Mary McCaslin

Mary McCaslin (b. Indianapolis, December 22, 1946 - ) -- Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and banjoist. Hoosier native Mary McCaslin moved with her family to California at age six. In the 1960s, she cut teeth her teeth in the Los Angeles folk-rock circuit, playing open-tuned guitar and clawhammer banjo. From the late 1960s to 2006, she released ten studio albums, mainly on Philo and others on Capitol, Mercury and Flying Fish. Early in her career, she established herself as a favorite at the San Diego State Folk Festival, which she was part of for around twenty years. “San Bernardino Waltz” and “Way Out West” were well known among the folkies. Also playing creative covers -- like "Pinball Wizard" on banjo -- she was a known quantity at various coffee houses around Fresno and San Diego. Having lived most of her life in California, many of her songs draw from the old West. In the middle of her career, she traveled and recorded with her husband Jim Ringer, whom she met at Sierra Mountain Music Retreat above Fresno in 1972.