Founder member of R Cajun & The Zydeco Bros with a background in folk music, Arthur has gone on to perform extensively as bluesman Z.Z.Birmingham and with his family band – daughter Ursula (Weil Influenz) on fiddle, wife Penny (Carmen Piranha) harmonies and percussion and son Jake (Elmos Grandez) on...
Barry is a full time bard, house-husband & urban peasant. He has always been inspired by our beautiful, ancient land & its wildlife. Barry started making & playing frame drums like the bodhran in 1990 and joined OBOD in 2002 after having been a guest speaker at a couple of...
Musician, writer and storyteller, Claire Hamilton has recorded many Celtic harp albums. Her books Tales of the Celtic Bards, Celtic Seasonal Meditations, and Maiden, Mother, Crone: Voices of the Goddess are inspired retellings of Celtic myth. Claire’s work has been described by Professor Ronald Hutton as a ‘complete bardic festival.’...
A modern-day Bard whose spirituality, and love of folk tradition, is expressed through his music, storytelling and poetry. Drawing on the Bardic traditions his performances are both entertaining and educational, weaving a tapestry of myth, peace, and anthems that speak directly to the heart, but never without a good splash...
Eric is a storyteller, the author of a dozen children’s books and a singer-songwriter. Born in South Australia, Eric spent years working as a ‘bush artist’ in Aboriginal communities, learning about their notion of ‘songlines’ and ‘the dreaming’. Since living in Snowdonia he’s become familiar with the old tales and...
Esme is a calligrapher whose meticulous and beautiful work includes miniature books, illustrated volumes and many different book styles and illustrations. Esme Vincent was crowned an Honorary Bard of the Order in recognition of her artistry at the Mount Haemus Award day in Salisbury Medieval Hall in 2008.
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Henriëtte is an opera singer based in the Netherlands, who performs solo in the fields of opera, art song and oratorio. For many years she sang at the Dutch Opera House. Her favourite opera roles were as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Through her...
Jamie Reid is an artist, living in Liverpool, with a lifelong interest in Druidry. His great uncle George Watson MacGregor Reid founded the Ancient Druid Order. Jamie has created ‘The Eightfold Year’ – a set of paintings for every day of the year. Jamie Reid’s longstanding practice as an artist...
A hugely talented songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, Jim Faupel is widely respected and admired in the European druidic and bardic community, and released his debut solo album Here Be Dragons (on Stop the World Records) in 2003, and a follow up album, Reinventing the Wheel in 2009. But Jim can...
A performance poet, writer and comedian who runs cabaret events and poetry workshops across the UK. The winner of the southwest heat of the Radio 4 National Poetry Slam 2009, the 2010 Bard of Exeter, the 2011 Bridport Poet in Residence and a constant and popular figure on the UK...
Mara is a teacher of Western esoteric traditions, from the faery realms within the Earth to the regions of the Summer Stars. She is the author of Kindling the Celtic Spirit, and is director of the Avalon Mystery School. You can find her website here.
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Myrdhin was born in Upper Brittany to a Cornish family, Myrdhin is one of the driving forces behind the rebirth of the Celtic harp in Brittany. He plays solo or with the trio An Delen Dir both in France and abroad since the 1970s. He has received numerous awards and...
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Penny and her work have been at the heart of OBOD for the for the first quarter of the twenty-first century. As the editor of the order’s magazine, Touchstone, for 22 years, Penny curated the artistic expression of the Order with generosity and good humour. Her editorial ethos ensured that...
Founder in the 60’s of the influential Incredible String Band and the Merry Band of the 70’s. Robin has been a key figure at the forefront of the storytelling revival in Europe and America since the 80’s. He has authored a number of books including The Craneskin Bag (re-telling and...
Simon is a musician, record-producer, and founder of the bands The Afro Celt Sound System and Imagined Village. Simon joined his first band, Scritti Pollitti, in the 1970s. Later he was a founding member of Working Week, which toured extensively worldwide, won many European awards, and headlined at the Montreux...
Steve is is a poet, workshop leader, performer, storyteller, musician, confidence builder and teacher based in Meifod, Powys. His novel for young adults, The Seven, is published by the Gomer Press. Website: https://www.storiesoffeelingandbeing.com/
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Youth, Martin Glover, is an artist, poet, writer, musician and record producer. In 2016 Youth received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music from the Music Producers Guild, and this is what they said about him: One of the UK’s most consistent, credible and influential producers, Youth has been...