Peter Barnes

Peter Barnes has been playing piano, flute, and assorted other instruments for traditional dancing since 1971, and has been invited to most major contra, square, British Isles, and vintage dance events throughout the United States, performing for dances and concerts, leading ensemble workshops, and generally acting in a crazy and often undignified manner. Averaging over 250 gigs per year since 1980, he is one of Boston's busiest musicians, and has also played for festivals and tours in England, France, Denmark, Shetland, Scotland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. He works with the bands Bare Necessities, Yankee Ingenuity, The Cathie Ryan Band, Culchullan, Tulluchgorum, A Panel of Experts, and B.L.T., and has performed with many traditional greats, such as Seamus Connolly, Joe Derrane, Alasdair Fraser, Rodney Miller, Chris Norman, and Joe Cormier.

Publications include English Country Dance Tunes, a widely used collection of English traditional dance music, A Little Couple Dancemusik, a collection of 400 traditional couple dance tunes, and Interview with a Vamper, an instruction book of piano techniques.

Recordings include Kitchen Junket and Heatin' Up the Hall, with Yankee ingenuity; Bare Necessities, Take a Dance, Nightcap, and the CDS-Boston English Country Dance Collections, with Bare Necessities; Airplang and Airplang II, with Rodney Miller; BLT (Barnes, Lea, & Tomczak); Soir et Matin with kerry Elkin; Yankee Dreams and Moxie, with Frank Ferrell; Shape Shifting, with Jeanne Morrill; Cascata de Lagrimas and Gypsy Wine, with Mary Lea; and Twelve-Gated City and The Great Waltz, with Childsplay.

Festivals, Dance Camps & Special Events