Songwriting with Steve Gillette

You must Pre-register for this Workshop. To register for this Workshop: please send an email to joy@oldsongs.org with “Steve’s Songwriting Workshop” in the subject line.   Steve Gillette Steve Gillete is a successful songwriter with many gold and platinum recordings to his credit. He wrote the book, “Songwriting and the Creative Process” which is published […]

100 Years of Songs for Social & Political Action (1840s through 1930s) with Magpie

Sheep Barn

For more than forty years, Magpie has brought its unique sound and breathtaking versatility to audiences everywhere. From traditional songs to vintage blues, from swing and country to folk classics to contemporary and stirring original compositions, they cover a lot of musical ground. They bring to the stage powerful voices and harmonies and excellent instrumental […]

Songs from Larkin Bryant with Andy Cohen

Dutch Barn

Andy Cohen is a blues musician who plays, for the most part, Southeastern music that used to be found on 78’s, including blues, gospel, country dance music, fiddle tunes, monologues, ballads, classic rags, ditties, country songs, and boogies. As well as a virtuoso finger-style guitarist, he is also an enthusiastic proponent of the dolceola, a […]

The Storytelling Stone: Sharing Traditional Native American Stories with James and Joseph Bruchac

Sheep Barn

Joseph Bruchac For over forty years, Joseph Bruchac has been creating literature and music that reflect his indigenous heritage and traditions. He is a proud Nulhegan Abenaki citizen and respected elder among his people. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots […]

Delta Blues with Bing Futch

Sheep Barn

Using Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Native American flute, ukulele, and a board full of stomp-boxes, Bing Futch celebrates traditional and modern Americana music with passion, humor, and boundless energy. Known for his musical shape-shifting, Bing switches the channels on style and tone with every new song, from his roots-rock and blues originals to The Rocky Horror […]

Scots Gaelic Song Types with Linn Phipps

Dutch Barn

Linn Phipps is a UK-based traditional folk singer, in Gaelic and English.  What drives her is her passion for traditional music and especially for Gaelic song, which has been the love of her life. She sing as a soloist, with musician friends, in a folk group, with two Gaelic choirs (Lothian and Còisir Lunnainn),and less formally […]

Sea Chantey Workshop with John Roberts & Chris Koldewey

Sheep Barn

John Roberts has been singing English folk songs since the early 1960s, when he joined a local folk club in his native Worcestershire. In America since 1968, he joined with Tony Barrand to form a duo which has lasted ever since. Singing in unaccompanied harmony, or with concertina or banjo, their entertaining style has delighted […]

Songs of Work & Solidarity with Joe Jencks & Andy Cohen

Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe Jencks delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove, and grit. He is particularly noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Joe serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice […]

Of Hard Times and Harmony with Windborne

Dutch Barn

Windborne is a group of vocal chameleons who specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk-singing traditions. Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share […]

Newfoundland with Matthew Byrne

Sheep Barn

With parents who were both singers and song collectors and a strong family focus on sharing songs, Matthew Byrne has inherited a unique repertoire as well as a fascination with unearthing and reimagining traditional songs. But Byrne is also a student of history whose love of traditional music goes well beyond the words and music. For […]

Appalachian Songs with Sam Gleaves & Deborah Payne

Sheep Barn

Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Sam Gleaves is rooted in Appalachian sounds, while his original songs tell stories about love, the home place, working people, and current social issues in the mountains. His performances combine traditional Appalachian ballads, dance tunes, original songs, and the stories that surround the music. He’ll perform with Deborah Payne.   http://www.samgleaves.com

Songs of Inspiration and Joy with Reggie Harris

Sheep Barn

A songwriter of great depth and passion, Reggie Harris writes from a personal sense of mission that merges a world-wise point of view with a singularly hopeful stance that life, though often challenging, is filled with possibility and hope. His songs reveal thoughts about life and love and some of the deep aspects of the […]