Old-Time & Gee's Bend 2024
Quilters, writers, and blacksmiths pursue their work in an encouraging atmosphere while music students fully immerse themselves in old-time study, their days and nights filled with instruction from expert musicians, jam sessions, and an instructor concert. Participants will choose one workshop for the entire event. Afternoon mini classes give participants a chance to take part in learning something totally new. With more than 1,140 acres of forest consisting of breathtaking canyons, waterfalls, miles of hiking trails, and glistening streams, there’s plenty of exploring to do during your free time. Take a hike, go canoeing, or pick a porch and rocking chair to relax.
Read About Classes & Instructors:
- Banjo I: Carter Laney
- Banjo II: Joe Newberry
- Fiddle I: Leo Shannon
- Fiddle II: Jimmy Triplett
- Mandolin: Mike Compton
- Repertoire: Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones
- Guitar & Harmony Singing: Kay Justice w/ Kathy Hinkle assisting
- Creative Writing: Caleb Johnson
- Gee's Bend Quilting: Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway -CLASS FULL
- Blacksmithing: Quinn McKay -CLASS FULL
Mini classes hosted throughout the event require no registration and are open to all students. Some loaner instruments will be available, but please bring your own if you know you'd like to participate. More info coming soon about mini class offerings.
- Intro to Ukulele w/ Singing with Jamie Finley: I have discovered from four years of leading a weekly uke group that it is surprisingly easy to learn to play uke and sing at the same time. Also it is great fun! I have a half dozen ukes if you don't have one already. It doesn't matter if you have never played a ukulele, you gotta start somewhere.
- Intro to Mountain Dulcimer with Laurie Alsobrooks: Laurie will bring her fishing cart filled with mountain dulcimers for you to try. We'll learn our way around the fretboard while playing a few familiar tunes. Playing the mountain dulcimer is easier than you think...and more fun than you could imagine!
- Felted Baskets with Cindy Armstrong: We’ll be making small bowls from upcycled felted wool fabrics and beads, then turn them into baskets, pincushions…whatever you like! All supplies will be provided. I have some beautiful wool fabrics dyed with indigo, madder and other natural dyes, so we’ll have lots of lovely things to play with. No sewing experience necessary
- “Who Put the Folk in Folk School” Presentation by Dr. Jim Brown
- “Singing My Blues Away: Alabama’s own Delmore Brothers” with Joyce Cauthen telling their story & Mike Compton & Joe Newberry singing their songs.
PRICING:
All music classes are $255.00
Craft classes are $280.00 (additional small supplies fee for blacksmithing paid upon arrival)
Lodging prices (including meals) range from:
- Lodge Room & Meals for 2: $550.00
- Lodge Room & Meals for 1: $420.00
- Cabin Bunk Bed & Meals for 1: $175.00
- Commuter Fee & Meals for 1: $85.00
Banjo I with Carter Laney
This class will focus on learning the basic clawhammer rhythm and learning the basic chords that show up most often in old-time music. We will learn a few fiddle tunes on the banjo and also learn how to play chords in a jam when you don't necessarily know the melody being played. We will get familiar with some different tunings as well. Most of all, we will have fun learning together in a low pressure and encouraging atmosphere! Please bring a tuner with you and it would be a good idea to have some extra strings as well.
Carter Laney started playing clawhammer banjo in 1995 after hearing the style at the Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddler's Convention in Athens, Alabama. He has returned to that festival over the years and took home the 1st place ribbon in 2023. Carter loves the banjo playing of the Round Peak area of North Carolina and has been influenced by countless other players over the years. He has played with Vulcan's Britches, The Yahoos, and currently plays with The Whistlebees.
Banjo II with Joe Newberry
This clawhammer class, geared for intermediate players will feature a mix of well-known and rarer gems. Both are important. New tunes help forge different banjo pathways, and familiar tunes are a springboard for technique. Topics include: "Putting Drive in Your Playing," "Right Hand Work," "Rhythm Tips," "The Fifth String as a Melody Vehicle," "Low Drones," and "The Under-used Second Fret." If there is interest, thumb lead fingerpicking and banjo songscan also be covered.
Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. A long-time and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions tour of the U.K. He was for many years the coordinator of Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center, and teaches at camps at home and abroad.
Photo credit: Jillian Clark
Fiddle I with Leo Shannon
Fiddle 1 will explore the essentials of learning fiddle tunes by ear, from live humans as well as from archival recordings. We will focus on the music of western North Carolina fiddler Marcus Martin (1881-1974), listening deeply to his recordings and learning to play his music the way he understood it. Although we will be exploring the music in depth, this is a beginner-oriented class.
Leo Shannon is a traditional musician from Seattle, Washington currently living in Whitesburg, Kentucky. He learned to play as a boy from older musicians around him and friends his own age, and plays now with The Onlies, John Haywood, Rhys Jones, Sarah Kate Morgan, and others. He is drawn to old music that has passed through many hands and the ghostly imprints left on music by sound reproduction machines.
Photo Credit: Kallie Dawn
Fiddle II with Jimmy Triplett
In this class we’ll learn how to play a batch of great old-time fiddle tunes with an emphasis on phrasing and bowing. Tunes will be drawn from Alabama fiddlers including Sam McCracken, Paisley Hagood, and lesser-known sources as well as West Virginia fiddlers like Melvin Wine, the Hammons family, and Ernie Carpenter. We’ll explore different tunings (GDGD, ADAE, etc.) and learn to convey the spirit of old-time music while also finding your own style. Tunes will be broken down so you can learn by ear. Please bring a recording device, a tuner, and extra strings.
Jimmy Triplett is an old-time musician known for capturing the essence of Appalachian fiddling. He specializes in old-style tunes learned from field recordings and visits with the older generation throughout the Southern Appalachians. Longtime resident of Northeastern Alabama (where he works as a botanist at Jax State), Jimmy has assembled a regional repertoire with the help of Joyce and Jim Cauthen, Jim Holland, and others, highlighting the rich tradition of fiddling in Alabama. In his workshops, in addition to sharing tunes and their stories, he emphasizes bowings and ornamentation that capture the simple beauty and graceful rhythm of old-style Appalachian fiddling.
Photo credit: Jenna Mobley
Old-Time Mandolin with Mike Compton
The class will focus primarily on how to successfully play old-time fiddle tunes on the mandolin and will include both suggestions for ways to play lead and simple rhythm styles. There will be something for advancing beginners on up through intermediate levels. We will be using some of the more common keys, so nothing unusual. I’d like to work on some tunes from a variety of artists including Narmour & Smith, John Hatcher, Henry Reed and possibly a couple Ed Haley numbers from my time with the late great John Hartford. Some handouts will be available if needed. Some sort of recording device will be helpful.
Tunes/Songs
- Narmour & Smith
- 1. “Avalon Blues”- G
- 2. “Sweet Milk & Peaches”- D
- 3. “Charleston #2”- C
- 4. “Kiss Me Waltz”- C
- John Hatcher
- 5. “8th of January”- D
- 6. “Black-Eyed Susie”- D
- Mississippi Sheiks-
- 7. “Sunset Waltz”- C
- Ed Haley
- 8. “Half Past Four”- A
- 9. “Forks of Sandy”- G
- Henry Reed
- 10. “Colored Piece”-A
Grammy and IBMA award-winning mandolinist, singer, and recording artist Mike Compton has earned a worldwide reputation as one of the modern masters of bluegrass mandolin...one of the most recognizable and respected mandolin voices anywhere (Mandolin Magazine). He toured with John Hartford, Nashville Bluegrass Band, and was featured in the soundtracks for, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain;. Wearing his signature pressed blue overalls and rocking and weaving with fluid body motion, Compton stuns not by tricks, but through his singing, his ability to engage a crowd, and through decades of honing his technique into the unique, one-of-a-kind Compton signature mandolin sound. www.mikecompton.net
Old-Time Repertoire with Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones
In this old-time ensemble class, Carl and Erynn will play several of their favorite, southern, fiddle and banjo tunes at slow and faster tempos. All instruments are welcome. We will form an all-star stringband – having fun playing tunes from West Virginia, Round Peak, Mississippi, Alabama and everything in-between. It will be like a jam with tips on old-time style, rhythm or chord back-up. Repertoire will be taught quickly by ear during the workshop. Recording devices are recommended. You are invited to join this group of merry music makers! www.dittyville.com
Erynn Marshall
Erynn Marshall is an old-time fiddler who lives in Hillsville, Virginia and is known internationally for her traditional music. Erynn learned the nuances of Appalachian old-time fiddling from archival recordings and directly from visiting 80-95 year-old southern fiddlers. Her effortless, transportive way of playing expresses joy, mournfulness, and stays true to the old tunes while revitalizing the tradition. Her original tunes are becoming common repertoire in fiddle circles. Erynn won 1st place fiddle at “Clifftop” (the first woman to do so) and Mt Airy fiddlers’ conventions. She tours regularly with husband/musician Carl Jones, has recorded numerous albums, appeared in five films and is featured in the new, special exhibit "Women of Old-Time Music" at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, VA. Erynn is coordinator for Swannanoa Old-Time Week (NC) and was director of music programs at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, VA and Alleghany JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians). www.dittyville.com
Carl Jones
Carl Jones is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Macon, Georgia who lives in Hillsville, VA. He studied music near Muscle Shoals, Alabama and was influenced by seeing Roy Orbison, Steve Goodman, and Mac McAnally record there. Carl is widely respected for his instrumental talents and original songs about the joys and tribulations of life in the south. His songs have been recorded by The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Kate Campbell, Rickie Simpkins w/ Tony Rice, and others. Last Time On The Road was on the Grammy award winning album Unleashed by The Nashville Bluegrass Band. Carl played with Norman and Nancy Blake as part of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble, with fiddler, James Bryan, and today tours/records with wife, Erynn Marshall. Carl is known for his fine musicianship, charismatic teaching, sense of humor, and powerful songwriting. He has recorded on a couple dozen recordings including his original songs CD "Traveling Star" and Norman Blake's "Original Underground Music of the Mysterious South." www.dittyville.com
Photo credit: Harrol Blevins
Guitar & Harmony Singing with Kay Justice and Kathy Hinkle assisting
In this class we'll focus on accompaniment of songs, choosing the correct key, use of the capo, right hand styles, and singing with confidence.
Kay Justice began singing and playing the guitar in the 1960’s when she discovered popular folk music. Later, while a student at Clinch Valley College, she became enthralled with the songs, tunes, and ballads of the Appalachian region. Over the years she played music with various individuals and groups during which time she honed her guitar playing and singing skills. She has recorded with Ginny Hawker and with the Herald Angel Band with Alice Gerrard and Gail Gillespie. Kay has taught at numerous music camps including the Augusta Heritage workshops, Mars Hill Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, Southern Week at Ashoken, Alleghany Echoes and the Swannanoa Gathering. She has performed at festivals throughout the US and is a longtime friend of The Alabama Folk School.
Photo credit: Jenna Mobley
Creative Writing with Caleb Johnson
This generative workshop offers creative writers of all experience levels the chance to explore where their stories, poems, and essays come from. Writers will work with carefully designed prompts to free their ideas, then begin shaping these often wild starts into completed works. No advance work is required. Bring only yourself, your writing tools, and an open mind. Leave with a sense of artistic community and lines you might feel surprised you wrote.
Caleb Johnson is the author of the novel Treeborne (Picador), which received an honorable mention for the Southern Book Prize and was longlisted for The Crook’s Corner Book Prize. His nonfiction has been cited in Best American Essays, and appears in Garden & Gun, Southern Living, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Caleb grew up in Arley, Ala., studied journalism at The University of Alabama, and earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Wyoming. He has received fellowships from the Longleaf Writers Conference, The Jentel Foundation, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. His previous jobs include newspaper reporter, janitor, middle-school teacher, and whole-animal butcher. Currently, Caleb teaches creative writing at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.
Gee's Bend Quilting with Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway
The Gee’s Bend Workshops at the Alabama Folk School provide a rare opportunity for quilters of all levels to sew alongside two of Alabama's famed Gee's Bend Quilters. China Pettway and Mary Ann Pettway are available to assist with hand and machine-stitching, and share tips for creating in the style of the Gee's Bend tradition. While everyone works, they sing gospel style spirituals and tell stories from their lives in the community of Boykin, Alabama. Students bring works in progress or fabric scraps to start something new. Depending on skill level, students go home with some quilt blocks or a full pattern and many good memories.
Mary Ann Pettway is the manager of the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective. She made her first quilt for the collective in the summer of 2005. The seventh of 12 children, Mary Ann Pettway was born and raised in Gee's Bend. After graduating high school in 1975, Mary Ann took college bookkeeping and accounting classes before working in a sewing factory for 20 years. Pettway is one of the lead singers of the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church and began quilting again after hearing about the trips the quilters of the community went on. "Before I started back to quilting, I was with (friend) Sabrina's grandmother Arlonzia a lot and heard about these trips they would go on (to other cities through The Quilts of Gee's Bend traveling exhibition.) So I told her, "I'm tired of hearing how good of a time y'all are having. I want to start having a good time too." So she told me, "well then start quilting!" And Mary Ann is, thankfully, still quilting today.
In addition to being a famed quilter, China Pettway is one of Gee's Bend's leading gospel singers. Singing is her beloved hobby. She is one of the few Boykin locals who attended college and returned to live in the community. Now a home healthcare provider, Pettway enjoys working with the elderly. "I love my patients and I think they are the most sweet and beautiful people you can meet." China was taught to quilt by her mother, Leola, at the young age of eleven. "We had to quilt until ten at night. Then, she would let us stop and get to bed. That was every evening except Saturday and Sunday. I made my first quilt, it was a 'Star.' And I still have it,” she says. She and Mary Ann began teaching at the Alabama Folk School fifteen years ago.
Photo credits: Jenna Mobley
Blacksmithing with Quinn McKay
Students will first get a lesson in proper form with hand-hammers, tongs, and sledge-hammers and will go over the plan for the class. Next they will each make a nail and hook. Once students finish this, they will each make a spoon which can be hung on a wall using the hook and nail.
Quinn is an artist blacksmith working at Iron Horse Metalworks in Birmingham, AL and working independently as McKay Forged Metals.
Quinn McKay’s creative energies are rooted in a love of Architecture from an early age, blended with a deep connection to nature. Elements of his designs are inspired by the clean lines we surround ourselves with and the natural forms outside of that. Throughout much of his work, the use of nature’s proportions are present.
Attending the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC solidified Quinn’s love of forging metal. He celebrates the material in his pieces by preserving its natural displacement when forged, leaving the evidence of each manipulation of the material. Acting with this sense of preservation is his homage to the tradition of forging. Through his time spent here, Quinn explored many different styles within his ironwork taking the most influence from Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement.