Fiddle Tunes at Centrum

Fiddle Tunes is Dancing Music

While not every fiddle tune is a dancing tune, there is no denying the power of fiddle music to get people out of their seats and get them dancing.

Each night during the workshop portion of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the halls of Fort Worden State Park here in Port Townsend begin to vibrate with the sound of people dancing in time to the music of Scotland, Quebec, Louisiana, and New England.

Here's a clip of a dance session from Monday night...(and don't forget, tickets are on sale for our Friday and Saturdat big shows--there will be dancing there too, I suspect!).

We have more videos from the week over on our community site. Check them out, and stay tuned here, or on Centrum's Twitter page @ptcentrum.

We're Jammin' At Fiddle Tunes

It's Monday at the 2009 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and here's a great jamming scene from the porch of Building 204 at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. If you're part of this fine bunch of participants, let us know in the comments!

If you like what you're hearing, then don't forget our Friday evening Cajun Dance, and Saturday afternoon and evening concerts in McCurdy Pavilion. Tickets are available 24/7 online or by calling 800-838-3006.

Fiddle Tunes Tags for Twitter, Flickr, YouTube

The 2009 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes is underway!

If you are part of the week, you can help share your experience with others by using the following tags on Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and the like:

Twitter:  #fiddletunes09
Flickr:  fiddletunes09
YouTube: fiddletunes09

We'll be showcasing members' contributions here on the main site, as well as on our community site - centrumfiddle.ning.com.

Enjoy!

"Field" Recordings from the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes

This is from Devon Leger, a fiddler who will be teaching next week at Fiddle Tunes:

 

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Since 2003, I’ve been attending the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend.  It’s a week-long series of workshops and concerts that draws traditional musicians from all over the US and abroad.  The festival is known for its jamming scene, and informal music jams pop up everywhere on the grounds of Fort Worden.  These jam sessions are the primary way that many traditional musicians learn by ear.  Musicians pick up tunes and pass on tunes in these sessions and share laughs and jokes.

I’ve been recording these sessions ever since I first started attending, and collecting bootleg tapes of the sessions from years past.  I’ll share some share some of these tapes from the 2008 festival, which had some incredible jam sessions.  My tapes aren’t professional since I intended to use them for practicing and learning tunes.  But the recordings sound good and document master musicians in a relaxed atmosphere as they share music.  I’ll alternate field recordings of jam sessions from the festival with professional studio recordings of the same bands, so you can really hear how special these impromptu recordings are. 

Devon Leger

Get Ready for Cajun Friday

Friday, July 3, at 7:30pm we're hosting a grand ole Cajun and Swing Dance outside McCurdy Pavilion here at Fort Worden. (We'll move it inside if it rains).

The evening will feature some of the finest Cajun musicians in America - Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy, and The Red Stick Ramblers - onstage, and YOU dancing on Littlefield Green. (Purchase tickets online.)

The Red Stick Ramblers first emerged from Baton Rouge around 1999. Even early on, their live shows were inspired and infectious, equal parts unbridled, ramshackle energy and thrilling musical precision. Up and down the Gulf Coast, the Red Stick Ramblers quickly earned a reputation as a thrilling band as appealing to elderly Cajuns as they were to college kids out for a good time. Four albums later, the Ramblers are nationally sought-after, and we're happy that they are choosing to spend the week with us.

Fiddle Tunes Registration Back Open

We've had an unprecedented demand for Fiddle Tunes registration, so we reworked our facilities bookings at Fort Worden and have now reopened workshop registration. We have room for 40 more participants, so please move quickly if you'd like to come.

We apologize for any confusion that this might cause. If you need to talk to anyone, call Peter McCracken at 360-385-3102, x127.

Faculty Changes at Fiddle Tunes

With great regret we inform you all that James Cheechoo and his family, due to circumstances beyond his control, will not make it to Fiddle Tunes this year. We're actively working to see that he makes it in 2010.

However, in his stead come two different styles of music. Jose Moreno, one of the last Tex-Mex string players from Texas, will visit with Chuy Castillo, who will accompany him on bajo sexto. Those of you who remember Mr. Moreno's first visit to Fiddle Tunes will recall that he also plays the button accordion. Here's a short bio: 

http://www.markrubin.com/josemoreno/#2

In addition to the Mexican string tradition, we'll also have a style that has never before been represented in Port Townsend - fiddling from the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland: Scottish music with Scandinavian underpinnings. Who is this fiddler? Not telling, this is a Centrum surprise for Fiddle Tuners, but you'll meet this player when we get going on June 28.

First Look at the Cajun House Party

It may be the beginning of summer and the temperature may indeed by heating up--but we would like to help you really heat things up later this year.

This November, we are going to host a serious Cajun House Party here at Fort Worden. We're calling it Le Bal De Maison: A Cajun House Party at Fort Worden.

November 12-15, we want you and your friends to spend a long weekend with us soaking up Cajun culture, music, food and dance with some of the most interesting people currently making noise in Southwest Louisiana.    

The Lafayette region boasts THE most vibrant musical scene in the United States right now, with old music, new music, and seriously talented musicians, young and old, playing both. The region in recent years has produced young bands such as Feufollet, the Red Stick Ramblers, Hungry Hungry, the Pine Leaf Boys, Cedric Watson and Bijoux Creole, and The Lafayette Rhythm Devils.

In the heart of it is BonSoir, Catin, and this terrific band - along with guest Courtney Granger - will be your hosts and inspiration for the House Party.

We'll be teaching music, of course, but we'll also be spending serious time on Cajun dancing, cooking, and singing. To learn more and to register, visit our Cajun House Party page.

Updates to Fiddle Tunes Faculty and Performers

We've just finished posting a complete faculty listing for the 2009 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes workshops. The listing includes our terrific tutorial staff. For those of you purchasing tickets to the Festival's performances, we've added biographical information and photos for the performers, which you can find on the performances page.

Cajuns at Fiddle Tunes this year

There'll be many interesting people from Louisiana in Port Townsend this summer. Here's some of the things they'll be doing during the workshop:

morning classes
    Joel Savoy and Linzay Young - the twin fiddle music of Courville and McGee. 
        (hear Dennis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOwNFPC3ens)
    Jesse Lege, the Cajun's Cajun - accordion
    Kevin Wimmer - swing fiddle
    Chas Justus - swing guitar

afternoons
    Traditional Cajun band lab - Jesse Lege and Joel Savoy
    Swing band lab - Kevin Wimmer and Chas Justus
    Cooking - Linzay Young             (http://www.almenapictures.com/cooking_volume1.html)
    Tutorials - accordion with Dave Lang, and fiddle with Kelli Jones.

Glenn Fields (drums) and Eric Frey (bass) of the Red Stick Ramblers will also be here, helping as needed with band labs, dances, eating, and enforcing dress codes.

Cool, huh?