The Coal-Fired Ramblers

Becky is the wife of John and along with their three children, they make up 5 total members of The Coal-Fired Ramblers.  Becky took piano and guitar lessons as a child and teenager and spent most of her life playing and singing in church. She also enjoys other genres of music such a rock, country, jazz, and Irish folk music. In addition to music, she also enjoys animals, vacations, shopping, and watching movies.

Saxton along with his siblings and parents make up 5 members of The Coal-Fired Ramblers.  He was introduced to the violin through the St. Ambrose School Strings Program in third grade.  His violin instructor was Simon Maurer of the Gabriella Chamber Ensemble. He also attended the Braun School of Music in Pottsville to study piano.  Saxton continued to study piano under the direction of Kim Seibert of Port Carbon, PA.  Saxton enjoys music and has an excellent ear.  He is a multi-instrumentalist and in addition to playing violin, he plays accordion, guitar, banjo, and piano.  He enjoys multiple genres of music especially folk music. Outside of music, Saxton also enjoys riding motorcycle and bicycle, target shooting, vacations, canoeing, collecting knifes, and video games.

Maddy along with her siblings and parents make up 5 members of The Coal-Fired Ramblers.  She was introduced to the violin through the St. Ambrose School Strings Program in third grade.  Her violin instructor was Simon Maurer of the Gabriella Chamber Ensemble.  She later continued voice lessons with Kim Seibert of Port Carbon, PA.  Maddy has been participating in chorus since elementary school and also participates in drama club and musicals.  Along with her singing, she also attends the Sabo School of Irish Dance, where she competes in numerous competitions for Irish Dance.  Maddy also enjoys multiple genres of music. In addition to music, she also enjoys vacations, amusement parks, baking, decorating, working-out, and shopping.

James along with his siblings and parents make up 5 members of The Coal-Fired Ramblers.  He also plays the French horn in the school band and participated in chorus in elementary school.  In addition to music James loves playing baseball, target shooting, amusement parks, vacations, and riding 4-wheeler and bicycle.

Craig is a long-time family friend of the Donton Family and has a nice line-up of beautiful Martin guitars that he plays in the band.  Craig studies guitar and music theory under the direction of Frank Flandorffer from Allentown, PA.  Craig comes from a family of bluegrass music lovers and even has a cousin that played professional dobro with a touring band.  Craig is a bluegrass and country music enthusiast and enjoys reading about the history and current trends with the music.

Dave is a part-time performer with The Coal-Fired Ramblers.  He is a percussionist with the Anthracite Phil Harmonic Orchestra and a church organist for St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Pottsville, PA.  Dave is also an independent solo performer within the local community and has a history of playing rock, jazz, classical, sacred, and Irish folk music.

Tony is a long-time friend of the Donton Family and a long-time fan of bluegrass music.  He started playing rock and jazz music during the early 1970's, but then learned how to play the banjo after being inspired by listening to Earl Scruggs, "Foggy Mt. Breakdown".