Lorraine Hammond’s numerous credits as a traditional singer, songwriter, teacher, performer and instrumentalist include a Homespun Appalachian dulcimer instruction series and two elegant dulcimer books with Yellow Moon Press. Lorraine plays, performs on and teaches dulcimer, banjo, mandolin and harp. Her extensive mandolin teaching experience includes the John C. Campbell Folk School, WUMB-FM Acoustic music weeks and weekends, and nearly a decade at Mandolin Camp North. She is a lecturer in folk music at Lasell College in Newton, MA, and Music Director of WUMB-FM’s Summer Acoustic Music Week. Lorraine performs and records with her husband Bennett Hammond.

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.

Dick Bowden is one of the leading traditional bluegrass banjo pickers in New England. Starting in 1966 with The Bowden Family and The Fort Knox Volunteers, Dick helped establish bluegrass in his home state of Maine. He was a bench member of Joe Val’s New England Bluegrass Boys, and played five years with Herb Applin’s Berkshire Mountain Boys. Moving to New York in 1989, Dick played guitar with The Case Brothers – Martin & Gibson (two recordings) for 10 years, and played banjo on fiddler Joe Meadows’ final CD in 2001. With his encyclopedic knowledge of bluegrass styles and lyrics, Dick is the go-to guy to lead high-level bluegrass jam sessions or emcee concerts and festivals. He’s a frequent contributor to online and print publications and currently serves as Ringmaster of Dick Bowden’s Flying Circus, a high-energy revue of seriousness and silliness.

Janet Beazley plays banjo and sings with the California bluegrass band Chris Stuart & Backcountry. She has toured extensively with CS&B throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and also in the Middle East. Janet has taught bluegrass banjo, harmony singing and music theory at many workshops, including Midwest Banjo Camp, American Banjo Camp, Suwannee Banjo Camp, Banjo Camp North, Augusta Heritage Center Bluegrass Week, Kluane Bluegrass Week in the Yukon, Rivertunes, California Bluegrass Association Bluegrass Week, Munich Banjo Camp, and Sore Fingers Week in the UK. She is also a specialist in early music, and has taught for many years at UC Riverside, UC Irvine, USC, and at early music workshops throughout the West.

Marcy Marxer is a multi-instrumentalist, studio musician, performer, songwriter and producer with 40 years of experience and a shelf of impressive awards. She has played acoustic music on Emmy Award winning National Geographic specials, platinum shipping Eva Cassidy CD’s and on over 50 recordings and instructional materials created with her partner, Cathy Fink. Marcy is a two-time GRAMMY Award winner and fourteen-time GRAMMY nominee whose guitar playing spans a variety of styles- swing rhythm and lead, bluegrass, old time, Celtic fingerpicking, folk fingerpicking and some of the most tasteful backup you can hear. She plays a signature Martin guitar, signature National Steel Tenor guitar and signature KALA tenor ukulele. She is a well-loved instructor at many camps including Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Camp and she teaches online via Truefire, Homespun Tapes and Peghead Nation.

“It is the power of her playing that keeps listeners coming back.” – the alternate route

Howie Bursen is best known for his gravity-defying, triplet-filled, fiddle-tune variations and is certainly one of today’s foremost practitioners of clawhammer banjo style. He has taught clawhammer at the Maryland Banjo Academy, Common Ground and the California Traditional Solstice Festival, and his eclectic recordings contain quite a number of stellar clawhammer solos. Speaking of eclectic, Howie is also an excellent singer, song-writer and guitarist, and he makes his living as manager and head wine-maker for a Connecticut vineyard. Howie is working on his new solo recording “Spring on the Swamp”.