2018 Performers

Amy Hofer  ★   Annalisa Tornfelt  ★   Bobby Winstead and the Long Goodbyes ★  The Bow Weevils ★  Brooks Masten  ★  Carl JonesCaroline Oakley  ★  Côte Ouest Cajun Band ★  Cully Cutups ★  Dawn Chorus Stringband  ★  Dekum Duet  ★  Elise Engelberg ★ Erynn Marshall ★   Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones ★  Evie Ladin ★  Fireball String Band ★  Flat Rock String Band  ★  For Old Time’s Sake  ★  The Happy Pals  ★  Hoot and Holler ★ The Horsenecks ★ Jane Palmieri  ★  Janie Rothfield  ★  Kate O’Brien  ★  Kelsey Nelsen  ★  Ken Torke and Mark Wardenburg ★  Leela Grace  ★  Lightnin’ Wells ★ Maggie Lind   ★ Marta King   ★  Old Time Highway ★  Portland Sacred HarpRed Yarn  ★ Rose Minkler and Steph Noll ★ Skillet Licorice  ★  Squirrel Butter ★  Steph Noll ★   Susan Michaels   ★ Tony Mates  ★  Travis Stuart ★  Uncle Wiggily ★  The Waysiders ★  The Winding Stream


The Winding Stream — The Carters, The Cashes And The Course Of Country Music ↑↑

Film Showing — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Saturday, January 13, 4 — 5:30 Pm
WSThe Winding Stream is the tale of the dynasty at the very heart of country music. Starting with the seminal Original Carter Family, A.P., Sara and Maybelle; this film-in-progress traces the ebb and flow of their influence, the transformation of that act into the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, the marital alliance between June Carter and music legend Johnny Cash, and the efforts of the present-day family to keep this legacy alive.

Beth Harrington, the director, will be at this showing and she will be available for Q&A following the  film.


Amy Hofer ↑↑

Square Dance Caller — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 9 — 10:00 Pm

amyhofer_500

Amy Hofer is a caller and fiddler who lives right here in Portland. She helps organize the Every Wednesday Square Dance at the Village Ballroom. Photo by Jeff Lefferts.


Annalisa Tornfelt ↑↑

Kids’ Open Mic — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 1 — 1:50 pm — Sign up 12:45 — 1:00 pm
annalisa_500

Annalisa Tornfelt is a exceptional singer, songwriter, fiddler and guitarist. The eldest in a large musical family, she grew up in Anchorage, AK raised on classical music, Disney, and Chuck Mangione’s Children of Sanchez. After performing extensively with the Alaska based bluegrass band, Bearfoot, Annalisa came to Portland where she established herself as a solo artist and a member of Black Prairie, a super group of Portland notables. A multi instrumentalists, Annalisa also plays the nyckelharpa (a Swedish harp given to her by Peter Buck) and the stroh, an instrument the looks like the unlikely offspring of a violin and trumpet. She periodically returns to her roots performing with her family group, The Tornfelt Sisters.

Kids’ Open Mike: Share your talents and see the next generation of POTMG performers! One song per child. 12:45 pm – sign up with Annalisa at the stage.


Bobby Winstead and the Long Goodbyes↑↑

Cajun/Honky Tonk Night -– The Spare Room 4830 NE 42nd Ave. — Thursday, January 11, 7:30 — 8:45 pm
Bobby500
Bobby Winstead and the Long Goodbyes bring you original country songs by Bobby Winstead, as well as their honky tonk favorites from the early and mid-century greats. Originating in Portland, OR, the band channels both the exuberance and tenderness of that era with renewed energy for today’s honky-tonkers. This band formed in 2014 to bring Bobby’s songs to the stage, and they released their debut record last May. Band members include Jack Dwyer on electric guitar and mandolin, Ellie Hakanson on fiddle and harmony vocals, Kevin “Shuffle King” Major on the drum kit, and Gordon Keepers on upright bass. They are excited to return to the Portland Old Time Music Gathering, and hope to put a spring in your two-step!


The Bow Weevils↑↑

Teen Jam — Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference Room — Saturday, January 13, 3 — 3:50 pm
BowWeevils-500

The Bow Weevils are Olympia, WA kids who love camping at music festivals together, playing for dances, and busking. They are excited to be playing for the teen jam this year. The Bow Weevils are: Rizley Cox, Hatcher Cox, Ellie Davis, Annie Davis, and Ruby Neatherlin. They play various and ever-changing combinations of fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, washboard, and their voices.


Brooks Masten ↑↑

Host of Sunday Cabaret – The Spare Room 4830 NE 42nd Ave. — Sunday, January 13, 1:30 — 4:30 pm
brooks_500

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. His ever-changing array of flamboyant costumes is not be missed.


Carl Jones↑↑

Friday Concert — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Friday, January 13, 8 — 8:45 pm

Mandolin Workshop –- Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East -– Saturday, January 13, 2 — 2:50 pm

cropped mando pic Carl Jones-500

Carl Jones is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Macon, Georgia, Carl presently lives in Galax, Virginia. He is widely respected for his instrumental talents and original songs about the joys and tribulations of day-to-day life in the South. Carl’s songs have been recorded by The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Kate Campbell, Rickie Simpkins with Tony Rice, and others. His song Last Time On The Road was on the grammy-award-winning album Unleased by the Nashville Bluegrass Band. In the 1980’s he played mandolin with James Bryan, Norman and Nancy Blake as part of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. Today he tours with his wife, fiddler Erynn Marshall and the Galax Bogtrotters. Carl is known for his fine musicianship, sense of humor, songwriting, and as a charismatic teacher.

Mandolin Workshop: Mandomazing!
Level: Intermediate – Advanced.
In this combination skill-level class we’ll focus on using basic concepts and small 2-string “shapes” to quickly make the mandolin fingerboard much more accessible and less of a mysterious “maze.” Insights into scale sections, harmonized scales, and the eye-opening “slants” and “reaches” (chords) will be demonstrated. This will make it easier and more fun to learn a great old-time tune and a bit of song back-up as well. I will aim at intermediate level students but beginners are more than welcome and usually benefit greatly. Advanced players usually enjoy this class too and can get a few new ideas and tricks to put up their sleeves. Participants are welcome to video-tape and encouraged to bring a recording device.


Caroline Oakley↑↑

Family Square Dance — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 3 — 3:50 pm
carolineoakley_500

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.


Côte Ouest Cajun Band ↑↑

Cajun/Honky Tonk Night – The Spare Room 4830 NE 42nd Ave. — Thursday, January 11, 9:00 — 10:15 pm

Cote Ouest-500

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. B. Reid-fiddle, David Cahn-accordion, Pt. Townsend’s Peter McCracken on fiddle, and Portlanders Caleb Klauder-drums and Jinny Macrae on guitar and vocals.


Cully Cutups ↑↑

Friday Square Dance – Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room – Friday, January 12, 10:30 — 11:30 pm
Cullybw-500
The Cully Cutups (Caleb Klauder, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Bagdonas, Reeb Willms, and Jay Marvin) are the longest continuously standing NE Portland old time string band, haling from the urban hollers of the Prescott/Alameda Ridge. They will be joined this year by our Artist in Residence Travis Stuart. Despite the rigors of a grueling schedule of up to one gig a year, and fueled by frequent lineup changes, the Cutups have managed to retain their unique Old Time sound. Sights and sounds of trains, river barges, and the #75 bus, along with the gray rainy weather of the Maritime NW, have left its mark on this group. Shrouded in residual PDX jet fuel and thick woolen clothing, these unique individuals are charged by the struggle to maintain a cheerful disposition during the long winter months. The Cutups’ energy is reminiscent of the Mighty Stickervillle Throb. Even a crippled old woman couldn’t resist the urge to cut-a-rug to this Portland powerhouse.


Dawn Chorus Stringband↑↑

Saturday Concert — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Saturday January 13, 10 –11:00 pm
Dawn1-500
Rambling up from the coastal meadows and redwood forests of Santa Cruz, CA, the Dawn Chorus Stringband weaves sets of rowdy barn-burners and tasteful traditional songs all with the harmonic quality of a flock of western meadowlarks on a spring morning. Jack Mazza (guitar, banjo, fiddle), Scott Macwilliam (guitar, banjo), Camille Hartley (fiddle), Katie Hicks (fiddle), and Darrow Feldstein (mandolin) are sure to have you tapping your feet, shaking your bee-hind, and singing with spirit. Come out and support this up and coming old-time crew of rag-tag nature-lovin pickers!


Dekum Duet ↑↑

Friday Bar Band — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Friday, January 12, 5:30 — 6:30 pm
Dekum Duet promo500
The Dekum Duet is Hanna Traynam and Marian Macrae Herrmann who have been playing and singing together for the past couple of years around the Portland area. Hanna grew up in rural Southwestern Virginia in a family steeped in Old Time music. She learned to play banjo from her father on a banjo he made when she was born. Hanna loves to sing unrefined duets of old gospel music and lonesome traditional ballads. She is a member of The Barn Owls which plays a collection of vintage country, old time tunes, and songs with multi-part harmonies. Marian, a Portland native from a musical family, is a music educator and rockin old time fiddler who has been involved in music from a very early age.


Elise Engelberg ↑↑

Kid’s jam/fiddle Class — Tiffany Center 3rd floor Conference Room — Saturday January 13, 4 — 4:50 pm
SLduetPIC01bw-500Kid’s jam with Skillet Licorice. Elise and Matt will be leading a jam for fiddle, banjo and guitar players between the ages of 7-11 years old. We will learn a tune and if there’s time share tunes with each other. Players should be familiar with their instruments and can play in the keys of A and G. Elise is a devoted violin teacher and has worked with young children for over 25 years.


Erynn Marshall ↑↑

Fiddle Workshop: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine –- Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference room -– Saturday, January 13, 5 — 6:00 pm
ErynnMarshall

Erynn Marshall is an old-time fiddler well from Canada known nationally and beyond for her traditional music. She learned the nuances of Appalachian old-time fiddling from visiting 80-95 year-old southern fiddlers. Her fieldwork culminated in the book, Music in the Air Somewhere about West Virginia fiddle and song traditions (WVU Press). Erynn teaches and performs at festivals and music camps around the globe and has appeared in three films (Voices of Virginia, the Clifftop Experience and I’ll Fly Away Home). Erynn won 1st place fiddle at “Clifftop” The Appalachian Stringband Festival and was the first woman and the person born outside the US to do so. She is also the new coordinator for Old-Time Music & Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering. Erynn lives in Galax, Virginia and toured Australia and China this year with Carl Jones and the Galax Bogtrotters.

Fiddle Workshop: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine. Taught by Erynn Marshal (with Carl Jones).
All levels welcome.
Melvin Wine was born April 20, 1909, in Stout’s Run, Braxton County, West Virginia to a particularly musical family. His mother and grandfather were ballad singers and his father and great-grandfather were fine fiddlers. Melvin received both the Vandalia award as well as a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts and was considered a national treasure. Although a master musician with a very traditional style Melvin was known most for his warm nature and hospitality. He played fiddle right up until he passed away – a month before his 94th birthday. In this class we will share some stories of Melvin Wine and Erynn will teach one or two of his signature fiddle tunes that were passed down in his family for generations. Video-taping is welcome. Recording devices are encouraged.


Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones ↑↑

Friday Concert — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Friday, January 13, 8 — 8:45 pm
Fiddle Workshop: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine –- Tiffany Center 3rd Floor Conference room -– Saturday, January 13, 5 — 6:00 pm

Erynn & Carl 2015-500

Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones are old-time musicians and inspired tunesmiths from Galax, Virginia. They are married – in life and music. Southern song-duets and powerful fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo tunes comprise their diverse sets. Erynn and Carl play effortlessly with spontaneity and vitality. They’ll captivate you and also make you laugh. While rooted in the traditional sounds of older players, this duo stays true to their own muse by composing new, tradition-rooted music. Their original tunes and songs have spread around the globe. Carl’s song, Last Time on the Road was featured on the grammy-award winning album “Unleashed” by the Nashville Bluegrass Band. They have won many awards for their playing including Erynn’s 1st place fiddle win at Clifftop and Carl’s 3rd place fingerpicking-guitar win at Winfield – both premier festivals in the United States. They have 15 recordings between them including their duet CD Sweet Memories Never Leave. Photo credit Moser & Jackson photography.

“Smokey and sweet – like the finest aged whiskey – that’s what Carl and Erynn’s singing and playing brings to brings to mind. A lovely touch in their playing and a beautiful melding of melancholy and cheerfulness which is exactly what I love to hear. “ – John Doyle 2015


Evie Ladin ↑↑

Appalachian Clogging Class — Tiffany Center 4th floor Emerald Room — Saturday January 13, 5 — 6:00 pm
Saturday night Square dance — with Hoot & Holler and Emily Mann — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room- Saturday, January 13, 7 — 8:00 pm
evieLadin2-500
Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer and square-dance caller, Evie grew up steeped in traditional folk music/dance. Evie’s performances, recordings and teaching reconnect Appalachian music/dance with other African-Diaspora traditions, and have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Lincoln Center, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to Celtic Connections. Gaining her professional training dancing for ten years with the ensemble Rhythm in Shoes, Evie has produced two popular instructional DVDs in southern Appalachian flatfoot clogging. She has taken home ribbons in folk song from Mt Airy, NC Fiddler’s Convention, and Neo-Trad Band from the Appalachian Stringband Festival, Clifftop, WV. Based in Oakland, CA, Evie tours with Keith Terry and the Evie Ladin Band; and has produced 6 CDs. In the percussive dance world, she is Executive Director of the International Body Music Festival, directs the moving choir MoToR/dance and is an ace freestyle flatfooter. In the trad world, Evie teaches banjo and harmony singing at the infamous Freight & Salvage, online at Peghead Nation and numerous camps. In the songwriter world, she just writes great songs. A highly entertaining performer, Evie enjoys facilitating arts learning in diverse communities.


Fireball String Band ↑↑

Saturday night Square dance — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 10 — 11:00 pm
firebal_text-500
Ouch! It burns! It’s sickeningly sweet and delightfully cinnamonny! I hate it but I want more! It’s Fireball String Band! Called a “disaster waiting to happen” by the old time media, these lucky musicians found each other on the online dating service OKStupid and have been confused ever since. Their eyebrow-raising style is marked by an absurdly powerful rhythm section, masking the fact that they’ve never played together before. In fact, I hardly knew her. Each player is a stellar instrumentalist in their own right, an in-demand talk show guest, and most have day jobs, which is surprising. The fiddlers are beloved NorthWest artiste Sally Jablonsky, joined by North Carolinian Sonya Badigian, who woke up just in time to get here. They’ll sound great with Aaron Tacke on his talking banjo, and KCH pretending to play guitar by actually doing it. Come take a shot of Fireball, serving up red hot fiddle tunes Saturday night.


Flat Rock Stringband↑↑

Sunday Square Dance — 4th Floor Emerald Room, Tiffany Center — Sunday, January 14, 7 — 8:00 pm
flatrockstringband_500

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


For Old Time’s Sake ↑↑

Sunday Square Dance -– 4th Floor Emerald Room, Tiffany Center — Sunday, January 14, 9 — 10:00 pm
FOTS500
For Old Times’ Sake is a quartet of seasoned musicians who love to play dance music. It’s hard to beat the twin fiddling of Jim and Amber Mueller, which dances over the solid rhythmic foundation laid down by WB Reid on guitar and Jerry Ray Weinert on upright bass. Formed in 1991, FOTS performed at dance camps and traditional music festivals up and down the left coast and from Alabama to Alaska for two decades. The band is happy to be together again for a mini reunion tour of the Northwest.


The Happy Pals ↑↑

Saturday night Square dance — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 8 — 9:00 pm

canotes_500
Greg and Jere Canote are identical twins whose music is all about having a good time. They do, you will. 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 Everlys. The Canote Brothers, or the Happy Pals in this case, will entertain you for a square dance with their pals Carmen Ficara on Bass, and Charlie Beck on Banjo.


Hoot and Holler ↑↑

Saturday Concert — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Saturday January 13, 9 — 9:50 pm
Saturday Square Dance -– Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 7 — 8:00 pm
Hoot500
Born from a love of American folk music and nurtured in Boston’s burgeoning acoustic music scene, Hoot and Holler (Amy Alvey and Mark Kalianski) spent the better part of 2016 living in their camper van “Irene” and playing shows around the country. Ever inspired by the enduring spirit of traditional Appalachian mountain music, they now call Asheville, North Carolina their home. Both are equally influenced by wordsmiths like Gillian Welch and Townes Van Zandt as they are to authentic mountain musicians like Roscoe Holcomb, Dock Boggs, and Ola Belle Reed. Amy and Mark are Berklee College of Music alumni, and the listener can expect the polished technique of music school training imposed with the grit and drive of musicians like Bill Monroe and Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith. They have taught workshops for old time fiddle and guitar for Dare To Be Square, Blackpot Camp, and the Bellingham Folk Festival. Whether performing or teaching, they strive to honor the ancient sounds of those who came before while bringing their own voice to the stage. We are excited to add Evie Ladin (banjo) & Emily Mann (bass) to round out our square dance band!


The Horsenecks ↑↑

Saturday Concert — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Saturday, January 13, 8 – 8:50 pm
Horsenecks-500
The Horsenecks play hard-hitting and heartfelt Old Time and early Bluegrass stringband music. They are made up of Gabrielle Macrae of Portland, OR on fiddle, Barry Southern of Liverpool, England on Banjo, and the legendary rhythm section of Kevin Sandri and Brian Bagdonas on guitar and bass.


Jane Palmieri ↑↑

Square Dance Caller — Saturday Square Dance -– Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 7 — 8:00 pm
jane3

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 queer agenda. She puts energy locally into organizing the lively Every Wednesday Square Dance. Sometimes you can find her calling at community events, fundraisers, hoedowns, and weddings in the Pacific Northwest.


Janie Rothfield ↑↑

Fiddle Workshop -– Tiffany Center 2nd floor Crystal Room East -– Saturday, January 13, 1-1:50 pm
Janie-Rothfield fiddle-500
Janie Rothfield is an award winning clawhammer banjo player and powerhouse fiddler who got her start playing with older generation traditional musicians from New England, North Carolina and Quebec and plays has mainly played music rooted in Traditional American and Celtic music genres. Janie is known for her melodic and rhythmic style on both fiddle and banjo, her original award winning tunes, and improvisational style.

Janie has performed around the world, and has taught both fiddle and banjo privately and at music camps such as Banjo Camp North, Janie’s Jumpstart Weekend Music Camps (which she is the founder and director), Old Songs Summer Camps, Folk College, Hoppin John Old Time Bluegrass Festival, Maidencreek Folk Festival, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and more ! She currently tours in the USA and Europe with her old time Fiddle/Cello/Banjo duo HEN’S TEETH, with cellist Nathan Bontrager and in 2016, they released their debut recording Off the Cuff and On the Fly.

Janie also tours with her contradance band, Coracree, with Scottish singer Allan Carr,The Janie Rothfield Old Time Trio (with Pete Peterson and Kellie Allen from the Orpheus Supertones, and Little Missy (with daughter Shona Carr from The Buck Stops Here).

Fiddle Workshop Description: Fiddlers-You’ve Got Rhythm!
‘This workshop will focus on bowing and how to get rhythm, tone, and more musicality into your old time playing. As time permits, Janie will teach several tunes and share techniques to help you learn easier by ear, pick up tunes in a jam, and how to connect melody with rhythm! All are welcome-please feel free to bring a recording device and chocolate is always nice, too.


Kate O’Brien ↑↑

Kids’/Family Jam — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room  — Saturday, January 13, 12 — 12:50 pm
Kate O'Brien
Kate grew up in a musical family outside of Detroit (the one in Michigan). Back in the 70’s, her Dad would come home from work at GM, loosen his tie and sit at the piano and play an eloquent mix of classical, boogie woogie, stride and whatever else he felt like, in the quiet dark of the living room. There were four kids running around that house and he never had to tell anyone to be quiet in that room – it was unspoken respect and reverence. Kate often just sat and listened. And then he discovered the BANJO! Kate has played violin since she was 9 years old and although happily classically trained, she, like her Dad, has been exploring other genres for the last 15 years. She calls it her musical ADD. She caught the groove of the old time bug about 10 years ago. She loves the people who play this stuff as much as the music itself. She has had a private violin/fiddle teaching studio in SE Portland for the last 12 years. Kate is happy to meet your kiddos and families again this year! Come learn a new tune and jam!


Kelsey Nelsen ↑↑

Square Dance Caller — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room – Saturday, January 13, 8- – 9:00 pm

kelseynelsen-goat
Kelsey Nelsen is an artist and square dance caller who lives on Lopez Island in Washington state’s San Juan Islands. She recently took up square dance calling and has been actively organizing and putting on square dances in the San Juans for the last few years. She also calls at dances around the Northwest and at the Every Wednesday Square Dance here in Portland. She created the beautiful poster for the 2016 Gathering.


Ken Torke and Mark Wardenburg↑↑

Jam Host, Moon & Sixpence Pub, 2014 NE 42nd Ave, Wednesday, January 10, 7 – 10:00 pm.
Ken and MarkKen Torke (banjo) and Mark Wardenburg (fiddle) have been playing together for years and are the guys behind the TaterJoes.com website that has hundreds of old time banjo tabs and fiddle transcriptions. They will bring a long list of jam friendly tunes to share with you. We might even get crazy and change keys once or twice or even play in C. Let’s play some tunes!


Leela Grace ↑↑

By Ear Harmony Singing — Tiffany Center 3rd floor Conference Room — Saturday, January 13, 1 — 1:50 pm
LeelaGraceBanjo500
Leela is a nationally-known singer, songwriter, banjo player, recording artist, percussive dancer and teacher of music and dance. Originally from Missouri, she spent a beautiful 8 years in Portland, teaching popular banjo, by-ear harmony singing, and Appalachian clogging classes. In 2014, Leela embarked on the new adventure of motherhood and in late 2015, Leela and her family moved to northern Vermont following a job opportunity for her husband. After many “adventures” in the snowy northern lands of the east, she has returned to the Pacific Northwest, inspired and ready to resume teaching and performing in her home community.

Leela has performed and taught nationally for over 25 years, first with her family, and now as a solo musician and with her sister Ellie Grace (as Leela and Ellie Grace – check this video of them clogging together). As a teacher of music and dance, Leela has inspired literally thousands of school children, banjo students, percussive dancers, and singers of all ages through the classes, school assemblies, week-long camps, and lessons that she has taught across the U.S. and Canada since she was little more than a child herself. She is a kind, entertaining, experienced teacher who offers clear, understandable instruction to singers, musicians, and dancers of all levels.


Lightnin’ Wells↑↑

Ukulele Workshop – Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East – Saturday, January 13, 12 — 12:50 pm
Saturday Concert — Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East — Saturday January 13, 7 — 7:50 pm
lightnin_color500
Lightnin’ Wells breathes new life into vintage tunes from the past. He has been developing and performing his brand of folk blues and old-time music now for nearly 50 years, both at home and abroad. Wells is adept on various acoustic instruments including the guitar, resonator guitar, harmonica, banjo and ukulele and has a vast repertoire of hundreds of vintage musical pieces. He spent decades of his life performing with and apprenticing under the older generation of Carolina blues players including Big Boy Henry, Algia Mae Hinton and John Dee Holeman. His new CD release “O Lightnin’ Where Art Thou?” on the Blind Lemon record label of Germany is presently garnering rave reviews. Living Blues magazine has called it a “lovely little album” and “stunningly beautiful stuff”.

Ukulele Workshop: Lightnin’ Wells will teach vintage tunes in the mainland style for the standard (soprano) ukulele tuned in C tuning (G-C-E-A). During this workshop we’ll learn the chords to several vintage tunes from the 1920s when the uke reigned supreme in the United States. We’ll also touch on some right hand strumming techniques including the triplet pattern. Don’t forget to bring along your ukes and let’s have some fun!


Maggie Lind ↑↑

Square Dance Caller — Sunday Square Dance –- Tiffany Center, 4th floor Emerald room — Sunday, January 14, 7 — 8:00 pm
MaggieBanjo-500
Maggie Lind has been calling for square dances and playing music for them 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.


Marta King ↑↑

Friday Square Dance Caller — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Friday, January 12, 10:30 — 11:30 pm
martaking500
Marta lives in her hometown of Portland, OR where she serves on the Every Wednesday Square Dance organizing committee. She first began calling in 2013 at Dare To Be Square – West! in LA and has continued to learn from her incredible Portland community of bad-ass lady callers. She is very fond of red lipstick, and aspires to turn every party into a dance party.


Old Time Highway ↑↑

Family Square Dance — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room- – Saturday, January 13, 3 — 3:50 pm
OTH500
This kick butt band revolves around the Oakleone family, Simon and Pete Leone and Caroline Oakley.


Portland Sacred Harp ↑↑

Shape Note Singing — Tiffany Center Conference Room 3rd Floor — Saturday, January 13, 12 — 12:50
Shape note singing is a uniquely American tradition that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems. It is a proudly inclusive and democratic part of our shared cultural heritage. Participants are not concerned with re-creating or re-enacting historical events. Our tradition is a living, breathing, ongoing practice passed directly to us by generations of singers, many gone on before and many still living.

All events welcome beginners and newcomers, with no musical experience or religious affiliation required. See their informative video.


Red Yarn ↑↑

Kid’s Concert — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 2 — 2:50 pm
red-yarn2

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.


Rose Minkler and Steph Noll ↑↑

Song session — Tiffany Center 3rd floor Conference Room — Saturday, January 13, 2 — 2:50 pm
Seph and Rose-500
Steph Noll and Rose Minkler are a banjo and guitar duet who enjoy singing and playing together in and around Portland. They play a variety of old time and vintage country songs along with any other sweet harmonies or sassy numbers that catch their ears. Come sing with us!


Skillet Licorice ↑↑

Saturday Square Dance — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 9 — 10:00 pm
SLduetPIC01bw-500
Skillet Licorice is the latest project from San Francisco’s Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth. Their repertoire consists of rowdy rags & wondrous waltzes from the roaring 20’s all mixed up with traditional dance music from Kentucky. They have played square dances up and down the West Coast for over 10 years. They are excited to have Allegra Thompson and Portland’s own Julay Brooks joining them for the Saturday night square dance.


Squirrel Butter ↑↑

Friday Concert — Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room — Friday, January 12,  7 — 7:45 pm
Squirrel 300
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 perform American roots music including old-time, bluegrass, blues, and country and thread traditional influences into their original compositions. They are multi-instrumentalists of vocals, banjo, guitar, fiddle, steel guitar, and step-dance. They also were both members of the venerable string band, The Tallboys, and started the country dance band, The Lucky Shots. For a long time they have contributed to the music and dance communities in the PNW, and their love of the music and people keeps growing.


Steph Noll ↑↑

Song session — Tiffany Center 3rd floor Conference Room — Saturday, January 13, 1 — 1:50 pm
Square Dance Caller — Sunday Square Dance –- Tiffany Center, 4th floor Emerald room — Sunday, January 14, 8 — 9:00 pm
stephnoll_500
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 seven year olds have taken an interest in dancing squares (in between stage diving and running circles around the hall.)


Susan Michaels ↑↑

Square Dance Caller — Saturday Square Dance — 4th Floor Emerald Room — Saturday, January 13, 10 — 11:00 pm
Susan pic2-350
Susan Michaels is a lifelong Angeleno recently transplanted in Seattle who has been calling squares, contras, and family dances for more then 30 years, building community, facilitating joy, and just plain having fun. Susan believes it is her calling in life to teach people how to hold hands in a circle and move to music. She loves all kinds of choreography… but specializes in dances with drive and flow that hold on to the roots of barn dancing but take off in new directions. Susan brings her special brand of dry quirky humor with her to every dance event and has a unique gift for making newcomers, 2 left-footers, and shy persons blossom through dance.


Tony Mates ↑↑

Cajun/Honky Tonk Night with the Côte Ouest Cajun Band — The Spare Room 4830 NE 42nd Ave — Thursday, January 11, 9:15 — 10:30
Square Dance Caller — Sunday Square Dance — Tiffany Center, 4th floor Emerald room — Sunday, January 14, 9 — 10:00
tonymates_500
Tony says: “I started dancing and calling dances quite by accident, but I was in good company, back in the late 1970s, with Sandy Bradley, the Gypsy Gyppo Sring Band and many other fine trouble-makers to help out. Nearly 40 years later it’s a thrill to see such a vibrant square dance scene all over the country. I like to call dances that aren’t too hard, and let the pleasure of the enterprise come partly from the dancers dancing to the music and the musicians playing to the dancers.”


Travis Stuart ↑↑

Friday Concert – Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room – Friday, January 12, 9 — 10:15 pm
Friday Square Dance – Tiffany Center 4th Floor Emerald Room – Friday, January 12, 10:30 — 11:30 pm. With the Cully Cutups.
Banjo Workshop – Tiffany Center 2nd Floor Crystal Room East – Saturday, January 13, 3 — 3:50 pm

Artist In Residence

Travis Stuart
Travis Stuart began playing the banjo as a young teen in Haywood County, North Carolina. A respected banjo player and multi-instrumentalist known for his rich style and accompaniment, Travis has toured throughout the US and several foreign countries with the Stuart Brothers and as a side man with other bluegrass and old time bands. He learned from old-time masters like the Smathers family, Oscar “Red” Wilson, Snuffy Jenkins, Byard Ray, and Tommy Hunter. Travis currently teaches in the old-time music program at ETSU and has led the Haywood County JAM for many years. He is on a number of recordings and is especially known for the banjo fiddle duets with his late brother Trevor, The Stuart Brothers. Travis lives in the woods of Haywood County with his family, his dog and cat, and loves many styles of music. We are delighted to welcome Travis here as our first ever Artist in Residence. Sponsored by Bubbaville.

Banjo Workshop: This class will explore alternative tunings used in solo banjo playing from some of the late banjo masters of the Appalachians. Using clawhammer, up picking , 2 and 3 finger styles, the class will cover playing with a fiddler, regional styles within the Appalachians, chord structures for playing waltzes, and accompaniment for songs. The class will also cover jam sessions, general tips for getting good tone, and some basic music theory for exploring the banjo neck. Participants will find expression in the music with a focus on listening. They will explore possibilities in variations of tunes, maintaining rhythmic integrity rather than focusing on speed and technical display.


Uncle Wiggily ↑↑

Sunday Square Dance — 4th Floor Emerald Room, Tiffany Center — Sunday, January 14, 8 — 9:00
Wiggily 500
Uncle Wiggily operates on the “more is more” principle. It’s a big happy sound, with two fiddles (Amy Hofer and Dave Mount), guitar (Martha Thompson), banjo (Maggie Lind), bass (Patrick Link), and the occasional guest ukulele. They all promise to make it “wiggil”!


The Waysiders↑↑

Cajun/Honky Tonk Night – The Spare Room 4830 NE 42nd Ave — Thursday, January 11, 10:30 — 12:00
waysiders live-500
Classic and Original country music from Portland, Oregon, featuring the songwriting of Gabrielle Macrae. Sisters Joanna and Gabrielle Macrae front the band with sibling-tight harmonies while the band brings a distinctively vintage sound to the new and old music they play. Drawing on the traditions of Swing, Rock and Roll, Old Time and Rhythm and Blues, the Waysiders deliver a new brand of classic country all their own. Gabrielle Macrae- acoustic guitar, vocals. Joanna Macrae- vocals. Barry Southern- electric guitar. Jamie Herrmann- Bass. Don Lawry- drums.