BLUFF COUNTRY GATHERING
 

    Dan Gellert was on the staff of the first Bluff Country Gathering and in 2020 makes his fourth appearance here. A master of fiddle, banjo and guitar, Dan now makes his home in Aiken, SC. He says of himself: “I've been playing various stringed instruments and singing old songs for nearly 60 years, and still haven't figured out how to make that into a job, so am still happily an amateur. "Cultural appropriation" has become something to be avoided these days, but I found out long ago that there were lots better musical ideas out there to be stolen than those I could come up with myself. I could say I'm atoning by trying to pass them along, but that's far too much fun to be any sort of penance.”

    Henry Barnes says his approach to traditional music is to teach the same practice techniques he regularly uses for himself, techniques that can be used for more than fancy fiddling. His biggest recorded influences are Doc Roberts, Mike Humphreys, John Johnson, and J.P. Fraley, along with his lived experiences with Bobby Taylor, John Morris, Dan Gellert, and Roger Cooper. Henry has won the Ed Haley Memorial Award multiple times as well as 1st place in fiddle and band at the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop, WV and 1st place at the WV state folk festival in Glenville, WV. He lives in Washington Courthouse, OH.

    Elizabeth LaPrelle has been performing and studying Appalachian ballads and old-time songs since she was eleven. Raised in Rural Retreat, Virginia, Elizabeth attended old time fiddlers’ conventions and sang harmonies with her family, who encouraged her to sing their own favorite American folk music. As a teen Elizabeth learned the ‘mountain’ style of singing from mentors Ginny Hawker and Sheila Kay Adams, which led her to explore archives and field recordings for ancient and little-known songs. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary with a major in Southern Appalachian Traditional Performance. Elizabeth has been touring and recording traditional American music since 2005, first with her family band and later in the duo "Anna & Elizabeth". She now tours the US and abroad, both performing and teaching. http://elizabethlaprelle.com

    We don't know if the South City Serenaders are really a band or just a figment of the imagination. We are, however, very pleased to have these four old time players from St. Louis, MO.

    Geoff Seitz has been playing music since age eight and fiddle for over 45 years. Throughout his years of fiddling Geoff sought out traditional master fiddlers and learned tunes in the old time style. Although he has spent many hours with the Missouri Valley and Ozark fiddlers, Seitz also learned from Appalachian and western fiddle players. And he has never been above learning and sharing tunes from fiddlers of his generation and younger. Geoff’s style of fiddling could be described as danceable, regularly playing for dances and concerts, and has won numerous awards including the fiddle contest at Clifftop, WV. Geoff is also a violin maker and repairman. http://www.seitzviolins.com
    Dedo Norris spent a lot of time in her young adult life absorbing the music of Galax, Virginia and the Round Peak area near Mount Airy, North Carolina. This remains her lifelong love, and she is passionate about sharing these traditions. She currently plays fiddle in St Louis’s premier old-time string band The Missouri Possum Tamers and bass in the Red Squirrel Chasers. Well known and highly respected for her fiddling, her driving and rock-steady rhythm also make her one of the most sought-after bass players throughout the American old-time music world. Dedo has taught fiddle and bass at the CROMA old-time festival in Colorado as well as at the Banjo-Fiddle Frolic in North Carolina and works with private students at home in St. Louis.
    Jim Nelson has honed his back-up guitar skills over many years of playing with older dance fiddlers, including Bob Holt and Lotus Dickey. He has played with The Volo Bogtrotters and the St. Louis-based Ill-Mo Boys for over two decades and has taught numerous old-time guitar classes and workshops at music camps and festivals across the country. These days he plays in the Red Squirrel Chasers, the Hoosier Crackerjacks, The Mississippi Possum Tamers, and the reconstituted Volo Bogtrotters.
    Dave Landreth has been teaching banjo for over well over 35 years with 20 years of that being in the St Louis area. Well-known for his strong, rhythmic and exciting clawhammer style, Dave has played such bands as the Allen Street String, New Bad Habits, The Combine and, most recently, Dugout Canoe. He has taught at dance camps across the country and has also taught workshops at the Montana Fiddle Camp, Augusta Heritage Arts Festival in West Virginia, and the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival (MBOTMA). http://banjoboysbrain.com

    At the center of the Northwest old time music and dance community for decades, WB Reid & Bonnie Zahnow of Seattle have played for concerts, festivals, and dances as a duo and in collaborations with musicians of all ages. Both are accomplished fiddlers and guitarists, and WB (aka Bruce) also plays both five- and six-string banjos. Their repertoire is centered in old time songs, classic and quirky tunes, and rags, with side trips to music from Tin Pan Alley and The Mississippi Sheiks. They also study and perform duet fiddling from the Tohono O’odham people of Arizona and the Purépecha people of Michoacán. Together they toured Alabama with Lee Stripling and recently toured Europe with Craig Judelman. WB was the Tallboys’ fiddler for four years, and plays regularly with Eric & Suzy Thompson in The Todalo Shakers jugband. Each summer they teach at Lark Camp in Mendocino, and serve as staff musicians at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, where they first met. http://www.wbandbonnie.com