Neil Rossi was introduced to bluegrass in 1960. He learned bluegrass banjo, then guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. In the late 1960s he founded The Spark Gap Wonder Boys, which won the Old-Time band contest at the Union Grove in 1970. Through college and graduate school he played with several high-profile bands, including the David Bromberg Band. In New York City he played fiddle with The Yankee Rebels and Diamonds In The Rough. After moving to Vermont, he played with Bob Yellin, and with Big Spike Bluegrass. Neil continues to teach, write and play music. His recent instruction book, “Learning To Fiddle, Bluegrass Style” received a rave review in Bluegrass Unlimited.

Bennett Hammond started playing guitar in 1957 and began teaching in 1960, debuted as a virtuoso soloist in 1980 on the In-Bound platform, Harvard Square Station, and has played above ground, at home and abroad ever since. Bennett picked up banjo at BCN ten years ago. Early influences include an EP side of folk and cowboy songs with guitar accompaniment his sister Lucy made in 1951, recordings of Etta Baker, Mike Seeger and Duane Eddy, and of course the Three B’s – Bach, Bluegrass, and Bo Diddly.

Skip Gorman has been performing an impressive and varied palette of traditional American and Celtic folk music for over half a century. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine has called Skip “the finest exponent today of the style of mandolin that was performed by the Monroe Brothers”. An internationally recognized fiddler and singer of cowboy ballads, Skip has recorded for Rounder, Columbia, Folk Legacy and his own label, Old West Recordings. Ken Burns has used Skip’s music in four of his documentaries. His latest projects are Mandolin in the Cowcamp and Old Style Mandolin volumes 1 & 2.

Widely acclaimed as one of New England’s premiere instrumentalists, David Surette is highly regarded for his work on the guitar, mandolin, and cittern. His diverse repertoire includes Celtic and New England tunes, original compositions, blues and ragtime, traditional American roots music, and folk music from a variety of traditions. Surette is a gifted teacher, having taught at workshops and camps throughout the US, and in the UK. He is folk music coordinator at the Concord (NH) Community Music School, and artistic director of their March Mandolin Festival. His latest CD, Waiting For The Sun, a duo recording with Susie Burke, has been gathering widespread praise.

Rich DelGrosso is the player keeping the mandolin alive in the blues. He has received nine Blues Music Award nominations, his latest for his CD The Ragpicker Stringband, which has received worldwide critical acclaim. Downbeat magazine placed it as one of their choices for best CDs of 2015. DelGrosso was a writer/ editor for Blues Revue magazine for sixteen years and Mandolin Magazine for eleven. He has published four instruction books for Hal Leonard Publishing, including Mandolin Blues: From Memphis to Maxwell Street. He has conducted workshops in the US, UK and Europe for over thirty years.