23rd Appalachian String Band Music Festival (Clifftop ) Awards

Congratulations to Mike Kropp, the only New Englander to take home a prize from the 23rd annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival (Clifftop)!

notloB Music bestows the "best band name" award to Lyin’ Lizzy and the Psycho Exploding Orangutans, winner of the youth traditional band competition.

Old-time Musicians, Flatfoot Dancers from California to Rhode Island Take Home Prizes During 23rd Appalachian String Band Music Festival

Aug. 14, 2012

CLIFFTOP, W.Va. – Twenty-one musicians, 12 bands and 12 dancers from California to Rhode Island took home a total of $7,450 in prize money during the 23rd annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop, Fayette County, in early August.

Four of the winners were from West Virginia.

More than 4,000 people attended the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s five-day event that features some of the nation’s finest string band musicians and flatfoot dancers. Participants and visitors included folks from 45 states as well as international visitors from Australia, Canada, England, France, Japan, Norway and Scotland, among others.

Contests were held in four traditional contests – fiddle, banjo, string band and flatfoot dance – plus one neo-traditional string band contest. Ribbons for best original song and best original tune were awarded in the neo-traditional band category.

Next year’s festival will be held July 31 - Aug. 4, 2013.

The contest winners are:

     Banjo
     1st place ($400) - Mac Traynham, Willis, Va.
     2nd place ($200) - Mike Kropp, Wyoming, R.I.
     3rd place ($150) - Joseph DeCosimo, Jonesborough, Tenn.
     4th place ($100) - Luke Richardson, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
     5th place ($50) - Lynn “Chirps” Smith, Whitewater, Wis.

     Youth Banjo - 15 years of age and under
     1st place ($100) - Victor Furtado, Front Royal, Va.
     2nd place ($50) - Lulu Furtado, Front Royal, Va.
     3rd place ($25) - John Vance, Jr., Chapel Hill, N.C.

     Senior Banjo - 60 years of age and over
     1st place ($200) - Mike Kropp, Wyoming, R.I.
     2nd place ($100) - Carl Baron, Ambler, Pa.
     3rd place ($50) - Bertram Levy, Port Townsend, Wash.

     Fiddle
     1st place ($400) - Emily Schaad, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
     2nd place ($200) - Stephanie Coleman, Brooklyn, N.Y.
     3rd place ($150) - Jake Krack, Marlinton, W.Va.
     4th place ($100) - Grace Forrest, Big Sur, Calif.
     5th place ($50) - John Engle, Asheville, N.C.

     Youth Fiddle - 15 years of age and under
     1st place ($100) - Nina DeVitry, Columbia, Pa.
     2nd place ($50) -Andrew Vogts, Chadds Ford, Pa.
     3rd place ($25) - Kitty Amaral, Elk Creek, Va.

     Senior Fiddle - 60 years of age and over
     1st place ($200) - Paul Brown, Winston-Salem, N.C.
     2nd place ($100) - Henry T. Fiddler, Arvada, Colo.
     3rd place ($50) - Jim Childress, Free Union, Va.

     Neo-Traditional Band
     1st place ($700) - Drunken Catfish Ramblers, Fayetteville, Ark.
     2nd place ($400) - Critton Hallow, Paw Paw, W.Va.
    3rd place ($300) - The Olds 78s and the Retro Ramblers, Kingston, Ark.
     4th place ($200) - Westbound Rangers, Nashville, Tenn.
     5th place ($100) - Jubal’s Kin, Longwood, Fla.

     Youth Neo-Traditional Band 
     ($300) - Davy Jones’ Evidence Locker, Elkins, W.Va.

     Best Original Song (ribbon and certificate awards)
     Westbound Rangers, Nashville, Tenn.

     Best Original Tune (ribbon and certificate awards)
     Jubal’s Kin, Longwood, Fla.

     Traditional Band
     1st place ($700) - The Bucking Mules, Jonesborough, Tenn.
     2nd place ($400) - Nervous Tick and the Bites, Galax, Va.
     3rd place ($300) - The Cork Burners, Eunice, La.
     4th place ($200) - White Mule, Bloomington, Ind.
     5th place ($100) - Sweet T and the Twisted Lemons, Vinton, Va.

     Youth Traditional Band 
     ($300) - Lyin’ Lizzy and the Psycho Exploding Orangutans, Front Royal, Va.

     Old-Time FlatFoot Dance - 15 years of age and under
     1st place ($75) - Rebecca Molaro, Asheville, N.C.
     2nd place ($50) - Jeffrey Amundsen, Longwood, Fla.
     3rd place ($25) -  Mattie Amundsen, Longwood, Fla.

     Old-Time FlatFoot Dance - 16 years of age through 40
     1st place ($75) - Sarah Josephine Stewart, Charlottesville, Va.
     2nd place ($50) - Clay Sutton, Marshall, N.C.
     3rd place ($25) - Elizabeth Laprell, Rural Retreat, Va.

     Old-Time FlatFoot Dance - 41 years of age through 59
     1st place ($75) - Jay Bland, Kennesaw, Ga.
     2nd place ($50) - Gordon Hinners, Weaverville, N.C.
     3rd place ($25) - Abby Laiden, Bloomington, Ind.

     Old-Time FlatFoot Dance - 60 years of age and older
     1st place ($75) - Rodney Sutton, Marshall, N.C.
     2nd place ($50) - Marilyn Branch, Kalamazoo, Mich.
     3rd place ($25) - Maureen Busch-Terman, Morgantown, W.Va.

For more information about the 23rd Annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.

A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center. The facility nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African Americans. The camp is located in Fayette County next to Babcock State Park, just off Rt. 60 (Midland Trail) on Rt. 41.

     The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Source

Two new Facebook open groups to share news of Celtic, old-time, bluegrass and string band concerts and events in New England

If you use Facebook, look into two new Facebook open groups to share news of Celtic, old-time, bluegrass and string band concerts and events in New England.

Celtic Music in New England, not even a month old, has close to 300 members, many of whom are actively posting information about Celtic events that many "in the know" had no idea were happening.

What is "Celtic Music in New England"?
By Sean Smith and Jeff Boudreau 

This is a group for people who enjoy playing and listening to Celtic music, and want to keep up to date on events and activities related to Celtic music in the New England states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine).

Like many such terms, "Celtic" can be ambiguous and vague. For this group's purposes, it refers to music, song and dance from the Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other Celtic-related traditions like Breton, Galician, Welsh, etc. The term also incorporates contemporary music rooted in Celtic, involving crossover with other traditions like Appalachian, or with other music forms (rock, jazz).
 Please post about your favorite concerts, workshops, jam sessions, festivals, camps, albums, radio, TV or other broadcasts, publications, etc., that involve Celtic music in New England.

Good housekeeping:

1. POSTING / REDUNDANT POSTS. At the beginning of your event posts, include the artist's name(s), venue, city and state, date and time. When a reader has that info, he/she can then decide to read on or not. If you have not visited in a while, do not assume your news has not alredy been posted to the wall. Take a moment to scroll down and read wall posts. You may be surprised to find something else of interest. If you posted your news or event some time in the past and it is time for an update or reminder (not too many, please), do not create a new wall post. Instead, find your original post and add the new information. Due to the new activity it will "float" to the top.
2. ADD FRIENDS. Simply click "add friends to group" under the member pictures top right.

Old-time/Bluegrass/Traditional Music in New England, created about the same time, has about half the members and half the activity. That is usual for bluegrass and old time music, when someone figures out why those fans use social media less please let me know.

What is "Old-time/Bluegrass/Traditional Music in New England"?
By Jeff Boudreau in Old-time/Bluegrass/Traditional Music in New England 

This open group was created out of need as there had been no central repository for sharing concerts/events/news. A sister open Celtic group, started 9/28, attained >200 members within 48 hours. Feel free to add friends who would appreciate an open group to share bluegrass news.

This is a group for people who enjoy playing and listening to bluegrass music (from old time to early and traditional bluegrass, and on to modern variants, including newgrass and contemporary string band), and want to keep up to date on related events and activities in the New England states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine).

Please post about your favorite concerts, workshops, jam sessions, festivals, camps, albums, radio, TV or other broadcasts, publications, etc., that involve bluegrass music in New England.

Contact Jeff Boudreau offline if you would like to assist as a moderator.

Housekeeping:
1. To avoid group messages from coming into your email, go to "edit settings" at the top of the page and click off the appropriate box.
2. When a member makes a post, reply in its thread (do not reply via a new stand-alone). Likewise, please stay on topic within a thread (if your new thought does not relate, make a new wall post).