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| Wilson’s musical interests were heavily influenced by her family’s Celtic ancestry and her early interest in history and in French language and culture.{{Fact}} Her first public performances were with a group in Strasbourg, France while she studied there during college.{{fact}} | Wilson’s musical interests were heavily influenced by her family’s Celtic ancestry and her early interest in history and in French language and culture.{{Fact}} Her first public performances were with a group in Strasbourg, France while she studied there during college.{{fact}} | ||
| Soon after she returned from Strasbourg, Wilson joined with four other musicians to form the band Bon Jolais, a folk group that specialized in traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, France, and early America. |
Soon after she returned from Strasbourg, Wilson joined with four other musicians to form the band Bon Jolais, a folk group that specialized in traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, France, and early America. <Ref name = "newsweek"> Newsweek magazine, July 4,1976, Wilson performances on pages 3,12 & 13 </ref> They toured primarily in Midwest from 1987 until 1999 and during that period they recorded and published two CD’s "Spirits of the Wabash" and "Till the Storm Passes."{{fact}} | ||
| During her high school and college years Wilson also performed as a fifer with the Tippecanoe ], a group of musicians that portrays La Compagnie Franche de la Marine, the French troops who were stationed in colonial North America, which she directed from 1978 to 1990.{{fact}} | During her high school and college years Wilson also performed as a fifer with the Tippecanoe ], a group of musicians that portrays La Compagnie Franche de la Marine, the French troops who were stationed in colonial North America, which she directed from 1978 to 1990.{{fact}} | ||
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Traveler’s Dream is an American folk group founded in 2000 by Michael Lewis (vocals, songwriter, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, feet percussion) and Denise Wilson (vocals, songwriter, Irish flute and tin whistle, concertina, fife, and guitar) with various other artists participating on certain recordings and performances. The duo’s repertoire draws heavily from the musical traditions of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, French-Canada and early America.
Membership
Denise Wilson
Wilson’s musical interests were heavily influenced by her family’s Celtic ancestry and her early interest in history and in French language and culture. Her first public performances were with a group in Strasbourg, France while she studied there during college.
Soon after she returned from Strasbourg, Wilson joined with four other musicians to form the band Bon Jolais, a folk group that specialized in traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, France, and early America. They toured primarily in Midwest from 1987 until 1999 and during that period they recorded and published two CD’s "Spirits of the Wabash" and "Till the Storm Passes." During her high school and college years Wilson also performed as a fifer with the Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps, a group of musicians that portrays La Compagnie Franche de la Marine, the French troops who were stationed in colonial North America, which she directed from 1978 to 1990.
Wilson went on to earn a B.A. in French at Purdue University in 1981 and a Ph.D. in History at West Virginia University in 1997. Her graduate studies focused on the history of early America and Midwestern regional history. Dr. Wilson taught history from 1993-2000 at Lakeland College in Wisconsin, and then returned to her home town of Lafayette, Indiana. In the winter of 2000, she began performing music with Michael Lewis as Traveler’s Dream.
Wilson has said that the research skills she acquired in school enabled her to research traditional music and place it in its historical context. Traveler’s Dream also does instructional programs which teach history through music at schools and colleges, historical conferences, and women's history programs. Wilson has received three grants from the Indiana Arts Commission to support her efforts to create musical programs which raise awareness and appreciate of Midwestern history and cultural heritage.
Michael Lewis
Songwriting has remained a focus of Lewis’s activities since he began performing as a solo singer/songwriter during the 1980’s. He first toured nationally in 1988 when he joined the folk music group “Stone Soup” (following guest performances with them in 1987) whose other members included Carrie Newcomer and Dennis Leas. He was part of this band when it was featured in a one-hour PBS special entitled “October Nights.” When Stone Soup disbanded, Lewis and Newcomer performed as a duo. Lewis is also credited on Newcomer’s 1991 solo CD, Visions and Dreams.
Lewis’s music has also been influenced by his family’s Celtic ancestry and by Irish, English, Welsh & Scottish performers including John Renbourn and Clannad. Contemporary elements include his percussive guitar style, choosing traditional songs with strong lyrical content, and creating musical arrangements (vocal and instrumental) for Traveler’s Dream’s which combine elements of traditional and contemporary folk music.
In 2001, the Indiana Arts Commission issued Michael an Individual Artist Fellowship to fund the creation of four songs relating to Midwestern history and culture.
Lewis has performed as a guest or studio musician (primarily guitar, bouzouki, and mandolin) on the recordings of many Midwestern musicians. Lewis is also owner of Middle Earth recording studio.
Performances as the group
By 2001, Traveler's Dream had played at larger historical events. Following chiding by fans who were enamored with rare recordings of them performing in harmonized duets, recent reviews have indicated that their 4th CD marked greater inclusion of those types. Other changes including a trend towards a heavier predominance of original works, and increasing guest appearances (vs. band membership) by others. Currently, Chance Heasty frequently performs as a guest fiddler with Traveler's Dream.
Traveler’s Dream performs at historical, cultural, and educational venues in addition to other venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music in addition to other venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music.
Musical style
Traveler’s Dream’s performs several musical styles. These include traditional music of the British Isles (with an emphasis on Irish and English traditional music), songs which were popular in early America. This includes the music of the French-Canadian voyageurs and the French-speaking people who settled in villages located in the Great Lakes and Mississippi regions. At one end of this spectrum are performances of historical versions of folk music. At the other end of this spectrum are original songs inspired by the same histories and more recently original works not of historical style. Their works also include contemporary arrangements of historical songs.
Normally the group performs in English, with a few songs in French. On occasion they perform entirely in French at specialized cultural & historical events.
Venues
Traveler's Dream has played various types of venues, from being main stage performers at 50,000+ attendance historical events such as the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, to a self-stated stated preference to continue to play some very small venues of various types including academic programs. Venue types in their "core" exhibit similar variations including historical, cultural, and educational venues, venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music, and concert type venues. Inclusion of their work in broadcasts is generally in folk music programs.
Discography
Traveler’s Dream has produced four CD’s
The Road Home (2002)
- Will Ye No Come Back Again
- Grain de Mil
- St. Anne's Reel / Highlander's Farewell
- Leave Her, Johnny
- Two Recruiting Sergeants
- End of Summer Waltz
- Yellow Tinker / Brenda Stubbert' s
- Whup Jamboree
- Aux Marches du Palais
- Bold Lad On a Rock / Granny Didn't Stay too Long
- Soldier's Promise
- Par un Jour
- Waterway West
- Road to Boston
- Will Ye No Come Back Again (Reprise)
- The Road Home plus hidden song
- What do you do with a Drunken Sailor? (hidden track)
The Willow Tree (2004)
- I'm Seventeen Come Sunday
- While Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping
- Jim Ward' s Jig / Old Copperplate
- Bad Girl's Lament
- Au Bord de Jean de La Fontaine
- Old Bean Waltz/Mrs. Isabella MacKenzie Sutherland
- The Willow Tree
- First of May Waltz
- Cotton Mill Girls
- Scots Wha Hae
- P'tit Cordonnier
- Bowery Girl / Grandpa Joe's Polka
- Maggie's Reel
- Meg's Waltz
Home Comes the Rover (2008)
- Black Calvary
- Dans les Prisons de Nantes
- The King's Daughters/ Reel Saint-Jean
- Mary and the Soldier
- Star of Munster / Torn Jacket / Sally Gardens (reels)
- Paddy West
- Au Bois Marguerite / Curly Shingles
- Donnybrook / An Grianan / Banish Misfortune (Jigs)
- Holy Ground
- Nantucket Sleighride / The Essex
- Planxty Hewlett / The Ash Grove (Tunes)
- Ah! Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser!
- John O'Dreams
- Say, Darlin' Say (Hush Little Baby)
Cold Blows the Day (2009)
- Gloucestershire Wassail
- Rise Up, Jock!
- Coventry Carol/ Il Est Ne
- Good King Wenceslas
- Pagan Carol for Winter
- I Saw Three Ships
- Winter's Mythology
- Deck the Halls
- Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella
- Maggie in the Woods / Road to Boston
- Holly and the Ivy Revisited
- Auld Lang Syne
References
- Newsweek magazine, July 4,1976, Wilson performances on pages 3,12 & 13
- Nevins, Patrick (February 2009). "A Passion for Music: Traveler's Dream". Helen Magazine. Lafayette, Indiana. pp. 57–58.
- ^ "Day Job, Dream Job". Krannert Magazine. Vol. 9, no. 2. Purdue University Krannert School of Management. Fall 2008. p. 21.
- ^ "Review of 'Home Comes the Rover'". Dirty Linen. Vol. 142. July/August 2009. p. 45. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
{{cite magazine}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Music notation and lyrics to Lewis's song "The Essex"". Sing Out!. Vol. 52, no. 3. Autumn 2008. pp. 74–76.
- ^ "Partial List of Past Performances". Traveller's Dream. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
- http://www.midnightspecial.org/chicago.htm Playlists for The Midnight Special Radio Program retrieved January 2010
- http://www.wpr.org/SimplyFolk/sf090726.cfm Wisconsin Public Radio "Simply Folk" Program Play List, July 2009 Retrieved March 2010
- ^ Feast of the Hunter's Moon
29. Muzzle Blasts Magazine November 2009 Issue, pages 62-63
30. FRoots Magazine, London England, March 2010 issue (#321) page 69 http://www.frootsmag.com/ Retrieved March 2010
31. Scouting (USA) Magazine,September 2007, Article "Getting Excited about High Adventure" http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0709/a-high.html