Fiddle Tunes at Centrum

Earl Murphy in the New Yorker

First time Fiddle Tunes faculy member Earl Murphy, who won a fiddle contest in 1926, has a nice photo in the April 28 issue of The New Yorker. Nancy Hartness reports from Georgia:

"We had a great weekend with Earl playing at the Second International String Band Festival of Gordon County.  It was a good trial run for Fiddle Tunes.  Although Earl has been around a lot of musicians for years, I don't think he'd ever experienced the sense of community like that this weekend with the old time bands who were there. He especially enjoyed meeting Jim and Joyce Cauthen who will also be at Fiddle Tunes. He also enjoyed reconnecting with Rich Hartness and Tolly Tollefson who he'd met a year ago when they visited us here in Athens."

Here is a link to the photo of Earl and Art Rosenbaum from the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2008/04/28/slideshow_080428_bilger/?slide=3#showHeader

The photo is part of an article by Burkhard Bilger about field recordings, old 78s, reissues, and the strange and obsessive people in the world of record collecting. The article's not on-line, you'll have to buy the mag if you want to read it, but it's worth it, it's a great read if you're a old time musician - of any age.

Cornbread Nation: The Bluegrass/Americana World of Tim O'Brien

"People ask me what my hobby is, and I tell them, well, I like to cook and hang out at home or read history, but really it's music," says Tim O'Brien with a smile.

So what if that's what he's done for a living for going on three decades? And what if he became regarded as a pre-eminent Americana and bluegrass musician by doing so? "It's my hobby. And everything the hobby does feeds the repertoire," O'Brien, who will be at this year's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, says.

At this point in his career, nearly thirty years after moving to Colorado where he would form his landmark band Hot Rize, repertoire is a major part of the Tim O'Brien story. For in addition to his own prolific and successful songwriting, this child of West Virginia and the WWVA Jamboree has never stopped mining the American music canon for great material. He's a song sponge.

Songs collect and abide in Tim O'Brien's world as comfortably as family heirlooms. They come from around the world, particularly the American South and Ireland. They morph into new ideas and new songs that update old truths about the human condition. They find expression in O'Brien's clear-as-ice voice on stages, in recording studios and at home with circles of gifted musical friends. O'Brien's relationship with songs embodies the very essence of the folk music tradition, always aware that the branches of the musical tree need sap from the roots.

O'Brien was so full of songs when he approached his latest phase of recording that they overwhelmed one album and became two. And yet with Fiddler's Green and Cornbread Nation, his original intent has remained intact.

Paul Bradley: Our Man From Ireland in 2008

We know that you Irish fiddling fans have been waiting patiently for us to find just the right voice for this year's faculty.

Your wait is over. We're able (and excited) to announce that the amazing Irish fiddler Paul Bradley will be making the trip over the pond to be with us at the 2008 Festival.

Paul's fiddle style is highly energetic and evocative. Though favoring raw passion to technique, it is technically challenging, distinctive and distinguished.  His recent solo album 'Atlantic Roar', received a five-star review in the Irish Times.

To learn more, visit our faculty page.

2008 Fiddle Tunes Faculty

Vermont. Alabama. New England. Cape Breton Island. North Carolina. Mexico. Argentina.

These aren't just places. They are cultures comprised of stories, histories, relationships, and songs. We're honored to have a collection of master musicians from these and many other parts of the world join us for the 2008 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Tim O'Brien. Harold Luce. James Bryan. Lee Stripling. Jim and Joyce Cauthen. And many, many more.

These amazing artists will come to Port Townsend in July to serve as friends, guides, and inspirations. They are the keys to the cultures behind the place names.

To lean more, visit our 2008 Festival faculty page.

...and once you're inspired, don't forget to register for the Festival!

The Pine Leaf Boys

The Pine Leaf Boys, who bring a sensational blend of Cajun and Creole music from Louisiana, have been added to the Fiddle Tunes faculty lineup for 2008!

The Pine Leaf Boys bring youthful exuberance to their inimitable brand of traditional Cajun and Creole music. In addition to their dance hall standards, their repertoire includes many of the more-obscure songs of past masters, performed with gusto. Skillful multi-instrumentalists, they often switch instruments during their raucous shows.

All five members, in their early twenties--Wilson Savoy, Cedric Watson, Jon Bertrand, Drew Simon, and Blake Miller--live in same shotgun house near downtown Lafayette. Steeped in music since childhood and hailing from various farms and villages in Cajun country, the Pine Leaf boys have been making a name for themselves not only for their youthful energy, but also by preserving the traditional Cajun sound while allowing it to breathe and stretch. They present their music on twin fiddles, accordion, bass, and drum.

The Journeys of Riley Baugus and Tim Eriksen

Riley Baugus and Tim Eriksen traveled very different routes to traditional American music. 

Baugus (pictured) grew up in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by and breathing the old-time Appalachian music.

Eriksen came to the old-time tunes by way of punk rock.

Tim Eriksen plays banjo, guitar, and fiddle, and is known primarily for his powerful voice and abilities as an innovator and leader within American shape-note singing traditions.

He started out playing Indian music on the vina, a seven-stringed traditional instrument similar to the sitar. He later became lead vocalist for the punk rock band Cordelia’s Dad.

Improbably, the band also played northern Appalachian music, and in 1995 compiled an all-acoustic album. They began going to more fiddlers’ and old-time music conventions, which deepened their love for the traditional mountain music.

“I just got more and more drawn into this nineteenth-century stuff,” Eriksen says.

But he found that not very many people knew the old songs. 

Tim Eriksen and Dirk Powell: Am I Born to Die?

[Tim Eriksen in onstage performance]

Tim Eriksen, along with Riley Baugus and Fiddle Tunes Artistic Director Dirk Powell (on banjo, in this video) will lead a full-immersion workshop in the songs of the Southern Appalachian mountains the weekend of November 16-18. For workshop registration, follow this link to our secure online server or call 360.385.3102, x114. For tickets to the November 17 concert and dance in Fort Worden's USO building, visit our secure online server or call us at 360.385.3102, x117.

I Wish The Wars Were All Over

[Tim Eriksen playing guitar and singing I Wish The Wars Were All Over outside]

Tim Eriksen, along with Riley Baugus and Dirk Powell, leads a weekend workshop November 16-18 in the music of the southern Appalachian Mountains. The workshop's capstone will be a rousing old-time dance at Fort Worden's USO building. For workshop registration, follow this link or call us at 360.385.3102, x114. To buy tickets to the Saturday night, 7:30 pm concert and dance, follow this link or call us at 360.385.3102, x114.

Riley Baugus and Dirk Powell in Performance

[Riley Baugus (banjo), Dirk Powell (fiddle), and friends onstage]

If you're looking for a full-immersion fiddle tunes experience this autumn, Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, and Tim Eriksen will lead a November 16-18 workshop the music of the Southern Appalachians--including string band tunes, country songs, and shape note singing. The weekend workshop will focus on learning to sing and play the traditional songs, with an emphasis on vocals.

Riley Baugus plays banjo, guitar, and fiddle, and is one of the foremost traditional musicians of North Carolina, where he grew up learning instrumental and vocal traditions from mentor Tommy Jarrell and others. Tim Eriksen also plays banjo, guitar, and fiddle, and is an expert in traditional American shape-note singing. Fiddler Dirk Powell is the Artistic Director of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and one of the finest traditional American musicians of this generation.

"Come and celebrate!" says Powell. "Participants can study vocals with Tim or old-time banjo/fiddle with Dirk and Riley, then get together for group events that revel in the social aspect of the music. The setting is intimate and the feeling will be like that of a mountain family reunion of years gone by. We'll all be together in one house and it will literally be like a wonderful reunion."

For workshop registration, follow this link or call us at 360.385.3102, x114. To buy tickets to the Saturday night, 7:30 pm concert and dance in the USO Building, follow this link or call us at 360.385.3102, x114.   

Joe Thompson Wins National Heritage Award

Fiddler Joe Thompson (center), who for decades single-handedly preserved the tradition of African- American fiddle music, has won the National Heritage Fellowship award, the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts! 

The award, which is presented annually by the National Endowment for the Arts, was awarded to twelve recipients in 2007. The awardees were chosen on the basis of artistic excellence, cultural authenticity and contributions to their field, and were chosen from 259 nominations.

On July 4 in Port Townsend, Thompson will give a performance of traditional African-American string tunes at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. He'll play with the Carolina Chocolate Drops (pictured), one of the finest string bands in the country.

The show begins at 1:30 at Fort Worden State Park’s McCurdy Pavilion, a WWI-era balloon hangar converted into a 1,200-seat concert hall. Tickets are available by calling Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 and online at our secure Acteva site.

Thompson has upheld and represented the tradition of African-American country fiddling for more than eighty years. The tradition, representing some of the earliest string band instrumentation on the continent, melds African and Anglo instrumentation and styles. Born into a North Carolina farming family that dated its musical heritage to before the Civil War, Thompson was playing fiddle by the age of five.

Thompson's father was sought after by both black and white neighbors to provide music for local square dances.  As soon as Thompson took up the fiddle, he and his brother, Nate, and their cousin, Odell, were in demand for local house parties.

Most of the tunes they learned have today become standards for Southern fiddlers and banjo players, but some were unique to the African American repertoire. Thompson punctuates his performance with sung verses and square dance calls, many of which are rarely heard today.

After Odell's death in 1994, Thompson considered giving up music but he began playing publicly again with younger musicians in the region. 

In 1999, Rounder Records released Joe Thompson: Family Tradition, which focuses exclusively on his unique musical repertoire.

“Joe’s music is important,” says Centrum program manager Peter McCracken.

“He has essentially single-handedly preserved an African-American fiddle style. He is acutely aware of the tradition he was bearing, and he took it seriously. Joe’s music is instantly identifiable, recognizable, the culmination of multiple generations in his community blending Scottish melodies with African rhythms.”

Jerry Holland Must Miss Fiddle Tunes

With great saddness we announce that Jerry Holland must stay home this summer to begin immediate treatment for renal cancer. Though our disappointment is extreme, our concern for Jerry's best-possible future is much greater yet.  Those who wish to follow his treatment and recovery and to contribute spirit and resources, web links will be found everywhere surrounding Jerry's name.  We wish him the best possible outcome; our hearts and minds are with him always. 

Jerry's good friend and chosen accompanist in high-powered Canadian music, Daniel Lapp, will step forward in his own behalf and run fiddle workshops all week at Fiddle Tunes.  Daniel is a Canadian champion fiddler and a massive collector of elegant and unusual  Canadian tunes.  Daniel grew up in a musical house, and he has arranged to bring part of that household to Fiddle Tunes to help him out on the piano.  His mother, Charlotte  Lapp, has been playing for over 60 years and is a great spirit among fiddle camps and workshops all over Canada.  She will arrive at Fiddle Tunes on Wednesday to help with the band labs and workshops and concerts and dances and jams and parties and all the rest.  We welcome Charlotte with open arms!

I must point out that it would be foolish to wait much longer to register to attend Fiddle Tunes 2007.  The last few spaces will be filled soon.   

Registration Open for Fall Fiddle Tunes Workshop

SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN TRADITIONS:
STRING BAND TUNES, COUNTRY SONGS, AND SHAPE NOTES

Workshop: November 16–18, 2007
Performance & Dance: November 17, 2007

For the second consecutive year, the Fiddle Tunes party returns to Fort Worden State Park in the autumn! The weekend workshop will focus on the traditional songs of the southern mountain region, and be led by Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, and Centrum’s Artistic Director for Fiddle Tunes, Dirk Powell. The three came together as a trio while working on the music for the film Cold Mountain. Together they play and share raw old-time Appalachian music with a heavy emphasis on vocals.

For Workshop Registration, visit our online registration page. The music will start at 1 pm on Friday, November 16, and go all the way to sunset on Sunday evening, November 18. $500 includes all meals and lodging.

For Performance and Dance Tickets, visit our online ticket order page, or call our ticket office at 360.385.3102 x117. The music will start at 7:30pm pm on Saturday, November 17 at Fort Worden's USO Building. After a bit of concertizing, we'll turn the USO into a good old-fashioned dance hall with music and frivolity lasting well into the evening.

Faculty:

Riley Baugus (banjo, guitar, and fiddle) is one of the foremost traditional musicians from North Carolina, where he grew up learning instrumental and vocal traditions from mentor Tommy Jarrell and others. Baugus (pictured right) has played with numerous old-time string bands, and currently plays with the Dirk Powell Band and Polecat Creek.

Tim Eriksen (banjo, guitar, and fiddle) is a versatile musician known especially for his powerful voice and abilities as an innovator and leader within American shape-note singing traditions. He has been a solo artist and played with Cordelia’s Dad. Lately, he is most often Luka and Anja’s dad.

Dirk Powell (fiddle), the Artistic Director of Fiddle Tunes, has expanded on the deeply rooted sounds of his Appalachian heritage to become one of the pre-eminent traditional American musicians of his generation. He has recorded and performed with a number of highly acclaimed recording artists. Powell’s ability to unite the essence of his culture with modern sensibilities has also led to work with such film directors as Anthony Minghella, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, and Edward Burns.

Mac and Jenny Trayham

Guitarist Jenny Traynham and her husband, Mac, have become a popular duo known as the Southern Mountain Melody Makers. Mac plays clawhammer banjo and also excels on a slew of other instruments, including the fiddle and guitar,

The Traynhams specialize in the early country duet style of old-time country and mountain music. They draw their repertoire from a wide variety of sources from the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and beyond, including their home of Floyd County, in the southern Blue Ridge area of Virginia.

With strong backgrounds in religious and old-time music, they began singing together in 1979. Over the years their repertoire has grown to include ballads, sweetheart songs, western, and gospel numbers.

In 1986, they released a collection of old-time and gospel duets with guitars entitled The Roses Bloom in Dixieland. In 1992, they released The Sweetest Way Home.

The Traynhams teach at this year's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and will lead off the Fourth of July Show, at Fort Worden's McCurdy Pavilion, at 1:30 pm, performing songs and tunes from the southern mountains. The show also includes New England contradance group Nightingale, the Carolina Chocolate Drops with special guest Joe Thompson, and Canadian fiddle sensation April Verch. For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 or visit our secure online Acteva site.

Faculty Details - Doc Denning and David Kaynor

Warren Argo here, to introduce two people who bring much to be excited about to the looming Fiddle Tunes week-long workshop.

Doc Denning is a living legend known to many who have delved into the sweetly American styles of "Western" music and cowboy swing.  He sang with The Reinsmen and The Sons Of The Pioneers.  He has played  guitar for over 70 years.  He has more stories than one can imagine.  He will be spending the workshop week with Paul Anastasio, ultra-bright northwestern light on hot hot swing and jazz fiddle.  Doc is extremely articulate and a fascinating conversationslist.

David Kaynor, dance and music ambassador from Massachusettes, will join us all to lead workshops in dance and dance fiddling.  In addition to looking forward to his facility with American contradance styles, it is also exciting to consider the certain synergy between David's considerable experience in making accessible the essential elements of Swedish dance and the presence of the mighty family-based band led by master Swedish fiddler Paul Dahlin, National Heritage Award winner.

There is still a we bit of room for workshop participants, so move quickly and register soon.  And stay tuned for further developments and insider tips.

Coming Soon: Fall Fiddle Tunes Workshop

FIDDLE TUNES WEEKEND
November 15–18, 2007

For the second consecutive year, the Fiddle Tunes party returns to Fort Worden in the fall! The Fiddle Tunes Weekend is a total-immersion workshop presenting many regional styles of fiddle music, particularly the songs of the Southern mountain region.

The program will be jam-packed with workshop classes, tutorials, and open jams, culminating in a faculty concert on November 17 that is free for participants. A public dance in the USO building follows the concert.

We'll taking registrations shortly. Stay tuned for more info very soon!

Hot News From Fiddle Tunes

Here's a post of hot topics from your faithful and tireless program manager, Warren Argo.  Thanks to Keven at Centrum for setting up the pathways for me to reach you all this way.

Exciting faculty addition!  Dirk Powell, artistic director, has just invited the fabulous trio, The Creole Cowboys, to join the faculty here in July.  This is the Real Deal from the families of Broussard and Garnier, and I expect to post details on these lads soon.   If spending a week with these fellows and learning about their music and culture seems like fun to you, then join us now.  The workshop is nearing capacity, but there is room for a few more participants, and our large faculty will help to keep workshop size reasonable.

Finally we can reveal the names of the Corps of the Tutors!  The tutors will work closely with the band labs this year to assist participants with matters of technique and access to details of playing and style.  We have invited the following stunning and highly experienced group: Catherine Alexander, Laurie Andres, Sheila Blech, Claudette Boudreaux, Sandy Bradley, Maggie Brunjes, Greg Canote, Jere Canote, Kevin Carr, Clyde Curley, Linda Danielson, Jim Erlandson, Jamie Fox, Mark Gaponoff, Richard Mandell, Chrissie Marshall, Tony Mates, Eric Merrill, Jeanie Murphy, Caroline Oakley, George Penk, Joel Savoy, Erin Shrader, Matt Sircely, Josie Sokoloff-Toney, Molly Tenenbaum, and Cathie Whitesides.  Also invited are David Cahn to lead the beginning band lab and David Romtvedt to lead the kids' band lab.  Looks inviting, doesn't it?

You may count on my writing in further detail soon.  Farewell!

Fiddle Verchuoso

[April Verch fiddling--and dancing!--onstage]

Fiddle sensation April Verch will be at the 2007 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, July 1-8, fiddling, dancing, and teaching. Learn more here or follow the jump to read more about her energetic style and deep repertoire.

A Pretty Good Fiddler: Jerry Holland

In 1965, Jerry Holland's father saw a fiddle for sale in the window of a local laundromat. Thinking that it looked like "a pretty good fiddle," Jerry Sr. bought it for fifty bucks as a present for his son. Years later, Jerry Holland discovered that the instrument was actually an extremely rare violin crafted by Leopold Widhalm, an Austrian luthier who worked in Germany in the 1700s. To this day, no one knows how such a rare violin wound up for sale in the window of a laundromat. "I still play that same fiddle today," Jerry says. "If I were to lose it, that would be the end of my playing. It does what no other fiddle has done for me, and coming from my dad, it's something I want to leave to my son."

Jerry has released over a dozen recordings. He has also published two collections of fiddle tunes. Strongly rooted in the Cape Breton, Scottish, and Irish traditions, Jerry grew up with some of the last generation's greatest Cape Breton Scottish fiddlers.

Because of the remoteness of Cape Breton, its fiddle music and dancing kept to the old Scottish style, a tradition that Jerry was raised to respect and support. And as an active performer and recording artist, many of Jerry's turnes have entered the traditional repertoire around the world. 

Jerry Holland will be at the 2007 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes teaching, and jamming. He'll perform in a mainstage concert at McCurdy on July 6. Click here to read an interview with Jerry; here to hear a sample of his music.

Liz Carroll and John Doyle

National Heritage Fellow Liz Carroll and Irish guitarist John Doyle are among the headliners at the 2007 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Old-time string music comes from white folks sitting on the weather-beaten porches of white Appalachian neighborhoods. At least, that’s a common belief. What is not as widely known is that there was a concurrent tradition of black old-time string music. The Carolina Chocolate Drops, featuring Rhiannon Giddens on banjo; Dom Flemons on harp, jug, and guitar; and Justin Robinson on fiddle, continue a living tradition that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Together with legendary African-American fiddler Joe Thompson, these sensational musicians will showcase a richness of tradition and sensational dance music at the 2007 Festival. To hear a tune by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, click here--and remember, these guys are in their twenties!

Tutorial Program

The Fiddle Tunes tutorial program supports and encourages beginning players: those who are true beginners, people with no previous experience, as well as those who already have some experience but may wish to take up a new instrument. Tutors for beginners have been carefully selected for fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and piano. Participants with no previous experience may expect friendly and useful advice to support their entry into all the workshops and band labs offered at Fiddle Tunes. A special tutor introduction is planned for the opening evening of the workshop.

2007 Artist/Faculty

The heart of Centrum’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes is its faculty. Each year, we scour the continent to bring you the best players, in the broadest array of styles, found anywhere. These are authentic bearers of North American fiddle traditions. Their knowledge, stories, musicianship, and commitment to the community are part of what makes this week such a special celebration of traditional music.

2007 Faculty:

Artistic Director Dirk Powell learned traditional Appalachian music directly from his grandfather, yet grew up mostly away from the mountains in Ohio, giving him a unique combination of inside and outside perspectives. Powell has the ability to convey the essence of the tradition to people of all backgrounds, a quality which has led to work with artists such as T-Bone Burnett, Sting, Loretta Lynn, Jack White, and others.

A fiddler and guitarist, Kenny Applebee is adept at several guitar styles, including the traditional old-time Missouri backup that is preferred by many Missouri fiddlers.

Christine Balfa Powell is one of Cajun music’s most talented vocalists. She began playing as a teenager with her father, Dewey Balfa and has continued her family legacy.

For twelve years, Jean-Paul Beaulieu was the leader of Les Montagnard Laurentien. His clarinet and saxophone inspired many French Canadian folk musicians.

André Bouchard hails from Matane, on the Gaspé Peninsula, a region that has produced great accordion players. A virtuoso on the accordion, Bouchard also plays piano and bass.

Fiddler Liz Carroll has been amazing audiences around the world for many years. In 1994, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded her the National Heritage Fellowship.

Fiddler Paul Dahlin plays Sweden’s most venerable and admired regional music—that of the province of Dalarna. Dahlin was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in 1994.

Guitarist John Doyle was playing professionally in Ireland by the age of sixteen. Recently, he has accompanied fiddler Liz Carroll in acclaimed recordings and tours.

Sean Doyle has played at numerous festivals around the world. He recently released his debut CD, The Light and the Half-Light.

As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, guitarist Dom Flemons uses his harmonicas for additional melody and his jug and guitar root the band in an infectious rhythm.

Banjo player Rhiannon Giddens is a famed contra dance caller. She worked extra jobs to buy her first banjo and fiddle, and hasn’t looked back since.

Accordion player Kristi Guillory is obsessed with sad, pitiful Cajun songs, raunchy drinking ones and the fantastical lyrics of old Cajun a capella ballads.

Jerry Holland is a fiddler strongly rooted in Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish dance music traditions. Many of his tunes have entered the traditional repertoire around the world. He'll be joined by the irrepressible Daniel Lapp.

Yvette Landry is a sought-after bassist. She brings a regal air and poise to Bon Soir Catin and is often called the Queen of Cajun bass.

Fiddler Denis Maheux has shared the stage with such musicians as Sabin Jacques, Gaston Nolet, Jean-Yves Hamel, and others. He has toured for over thirty years.

Accordionist and pianist Jeremiah McLane’s solo recording, Smile When You're Ready, was nominated by NPR as a “favorite pick.” His has played on nearly forty albums.

Guitar and mandolin ace Keith Murphy is a native of Newfoundland, a setting which has been the source for many of his songs over the years.

Justin Robinson is the fiddler for the Carolina Chocolate Drops. He studies with the legendary Joe Thompson and plays the music of the Carolina Piedmont.

Anya Schoenegge Burgess incorporates many styles into her fiddle playing, including old-time and country. She grew up in New England and began playing while young.

Adélard Thomassin plays the diatonic accordion. In Quebec, there is no dance hall that Thomassin has not seen. His compositions are played by many traditional musicians.

Fiddler Becky Tracy studied Irish fiddling styles and French Canadian fiddling. These elements combine to give Becky her distinctive clarity of tone.

Guitarist Jenny Traynham and her husband, Mac, have become a popular duo, known as the Southern Mountain Melody Makers. They have released two CDs.

Mac Traynham plays clawhammer banjo. He excels on a slew of instruments including banjo, fiddle and guitar, and he often performs in a band with his wife, Jenny.

Joe Thompson is a dynamic fiddler with a distinctive short bow action. For years, he has continued the tradition of African-American country fiddling.

Fiddler and step dancer April Verch’s repertoire ranges through material from Americana to simple country songs and rollicking tunes from her native Ottawa Valley. She has released several acclaimed CDs, and she will be accompanied at the Festival by percussionist Marc Bru and guitarist Isaac Callender.

John White’s fiddle style was developed while playing for square dances. He plays old-time tunes learned through contests and fiddler conventions.

Jesse Wells has been attending festivals since an early age. He is influenced by his father Jamie, an old-time fiddler. Jesse plays several instruments and sings harmony vocals.

Jamie Wells performed for fifteen years with the Bottom of the Barrel Bunch and later with the Trough Sloppers. His performances include playing at multiple festivals.

Randy Wilson plays the guitar, dulcimer, and autoharp. In Kentucky, he learned stories and tunes from Lee Boy Sextno, Marcus Howard, and Roscoe Halcomb, among others.