Rob Pierce is the owner of the Friendly School of Folk Music and the visionary behind the Friendly Community. A lifelong musician, Rob is available to teach drums, guitar, piano, banjo, ukelele, vocals, percussion, and harmonica.  Rob works with students of all ages, and loves to help each student find their passion with the right instrument and style of music.

Cheryl Tomblin is revered as a multi-faceted singer/songwriter and known in the local music scene for her Pipes Project (described as "being dark and melancholy, holding the audience captivated by cyclic guitar riffs, poignant and unlikely orchestration with smoky vocal undertones"). However, this dynamic artist is currently receiving accolades for the music she composed for the Echo Theater Collective​'s presentation of BLUES FOR MISTER CHARLIE by James Baldwin (at the Madison Street Theatre​). As one of our instructors at the Friendly School of Folk Music​, we are especially proud to have Cheryl on stage at Friendly Folk Fest each year. Cheryl​ is available to teach the violin/fiddle, piano, guitar, and vocals.

Cliff Killion is a longtime Oak Parker with music roots that go back to playing string bass for the Irving School band and OPRF symphony orchestra. He’s been a guitarist or bassist in countless garage, basement, and working bands ever since. Cliff has recorded many original songs with various groups in studios and orchestras, and currently, he plays with the Packastanleys, Dukes & Pearls, and Blue Lincolns. With a gifted ability to play whatever he hears, he shares his talents through teaching guitar and bass at FSOFM.

Jon Williams has been a gigging musician in Chicago for 24 years.  He’s played with dozens of groups, including Mount Pilot and Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, and he currently performs with the Hat Stretchers, Mountainaires, and Peter Joly Group. Being proficient in traditional jazz, country, blues, bluegrass, and rock circa 1950-75, Jon is a highly respected musician and instructor. He shares the Friendly Tap stage every 1st Thursday with Rick Sherry and Kip Rainey, and every 3rd Sunday with Peter Joly Group.  Jon plays and teaches guitar, mandolin, fiddle, piano, and bass.

Maggie Dahlberg has a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Northwestern University.  She has been teaching piano lessons to students of all ages and levels for over 20 years.

Ryan Joseph Anderson was the former frontman for the beloved Chicago garage-rock band Go Long Mule, which released two albums—2011’s Kissing The Gunner’s Daughter and 2013’s Albion—and carved out a touring niche in the Midwest before disbanding this winter. To record a new solo album, Anderson decamped to Nashville to collaborate with Andrija Tokic at the Bomb Shelter studio. On Weaver’s Broom, Anderson displays his lyrical songwriting gifts in stripped-down settings. The new album evokes the open-tunings of Nick Drake as well as the barroom howl of Tom Waits. - American Songwriter. See where Ryan is playing next and listen to his latest album at Ryanjosephanderson.com

As the youngest instructor at the Friendly School of Folk Music, Connor Ostrow (the 2015 Illinois State Fair Fiddle Champion) is available to teach fiddle and violin. He is active in the bluegrass music scene, performing with award-winning teen performers through his Basement Bluegrass band. He also plays with local sensations like Ethan Kinsella and Matthew Francis Andersen, as well as the legendary Oak Park Farmer’s Market players, and most recently with the Gin Palace Jesters.

Carl has a bachelors degree in music from Roosevelt University in Chicago Illinois. With over 20 years of teaching experience, he teaches as well as plays guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo and ukulele.

Chicago blues ‘triple threat’ (slide guitar, harmonica and vocals) Nigel Mack delivers a high-energy show that fuses blues classics with the punch of contemporary original blues. Seamlessly switching between instruments, Nigel Mack is equally proficient at them all. These are talents honed by years of relentless touring in support of his critically acclaimed CDs, Devil’s Secrets, Road Rage and High Price to Play. Nigel’s latest release, the award winning, all-original, Devil’s Secrets, was the #1 Canadian blues CD of 2012, nationwide in Canada on Galaxy Satellite radio. Mack’s original compositions have been featured on television sound-tracks ‘Dawson’s Creek’, ‘The Street’ and ‘Time of Your Life’.  Nigel is available to teach harmonica and guitar! Visit http://nigelmack.com

A lifelong Chicagoan, Gary Cleland is classically trained. He studied at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and privately with current and former members of the Chicago Symphony, as well as other noted professionals such as Warren Benefield, Joe Guasafeste, Jim Palacek, Brian Ferguson, Jack LaSpina. Early in his career, Gary performed in the Chicago Lyric Opera, Basically Bach, a number of the local symphonic orchestras, and various jazz groups, as well as in the pit for many of the musicals that came through Chicago’s top-rated theaters. He is sought out by singer-songwriters, folk and jazz groups for his versatility. As a founding member of CR6, he finds the array of international musical influences in the repertoire as an opportunity to draw upon the full range of his musical background. Gary is available to teach Upright Bass.

Jeff Burke has been a professional musician for over 17 years, specializing in mandolin, guitar, and banjo.  As half of the duo Jeff & Vida, he has performed thousands of shows across the US and Europe.  Jeff’s down-to-earth teaching style and positive approach to playing and learning music have endeared him to students in classes and workshops far and wide.  He has hosted regular classes and workshops at the Station Inn and The Country Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN and is currently offering lessons is association with the Friendly School of Folk Music.  He is a sought after sideman and currently performs with a number of touring and regional acts around the country. 


 

Hannah Rand earned a degree in Songwriting from Belmont University in 2016. Since then, she’s been writing songs and performing all over the country. She plays the piano and sings, and enjoys teaching music to young children. Visit hannahrandmusic.com to learn more.