ALAN FRIEND has been playing banjo, guitar and concertina, and singing traditional songs from America and the British Isles for many years. He is a member of the New York City-based old-time band "The Chelsea String Band" and the contra dance band "The Contrapolitans." He was a founding member of the former old-time band “Steal the Donut” and the traditional singing group "Buttermilk Channel." Alan has performed in concert solo and with numerous bands and singing groups at festivals such as the New Jersey Folk Festival, West Virginia’s Pipestem Festival, the Park Slope Old-Time/ Bluegrass Jamboree, the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA), the Northeast Music Art and Dance Festival (NOMAD), the Kings County Opry and the Eisteddfod-NY Festival of Traditional Music. He has also played at coffee houses from Montreal to Washington, D.C., on local radio stations and at numerous community events. Alan gives banjo, traditional ballad and old-time string band workshops as well. His recently released CD, “Had a Dog,” features songs and old-time tunes from the southern mountains, with guests on fiddle, guitar and harmony vocals. Alan is an Executive Board member and past President of the Folk Music Society of New York, Inc., also known as the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.