Roger Stone

Hailing from a profoundly musical family in St. Peter’s, Cape Breton, Roger Stone comes by his talent honestly. Stone’s father was a driving force in the Island’s fiddle culture and a music teacher.

As a child, Stone was exposed to the playing styles of many different musicians in addition to being influenced by bluegrass, the Beatles, James Taylor and Bob Marley.

Equally accomplished at both guitar and 5-string banjo, Stone filled in for various McGinty members over the years and volunteered to join the band permanently following John Ferguson’s passing in 2012.

A strong singer/songwriter, Stone’s addition to the group has marked a move toward performing more original music as part of the band’s repertoire.

“McGinty is really about taking people on a journey. It may be a comedic song or tune, but often the material is about life, love and culture,” explains Stone. “Often my writing is biographical, but sometimes I will collaborate [with musicians] in the country, bluegrass and Celtic circles.”

Stone says while the style and arrangement of some McGinty tunes may have changed with the new line-up, the band is still living up to the legacy set out by the original members.

“In my opinion, McGinty is a brand and have a role as ambassadors of Maritime music. We still take the house party to the stage and deliver a strong performance.”

Roger plays a Grand Artist Series Seagull, an Artist Studio Concert Hall Series Seagull 
(www.seagullguitars.com) and uses D'Addario strings (www.daddariocanada.com)