Artists
the horsenecks
The Horsenecks’ sound is centered around the pairing of Oregonian Gabrielle Macrae’s signature rhythmic fiddle style and the driving banjo playing of Liverpudlian Barry Southern. Backed up by the all-star rhythm section of Kevin Sandri and Brian Bagdonas on bass and guitar they are the ultimate west coast powerhouse stringband. Gabrielle's fiddle style is the result of being raised in the Old Time music hotbed of Portland, OR and being exposed to the fiddle traditions of the Southeast US through years of traveling to festivals and learning from some of the greatest players in the genre. Barry’s banjo and guitar playing range from thrilling and high-octane to moody and captivating, and his versatility shines whether flatpicking, playing clawhammer, or driving three-finger banjo. Together Kevin and Brian set the standard for the modern old time stringband with their contributions to the original lineup of Foghorn Stringband, and as a four-piece they continue to get toes tapping, heads bobbing and faces melting wherever they go.
big chimney
Big Chimney Barn Dance is a powerful Alaskan Old Time and Bluegrass stringband specializing in a unique style of North Country Americana dance music.
Steeped in songs and the fiddle tradition of the hills of Southern Appalachia, the band honed their sound in the cabins found at the foot of the Chugach Mountains in Alaska. Big Chimney features fiddlers Danny Consenstein and Carter Bancroft, guitarist Nate Williamson, Jay Marvin on banjo, and Rachel Overby on bass.
Big Chimney is an accomplished touring act with a history of sharing music in Alaska, the Lower 48 and extensively in Ireland and the UK. With a strong combination of driving dance tunes and memorable songs, Big Chimney is just as at home playing a square dance as they are a listening room concert or a raucous pub gig.
idyltime
Most people can hear a certain song and it will take them back to a prior experience, maybe to a feeling had and relived through a melody. Idyltime is comprised of four souls eternally searching for the source of this nostalgia. People often say that their music takes them back to a memory, and it reminds them of the good in the world.
​
Idyltime, a band originally playing bluegrass out of southern Oregon, re-formed in 2011 when Beth and Tate Mason moved to Boise, Idaho. There they joined up with Dave Daley and Ava Honey who were hosting a weekly old-time jam at Pengilly’s Saloon. Dave and Ava continue to be extremely active in developing the acoustic roots music and square dance scene in Boise. With over 40 years of fiddling, Dave brings a lifetime of musical experience to the original songwriting of the Idyltime.
Fiddle, banjo, dobro, guitar, upright bass. Four voices, eight hands, forty fingers. Let’s pick!
phil jamison
Phil Jamison is nationally known as a dance caller, old-time musician, flatfoot dancer, and scholar of traditional Appalachian dance. He has called dances, performed, and taught at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas since the early 1970s, including over forty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. In 2004, he and caller Nancy Mamlin organized and hosted the first Dare To Be Square dance weekend in Asheville, North Carolina. Since that time, more than thirty such weekends have taken place on both coasts.
Over the last thirty years, Jamison has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and his book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance (University of Illinois Press, 2015) tells the story behind the square dances, step dances, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. A 2017 inductee to the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame and a 2022 inductee to America’s Clogging Hall of Fame, Phil taught traditional Appalachian music and dance at Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, North Carolina, where for twenty-five years, he served as coordinator of the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering
susan michaels
Susan Michaels has been calling old-time square dances, family dances, and community dances for more than 35 years, including her hometown “chicken coop” square dance on Vashon Island in Washington. Susan specializes in building community, facilitating joy, and just plain having fun and she 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 traditional Appalachian dances with drive and flow that hold on to the roots of community dance 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 kids, newcomers, 2 left-footers, and shy persons blossom through dance.
Susan acknowledges that she stands on the shoulders of giants: her mentors, Larry Edelman and Kathy Anderson; her guru, Fred Park; and her spirit guide, Gene Hubert.
Susan has been a featured artist at festivals and camps throughout the U.S. including the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention (CA), Dare2BSquare West (Seattle, Portland) the Alaska Folk Festival, Pinewoods American and Family Weeks (MA), Lady of the Lake June and Family Weeks (ID), Mentone (AL), Chehallis (BC), Louisville Square (KY), Moosejaw (MN) Mountain Madness (TN), and John C. Campbell Folk School (NC).