1890 Building

An Appalachian barber, musician, storyteller, presenter, music teacher, banjo historian, and radio host, Jim Lloyd has musical roots that extend through at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers, and singers from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia While accomplished on many instruments, he is known especially for his skills on guitar (finger-picking style) and banjo (claw-hammer and two-finger styles). He’ll be joined by Hunter Wilson and Sophia Pucket.

Sophia Puckett is a 17 year old, old-time musician from Galax Virginia.  She got her start at a local after school music program, and after 4 years of being a student, she was given a position there as the banjo instructor.  She says that “it’s been an honor share the music I love with other people.”  Through the program she was also able to meet Jim Lloyd and learn from him.  Jim has had a great influence on her playing and almost acts as a father, or grandfather figure for her, and many of his other students.  Sophia shared that playing this music with others allows her to have a whole other family outside of her own.  She is very thankful that the music has been passed down through the generations and made its way to her. Sophia says that she hopes that playing this music, she will be able to teach and share the music for many generations, just as Jim has.

Hunter Wilson began learning music at age 12 and sought out instruction from Jim Lloyd at age 13.  His mother’s side of the family was heavily involved with music. His mother, and his two aunts all played instruments.  Hunter and his brother were the first in several generations to take up stringed instruments.  Their instruction with Jim Lloyd continued for around 7 years.  Since then, Hunter has learned from other local players and played in a variety of groups and genres.  He cherishes the opportunity to carry on the musical traditions of his region.  He has introduced his son to the music and hopes to have him learn from the skilled teachers in the region and forge his own path.

jimlloydappalachianmusician.com

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 that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel. His performances offer musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. https://www.joejencks.com joejencks.com

Bourque Émissaires are Benoit Bourqua and Antoine Pigeon-Bourque. Benoit is a versatile artist overflowing with energy and a contagious joie de vivre, who has been winning the public over more than 30 years. Charismatic, exuberant, warm, funny, limber, the band’s sparkplug are a few words to describe him. Antoine started playing piano at the age of 11 and accordion at the age of 16. He has degrees from Université de Montréal, where he studied the classical repertoire for piano-accordion, and from Collège Saint-Laurent, in Montreal, where he studied tuba and accordion.

http://www.benoitbourque.com

Sally Rogers and Claudia Schmidt have been weaving their voices, dulcimers, and guitars together for decades, creating an atmosphere of joy and musical lushness that audiences find irresistible. Their soaring harmonies (“blood harmony” was how one fan described it), their fascinating double dulcimer work, and their mix of six- and twelve-string guitars, blend with a wide choice of songs–their originals, traditional songs, and choice compositions of contemporary songwriters.

Sally Rogers

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 Picture Show and Disney covers. bingfutch.com

La Croisée D’Antan is a traditional group from the province of Quebec that is a sure carrier of their heritage. The power trio impresses with its strong stage presence and its dynamic arrangements. The mates? David Lefrançois on harmonica and accordion; Jordan Bélanger on fiddle and banjo; Samuel Royer-Legault on guitar andbanjo; all three on podorhythmie (they’re Québécois!) and voice.

lacroiseedantan.com

JigJam are a multi-award-winning quartet from the heart of the midlands in Ireland. Blending the best of traditional Irish music with bluegrass and Americana in a new genre which has been branded as ‘I-Grass’ (Irish influenced bluegrass), their onstage energy along with their virtuosic musical ability has captivated audiences throughout the world. Multi-instrumentalists Jamie McKeogh, Cathal Guinan, Daithi Melia, and Gavin Strappe interchange between banjos, guitars, fiddles, mandolins, and double bass to deliver an energy-fuelled, foot-stomping live performance.

https://www.jigjam.ie

A seventh-generation ballad singer, storyteller, and claw-hammer banjo player, Sheila Kay Adams was born and raised in the Sodom Laurel community of Madison County, North Carolina, where she learned to sing from her great aunt and other notable singers. Her devotion to preserving and perpetuating her heritage is both audible and palpable. She’ll be joined by her daughter Melanie Rice Penland and her cousin Donna Ray Norton as they carry on her devotion.

nestofsingingbirds.com | blueridgemusicnc.com

Forty-eight years ago, Alhaji Bai Konte brought the music of the kora (Mandinka harp) from Gambia to the U.S. This year, his grandsons (the word is used a little more loosely than usual) Great Gambian Griots, continue to carry on that tradition. Jali Bakary Konteh is an imaginative improviser who can support the tradition or blend traditional and modern instruments. Pa Bobo Jobarteh is a human rights activist whose songs were instrumental in the rarest of events in modern politics: a bloodless, democratic overthrow of a dictator.  Fled for his life, returned a folk hero!

africanculturalencounters.com

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 audiences. These days, he mostly performs solo, with long-time partner Lisa Preston, or in tandem with Debra Cowan. He presents a selection of songs (music of the sea is one of his specialties), some well-known to folk aficionados and others less so.

https://johnrobertsfolksong.com

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 kind of miniature (Schroeder-sized) grand piano. andycohenmusic.com

John Kirk & Trish Miller present fiery fiddle tunes, folksongs, and fancy footwork to audiences of all ages. John’s lyric voice, good sense of humor, and versatile instrumental skills — fiddle, mandolin, and several other instruments—have earned him widespread recognition in folk and traditional music circles. Trish is best known for her clogging, guitar, and banjo. Both of them call square dances and have taught folk music and dance programs for over two decades together.

https://johnandtrish.com

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 him, songs are ways of understanding people before him—their lives, work, language, and worldview.

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

The Vox Hunters (Armand Aromin and Benedict Gagliardi) are seekers and singers of old songs, cultivators of local (Rhode Island) music, and chronic multi-instrumentalists. They are touted as strong tradition-bearers in their generation, and their genuine affinity for the music is evident in the emotion they draw from it. With a pair of oft-harmonizing voices tastefully garnished with fiddle, free-reeds, and tenor guitar, The Vox Hunters offer an all-natural connection to the living tradition of folk music.

https://thevoxhunters.com

Hubby Jenkins is a talented singer and multi-instrumentalist (especially banjo, guitar, and bones). Having delved into his Southern roots, he follows the thread of African American history that wove itself through country blues, ragtime, fiddle and banjo, and traditional jazz. After years of busking around the country and playing with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as well as Rhiannon Giddens’s band, today he spreads his knowledge and love of old-time American music through his dynamic solo performances.

http://www.hubbyjenkins.com