Earl and Leland Carawan, Swan's Quarter, North Carolina
Earl and Leland Carawan grew up in Hyde County in a family that followed the seasons and lived off the land and water. The family was also very musical, and the Carawan brothers play a variety of old-time, bluegrass, and country music.

Davey Crockett, Tangier Island, Virginia
Captain Crockett runs a small ferry boat from the mainland of the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake to his native Tangier Island. He also sings, plays the guitar, and composes songs about life on the Chesapeake Bay.

Dr. Tom Flowers, Dorchester County, Maryland
Dr. Tom Flowers grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on Hooper's Island and has worked in the Chesapeake Bay area as an educator for over 40 years. He has written a book about his experiences entitled Shore Folklore, and leads tours called "Crab Mania," taking groups to Hooper's Island to learn about crab-picking. Dr. Flowers currently serves as a Dorchester County councilman but also gives talks on the folklore of the Eastern Shore.

Rodney Kemp, Moorehead City, North Carolina
Rodney Kemp's love for Carteret County has been the centerpiece of his lifetime's work in collecting, teaching, and telling the stories of this region. His storytelling, known affectionately as "fish-house lies," tells the facts through the voices and experiences of the generations of folks who have lived and shaped this history. Kemp was named the North Carolina Historian of the Year in 2003.

Elmer Mackall and The Faith Singers, Prince Frederick, Maryland
Elmer Mackall, 79, grew up singing with his mother in churches and camp meetings in Calvert County, MD. A powerful singer and talented piano player, he has recorded many pieces from his mother's repertoire which are vigorous and deeply moving. His music is reminiscent of Mississippi John Hurt, with an original style containing elements of ragtime and barrelhouse piano. His daughters, Thelma Claggett, Margaret Copeland, and Allie Williams, back him up as The Faith Singers.

Magpie, Takoma Park, Maryland
This musical duo made up of husband and wife Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino has written and performed a number of pieces inspired by the Chesapeake Bay and its ecology. Their performance piece, "Tales of the Blue Crab," is a favorite of schoolchildren learning about the bay.

Connie Mason, Carteret County, North Carolina
Connie Mason is a museum historian, musician, and award- winning folklorist descended from eastern North Carolina fishermen, farmers, blacksmiths, poets, and musicians. Her repertoire includes both traditional and original material. Her grandmother, Rosa Mason, toiled as an oyster shucker but could play any musical instrument she picked up.

Janie Meneely, Eastport, Maryland
Janie Meneely, who by day is an editor at Chesapeake Bay Magazine, is also a local Eastport entertainer and raconteur, who shares a delightful mix of cruising information, folklore, and anecdotes about good (and bad) cruising destinations around the northern Chesapeake.

The New Gospelites, Worton Point, Maryland
The New Gospelites celebrated 30 years of service in performing gospel music on September 14, 2003. The group originated in 1974, from the kitchen of the same house where most of the original members grew up in the small town of Worton Point on the upper eastern shore of Kent County, MD. They have performed at numerous churches, festivals, and universities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

David Norris, California, Maryland
Southern Maryland singer/songwriter David Norris' family has deep roots on the western shore of the Chesapeake, going back to the 1600s. In 1996, his song "Timberline" won Nashville's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest, in Wilkesboro, NC. His songs reflect his connection to the Chesapeake Bay region.

Joseph Norris, California, Maryland
Joseph Norris, like his twin brother David, is a singer/songwriter and storyteller. He performed for the Duke and Duchess of Kent at Historic St. Mary's City during Maryland's celebration of its 350th anniversary in 1984, and with legendary folk singer Pete Seeger in Baltimore. His stories reflect the Native American heritage of his great-grandfather. Norris sings of rivers and riverboats, lighthouses and lost love, of ghosts and green fields. His newest CD is called Mariner's Compass.

The Northern Neck Chantey Singers, Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia
The Chantey Singers have been reliving and reviving the history and the culture of watermen through their animated performances of songs and chants. In rhythmic fashion, they replicate the cadence of movements used by menhaden fishermen in order to create unity when hauling nets. Their songs are telling, soulful, and sometimes funny as they are based upon the true experiences of fishing for menhaden.

The Phillips Gangplank Ragtime Band, Baltimore, Maryland
The Phillips Gangplank Ragtime Band has been together for over 30 years and has performed throughout the continental U.S., in the Caribbean, Canada, and over 30 times in Europe. The band performs a mixture of Dixieland jazz, ragtime, vintage standards, and novelty tunes from what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of American Popular Music and Song" (1890–1950). They are currently performing in their 25th year at Phillips Harborplace Restaurant in Baltimore, MD.

The SAIF Water Singers, Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, Virginia
The SAIF Water Singers organized in 2001 to support the SAIF Water Committee. They sing old-time prayer-meeting music in voice and sign language and usually perform a capella. The singers are from families that have been helped by SAIF Water. SAIF Water has brought indoor plumbing and repaired a contaminated well for the families.

Them Eastport Oyster Boys, Eastport, Maryland
Since the early '90s, the Oyster Boys' collaborative creativity has yielded songs ranging from a deck-shoe chantey to a tango about sub-aquatic vegetation to reggae verses about sailing. They even composed the "Maritime Republic of Eastport" national anthem.

Sonny Williamson, Cedar Island, North Carolina
Sonny Williamson, a native of his beloved Down East Carteret County, spends his retirement researching, documenting, and publishing historical records of everything from shipwrecks and sailing vessels to hunting stories and recipes.