Christopher Shaw

Christopher Alden Shaw is a folk musician specializing in the music and folklore of the Adirondack Mountains, recognized nationally as a notable practitioner of this milieu. His first album, Adirondack, a collection of traditional and original tunes, was selected for inclusion in the folk music collection of the Library of Congress. "Shaw's new songs sound like ancient ones," said Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post. The "Ambassador of the Adirondacks" frequently collaborates with his wife, fellow singer-songwriter Bridget Ball. Capital Region Magazine called him "a walking, talking, singing National Geographic Special." Early life Born in 1954, Shaw grew up in Adirondack community of Lake George, where his father owned and operated sightseeing tours on the mahogany steamboat Sayonara. Shaw left Lake George in 1972 to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University, graduating with a degree in biology. In college, Shaw began to play guitar and formed a folk trio that eventually performed a concert on the Sloop Clearwater. It was also in college where he met future friend and mentor, folksinger Bill Staines. In 2022, Shaw served as Master of Ceremonies at Caffè Lena's concert tribute to Staines in remembrance of his passing. In 1977, he found work in the emergency room of Albany Medical Center. He also frequented Saratoga Springs' Caffè Lena, where proprietor Lena Spencer provided a mentorship role. "Lena had kind of taken me under her wing from the first...when I was broke she'd lose my bill," said Shaw. He later headlined at the venue.