AUGUSTA — Two well-known musical families, the Boardmans and the Gawlers, will join forces to present a “Family Folk Festival” of Down East, Celtic and Quebecois folk music on Sunday, Jan. 8.

John and Ellen Gawler and their daughters, Molly, Edith and Elsie Gawler, sing in harmony and play a variety of instruments, including fiddle, banjo, wooden banjo, cello, guitar, ukulele and piano. They are best known for their collection of dance tunes in the Scots-Irish and French-Canadian traditions.

Singer John Gawler is known for his fun-loving and original renditions of traditional music as well as his finger-picking guitar skills. He has been a member of the Maine Country Dance Orchestra, Pine Hill String Band, Moosetones, Project Troubadour and Childsplay. As a member the group Old Grey Goose  International,  he has over the past four years shared his music with the people of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgzstan, Algeria, Benin, Poland and Cuba.

Ellen Gawler is a celebrated Maine fiddler conversant in many styles, including Maritime, Irish, New England, Shetland and Quebecois.  She has toured the Northeast, Northwest and Europe, and has recorded with groups such as the Pineland Fiddlers, Village Harmony, Pine Hill Band, Borovochani Duo, Maine Country Dance Orchestra, Trillium, Ladies of the Lake and Childsplay. She is a Suzuki violin/fiddle teacher of two decades.

Veteran fiddler and teacher Greg Boardman, founder of Maine Fiddle Camp, will play with his sons, Aidan and Isaac. Greg has been a major inspiration for fiddlers throughout Maine over the last three decades. He has performed in folk venues all over Maine over his musical career of 30-plus years.

Isaac, a resident of Portland, will play mandolin and guitar; Aidan, a music student at Ithaca College, will play guitar and bass. The family will perform some of Aidan’s and Isaac’s original material as well as traditional folk fiddle tunes and songs from the Northeast and Canada.

The performance, part of the Concerts at Jewett series, will be at 2 p.m. at the University of Maine at Augusta’s Jewett Auditorium. Snow date is Jan. 15.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students; children 12 and younger admitted free. Tickets available at Pat’s Pizza in Augusta, Apple Valley Books in Winthrop and at the door. Call 621-3551 or email umasc@maine.edu.

Gawlers at Skye, Unity, too

The Gawler Family will also perform at 7 .m. Wednesday, Dec. 28,  at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage; and at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts in Unity.