Old-Fashioned Ballad Swap

Saturday, Time TBD: A ballad swap is a time-honored tradition that brings singers and ballad lovers together to share the old “love songs,” keeping them alive and breathing. In Western NC in 2022, Josh Copus and Donna Ray Norton hatched a plan to bring this time honored tradition to the public, inviting the wider community into the fold, and spreading an appreciation of the art. These sessions, held in the Old Marshall Jail and hosted by Copus and Sheila Kay Adams, celebrated Appalachian heritage by bringing ballad singers from across the region together to share stories and songs that have been passed down for generations. Stepping out now into the greater world, this Nest of Singing Birds will share their own heritage together with local singers and balladeers.

Participants: Sheila Kay Adams, Donna Ray Norton, William Ritter and more singers TBA.

Old-Time Banjo Styles of the Carolina Piedmont

Saturday, Time TBD: Clawhammer is the most popular style of banjo picking these days at old-time fiddlers' conventions. A century ago, most old-time banjo players in our region used a variety of two- and three-finger picking styles. This showcase features three talented artists and dedicated folklorists who learned these homegrown styles from elder musicians in North and South Carolina and are helping spread the word about Piedmont old-time banjo. This showcase is dedicated to the memory of Clifford Kinney Rorrer and features:

Scott Stegall grew up in Union County in the North Carolina Piedmont and learned old-time and bluegrass music traditions from regional greats including two-finger banjo players Marvin Gaster and Clint Barwick and fiddler Junior Harris. Today, he plays with the band Valley Flower, and his work as an instrumentalist, vocalist, and occasional producer has been covered by Bluegrass Unlimited and Bluegrass Today. He runs the digital platform @piedmontbanjo (Instagram and YouTube), dedicated to promoting the various banjo styles of the Carolina Piedmont.

Devon Flaherty is an old-time banjo player and songster based in Carrboro, NC. He is a longtime collector of 78rpm records with a particular interest in string band music played before WWII. While he is well-versed in various regional clawhammer styles, he is a major proponent of two and three-finger styles like that of NC Piedmont musicians Charlie Poole, Frank and Oscar Jenkins, Buster Carter, Wilmer Watts and others. The late Kinney Rorrer was and continues to be his primary influence. Devon has taken home many awards at fiddlers’ conventions in the past few years including the Old-Time Three-Finger Grand Champion award at the Charlie Poole Festival in 2024.

Margaret Martin of Raleigh, NC: "Piedmont two-finger picker A.C. Overton influenced my banjo style more than anyone, and over many years of playing with him I learned that great music comes from excellent timing and living a worthy and balanced Iife. Later I learned some banjo pieces from Etta Baker, whose playing also arose from a life very well lived. The past fifty years I’ve worked on rhythm banjo and guitar for fiddler Wayne Martin, whose music has enriched my playing and my life no end."

Son Jarocho

Friday, Time TBD: Son de Carolina is a music collective founded by mujeres estudiando y cultivando son jarocho en Durham, North Carolina. Son jarocho originated in Veracruz, Mexico in the 18th century as a community-based folk music tradition. With deep African and Indigenous roots, son jarocho remains a key part of Mexican culture and continues to build a global audience and music community. Son de Carolina holds regular talleres and fandangos in the community, and everyone is welcome to join this participatory art of music-making, regardless of skill level or musical background.

The Art of Bluegrass Fiddle

Saturday, 12:15pm: From Bill Monroe broadcasting out of WPTF in the 1930s to its 11-year run as IBMA's host city, Raleigh has always been a bluegrass town, and the capital area continues to host a vibrant community of bluegrass lovers. This showcase features three of the most important fiddlers in our local bluegrass scene, each of them sharing a common appreciation for the roots of the genre as well as the spirit of innovation that makes it a living tradition. 

Featured artists:

Jan (pronounced “Yahn”) Johansson is well-known throughout the United States, Europe and Japan as an accomplished acoustic musician, producer, and music instructor. Jan was born in Skelleftea, Sweden in 1958 and began playing acoustic music at the age of 14. At an early age, his passion for music developed into a love of the traditional and bluegrass music of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jan is a person who embodies the spirit of this American-born genre of music. With that spirit and determination, Jan came to the United States in 1986 to fulfill his dream of playing traditional and bluegrass music. A veteran performer, beloved teacher, and keen student of history, Jan (along with Stephen Fraleigh) can often be found at the Sunday bluegrass session at Eastside Music in Cary.

Stephen Fraleigh played on the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 12, toured the country and beyond with the Jeanette Williams Band, and took home the blue ribbon at the Old Fiddler's Convention in Galax not once, but twice. Regardless of his many accolades, most of us simply know him as a kind, unpretentious, and hard-working contributor to the local bluegrass scene. Stephen performs every Sunday afternoon at the bluegrass session at Eastside Music in Cary and sometimes fiddles and sings with local country band Barndance in Raleigh.

Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw began playing the violin at age four and received her Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogue Certification from East Carolina University.  She is an extremely versatile musician and has a tremendous talent for American Music as well as Classical Violin. Currently she holds two private studios in North Carolina and is frequently invited to teach workshops throughout the United States for both Classical, Improvisational and Bluegrass instruction. Pattie performs regularly in the Eastern United States and is currently a member of multiple ensembles including The Long Bay Symphony in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Hank, Pattie & The Current, an Americana Bluegrass Band based out of Raleigh, NC.