Twenty year-old Brendan Carey Block, the fiddler for The Glengarry Bhoys of Ontario, Canada, began playing fiddle at age ten and has been performing for the past nine years. His festival and concert appearances have consistently led to rave reviews. Brendan has been called one of the finest and most dynamic young fiddlers in the country. Recently he was the only American musician invited to perform at the famed week-long Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado. He has also headlined for several years at the North Georgia Celtic Festival in Gainesville, as well as appearing at numerous concerts and events throughout New England, including opening for Natalie MacMaster at the Lebanon Opera House and repeat appearances at the New Hampshire Highland Games.
Brendan's energetic and passionate playing most strongly reflects the Cape Breton tradition from his extensive studies there with the great fiddlers Natalie and Buddy MacMaster, but also incorporates Scottish and Irish fiddle styles. Brendan was the 2000-2001 US National Junior Scottish Fiddle Champion, three time New England Champion, as well as winner of many other New England fiddle contests. He is accompanied by his father, Rich Block, who has been performing and recording folk, Celtic, and jazz on guitar and bass since the early 1970s. Occasionally, Brendan performs with his new band, which includes Mari Black on fiddle, Owen Marshall on guitar, and Matt Phenix on drums.