Dick Bowden is a well known northeastern practitioner of the thumb pick (and finger pick) in country and bluegrass lead and rhythm guitar. For 10 years he was the guitar playing half of The Case Brother – Martin & Gibson, an early country guitar/mandolin duet. For 10 more years he played rhythm guitar with The Old Time Bluegrass Singers. He is an exemplar of forceful, run-laden rhythm guitar drawn from the powerful country and bluegrass rhythm guitarists from Mother Maybelle to Del McCoury.
Dave Dick is a multi-instrumentalist, writer, singer, and producer who also owns D String Guitar Repair where he is repairman and Luthier. Dave’s music career spans over 35 years, playing in several prominent bluegrass groups in the Northeast including Southern Rail, Salamander Crossing, Northern Lights, and Blackstone Valley Bluegrass. Dave has traveled the US extensively and been featured on many recordings. Although most known as a superb five-string banjo player, Dave also is a versatile guitarist. Formerly a Producer for CMH Records “Pickin’ On” series, Dave produced tribute albums of The Eagles, Dwight Yoakam, Brad Paisley and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2016 Dave opened D String Guitar Repair, located in Sturbridge, MA, where he provides repairs and restorations for fretted instruments of all types. Dave released his first solo album, entitled “Greenwood” in 2017. The album is a collection of original music written for acoustic guitar.
Janie Rothfield is an award winning powerhouse fiddler and clawhammer banjo player who has been playing and teaching since her teens! Janie got her start playing with older generation fiddlers and banjo players from New England, North Carolina and Quebec and plays music rooted in Traditional American and Celtic music styles. Janie has taught clawhammer banjo and fiddle for over 35 years, privately and at camps and festivals including Banjo Camp North. Her teaching method combines an easy to learn technique that combines strategies for learning to play by ear quickly with a focus on musicality and rhythm!
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is a Boston-based musician originally from Charlottesville, Virginia. Accepted on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music at age 16, she graduated in 2013 with a Professional Diploma in Violin Performance. Bronwyn is fast gaining recognition for her fiddling across bluegrass and acoustic music circles and has had the opportunity to perform with such renowned musicians as Peter Rowan, Tony Trischka, Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer, and The Milk Carton Kids. In 2014 Bronwyn won first place in the Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship in Winfield, KS. She is also a highly respected teacher, and has taught in Berklee’s Five Week Program, as well as at numerous camps and workshops throughout the Northeast. Visit her online at www.bronwynkeithhynes.com
Rich Stillman has taught literally hundreds of students to play banjo, both face-to-face and worldwide through Internet lessons. He played and recorded with New England bands Southern Rail, Adam Dewey and Crazy Creek, The Bogus Family and WayStation, and has memorably (at least for him) played sets with Peter Rowan, James Monroe and the Arlington High School orchestra. Rich wrote “Bluegrass Banjo from All Sides” for Mel Bay, and one of his BCN workshops was turned into a chapter in the book “Banjo Camp”. Rich teaches banjo at Tufts University and Concord Academy and at The Music Emporium in Lexington.
A graduate of the voice program at New York City’s renowned LaGuardia High School, and a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music as an upright bass principal, Nate Sabat’s musical roots are in choral singing. At Berklee, he delved into the thriving Boston acoustic music scene, performing, studying, and writing music inspired by bluegrass, old-time, and Celtic traditions. He has performed and studied with the Kronos Quartet, The New York Pops, Tony Trischka, Eugene Friesen and Bruce Molsky, and was one of sixteen musicians chosen to attend the 2014 Acoustic Music Seminar in Savannah, GA, where he worked with Bela Fleck, Mike Marshall, and Chris Eldridge.
Tim Rowell has been playing banjo for more than 30 years. He was heavily influenced as a youngster by Pete Seeger and a number of other musicians from the Hudson River Valley. Tim is the director of the Traditional Music Project at The Real School of Music with locations in Burlington, Andover and Dedham where he teaches several instruments and ensembles. He also teaches privately in the Boston area, the North Shore and Metro West. You can catch Tim playing clawhammer banjo around town with his old-time string bands Jubilee Mule, The Cowcatchers and the Hi-Tone Ramblers. Tim produces CD’s for October Mountain Music. His blog is BtheBanjo.com
Evan Murphy has been a creative force on guitar and voice in New England since he became enamored with folk and bluegrass at age 18 and started accompanying himself on traditional songs. Raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Evan received a bachelors degree in Theater and Music at Boston College in 2012. During his four years there he played in a folk band and began songwriting. After graduating from BC he moved to New York City, where he formed a bluegrass quintet called Tenafly Rye, and studied bluegrass guitar and voice with Michael Daves. Now a resident of Boston again, Evan spends his time rehearsing and performing with Mile Twelve and teaching guitar.
Larry Marschall was a founder of the Busted-Toe Mudthumpers, predecessor of the Highwoods String Band, and since the 1960’s has played banjo with various bands including Yonder City (with Dick Staber, Tracy Schwarz and Jerry McCoury) and the West Orrtanna String Band, with whom he opened for Ralph Stanley, Jim and Jesse, Alan Ginsburg, and the Flying Wallendas. He recently returned to performing and teaching bluegrass banjo after a long digression as an astronomy professor and science writer. His banjo style, admired by his peers as both melodically and harmonically inventive, has been described as “full of dark energy”.
Dave Kiphuth began playing banjo and guitar in 1962. Although his bluegrass roots run the deepest, his musical loves include many forms. Dave has a unique playing style that combines melodic lines with a driving rhythm in yet another approach to 3-finger banjo. He is a regular member of Cecil Abel’s Seacoast-based New England Bluegrass Band. When not making music, Dave is an acclaimed artist and illustrator.