The Team
Tim Posgate
Instigator & Artistic Director
Tim Posgate is a Canadian banjoist, guitarist, and composer known for blending bluegrass, jazz, and contemporary folk influences into a distinct, genre‑crossing sound. A longtime presence in Toronto’s creative music scene, he has collaborated with notable artists across jazz, roots, and improvisational music including Howard Johnson, Jane Bunnett and Andy Milne. Through his work as a performer, bandleader, and educator, Posgate continues to push the musical possibilities of the banjo in groups like So Long Seven, Cluttertones and Ronley Teper's Lipliners. He is about to release his first solo record in quite sometime called Stringbone. Tim is also the founder and co-musical director of MondoBanjo: Wolfe Island's Festival of the Banjo.
Jason Mercer
Artistic Director
Meet Jason, a Canadian born, multi-talented musician, mix engineer and producer who has spent over 30 years playing music live, recording in the studio and touring the world over with artists such as Ani Difranco, Ron Sexsmith, Rick Moranis, BareNaked Ladies, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, The Hot Sardines, Jesse Harris, Oh Pep, Abrams Brothers, Ana Egge, Annie Keating, Steven Page, Matt Keating, Luther Wright and the Wrongs, among others.
Jason is versatile in styles ranging from R&B and Rock to Country and Bluegrass, Jazz and Folk. As a multi-instrumentalist, he can switch from electric bass to double bass to banjo with ease.
Jason studied Bass privately with John Gowan (Toronto Symphony), George Koller, Tony Scherr (Bill Frizell), Orin O’brien (NY Philharmonic), jazz greats: Michael Moore, Gerrald Cannon (Cecil Taylor) and Banjo with Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, Ryan Cavanaugh, and Chris Quinn.
Jason’s playing can be found on well over 70 recordings and the list continues to grow.
Having moved out of NYC, his residence of over 18 years, Jason currently lives and works on Wolfe Island, Ontario, playing, recording and producing in house and on location.
Teilhard Frost
Artistic Director
Canadian musician and instrument maker, Teilhard (tay-YAR) Frost specialises in traditional folk music with a focus on Appalachian old time
music.
Growing up on Manitoulin Island, Teilhard was surrounded by fiddle tunes, old songs, farming life and the bush. At the age of three he was given
a harmonica by his father and his
great-grandfather’s fiddle from his Mum.
These instruments have taken him around the world, making friends and delighting audiences.
Teilhard spent twenty years touring with the trio Sheesham, Lotus and ‘Son. Together they recorded seven albums, and 31 sides on laquer at 78rpm.
In 2019, Teilhard released his 2nd solo album, As the Crow Flies, a collection of traditional music found in the Appalachianhighlands, some early era banjo tunes, and harmonica songs. His latest solo recording, ‘Four and Twenty Blackbirds Dancing on
a Deer Skin’, follows in the same vein. Released on Wolfe Island Records.
In 2021 Teilhard joined forces with Jason Mercer (Ani diFranco, Ron Sexsmith) to record The Os Project, an album of dance music based on early African banjo rhythms mixed with Saxophone, percussion and some funky bass. Together they have gone on to record award winning movie soundtracks and advertising spots. In 2024 Frost Mercer had the honour of opening for legendary banjo players Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn.
Teilhard has toured with L’il Andy in the Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Proctor, Chris Brown, Michael Cloud Duguay, Jenny Whitely, Ronley Teper, Michael Jerome Browne. He works as session musician at Wolfe Island Records and Neptunes Machine.
These days, Teilhard lives on Wolfe Island in the St. Lawrence River where
he makes banjos, his supper and his bed.