Chris Gray is a Celtic musician and oil painter hailing from Mount Desert Island, Maine, and specializing in the the Irish Uilleann Pipes, Low Whistles, and Bodhrán. Chris has performed throughout New England and Ireland, with highlights opening for the Chieftains at the Cork Opera House, performing with Août Gris at the 2014 Acadian World Congress, with Jenna Moynihan and Emmanuelle LeBlanc of Vishten at the 2016 Acadia Trad Festival, and playing alongside legendary EJ Jones and Frances Cunningham at the 2017 Piper's Gathering. In addition to performing, Chris also teaches classes and workshops in Traditional Irish and Scottish music through the Piper's Gathering and the Acadia Trad School. Chris learned the uilleann pipes from Portland’s own Tom Rota while studying at Bowdoin. Falling in love with the instrument and its history, Chris travelled to Cork, Ireland, where he earned a degree in Irish Traditional Music and his MA in Ethnomusicology. In 2017, after suffering from nerve damage to his arms and being forced to take a temporary step back, Chris sought to reconnect with the musical community through painting. Painting had always been important, but became even more crucial with the loss of his music. He began to paint musical friends and family, and the Maine and Irish landscapes that inspire such music and art. Chris is currently working toward his MFA in Painting from Maine College of Art.