Greg and Jere Canote are identical twins whose music is all about having a good time. They do, and you will too! It’s steeped in vintage Americana — forgotten fiddle tunes, swing classics, and quirky novelty songs — but with their own twists (and a few of their brilliant original takes on the world around us). They’re fabulous musicians, moving effortlessly among fiddle, guitar, banjo, ukulele, and various hybrids, and their genetically-matched voices recall brother duets from the Blue Sky Boys to the Everly’s. Learn more about the Canotes by visiting their website.
Prize-winning musicians Adam Hurt and Beth Williams Hartness perform duets of traditional music from the Appalachian south and elsewhere with clawhammer banjo, fiddle, fingerstyle guitar, and vocals. Their engaging program will appeal to players and fans of old-time music as well as those who may be getting their very first taste of this captivating genre.
Deemed a “banjo virtuoso” by the Washington Post, Adam Hurt has fused several traditional old-time idioms to create his own elegantly innovative clawhammer banjo style, having been introduced to the instrument at age eleven in his native Minnesota. A respected performer and teacher of traditional music, Adam has played at the Kennedy Center and conducted banjo workshops at many venues around the country and abroad. Since moving south in 2002, Adam has placed in or won most of the major old-time banjo competitions, and he has claimed several state banjo and fiddle championships. Adam’s music can be heard on multiple recordings.
Raised on a tobacco farm in Caswell County, North Carolina, Beth Williams Hartness began singing and taught herself to play the guitar at the age of twelve, influenced by her mother’s passion for early 1960s folk music. Beth was first introduced to old-time music in the 1980s while living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and during this time she was a founding member of the Charlotte Folk Music Society, serving as vice president and festival organizer. Beth has been a member of numerous award-winning string bands, and she has won ribbons of her own in competitions for back-up guitar. Her playing is featured on several recordings. Visit Adam’s website
See the whiteboards for times and signup on Friday. There will be a fee for this, as these are more individual lessons.
An old-time fiddling family band from Lawrence, KS.
Visit The Lost Keys facebook page
Direct from Tennesee, our amazing secret weapon Gretchen will be on hand to work with the future of old time music: OUR KIDS!
Gretchen also partners with GLOTMA and the old time fiddlers from NE Arkansas to do workshops at other times of the year.
Learn about Gretchen’s amazing work at https://fiddleandpick.com/
Pat’s energetic calling and clear, concise teaching has delighted dancers of all ages and levels of experience since the early 90s. She calls dances and teaches workshops in Colorado, Maine, several other states, and recently in Nepal. In addition to calling, Pat plays double bass and guitar and performed with a clogging troupe for 12 years. She delights in seeing seas of smiling faces twirling and whirling on the dance floor as she shares her passion for dance and music.
Emma Neighbour is an Old Time square dance caller with 18 years experience, based in Springfield Missouri. Growing up attending dances and Old Time jams throughout the Ozarks, Emma developed a love of dance and sense of belonging in the vibrant community around Old Time music and traditional arts. It is Emma’s passion to share this love and community with others, as she passes on the knowledge and skills that were passed to her. Folks have a blast going from a beginner with no dance experience, to being able to dance with confidence while having fun with friends, old and new!
From our Festival Director, Glen Schmidt:
In the Tulsa area we mainly have contra dances and in general, those run at 108 beats per minute which turns out to be kind of a boring pace after working with Emma. When I first talked to Emma, she decribed her style as Bob Holt style. SO how could we differentiate her style from our local contra dances so that locals could understand? Well, we added “Ozark “Bob Holt Style” to her style of calling for the folks in Oklahoma to understand…these are FAST dances!!!
We have been able to work with Emma several times in the Tulsa area and she has been a real hit with the home school gatherings.
Emma brings her husband Brian with her, and they dance along while she calls and then she flat foots in between.
Emma will be on hand all day on Saturday to do pop up teaching of flat footing and calling, leading up to the dance on Sat night.
There will be a fee for this, as these are more individual lessons.
We have scheduled events involving our paid artists. For these, we like to keep a firm schedule.
Jamming is the first priority, so we would hate to make such a schedule that you have to stop a good jam in order to go do some event. Thus, we leave “ad hoc” events for more planning on the fly, with the whiteboards. We will even have a volunteer “runner” to make sure all the white boards are kept up to date with the same info.
In past years, it has worked well for “ad hoc” or pop up events to occur. For this, we have white boards positioned around the campgrounds. If you want to lead an ad hoc event you can put it on the white boards.
The reunion center is available, as well as the main tent, pavilion and a few 10×10 tents scattered around.
Some events that are already planned are:
One on one time with an instructor
Mandolin Orchestra (practice)
Irish Jam (this year a 10×10 tent will be dedicated to the Irish Jam)
Flatfoot
Hammer Dulcimer
Shape Note Singing
Fiddling in alternate keys
We will post more as we hear about them!