Saturday Stages - Music & Storytelling

Compton Music Stage

10:15 AM Bear Hill Bluegrass

Bear Hill Bluegrass takes pride in performing traditional bluegrass and gospel, while adding just the right mix of classic country and comedy to please the audience and have fun. They play the familiar bluegrass, gospel and a few country songs that everyone will recognize, done in a friendly down-home manner on stage. The audience is involved with the band and the songs throughout the show.

11 AM Marv Ashby and High Octane

From the West Virginia Panhandle comes that hard-driving “no holds barred” bluegrass music courtesy of Marv Ashby and the High Octane band. Ashby is joined by some the region’s finest entertainers, delivering a quality and fast-moving show. Traditional and contemporary bluegrass genres are showcased during High Octane performances. High Octane features Ashby’s aggressive flatpicking style and straight-ahead vocal arrangements.

11:45 Folk ’Em All Trio

Folk ’Em All Trio is a fun, exciting and energetic string trio that covers a vast array of classic American roots music. From bluegrass to western swing, Jimmy Cliff to BB King and original tunes by all three members, Folk ’Em All Trio will folk with them all. These boys also occasionally double as longtime Jerry Garcia/David Grisman collaborator Joe Craven’s backup band, performing together as Joe Craven and the Y’allterations at legendary bluegrass and roots festivals Delfest and Suwannee Roots Revival. Guitarist, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jody Mosser of Frostburg owns the gambit of guitar-picking styles. He’s toured across the country with top regional bands such as The Plate Scrapers, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers and Grand Ole’ Ditch. Also hailing from Frostburg is singer/songwriter Byrne Klay on the bass. Klay’s eclectic career has spanned almost three decades. Performing various styles on various instruments. he has toured Asia, Europe, Australia and the U.S. with avant-garde punk acts Dynamite Club and Project Bazooka as well as theatrical surf band This Spy Surfs. He is also the guitarist and banjo player for Megan Jean’s Secret Family, which he co-leads with his wife Megan Jean. Fiddler, mandolinist and singer Fiddlin’ Ray Bruckman is from Stahlstown, Pa. Since starting at age 11 in 2005, Bruckman has played with 18 regional bands, including Brush Creek, Grand Ole’ Ditch and the Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers; he has been a Pennsylvania state fiddle, mandolin and guitar player.

12:30 PM Famous International Hillbilly Singin’ Stars

From lesser-known Americana hits to popular favorites that you know and can sing along to, this eclectic mix of musicians and singers offers music that is well-traveled. Adding their hillbilly mojo to a variety of musical genres, they serve up toe-tapping entertainment that is pleasing to all.

1:15 PM The Mount Clare Connection

The Mount Clare Connection plays Irish and American traditional music in regional styles from Maryland. At its core is an expansive duet between the button accordion (Peter Brice) and the fiddle (Joanna Clare), supported by rich accompaniment on the guitar, five-string banjo and tenor banjo (Richard Osban).The ensemble’s music traces legacies of Irish culture along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, and invests renewed and newly composed melodies into the tapestry of Irish traditional music in America.

1:45 The Baltimore Irish Music School

The Baltimore Irish Music School is based in Baltimore, a city that has been steeped in Irish traditional music since the 1970s, when the aptly named trio the Irish Tradition moved there from New York. The Irish Tradition consisted of Billy McComiskey on the button accordion, Brendan Mulvihill on the fiddle and Andy O’Brien on the guitar, and their playing and teaching in the region formed the backbone of the music played in Baltimore today. The Irish Music School, directed by Richard Osban, keeps the tradition going by connecting students with private teachers and fostering community through their group classes. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Irish Music School is committed to keeping its programming accessible and affordable for families and providing chances for its students to play and perform. You can learn more on the Baltimore Irish Music School web site.

2:20 PM Black Diamond

Black Diamond is a hard-driving traditional-style bluegrass band from Southwestern Pennsylvania. Their blend of traditional bluegrass music and original songs with tight three- and four-part vocal harmonies are sure to please music lovers from all walks of life.

3 PM Critton Hollow Band

With fiddle, hammer dulcimer, banjo and guitar, the band tends a stable of songs from the first settlements of Appalachia to the best of contemporary American folk music. These songs express a range of experience that can make you laugh or cry and occasionally do both at the same time and ballads that tell stories of bad men and disappointed lovers. The three members of the band – Joe Herrmann, Sam Herrmann and Joe Fallon – combine precise instrumentation, melodic interplay and three-part harmony to create a warm and engaging sound.

3:40 PM The Kevin Prater Band

Kevin Prater’s lifelong journey in bluegrass music began with his first professional job at age 7. Now in his 43rd year, Prater has performed in 24 countries and 49 states and has shared the stage with many legends of bluegrass, including The Osborne Brothers, Doyle Lawson and Quick Silver, and Charlie Waller and The Country Gentleman. For the past 15 years, Prater has been leading his own band throughout the U.S. and Canada. They have released six CDs, most recently “Red Rocking Chair” recorded at Prater’s own studio, Sound Makers in Belcher, Ky.

4:25 PM Buffalo Run

Buffalo Run is a gathering of long-time musical performers/friends bringing new songs to life and attempting to bring some new life to old songs they love. Though they have played together for years, they have only actually been a band for the last five and in 2018 released their first album “Bemused in Bruceton,” 10 original songs by R. Levee Smith arranged by the band and recorded at Otterslide Studio, Bob Shank’s homespun recording center. For more information, visit Buffalorunboys@facebook.com.

5:15 PM Day Old News

Day Old News grew its roots from the old-time, bluegrass and Americana folk sounds that surround them in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland. Band members are Jeremie Hamilton, Tom Bond and Sam Lauver.

Sowers Stage

10:40 AM The Time Travelers

Primarily based out of Hampshire County, W.Va., The Time Travelers are keeping folk traditions alive through their powerful rendering of some of the most traditional tunes, songs and coal-mining ballads of the Appalachian region. The group brings three-part harmony alive.

11:20 AM Pete Hobbie and Dakota Karper

Pete Hobbie and Dakota Karper are a father-daughter duo who embrace the heritage and traditions of old-time Appalachian music. Hobbie began playing music as a child, and in his teen years picked up the guitar. Through a lifetime of musical experiences, he has been influenced by rock, blues, Cajun, classical music and so much more. When he moved to West Virginia for the second time in the ’80s and started a family, he discovered a love for the banjo and mountain music. The Hobbie home was always filled with music. When Karper was 8 years old, Hobbie gifted her with her first fiddle, and she began learning folk music as well as studying classical violin through the Suzuki program. Now, as an adult, Karper has continued to pursue music and has opened her own folk music school in Capon Bridge, W.Va., called The Cat and The Fiddle where Hobbie is now learning to play the fiddle as well. Through the years they have performed as a duo, combining the haunting melodies of fiddle, driving rhythm of banjo and guitar and the earnest rising of their voices.

NOON Loretta Hummel and Paul Dix

Local musician Loretta Hummel has been delighting regional audiences for many years. Residing near Frostburg, she is a singer and songwriter who has recorded and released several music albums. An ordained music minister, she plays guitar and mandolin and performs various country, gospel and bluegrass music in the tri-state area and throughout the U.S. Hummel has won three international awards in the past year. In July 2022, she was honored with the ICGMA Gold Cross Award as Bluegrass Artist of the year in West Plains, Mo. Paul Dix grew up in Westminster, Md., playing mandolin and guitar. He has played with many musical groups in Maryland and Pennsylvania, including The Salem Bottom Boys, Maple City Bluegrass and Hummel. Hummel and Dix will perform her original songs and cover songs.

12:40 PM Me and Martha

Performing together since 2004, husband-and-wife duo Don DePoy and Martha Hills have earned a solid international reputation as authentic masters of Appalachian Mountain music. As they perform as Me and Martha from concert hall to street busking, their crowd-matched mix of mellow folk, sizzling bluegrass, sultry swing, jazz standards and a smattering of classic country delight audiences of all ages.

1:20 PM Davis Bradley Duo

Kathy Davis and Bradley Bishop have teamed up to present a one-of-a-kind musical experience for everyone! They draw from their individual bluegrass, old-time and swing influences to create something magical, while remaining true to the roots of the music they love. Fans can expect to hear fresh renditions of the classics, as well as several original compositions, played on more than a dozen traditional instruments and presented in a historic context. This dynamic song mix has helped to extend their combined reach, holding the door wide open to welcome those in search of something new and unique!

2 PM Casselman Valley Travelers

A regional favorite, Casselman Valley Travelers have been delighting audiences of the tri-state area for many years. With a penchant for popular old-time and bluegrass covers, they’re known for their energetic style and joy of playing.

2:40 PM Jeff and Myles Thomas With Madalyn Higgins

Father-and-son Jeff and Myles Thomas team up to present traditional Irish music. With decades of experience as a concertina maker and player, Jeff has nurtured a love for Irish music in his 13-year-old son, Myles. Determined to play fiddle, Myles began his musical journey at age 6. Recently, he had a busy musical summer attending the Baroque Early Music Camp in Cumberland and the Catskills Irish Arts Week in New York.

Madalyn Higgins began learning Irish dance under the direction of Maxine Olson of Scoil Damhsa in Weston, W.Va. Her career in dance now spans more than 20 years. Higgins’ style is rooted in traditional techniques and inspired by many Appalachian dance forms. As a new resident to Cumberland, she hopes to find more opportunities to pass on the joy of dance.

3:20 PM Walt Michael

Walt Michael is considered to be a virtuoso of tremendous influence in the revival of the hammered dulcimer. His repertoire ranges from old-time Southern Appalachian, to Celtic, to breathtaking original compositions. As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, he has recorded nine albums, appeared at the White House, the Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center and toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and the UK. Michael is the Artist in Residence at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., and founder and executive director of Common Ground on the Hill, a Maryland Folklife Center and an international traditional arts organization that seeks to promote interracial harmony through the arts. Joining Michael are two string-band veterans. Fiddler Evan Stover is a founding member of Fiddle Fever, whose music featured heavily in Ken Burns’ PBS “Civil War” series. Stover’s elegant and fiery fiddling graces a long list of recordings from a wide spectrum of recording artists, including David Bromberg, Tony Trischka, Bottle Hill, Walt Michael and many others. Bassist Tom Wetmore has performed with Michael since 1988, tours and records with Irish music great John Whalen and has performed with numerous top-drawer musicians, including bluegrass legend Bill Keith.

4 PM Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform throughout the U.S. as well as overseas, singing songs and telling stories from the American folk tradition. Sparky has been performing for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller and author. He accompanies himself with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, banjo and spoons. Rhonda is a musician, children’s author, storyteller and songwriter. Her blues-style harmonica, piano, old-time banjo and bones add musical versatility to their performances. 

4:40 PM Michael and Carrie Kline

Michael and Carrie Kline present their music as entertainment and social history, with engaging ease and hard-hitting passion. Michael and Carrie have spent years recording music and spoken narrative in Cherokee, N.C., the Appalachian coalfields and mountainside farms, along with industrial cities from Cincinnati to those of New England. The Klines’ high-mountain harmony vocals meld with their intertwining bass lines on two guitars, with Michael’s melodic flat-picking guitar playing and Carrie’s dynamic backup.

5:20 PM Gilbert Lee and the Ghost on the Radio

Gilbert Lee and the Ghost on the Radio is an eclectic indie-rock, roots and Americana band led by singer-songwriter Gilbert Lee Christian Cochrum. Since 2016, he has released a number of albums and EPs, both solo and with the band. A reviewer for HuffPost (2017) described Gilbert’s voice as “wonderfully clear and rich ... vaguely reminiscent of Paul Simon’s, but brighter and more lavish,” while the Music Street Journal (2018) described the versatility of his songwriting, noting similarities to a wide range of classic artists from The Beatles to Sade. Similarly, the band is noted for its engaging, dynamic live performances, which include multi-instrumentalists Derek Shank (drums, guitar, organ, etc.) and Hanna Livingston (fiddle, trumpet), along with bassist Tom Fair. Their most recent release is the 2023 EP, “Cold, Cold Ground.”

Chapel Happenings Outdoors

10 AM Frostburg Arion Band

Originally organized in 1877 to accompany a singing society, Frostburg Arion Band has participated in many interesting activities over the years. Today, band members represent an intergenerational mix of male and female musicians, each member attracted to the band by his or her shared love of the music and the desire to perpetuate the longstanding tradition of the community band.

Coal-Mining Memories

11:30 AM Mary Hott

Performing songs from her CD collection, “Devil in the Hills: Coal Country Reckoning,” Mary Hott delivers a soulful Americana song cycle inspired by recently discovered first-person accounts of life deep in West Virginia’s coalfields, a life dominated by the systemic oppression that kept miners and their wives under the thumb of coal companies and their henchmen. The album calls for a full reckoning to bring an end to the generational trauma that continues today.

12:10 PM Jay Smar

Armed with two guitars, baritone vocals, claw-hammer banjo and fiddling, singing and flat-footin’ (a form of clog dancing), Jay Smar serves his audience an “acoustic buffet” of traditional American and original folk, old-time mountain music, bluegrass and gospel tunes, as well as the coal-mining songs of Northeast Pennsylvania.

1 PM to 3:30 PM Appalachian Storytelling

1 PM Judi Tarowsky

Judi Tarowsky was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 25 years and told other people’s stories. Now, as a storyteller, she gets to tell her own. Tarowsky is a native of Latrobe, Pa., and grew up in New Castle, Pa. She discovered storytelling in 2006, and after winning first place in the inaugural Strand Theater Preservation Society Storytelling Festival Liar’s Contest in Moundsville, W.Va., began her study of the craft in earnest. She went on to earn a graduate certificate in storytelling from the University of North Texas Library Sciences program. Since then, Tarowsky has performed at festivals, libraries, museums and special events in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wales.

1:30 PM Jo Ann Dadisman

Jo Ann Dadisman is a retired West Virginia educator and active storyteller. She realizes stories are one of the ways we learn, make connections with the past and see the similarities we all share. While tales of the Appalachian region are her favorite, she also shares stories from around the world, including folk tales, myths and legends, the tales of October, Christmas, Civil War and coal and many more. When children are in the audience, she includes activities that will help them to remember and pass on the story to others.

2 PM Otto and Katie Ross

In 1993, Katie Ross and her husband Otto formed a storytelling duo called Stories by the Score. Katie tells the stories and Otto plays the music. The pair won first place at the Autumn Glory Tall Tales Contest in Oakland, Md., in 1997 and 1999. Later, Katie went on to be the first runner-up in the 2004 National Storyteller of the Year sponsored by the Creative Arts Institute in Blacklick, Ohio. Katie and Otto have performed for the last several years at FSU’s Appalachian Festival, with Katie coordinating the storytelling events.

2:30 PM James Froemel

James Froemel is a storyteller and four-time winner of the West Virginia’s Biggest Liar Contest. In 2023, he completed a storytelling apprenticeship through the West Virginia Humanities Council and has led workshops on storytelling for youth and corporations over the past seven years. As an actor and improviser he is a member of the Fearless Fools comedy team and performs with West Virginia Public Theatre. Fromel is a graduate of West Virginia University School of Theatre and Dance and received his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from WVU as well.

PM Mikalena Zuckett

Mikalena Zuckett’s love of folk tales and stories drew her first to writing. She grew up in Wheeling, W.Va., in a family that loved to gather and tell stories long into the night. During the 1990s, she returned to writing and had just completed her first mid-grade novel when she discovered the West Virginia Storytelling Guild. Soon she found these past skills and experiences coming together in new ways. She then began an odyssey to find her own stories and came up with tellings of folk tales, Jack tales, ghost tales, historic tales and personal tales.

4 PM Workshop: Canjo Workshop With Jim Morris

Renowned instrument maker Jim Morris will teach workshop participants how to make and play a canjo, a single-stringed instrument with a soundbox made from a tin can. Morris is well-known locally for making instruments from salad bowls, frying pans, cigar boxes and just about everything else that can create a sound. All supplies will be provided, and participants are welcome to keep the instruments they create.