Brian Carroll

Ian Fitzgerald was reared in a small Massachusetts town; resides now in a different small Massachusetts town; and lived in Rhode Island for a spell in between. Regardless of where he's been, Ian has maintained a lifelong passion for music which has only grown in the decade that he has been writing songs and playing them for audiences throughout New England and up and down the east coast. In that time, Ian's compelling lyrics and indelible melodies have won him first place in the Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest (for the song "Lillian") and earned him a spot in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and a Quad Showcase performance at the 2013 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. In their review of his latest album, No Time To Be Tender , Performer Magazine called Ian "a polished songsmith who is high atop a field of great artists breaking through to festival and folk concerts throughout the States." That breakthrough continues as Ian tours in support of that record, including upcoming performances at the NXNE Festival and the kickoff show for this year's Newport Folk Festival.

Modern Roots, is perhaps a contradiction in its very name, but a musical ideal that Brian Carroll stands firm to uphold. Drawing inspiration in style and delivery from songwriters of yester-year, while writing from what inspires him in his everyday life, he bridges the gap between folk roots and current day Americana music.