Kevin Golka
Kevin's bluegrass pedigree is as pure and unadulterated as anyone we know - he began touring with bluegrass bands as the babysitter for the children of performers, soaking up the music and the life style!
He began by playing banjo in the early 1980s before finally finding his home on the mandolin. He joined Maple Hill under band leader Garry Greenland, where he came to respect the rhythmic foundation of bluegrass music. He then joined The Northern Sons in the early 1990s and played with them for several years as their original mandolin player. A passionate singer and tremendous rhythm player, Kevin has a deep love and understanding of the genre. Kevin has been nominated for mandolin player of the year at the Central Canada Bluegrass Awards.
Kevin gave up music for five years to concentrate on his career, and it took much coaxing (and a few white lies!) to convince him to come out of retirement to help found Concession 23 - thank god for the Northeast Blackout of 2003 (but that's another story...).