CHARMAS is a family of versatile musicians whose specialties have merged over time, creating a truly unique band whose sound spans everything from club-pop and jazz to traditional folk music.
The name Charmas comes from an obscure Gaelic word evoking family, love, and being charmed or lucky — which we also use to describe the magical way musicians often find one another at just the right moment. We call it serendipity.

Meet CHARMAS Core Members

ELISE MACGREGOR FERRELL – Fiddle, Bagpipes

Elise’s musical journey began at age 5, with piano lessons, playing flute in her middle-school’s marching band, and listening to classical music every night at dinner. She fell in love with folk music at Yosemite’s first Strawberry Music Festival and camped near the stage every Spring and Fall, while also working as a video director for the Concord Pavilion’s live rock and jazz concerts. Later, Elise spent countless evenings fiddling in traditional Irish and Scottish tune sessions, old-time sessions, and bluegrass jams. Inexplicably, she also started playing Great Highland Bagpipes, competing with two Bay Area pipe bands, and marching seasonally with Canada’s 100-year-old Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band. So when the stars aligned in 2013, Elise co-founded Charmas with banjo-and-whistle player Matt Johnson, and, as they say, the rest was history.

 

AARON CLEGG – Lead Vocalist, flute, whistles, saxophone

At age 13, Aaron first went to a traditional Celtic music session with his musician father, and his life changed forever. He returned to that session in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the next 15 years off and on, learning to play Celtic flute and tin whistle, singing Irish songs and sea chanties, and eventually taking classes and playing in sessions with many famous Irish musicians. Meanwhile, he played saxophone in high school and college jazz bands. Rounding out his versatility in instruments and genres, Aaron became part of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir for two years, performing at major concerts and sporting events and on national television. In 2013 he sang at the San Francisco Sea Music Festival. Aaron teaches private lessons in classical and wooden flute, tin whistle, saxophone, and voice technique, performs at weddings and memorials, and earns the balance of his living teaching at schools in the Santa Cruz area. 

PATRICK NOEL RUSS – Lead Vocalist, Guitar, BANJO

Born on Christmas Eve, Patrick’s mother decided he might prefer to celebrate his birthday during March, so she named him after everyone’s favorite Irish saint and the rest is history. Patrick went all-in, becoming a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, who has produced and performed music with many Bay Area Celtic groups, including Plastic Paddy, Pladdohg, and CaliCeltic. His work has been featured in Irish Music Magazine, and his original songs have appeared on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, reaching Celtic music audiences worldwide.

DAVE SMITH – ELECTRIC BASS, STANDUP BASS

Crackerjack solos and melodic rhythms flow like wine from Dave’s dancing fingers. He can also play guitar, mandolin, and bouzouki, and his resume includes an M.A. in classical music, but when he’s not writing songs, this versatile musician works as a jazz-bass lecturer for the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 Dave Clarke – drums, PERCUSSION, BACKUP VOCALS

Born into a large family of musicians, and having a mom who was a world-class operatic soprano, Dave’s musical career started at age 10, singing radio jingles with one of his big brothers. As a teen, Dave performed on recordings for local artists and was invited into the CCS honor choir. Then he went primal and spent several years drumming on multi-state tours, as well as performing with great Bay Area artists like Derek Sherinian, Tyran Porter, Moby Grape, The Stingrays, and Burnin Vernon Davis. Rock, funk, and blues are among Dave’s passions, but he also enjoys Irish jigs and polkas! Just watch out for this man’s dry sense of humor. You can miss it if you blink but there is always more coming, especially if you give him a bottle of hard cider.

HISTORY Of THE BAND

CHARMAS made its official debut on St. Patrick’s Day 2013, when a collection of Irish session friends, spearheaded by fiddler Elise MacGregor Ferrell and banjo player Matt Johnson, decided to perform their favorite tune sets in a more organized fashion.

Jeff Werner, a friend of drummer Russ, recorded the band’s first live appearance on KPIG radio in Freedom, CA.

When lead vocalist/flutist Aaron joined CHARMAS, its emphasis began to shift from straight Irish session music and toward more expressive songs and instrumental harmonies.

In 2014, CHARMAS recorded its first YouTube video, based upon an original song about their first performance venue, Sir Froggy’s Pub.

Over time, CHARMAS started mixing American classic rock with Celtic rock, to create some unique dance sets for weddings and various night clubs in Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Always retaining its love of silly humor, in 2015 CHARMAS turned a live performance at St. Andrews Church into another YouTube Christmas-music video.

In 2016, CHARMAS launched its annual Valentine’s Rebellion Comedy Singalong, featuring lots of smutty old Celtic songs, some original comedy, and guest singer Jeremy doing costume changes.

Promotions for show included live performances on KKUP and KPIG, including this recording of Aaron singing Raglan Road.

2016 was also the year fiddler Elise started juicing up CHARMAS with her new Great Highland Bagpipes.

And still, CHARMAS kept performing anything and everything at local night clubs, including some original songs that never got published.

Acquiring new members always takes CHARMAS in new directions, and it happened again in 2017, when Aaron and Phil started trying out new folk songs.

Some of CHARMAS original Irish session friends who were never formally in the band have made recordings with us, and here Elise captured longtime friend Jamie giving viewers a lesson in how to play spoons.

Recording CHARMAS two albums, Songs of the Sea and Stark Raving Celtic, involved participation from many past members and friends of the band, shown here on our CD jackets.

All singles and albums recorded by Charmas can be streamed on i-tunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and Apple Music

A FEW SHOUT-OUTS

 

PHIL JOHNSTON – Lead Vocalist, Guitar

Phil’s musical family started him on the piano at age 6 -which  only lasted for a year, before the “great Folk scare” and the arrival of the Beatles inspired him to switch to guitar and never look back. Phil was 11 years old when he landed a lead singing role in a production of the Gian Carlo Menotti operetta, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Seven succeeding years of learning how to play the Blues and Psychedelic Rock music (with a particular focus on the music of Jimi Hendrix) may have helped  Phil to earn a degree in Music Composition and Theory from the University of California Santa Cruz. “Between jobs” after college, he answered a want-ad for a guitarist/vocalist to join the Celtic-American folk group, Shanachie, and subsequently spent three years touring the U.S. and Europe, performing Celtic and American folk music. After 6 years of performing with Charmas, Phil has recently moved to Oregon, so we look forward to doing an occasional show with him, whenever he comes back to visit California.

CHARMAS co-founder Matt Johnson began with playing trumpet and baritone horn in his high school’s symphonic, marching, and jazz bands. He claims to have learned to play old time banjo from a dubious relative in Aptolachia (south of Sokewell and Capittola), but, then again, he also claims to know someone who is his own grandpa. We do have proof that Matt took up playing pennywhistle, guitar, and banjo during the 1980’s, and that he became a regular fixture at Santa Cruz’s legendary Britannia Arms Irish sessions. Matt spent a subsequent decade playing rock and blues by night, while running his business, T&M Concrete, during the daytime. As soon as he returned to playing in local Celtic sessions, he got swept up by Charmas and playfully admitted that he might finally be “getting serious” about music. His lingering childhood dream was to someday play Celtic tuba, so we should probably check in with him about that.

Tireless bodhran drummer Russ Bennet played drum set as a teenager, and at 20 years old, he went to work overseas, playing concerts and entertaining military personnel. During a long career of operating a construction-based business in the SF Bay Area, he studied various styles of percussion with experts John Santos, Michael Spiro, Brian Rice, and Jim Griener. A decision to move to Santa Cruz got him involved with Cabrillo College’s Latin Jazz Ensemble, and inspired him to specialize in playing hand drums. Russ plays the Brazilian Pandiero, Middle Eastern Darbuka (for belly dancers), Tar, Conga, Cajon, Bongo, as well as full drum set. Russ fell in love with Celtic music and started playing the Bodhran Irish frame drum. He has studied Celtic percussion with David Brewer and some the very best teachers from Ireland such as Colm Phelan and Eamon Murray.

Understated hero Mike Long is best known as the author of Santa Cruz’s own “bible” of traditional Irish and Scottish tunes – the King Street Tune Book. Mike claims to have known every tune in his giant book at one time or another. He plays guitar for Santa Cruz band Dance Around Molly, and keeps the beat playing both guitar and tenor banjo for local Celtic sessions and dances.

CHARMAS first guitarist, Josh Reilly, usually changes the subject when asked about his musical background.  Best to broach the subject after a shot of 12 year old single malt, especially if you are buying.  He does know something about Irish history and music, earning him the nickname of “The Professor.” His guitar style was developed playing in “various garage bands,” and studying with Santa Cruz’s own Celtic guitar master, Bill Coulter.  Josh counts John Doyle, Joe Pass and Jesse Ed Davis among his heroes.

CHARMAS second guitarist, Jim Powell, started playing guitar at 14. His first job was taken solely to be able to buy a Fender Stratocaster and an amplifier – the guitar is now considered “vintage” – Jim is not sure how he feels about being the original owner of a vintage guitar. He discovered Celtic music by hearing Alisdair Fraser and the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers playing in the late 1980s.

Born in County Santa Cruz, and working as a plumber by day and a musician by night, Devin spent a decade playing guitar/bass for bands whose styles ranged from stoner metal and jazz, to blues, heavier metal and everything else in between. Stale coolers filled with warm, cheap beer in San Francisco’s late-night clubs might not have motivated Devin’s switch to drums, but since then he developed a passion for percussion that swerved dramatically during his years playing for Charmas–which seemed prophetic, since (we kid you not) Devin was born on St. Patrick’s Day!

 R.I.P. Mick Breen

CHARMAS fondly remembers our longtime bassist, lead vocalist, and creative collaborator, whose expressive performances can be heard on many CHARMAS singles and especially on our album Stark Raving Celtic. We are so glad Mick got to perform with us one last time on St. Patrick’s Day 2025, and we will always miss his enthusiasm, talent, and true friendship.