-known Oregon banjo player. By the time Jacob turned 11, the two were gigging heavily together, and their band was a mainstay at bluegrass festivals around the Northwest. By then, he was gaining most of his instruction from master lessons with some of the best players in the business, including David Grisman and Chris Thile. At age sixteen, after hundreds of gigs and four full-length recorded projects, Jake decided to take a break from working with his dad to explore performing in a variety of other contexts. He played consistently in a swing group with violin prodigy Alex Hargreaves, worked in several folk and pop duos, and has recently been playing with the rock band Mutual Kumquat—always on the mandolin. Over the years he has also had the opportunity to perform with many other major artists. He has sat in with the David Grisman Quintet on numerous occasions starting when he was 15. When he was sixteen he performed on CBS during the network Christmas Eve Special. In 2007 he traveled to Lunel, France with a group of young musicians led by Mike Marshall to perform at a mandolin festival. Some of the other artists Jacob has performed with include Ronnie McCoury, Chris Thile, Ricky Skaggs, Joe Craven, Bryan Bowers, and Tim O’Brien. He has also played sessions for 13 recording projects (including Tone Poets) and been featured on multiple national radio and television programs. Currently he is studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston as the first mandolin student on full scholarship.
Matt
Matthew Arcara was raised in Pennsylvania, educated in Oregon, and is now living in Portland, Maine where he builds guitars. He has been playing guitar his whole life and recently won the National Flatpicking Contest in Winfield, Kansas. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine called him a member of the "next generation" of flatpickers. He has performed with Darol Anger, and recently played a Flatpick Showdown with Bryan Sutton, David Grier and Tim Stafford. He has been featured in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Matt contributed to "Songs for Sophie A Collings Guitar Collective," a benefit CD featuring Tim O'Brien, Mark Cosgrove, Kenny Smith and others. He has also released a solo CD.
"I have played with and worked with Matt on a number of occasions and I find him to have a commitment to tone, rhythmic integrity, and a general attention to musical detail that is rare in acoustic musicians his age" -Darol Anger
"Matt is certainly one of the most promising and dedicated flatpick guitarist... a more musical flatpicker than the average wunderkind"-Mark Cosgrove
Wes
A native of Bainbridge Island, Washington, Wes Corbett began classical piano at the age of four but was converted to the banjo during high school, studying with Dave Keenan, Bill Evans, Dennis Caplinger, and Seattle-based guitarist John Miller. For the past four years Wes has been composing and arranging original music for banjo and hammered dulcimer with Simon Chrisman, also a native of Bainbridge. They recorded an album with guitarist Jordan Tice, which was released on Patuxent in 2007. In the past several years Wes has appeared with numerous musicians and bands, including the David Grisman Quintet, the Mike Marshall and Darol Anger duo, Matt Glaser, and Crooked Still. Since relocating to Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts in the fall of 2006, he has opened for Tony Rice with Lincoln Meyers and String Alliance, and toured Internationally with the Biscuit Burners. Wes is currently touring with Boston based string band Joy Kills Sorrow and the Bee Eaters, featuring Simon Chrisman and Tristan and Tashina Clarridge.
Bridget
Bridget Kearney grew up in Iowa City, IA and started playing bass in the 4th grade. She prides herself on succeeding inspite of silly named bands and songs. In 2003, her trio "Sax Attack" was awarded Best Small Group by the Downbeat Student Music Awards. In 2006 she was awarded a Grand Prize and Lennon Award in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for a song entitled, "Sometimes When I'm Drunk and You're Wearing My Favorite Shirt." She has performed extensively in the United States, Panama, and China. She currently resides in Boston, studies at the New England Conservatory and Tufts University, and sells foam fingers at Fenway Park.
"Totally relaxed, yet totally focused." -Django Bates