Bill Dooley has been a favorite among folk music aficionados since his talents were first displayed to Philadelphia-area audiences in the 1970s. Playing guitar, steel guitar, banjo, harmonica, melody flute, and jaw harp he has, according to Philadelphia's City Paper, “a talent for reaching deep into his vast repertoire of traditional and vintage songs to pull out an unknown gem.” He is a warm, engaging singer, an adept songwriter, and is highly regarded for his arrangements of jazz, popular, and blues standards for solo guitar. Bill also brings his skill in equal measure to Southern old-time music and the intricacies of Hawaiian “slack-key” guitar.
Bill also plays old-time music accompanying the Fiddlekicks Appalachian Cloggers, a dance group that performs clogging, a percussive dance form which evolved in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Formed in 1996 and based in Philadelphia, Fiddlekicks also branches out into other forms of traditional percussive dance and music, such as Cape Breton, French Canadian, English and Irish — performing at a wide variety of venues, including concerts, festivals and community events.
Bill was composer, arranger and sole musician for the Arden Theatre production of “The Boxcar Children,” and has worked with Interact Theatre Company in Philadelphia area schools providing musical support for children's theatre. He recently performed in the Arden Theatre's production of the new musical, "Winesburg, Ohio," which is based on a book by Sherwood Anderson and set to a brilliant score of original folk music.
Bill danced for ten years with the Mill Creek Cloggers (a traditional Appalachian clogging group) whose performances included The Eistedfodd Festival in Wales and the Bear Mountain Festival in New York State . He was also a member of the Kingsessing Morris Men and toured England with that group, performing dances of the Cotswold region.
As a dance musician, he toured Poland with the Janosik Dancers from Temple University and provided music for square dance workshops at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. He currently plays for the Fiddlekicks; Cloggers who perform many school programs in affiliation with Young Audiences.
As a solo performer, Bill has appeared at hundreds of venues here and abroad, including: The Main Point (Philadelphia, PA), The Painted Bride Art Center (Philadelphia, PA), The Three Rivers Festival (Pittsburgh, PA), The Trinity School Concert Series (NYC), Karl Johansgaten Pub (Oslo, Norway), Zamosch Concert Series (Zamosch, Poland), and Blue Bayou Café (Paris, France). As a member of Little Rodeo, Bill played Godfrey Daniels (Bethlehem, PA), Lake Placid Center for the Arts, (Lake Placid, NY), Laporte Concert Series (Laporte, PA), Bayfest (Somers Point, NJ), Mom & Pop's Coffeehouse (Levittown, PA), as well as many others.
Bill also performs with The Coyotes together with Wendi Bourne (a favorite on Kathy O'Connell's Kids Corner on WXPN-FM, 88.5) and Rik Bourne, w ho along with Bill has played on Gene Shay's The Folk Show (also on WXPN). On guitar, fiddle, banjo, melodeon and harmonica, The Coyotes play Texas swing, Southern old-time, British Isles, early jazz, Cajun, Delta blues, Hawaiian slack-key and original songs and tunes.
Bill recently hosted an open mic series on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Mugshots Coffeehouse and Juicebar, 21 st and Fairmount Ave in Philadelphia (www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com ). He also organized a concert series there on the second Sunday of each month in the afternoon.
Bill's latest CD — Bill Dooley & Friends — is a collaboration with his musical friends—some long-time, some new—and includes many original pieces as well as old-time music, Western swing, old novelty songs, and guitar instrumentals.
© 2005 Bill Dooley. All Rights Reserved.