Overseas Guest: Michael “Moonwulf” Longcor

Michael Longcor (aka Moonwulf Starkaaderson) is the bard’s bard. A master of the ballad, an accomplished guitarist, and a reknowned storyteller, his concerts have been packing in audiences for decades. He was there in the early days of the Dorsai Irregulars, he’s been a king of the Midrealm twice (and is therefore known in that alternate realm as Duke Moonwulf and so, be warned, he’s adept at heavy armed combat), Mike’s a talented blacksmith, and a crack shot with black powder and muzzle-loaders. He’s been nominated for a dozen Pegasus Awards and received six, and he was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2014.

Mike sings about brave people in difficult situations, the odd man out, dangerous heroes, the wanderer, and the fool. He’ll make you laugh with his songs about flying monkeys, Rhinotelleximania, and Bob’s Dog Obedience School and Taxidermy Shop. He’ll make you cry with his renditions of Irish standards like Rosin the Bow, and Here’s a Health to the Company. He’ll have you swaying to songs about pirates and privateers, smugglers and soldiers. And he’ll make you want to defend what is worthy and true while teaching you some history with his songs about Normans and Saxons, and When Tenskwatawa Sings. He’s a regular performer on Doctor Demento’s radio show, provided the background music to a BBC documentary about Rudyard Kipling, and helped select the recipients of the Shirley Marting Scholarship Award for Young Songwriters. Over all, Michael Longcor is a really nice fellow, and you’re all going to be scratching your collective head and wondering why it took you so long to bring him to your side of The Pond.

UK Guest: Edwin Brady

Edwin sauntered into the filk scene in February 2023 at the UK MillCon and was an instant hit with his charming and witty songs about programming, space exploration, zombies and punctuation (such as unbalanced parentheses. Blended in to these exotic topics the listener can find the down-to-earth crumbs and raisins of everyday life.

We don’t know much about Edwin’s pre-filking life – we believe that he was offered the position of chief cookie officer at Gregg’s bakery which, despite the short commute, he turned down and instead became an accomplished computer science academic at the University of St Andrews. During 2020 he took up the ukulele and became an excellent player with a delightful picking style. It is unclear what then drew this computer science academic and ukulele player to filk music but we are delighted that he joined us and look forward to hearing more* of his splendid music. Despite his recent arrival in the filking world Edwin has already won a SAM and two Miller awards.

*Please note that, as with Schrödinger’s Set, Edwin hasn’t played a concert on your universe until you observe one directly so attendance is recommended.

Filker Emerita: Valerie Housden

Valerie has been around since before there were Filk Cons, and is, unlike Mike, one of the people who did actually run away fast enough at FollyCon. She plays guitar and banjo, has a fondness for Joni Mitchell, and is still prolific in writing a whole load of original songs. Her one and only album, Lady In Veils, released in the early ’90s, is sadly out of print, but we’re hoping to do something about that before the con. She was also (until stepping down from the podium at last year’s con) co-founder and conductor of the UK Filk choir, the N’Early Music Consort.