Traditional Fare is made up of Dan Schryer, Paul McClelland and Alastair MacDonald from the Ottawa Valley. Dan plays fiddle and has a rich tradition of playing fiddle in the area. He is originally from Sault St. Marie, Ontario and has called the Ottawa Valley home for over 30 years. During his musical career, he has often played with his brothers (The Schryer Triplets) at many different venues and concerts. Dan has also played with several groups with diverse musical styles. He has enjoyed playing for contra dances with The Old Sod Band, dabbling in Bluegrass with The BVD’s, and performing with the country/rock band, Off Road.

Dan and Paul met in 2008. They began playing together, forming the early stages of Traditional Fare. Paul is originally from Scarborough and has been living in Pembroke for the past 14 years. He plays Scottish small pipes, whistles, bodhran and button accordion. Paul was inspired to learn bagpipes from his grandfather, who played with the Toronto Scottish. He competed for many years and was successful as an open class soloist as well as with pipe bands at grade 1 (Clan MacFarlane), grade 2 (Town of Newmarket) and as Pipe Major in grade 3 (Capercaillie).

Paul met Alastair while living in Scotland between 1998 and 2008, both working at Dounreay. Alastair plays accordion and keyboard. He joined the group soon after he moved here from Scotland 4 years ago. He has played with various Scottish Dance Bands, such as with Addie Harper and Brandon McPhee since he was 15. Together they produce a unique blend with a varied repertoire of Canadian, Irish and Scottish music pulling from their individual styles.

They have produced their first CD Traditional Fare, with 13 tracks that feature old and new old and new tunes from both sides of the Atlantic. The richness of this CD can be attributed to the multi-instrumentation that includes fiddle, whistles, Scottish small pipes, bodhran, accordions, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and piano.