Aarun Carter & Jonathan Trawick ★ Amy Carroll ★ Amy Hofer ★ Annalisa Tornfelt ★ Annika Brooks and Simon Leone ★ Ava Honey ★ Barn Owls ★ Ben Townsend & Friends ★ Brainstormers ★ Brooks Masten ★ Bronwyn Doyle ★ The Brother Cousins ★ Caleb Klauder ★ Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms ★ Caroline Oakley ★ Charmaine Slaven ★ Chris Miller & Jamie Herrmann ★ Côte Ouest Cajun Band ★ Crankset String Band ★ Flat Rock String Band ★ Grace Forrest ★ Hi-O Revelers ★ Jane Palmieri ★ Jane Rothfield ★ Jimmy Triplett ★ John Luna ★ Kate O’Brien Clarke ★ KC and the MooNshine Band ★ Laurel Bliss ★ Maggie Lind ★ Marian Macrae Herrmann ★ Missouri Turnaround ★ Old Time Highway ★ Patrick Lind ★ Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia ★ Red Yarn ★ Reeb Willms ★ Sophie Enloe & Double File ★ Spencer & Rains and the Skeleton Keys ★ Squirrel Butter ★ Steph Noll ★ Suzanne Girardot ★ The Onlies ★ Bonnie Zahnow and WB Reid
Spencer & Rains and the Skeleton Keys ↑↑
Weird Tunes of Old Texas – fiddle workshop – Tiffany 3rd Floor Conference Rm – Saturday, January 16 – 12:00-1:00pm
Concert – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Saturday, January 16 – 9:00-9:50pm
Tricia Spencer is a Kansas fiddler who grew up learning the tradition of old-time music from her Grandparents as well as some of the great masters of Midwest fiddling. Howard Rains is a native Texas artist and fiddler. The New York Times has called Howard “an authority on old Texas-style fiddling.” Their releases “The Old Texas Fiddle Volumes I & II” reintroduce listeners to the pre-swing and pre-contest styles of Texas fiddling. Together, Spencer & Rains sing old songs and play the old fiddle music of their respective regions. The full band, featuring Charlie and Nancy Hartness (ukulele and guitar) and Brendan Doyle (banjo), play rare and archaic Texas fiddle tunes that are now nearly lost.
Flat Rock Stringband↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 14 – 7:00-8:00pm
Featuring Linnea Spitzer on fiddle, Brooks Masten on banjo, Robin Wilcox on bass, and Eric Bagdonas on guitar, the Flat Rock Stringband has been playing old-time tunes together around the Portland area since 2009. The band’s name can be explained by a phrase found twice in Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion that refers to how much it rains in the Northwest.
Crankset String Band ↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 14 – 9:00-10:00pm
Crankset Stringband is a high-geared old-time stringband from Portland, Oregon. It features that notorious catgut scratcher Lisa Ornstein, digging into her old-time roots, helped along by Scott Killops on banjo, Joe Moore on guitar, and Robin Wilcox on stand-up bass. Scott and Joe found Lisa fiddling on a rooftop and joined her on banjo and guitar at a garden party in Portland’s Hawthorne district. In early 2012, she drafted them to back her up on a set of old-time tunes at the end of a weekend-long Contra-dance extravaganza, in an attempt to subvert those folks to square-dance. It was so much fun that they decided to do it again, drafted Robin, and gave themselves a name: Crankset Stringband. You’ll want to be there when they crank out a set of dance tunes at the 2016 Portland Old Time Music Gathering..
Janie Rothfield ↑↑
Banjo Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal-East – Saturday, January 16 – 12:00-12:50pm
Concert – Tiffany Center Crystal-East – Saturday, January 16 – 7:00-7:50pm
Janie Rothfield is an award winning clawhammer banjo player and powerhouse fiddler who has been playing Old Time Music “forever”! Janie got her start playing with older generation fiddlers and banjo players from New England, North Carolina and Quebec and since high school has played in bands that played music rooted in Traditional American and Celtic music styles. She is known for her melodic and rhythmic style on both fiddle and banjo, and for her original tunes. She just released her 11th recording, OUT OF THIN AIR, that features all of her own compositions and songs in the old time style. Janie has taught banjo and fiddle privately and at camps and festivals such as Banjo Camp North, Old Songs Summer Camps, Folk College and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Jane performs with numerous bands, including Coracree,
.
Grace Forrest ↑↑
Fiddle Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal-East – Saturday, January 16 – 3:00-3:50pm
Grace Forrest fell in love with old-time string band music when she learned her first tune from enthusiastic and knowledgeable old-time banjo player Brendan Doyle. She became obsessed and spent the next seven years immersed in the music, dedicating countless hours alone poring over old recordings and honing her skills by playing dances and jamming late into the night. The history and intricacies are what make this music endlessly fascinating so that there is always something more to learn and understand.
The Onlies ↑↑
Concert – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Friday, January 15 – 7:00-7:45pm
Host – Teen Jam – 3rd Floor Conference Room – Saturday, January 16 – 4:00-5:00pm
Leo Shannon, Riley Calcagno, and Sami Braman have grown up in the old-time music world. They had their first band practices at age 7 and have been playing tunes at festivals like POTMG ever since. They have both dug deep into source recordings and written original songs that veer towards fiddle infused indie-folk. The Onlies released their second full length album last April (“Long Before Light” produced by Tristan Clarridge) and have played all around with people such as Elvis Costello, Darol Anger, Altan, Brittany Haas, Kristin Andreassen, John Herrmann, and many more musical friends both on stages and in campgrounds. They can’t wait to play some fun tunes.
Squirrel Butter ↑↑
Kickoff Party – The Spare Room – Wednesday, January 13 – 7:00-8:00pm
Squirrel Butter, husband and wife duo of Charlie Beck & Charmaine Slaven, started performing together after meeting at the Portland Old Time Music Gathering in 2005. Sharing a deep love of traditional music, they explore the genres of old-time, early bluegrass, blues, country, & cajun. They add their unique perspective to these traditions and thread these influences into their original compositions. Multi-instrumentalists, they play banjo, guitar, fiddle, steel guitar, step-dance, and sing harmonies. They are also both members of the venerable stringband, The Tallboys, as well as honky tonk project, The Lucky Shots. They are anchors of the old-time, honky-tonk & square dance communities in the Pacific NW and beyond.
Jimmy Triplett ↑↑
Concert – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Friday, January 15 – 9:15-10:00pm
Jimmy Triplett plays fiddle tunes learned from rare field recordings and visits with older musicians throughout rural West Virginia. He has become an in-demand fiddle teacher. In his workshops, he emphasizes bowings and ornamentation that capture the simple beauty and graceful rhythm of old-style Appalachian fiddling. Jimmy worked for several years at the Augusta Heritage Center, where he co-produced “The Fiddling of Ernie Carpenter” and “One More Time: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine.” Jimmy will be accompanied by Charlie (ukulele) and Nancy Hartness (guitar, banjo, and/or fiddlesticks), Candy Goldman (banjo), and Jere Canote (guitar).
John Luna ↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 14 – 7:00-8:00pm
John started playing old time fiddle and calling square dances in the late 1970’s while living in Southwest Virginia. He had become hooked on old time music and dance while going to graduate school in Florida and dancing with the Cross Creek Cloggers, a dance troupe that performed at music festivals across the South. Moving to Blacksburg VA in 1980, John began playing fiddle for old time square dances, and was a founder of the Blacksburg Square Dance–now in it’s 35th year. John honed his square dance calling skills from many dance callers in the Appalachian region, developing his own lively style of calling. Since moving to Corvallis in the early 90’s, John has continued to call old time square dances in Grange Halls and Community Centers up and down the Pacific Northwest.
KC and the MooNshine Band ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Friday, January 15 – 10:00-11:30pm
It’s 2:00 AM on a hot Summer night, good pals are hunkered downraging tunes by moonlight; the night is young. Pass the fire-water jar around. Not that we’re alcoholics or anything, and it’s probably cold and rainy outside right now, but hey, let’s have a steamy, delirious square dance with KC & the MooNshine Band!(BYO moonshine)(not permitted in hall) Karen Celia Heil fiddles, Maggie & Patrick Lind rock guitar & bass, and Isaac Enloe nails it on banjo.
Charmaine Slaven ↑↑
Calling Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal-East – Saturday 4:00-5:00pm
Intro to Flatfooting – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 6:00-7:00pm
Charmaine Slaven, Seattle-area musician, caller, & dancer, hosts an hour-long Introduction to Flatfooting workshop at this year’s Portland Old Time Music Gathering. Charmaine approaches this dance style with an ear on the music, and emphasizes using flatfooting as instrument. Starting in 2005 at the POTMG, she’s quickly become renown for her sharp sense of rhythm, unique style, and clear teaching method.
Amy Carroll ↑↑
Family Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 3:00p-4:00pm
Amy Carroll has been folk dancing longer than she can remember and has been calling dances since 1987. She calls traditional American folk dances: contras, squares, circles and play party games for all ages and ability levels. She has called at public square and contra dances, preschools, elementary schools, weddings, bars, grange halls, auctions, birthday parties, the Northwest Folklife Festival, the Washington State Old Time Fiddlers Workshop and worked as a dance artist-in-residence at the elementary level. She has a vast repertoire of singing games and dance activities suited to the youngest and most reluctant of dancers. Given 8 people, 5 minutes, and a couple dozen square feet, Amy can create a dance.
Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia↑↑
Kickoff Party – The Spare Room – Wednesday, January 13 – 8:15-9:15pm
Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia are vintage honky tonk heartbreak serenaders and have formed an alliance forged from their mutual and devoted love of the golden era of country duets. Pete Krebs (Hazel, Stolen Sweets, Portland Playboys) and Leslie Beia (Copper & Coal, The Lowburners) have set out to capture that classic sound and to invigorate it with new life in the form of original compositions. With one foot solidly rooted in tradition while allowing the other to two-step forward in exploration, they promise a sound as comforting as old whiskey and as compelling as that fancy new cocktail at the Sapphire Hotel.
Brainstormers↑↑
Concert – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Saturday, January 16 – 8:00-8:50pm
Rising out of the West, The Brainstormers are a hurricane of Southern Old- Time Music headed your way; a perfect storm of instrumental power and brilliant harmony singing illuminated by lightning flashes of lyrical and comic genius. Tom Sauber, Patrick Sauber and Mark Graham brainstorm new and original sense to the classic sounds of Old-Time Music, exemplified by the likes of Uncle Dave Macon, Ed Haley, Dock Boggs George Pegram and Red Parham and will electrify you with their own “old timely” inventions.
Chris Miller and Jamie Herrmann ↑↑
Bar Band – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Friday, January 15 – 5:30-6:30pm
Chris Miller and Jamie Herrmann play a mix of early bluegrass and old time music. Playing mandolin and guitar, They draw heavily from the duet work of the Stanley, Monroe, and Delmore Brothers, and evoke the laid-back, heartfelt traditional music you would have heard at any number of country music venues in the 1940’s.
Aarun Carter & Jonathan Trawick ↑↑
Concert – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Saturday, January 16 – 6:00-6:50pm
Immersed in an oft misunderstood style of old time fiddling regional to Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, Aarun & Jonathan continue in the tradition of playing and collecting fiddle tunes for their own enjoyment and pleasure. As full time musicians, Aarun & Jonathan are able to occasionally collect new tunes and old tunes from various sources while on the road and at their new home in Portland, OR. Their repertoire features old mountain tunes as well as tunes from the Oklahoma hills, Texas plains, Pacific Northwest and originals.
Bronwyn Doyle ↑↑
Instrument Petting Zoo – Tiffany Center Emerald Room
Saturday, January 16 – 12:30-2:30pm
Bronwyn is a music and yoga teacher in Portland Oregon
Caroline Oakley (caller) ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 8:00-9:00pm
Caroline Oakley is a musician and dance calling machine who has been teaching and calling old-time community square dances for over a decade. She enjoys fiddling, playing guitar, singing old country songs, growing vegetables, sewing, fermenting things, dancing, and numerous other forms of physical activity. She has called at many of the West-Coast’s premier old-time and bluegrass music festivals. Caroline also teaches music to young families through Music Together, teaches community square dancing in local schools, and with her husband Pete Leone, raises three young boys.
Annalisa Tornfelt ↑↑
Kids Showcase & Open Mic – Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 12:00-1:00pm
Annalisa Tornfelt grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and moved to Portland, OR as soon as she turned eighteen. She was the oldest of five kids and some of her fondest memories were playing music with her siblings, falling asleep to Mom and Dad’s string quartet rehearsals in the evening and playing violin in Handel’s Messiah. When she was twelve, Annalisa attended the Anchorage Folk Music Camp. There she discovered the joy of songwriting, fiddle playing, square dance, jamming, and making friends through playing music. Her family went to the Hunter Creek Bluegrass Festival and Annalisa was witness to “playing tunes around the campfire” experience. Enough said. Currently, Annalisa plays fiddle and sings in the band, Black Prairie and runs her own private violin and fiddle studio, teaching lessons to adults and children. She is also releasing a new solo album March 10th, 2015.
Photo by Kirk Stauffer at Tractor Tavern in Seattle, WA
Barn Owls↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 10:00-11:00pm
The Barn Owls are an old-timey, country trio from Seattle. One late summer evening, Brittany Newell, Hanna Traynham and Kate Lichtenstein spent hours trading tunes around the woodstove. By the end of the night, they were a band. Now, joining them on bass, is Katy Harris. The Barn Owls bring an intuitive and inventive bent to the old-time and early country music tradition, mixing high energy dance tunes with tight three-part harmonies on traditional and original songs.
[bio from the Barn Owls website / photo by Jessica C. Levine]
Amy Hofer (caller) ↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 14 – 8:00-9:00pm
Amy Hofer is a caller and fiddler who lives right here in Portland. She helps organize the Every Sunday Square Dance at the Village Ballroom.
[photo by Jeff Lefferts]
Steph Noll (caller) ↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 14 – 9:00-10:00pm
Steph Noll called her first dance around 2007 in the parking lot of Liberty Hall during a workshop given by Bill Martin. Since then she has enjoyed picking up dances from fabulous West Coast callers (and occasionally from a visiting Easterner). She has yet to not feel total delight at the sight of a hall full of grinning, dancing people. Playing music with friends and singing and dancing with her young kids are among her deepest joys, and she’s thrilled that her five year olds have taken an interest in dancing squares (in between stage diving and running circles around the hall.)
Bonnie Zahnow and WB Reid ↑↑
Jam Session Leaders – Moon and Sixpence – Thursday, January 14 – 7:00-10:00pm
This husband and wife duo present a wide range of musical traditions: old-time country songs and fiddle tunes, string blues music from Mississippi and Memphis, and Mexican songs and dance tunes. Both play fiddle and guitar, and WB also plays a variety of other stringed instruments.
Ava Honey (caller) ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Crystal Room – Friday, January 15 – 10:00-11:30pm
Ava Honey spends most of her time in Boise Idaho. She calls dances twice a month, plays guitar and sings with Idyltime. Travels when she can and can break an apple in half with her hands. Peace out.
Brooks Masten↑↑
Host of Sunday Cabaret – Spare Room – Sunday, January 17 – 1:30-4:30pm
Brooks not only makes amazing banjos, he plays them as well. As he has the past few years, he’ll be serving as the genial host of our big Sunday cabaret.
Kate O’Brien-Clarke
Kids/Family Jam – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 17 – 1:00-2:00pm
Kate is a classically trained violinist with 10 years teaching experience, teaching from the classical perspective, utilizing many aspects of the Suzuki Method as well as her training in the Western Classical school. She has played violin and sung in various rock/pop and folk bands in Portland, OR and also plays and sings in a band called Calico Rose. Recently, she is enjoying time spent writing her own music. She believes that everyone and anyone can learn to play an instrument. She plays and teaches Old-Time fiddle and improvisation techniques.
Missouri Turnaround ↑↑
Square Dance – Velo Cult – Thursday, January 4 – 8:00-9:00pm
Missouri Turnaround plays straightforward midwestern hoedown tunes for dancing, many of them from the repertoire of the legendary fiddler Uncle Bob Walters. Their unusual instrumentation–fiddle (Dave Mount), piano (Martha Thompson), and electric guitar (Brent Martens)–is inspired by recordings of midwestern fiddle music from the 50s and 60s, and in particular by the band “The Mountain Express,” featured in Larry Edelman’s film “Dance to the Music, Listen to the Calls,” documenting a Pennsylvania square dance in 1978. The phrase “Missouri Turnaround” refers to a characteristic midwestern chord progression that the band uses in almost every single tune. Though two of the members can claim midwestern roots, the one who’s most obsessed with midwestern fiddle tunes is from Southern California.
Hi-O Revelers ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 9:00-10:00pm
The Hi-O Revelers are Devin Champlin and Katy Harris from Bellingham, WA. They play old time music with a good mix of fiddle breakdowns, mandolin rags, guitar blues and singing duets. Both musicians draw heavy inspiration from early recordings, as well as learning from the great living musicians they are fortunate enough to mingle with. Not a slicked up, modern take on an old thing, nor an archival reproduction, this is two people playing music they absolutely love with a passion. They are equally at home playing a square dance, for a honky tonk, on a festival stage, or sitting on a cooler in a field. Joining them will be Levi Danner – mandolin, Patrick Lind-bass, and Morgan John-banjo.
Jane Palmieri ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 7:00-8:00pm
Jane Palmieri is a local Portland caller who has a special fondness for collecting and calling gender-free dances or outright changing dance calls to fit her gay agenda. She puts energy locally into organizing the lively Every Sunday Square Dance. Sometimes you can find her calling at community events, fundraisers, hoedowns, and weddings in the Pacific Northwest.
Ben Townsend & Friends ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 8:00-9:00pm
As a member of The Fox Hunt, Old Sledge, The Iron Leg Boys, The Hackensaw Boys, and now as a solo performer, native West Virginian Ben Townsend has traveled across the country and around the world spreading his unique take on West Virginia regional old-time music. He is also a devoted teacher of the music of his region and works both privately and as a featured teacher at music festivals and camps. He is touring behind his Deep End Session Vol. 3 release “Ben Townsend and Friends” recorded in Santa Paula, CA. Joining him are Max Evans from the All Day Breakfast Stringband based out of Montreal which just released its first album “Shanghai,” and Kelly Marie Martin, guitar player and singer from Triple Chicken Foot, a Los Angeles-based trio that recorded and performed together for over ten years.
Annika Brooks & Simon Leone ↑↑
Pre-teens Jam Hosts – Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference Room
Saturday, January 16 – 3:00-4:00pm
Up and coming Portland fiddlers Annika Brooks and Simon Leone have been studying fiddle since they were small children. This is their first time hosting the pre-teens jam at the Gathering. Simon is a member of his family band The Old Time Highway.
Marian Macrae Herrmann ↑↑
Song Session – Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference Room – Saturday, January 16 – 1:00-2:00pm
Portlander Marian Macrae Herrmann (The Macrae Sisters) is a fiddler and music educator who has been involved in music from a very early age. She loves singing and will be leading the song session for the first time. Bring your instruments and play and sing along.
Caleb Klauder ↑↑
Mandolin Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal Room-East – Saturday, January 16 – 2:00-2:50pm
Leading with vocals, guitar, and a mandolin, Caleb hosts some of the Northwest’s best singers and players creating a honky-tonk band that stands out as a totem in the country music scene. The band performs Calebʼs praised original songs right alongside classics from George Jones, The Louvin Brothers and Dolly Parton, all at once sounding timeless, fresh, and alive. There is a drive to his music that makes it unique and captivating. This is country music made for people who want to have fun and who want to dance, harkening back to the old dance hall days when people of all walks of life came together to simply dance, socialize, and enjoy live music.
Caleb and Reeb ↑↑
Concert – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Friday, January 15 – 8:15-9:00pm
Reeb Willms and Caleb Klauder met, sang, and liked it. They’ve been singing with each other ever since. “If you don’t like this music, you deserve to have your ears cut off!” was a quote recently heard late night in a bar where Caleb and Reeb were performing. A little harsh perhaps, but the sentiment exudes admiration for the pure and honest sound that these two produce. They are a vocally-driven duo whose music stands out as subtle, powerful, and compelling. Their sound is elevated by Caleb’s distinctive and lyrical mandolin playing and grounded by Reeb’s unwavering guitar playing as they perform original songs and tunes as well as their favorite picks from traditional and country repertoire. Both originally hail from Washington State: Caleb from Orcas Island, and Reeb from the Waterville Plateau. They tour regionally and internationally with both the Foghorn Stringband and the Caleb Klauder Band.
Reeb Willms and Laurel Bliss ↑↑
Vocal Harmony Workshop – Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference Room –
Saturday, January 16 – 2:00-3:00pm
Reeb Willms originally hails from the Waterville Plateau of Washington state, and now resides in Portland, OR. She tours full time with both the Foghorn Stringband and the Caleb Klauder Band. While singing is her passion, she surely enjoys boom-chucking away on the guitar. She fell into old time music up yonder in Bellingham, WA, more than 10 years ago, and who knew the places old time music would take her! Reeb loves to play and sing with Laurel Bliss, and occasionally they even get to teach workshops together, most recently at Voiceworks, and now here at the Portland Old Time Music Gathering!
Bellingham, Washington vocalist and dobro player Laurel Bliss was exposed early in her life to the music of The Carter Family, The Louvin Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers That exposure has inspired a lifelong dedication to unearthing and learning vocal chestnuts. Laurel has a composed, straightforward, yet tender approach to singing, that suggests an earlier era. Her heartfelt vocals have made her a stand-out in acoustic and bluegrass music. The joys of playing by ear and learning to sing with others through the festivals of Weiser, The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Voice Works and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop have shaped her approach to music. She currently plays fiddle and guitar with The Happy Valley Sluggers, a Cajun and Old Time band from Bellingham, Washington.
Patrick Lind ↑↑
Guitar Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal Room-East – Saturday, January 16 – 1:00-1:50pm
This is how much Patrick likes old time guitar: He sat for hours on Sunday nights long ago in the smoke choked Moon and Sixpence to study the masters “Boom” and “Chuck”. He has spent Tuesday nights for the past ten years leading the guitar section of the Portland String Band Class, even after teaching 7th graders all day long. It is not uncommon for him to play a tune for half an hour so 65 couples in a line can dance the Virginia Reel. Playing music takes commitment, but the workshop is free… So come on down!
Côte Ouest Cajun Band ↑↑
Kick-off Party – The Spare Room – Wednesday, January 13 – 9:45-11:00pm
Get ready to dance to traditional Louisiana Cajun two-steps and waltzes provided by the Côte Ouest Cajun Band. They are Seattleites Tony Mates on bass, Catherine Alexander-triangle, W. Bruce Reid-fiddle, David Cahn-accordion, Californian Eric Thompson-guitar, and Portlanders Caleb Klauder-drums, Jinny Macrae-guitar and vocals and Lisa Ornstein on fiddle
The Brother Cousins ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 7:00-8:00pm
The Brother Cousins are a Portland-based stringband featuring Sam Weiss on fiddle, Jack Dwyer on mandolin and banjo, Bobby Winstead on guitar, and Gordon Keepers on the bass. They play out together and in other projects around Portland and the Northwest. Jack tours with various projects as a multi-instrumentalist sideman, teaches at Lewis and Clark College and workshops around the country, and fronts the Jack Dwyer Band as lead singer/songwriter and electric guitarist. Sam can also be seen performing with the Caleb Klauder Country Band and as an occasional guest with various Portland-based groups. Bobby is known for his expert country vocal stylings and has appeared at past Old-Time Gatherings with his band Bobby Winstead and the Long Goodbyes. Gordon has played with various Portland-based bluegrass and old-time stringbands and currently writes and records original music with Levon’s Helmet, and Heartwood.
Maggie Lind ↑↑
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 9:00-10:00pm
Maggie Lind has been playing music for and calling square dances for more than a decade. She has drawn much of her calling repertoire from her mentors Bill Martin and Phil Jamison. Her enthusiasm, skillful teaching, repertoire of traditional square dances, and sung calling style inspires novice and experienced dancers alike. She has performed, called dances, and taught old-time music at Seattle’s Folklife Festival, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention, Pickathon Roots Music Festival, and the Portland Old-Time Music Gathering, as well as countless weddings, parties, corporate events, hoedowns, street fares, house parties and campgrounds.
Old Time Highway ↑↑
Flatfooting Workshop Band – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 6:00-7:00pm
Old Time Highway features Simon Leone on fiddle, his mom Caroline Oakley on guitar, Ryan Fitzpatrick on mandolin and Jamie Herrmann on bass – until Gus or Benjamin get big enough to complete the family band. Simon’s been listening and moving to old-time dance music since long before he was born. He loves playing fiddle almost as much as he loves playing soccer.
Red Yarn ↑↑
Kids’ Concert – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 2:00-2:45pm
Andy Furgeson was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Since committing himself full time to Red Yarn in June 2012, Andy has performed at hundreds of venues and events, taught music and puppetry to thousands of students, and touched the lives of countless families. Red Yarn is a dynamic family performer who weaves folksongs and puppetry into engaging shows for all ages. With his energetic performances and lush folk-rock recordings, this red-bearded bard shares positive values while reinvigorating American folklore for younger generations.
In June 2015, Red Yarn released Deep Woods Revival, the follow-up to his debut album. With two albums, a national tour, and a TV pilot under his belt, Red Yarn is taking his creative folklore project to a national scale.
Sophie Vitells Enloe & Friends ↑↑
Family Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 3:00-4:00pm
Sophie Vitells Enloe is an old time fiddler and music teacher in Portland, OR. She teaches fiddle and violin to players of all ages, and has played with a number of old time and country bands. Sophie has performed and taught workshops at many music festivals, including the Alaska Folk Festival, the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, and the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. She loves figuring out squirrelly old tunes and playing them with her husband, Isaac.
Double File
Double File includes multi-instrumentalists Sophie and Isaac Enloe, and Maggie and Patrick Lind.
Suzanne Girardot ↑↑
Calling Workshop – Tiffany Center Crystal Room-East – Saturday, January 16 – 4:00-5:00pm
Square Dance – Tiffany Center Emerald Room – Saturday, January 16 – 10:00-11:00pm
Suzanne Girardot’s enthusiastic and clear dance teaching and calling have made her a favorite on both coasts. Her infectious laugh and easy-going personality put even the very beginning dancer at ease on the dance floor. Her unique, energetic teaching style helps students gain proficiency not only in the dance style they are learning, but also basic movement skills. When she calls, she projects her love of traditional dance and music.
Suzanne lives in Seattle, Washington and learned to call from Sandy Bradley in 1981 when her Balkan dance ensemble presented American dances to Eastern Europeans during a 2-month dance tour, and she had to call! Since then she has been calling square and contra dances around the Pacific Northwest. She makes regular appearances at dances around the country, particularly in the Washington, DC area. She has taught at dance camps as diverse as Monte Toyon near San Francisco, CA, Harvest Moon in Santa Barbara, CA, Camp Damp in Juneau, AK, Echo Summit near Sacramento, CA, Victoria’s Revenge at Cape May, NJ, and at Dancing Bears in Anchorage, AK.
Complete List of 2016 Performers ↑↑
Aarun Carter & Jonathan Trawick
Amy Carroll
Amy Hofer
Annalisa Tornfelt
Annika Brooks and Simon Leone
Ava Honey
Barn Owls
Ben Townsend & Friends
Brainstormers
Brooks Masten
Brother Cousins
Caleb Klauder
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms
Caroline Oakley
Charmaine Slaven
Chris Miller & Jamie Herrmann
Côte Ouest Cajun Band
Crankset Stringband
Flat Rock String Band
Grace Forrest
Hi-O Revelers
Jane Palmieri
Jane Rothfield
Jimmy Triplett
Kate O’Brien Clarke
KC and the MooNshine Band
Laurel Bliss
Maggie Lind
Marian Macrae Herrmann
Missouri Turnaround
Old Time Highway
Patrick Lind
Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia
Red Yarn
Reeb Willms
Sophie Enloe & Friends
Spencer & Rains and the Skeleton Keys
Squirrel Butter
Steph Noll
Suzanne Girardot
The Onlies
W.B Reid and Bonnie Zahnow