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| Jesses Linder |
Jesse 'Jock Stewart' Linder was a huge influence on everyone he met working at Renaissance Festivals. With his clear as a bell voice, and his positive attitude, Jesse made a mark on hundreds, if not thousands of fans, friends, and fellow performers.
Jesse first joined the Renaissance world in 1992 at Bristol Renaissance Festival in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with no idea where he wanted to go. He was working in a warehouse when he started, and he brought his first hammered dulcimer to the building to show it off to his co-workers, where his joy was infectious.
For nearly 30 years, he worked with many groups and as a solo performer at Bristol, including Cross Rogues with Hall of Famer Rob Middleton, Tippler's Way, and Three Pints Gone. He was with Three Pints Gone for more than a decade, and they began traveling to various shows in the midwest, which ignited his passion for traveling the circuit. Three Pints Gone eventually parted ways with Jesse, and he began a solo road career.
For the last three years of his life, Jesse traveled faires from coast to coast, including the Florida Renaissance Faire, and the Northern California Renaissance Faire, and many shows, big, small, and in between.
Jesse was dealing with the consequences of diabetes-caused kidney failure. He had dialysis every night with a portable dialysis machine while he traveled, but he was unerringly cheerful, kind, and enthusiastic! His friends, fellow performers, and fans were amazed by his innate joy and creativity. He made friends wherever he went. And he was so kind to all he worked with and met, that he was beloved on the circuit.
Therefore, Jesse Linder will be inducted into the Renaissance Festival Hall of Fame, along with many of his friends that are there already. After nearly 35 years of performing, and the ability to touch lives, his legacy is one of music, joy, and love.