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Bill Craig was born and raised in Ireland, and lived in London in 1973. He moved to Toronto, Canada in 1974.
He first performed as vocalist for various Rock 'n Roll bands in Ireland in 1967.
In 1969, Bill began playing guitar on stage and has stayed with it as his main instrument ever since.
Bill worked with various bands in Canada during the 1970's, including a year as guitarist for Edward Bear.
Throughout this period, he maintained an interest in the music of his native Ireland, and would occasionally
confuse, and usually please, rock audiences with a solo voice guitar rendition while the rest of the band took
a break.
Bill has performed acoustic traditional and contemporary music now since 1977. It was in 1977 he formed Foggy Duo
with Canadian multi-instrumentalist, Don Garbutt. They brought their musical energy to some very old material,
giving it a much needed lift. This successful partnership lasted through four years and three albums - including
Ship in Distress - as the renamed Skyboat. Don Garbutt also worked on Bill's first solo album, On The Left.
This album was recorded in Canada and released on the Dutch Pan label in Europe. His next recording, on which he
played all instruments, is titled Late Nights.
Bill works regularily, and has performed at venues across Canada, the United States, and in Europe. He has shared
the stage at festivals with such performers as Eric Bogle, Andy Irvine, Dougie MacLean, Battlefield Band and
Mary Black. In 1987, he performed at the Roskilde fest in Denmark with Van Morrison, Paul Brady and Moving Hearts.
Bill has played the Glasgow festival three times, Skagen fest in Denmark twice and Canada's largest fest, Mariposa.
In the U.S., Bill has played pubs and clubs in such cities as Buffalo, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego and
Washington, D.C. At various times he has performed live on PBS radio, including the Cleveland Poetry project, and
live from Standing Rock U. (Kent State) He has also performed throughout Holland, Denmark and the U.K. for twenty
years.
Bill Craig's performance is relaxed eclectic, thought provoking, goofy and entertaining. His casual attitude is
designed to include, not exclude his audience, be it eight or eight hundred people. Bill puts all his energy into
his songs and makes a point of having a good time on stage. This usually translates to his audience having a
similar experience.
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