About Cary Novotny and Johnny B. Connolly
Cary Novotny was born in the Great Plains of South Dakota and later moved to the bluegrass of Kentucky at the age of twelve. In Kentucky, he began to explore music via early classical guitar training and absorbing the sounds of the region, namely, country, folk, and bluegrass music. After moving to the Northwest, Novotny earned a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Portland, and then began a career as a professional guitarist, singer and songwriter in the folk and popular music scene in the Portland and Seattle areas.
After Novotny took a family trip to the West of Ireland and rediscovered his Irish roots from his Mother's side of the family who had emigrated from Ireland, Novotny began learning many of the great songs from the Irish folk music canon, as well as the tools to become a great accompanist of traditional Irish instrumental tunes. From 1995 to the present, Novotny performed in "Cul an Ti," which went on to become one of the most successful traditional Irish bands in the Northwest with hundreds of performances of a mixture of lively traditional Irish tunes and many of the great Irish folk songs.
Novotny maintains a busy schedule as a guitar accompanist in the world of Celtic music and has recorded and performed with many other great Irish musicians in the world, including Kevin Burke, The Bridies, Johnny Connolly, Hanz Araki, Laurence Nugent, Colin Farrell, and the touring Irish dance show "Celtic Legends."
Novotny, a writer and performer of songs in the country, Americana and popular music genres, now frequently performs and records in Nashville with many great musicians in the unique and exciting Nashville music scene.
