Traditional Song Week Staff -2024

Saro Lynch-Thomason is an award-winning singer and song leader from Asheville, NC. She has studied and taught traditional song and balladry from Appalachia, the American South, the British Isles and Ireland for over a decade. Saro believes that old songs can help us understand the beliefs and struggles that shape human history, and that, in turn, these songs enable us to build a more compassionate and just future. She uses teaching, documentary, illustration and more to explore the amazing people and history behind songs ranging from Appalachian lullabies to American labor anthems, southern work songs and Scottish ballads. Her projects include the Songs that Speak YouTube series, the CD and multimedia project, Blair Mountain: A Musical Exploration of America’s Largest Labor Uprising, and several albums. Saro’s song “There Are More Waters Rising” has gained international attention, becoming an anthem in the movement to end global warming and garnering praise in the Huffington Post. Saro holds an MA in Appalachian Studies from East Tennessee State University and a Certificate in Documentary Studies from Duke University.

A former member of Cherish the Ladies, Cathie Ryan has devoted her life to singing Irish songs. Her 45-year career is distinguished by an unerring taste in song, critically acclaimed songwriting, and a history of excellence in recording and performance. She has released numerous CDs and tours internationally with her band headlining at performing arts centers, festivals, and with symphony orchestras. Born in Detroit to Irish parents from Kerry and Tipperary, she grew up in a home steeped in song and storytelling and continues to research the myths and the old songs. Cathie has taught workshops on Irish traditional singing and myth & folklore throughout North America and Europe, including several years at the Gathering.

Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. is an inspirational storyteller and musician celebrating the history, humor and power of American Roots music. An award-winning multi-instrumentalist, he plays guitar, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and fiddle.  His deep love for traditional African American and American traditional music is shared in live performances that interweave timeless stories with original and traditional songs.  For more than forty years Robert has entertained and educated audiences of all ages in schools, colleges, board rooms, libraries, union halls, prisons, churches and civil rights organizations. At the heart of his message is the belief that our cultural diversity tells a story that should celebrate, not just tolerate. In 2018 Robert was awarded a with a Kresge Fellowship, in recognition for his work in music and storytelling.

Chris Koldewey has been singing folk music since his teens, comes from a family rich in maritime traditions, and his lullabies as a child were traditional songs of the sea. He has performed in many states along the eastern seaboard of the US, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and in the UK. A multi-instrumentalist, Chris might be heard playing guitar, concertina, banjo, or mandolin. He spent twenty years working in the Chantey Department at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, where museum visitors could hear the songs and see the work for which they were used. Chris was privileged to sail and chantey on two historic vessels: the barque Picton Castle, out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and the only wooden whaler left, the Charles W. Morgan, out of Mystic, CT. Chris uses his 32 years of experience as a public school music teacher to engage and inspire audiences and workshop students as they expand their participation and enjoyment of traditional music.

With her powerful voice, captivating melodies and finely-crafted lyrics, Susan Cattaneo is one of Boston’s most respected singer/songwriters. Combining vivid storytelling with a modern songwriter’s spin, Susan’s music blends folk, rock and blues with hint of country. Susan’s latest album, All is Quiet is an acoustic tour de force recorded with acclaimed guitarists Duke Levine and Kevin Barry. The album charted #2 and was a top 25 Album of  2022 on the FAI Folk Radio chart. In her 20 plus years teaching Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, Susan has helped students work on over 15,000 songs in all musical genres and styles and mentored over 2,000 artists. She’s taught master clinics both nationally and internationally and she’s written for American Songwriter and Guitar World magazine. Susan won the CT Folk Festival and was nominated for “Singer Songwriter of the Year” at the 2022 Boston Music Awards. She has been a finalist or winner in the country’s most prestigious songwriting and music contests including being a three-time Kerrville New Folk finalist. Her 2016 double album The Hammer and The Heart charted #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and yielded a folk radio #1 single and top 10 album.

Traditional Song Week Coordinator Matt Watroba has spent most of his adult life sharing his knowledge and passion for folk music with just about anyone who would listen. As a performer, Matt has delivered thousands of shows in just about every imaginable setting. As a song leader, he is committed to inspiring or facilitating at least 100 community sings every year somewhere in the country. In 2019, Matt was inducted into the Folk DJ Hall Of Fame as part of the Folk Alliance International conference in Montreal, honoring three decades of producing folk radio locally in Michigan, as well as in syndication all over the world. He currently hosts and produces the show, Folk With Matt Watroba for Michigan State Public Media and is host, writer and producer of the popular podcast, No Root, No Fruit – A History of Folk, Roots, and Americana Music, One Record At A Time.

Sam Gleaves studied old time music as a teenager in his home community of Wytheville, VA. As a student, Sam played for four years with the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble directed by Al White. After graduation, Sam performed and taught in a variety of settings, including festivals, colleges, universities, and public schools. Sam teaches at many music camps, including Augusta’s Vocal Week, Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, Common Ground on the Hill’s Tradition Week, Folk College, and Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. With five studio recordings to his credit, Sam has shared music in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Ireland, England, and Japan. Appalachian author Lee Smith called Sam, “courageous as hell and country to the bone – the best young songwriter around.” Respected musicians have invited Sam to perform with them including Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Sheila Kay Adams, Kay Justice, Peggy Seeger, John McCutcheon, and Mary McPartlan. Sam currently serves as Bluegrass Ensemble Director and Appalachian Instruments Instructor at Berea College in Berea, KY.

Shirley Smith is a phenomenal vocal coach/music director, born and raised in Detroit, MI. She hails from a musical family and was exposed to several genres of music at an early age. She amazed her parents when she sat at the piano and played her first song at the tender age of 3 years old. Shirley started formal music training when she was 7. She began playing organ and piano in church at the age of 9. Her gift would continue to evolve as she studied voice, piano, and harp under the tutelage of Patricia Terry-Ross at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI and with Professor Dennis J. Tini at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She has performed for over 42 years and has taught voice and piano for 35 years. Shirley’s passion for music has introduced her to several types of venues including church, corporate events, and stage productions. Shirley is the founder and CEO of Journey Music Studios in Southfield, MI, where her skill, experience, honesty, confidence, and ability to help others realize growth and accomplishment in music and life emphasize her special touch that leaves such an indelible mark on the lives of all through her gift of music. She has been a gospel music coach in Australia and Jamaica and she is the original music director and vocal coach for the gospel stage play, Perilous Times, produced by her mentor TJ Hemphill. She has been the original Minister of Music for Bishop William H. Murphy III and the Dream Center Church, Atlanta, GA; and former Minister of Music at the Potter’s House International Ministries, Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin, Jacksonville, FL, where she taught a 200-voice youth choir at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. She is also currently working on an album project with Pamela English along with nationally acclaimed producer, Noel Hall.

Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise,” featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA “Best Gospel Recorded Performance” Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.” A longtime and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions 2016 tour of the U.K. with fiddler Aly Bain and Dobro master Jerry Douglas, and at the Transatlantic Session’s debut at Merlefest in 2017 with fellow singers James Taylor, Sarah Jarosz, Declan O’Rourke, Karen Matheson, and Maura O’Connell. In addition to performing solo, he plays in a duo with mandolin icon Mike Compton, and also performs with the dynamic fiddler and step-dancer April Verch. Growing up in a family full of singers and dancers, he took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. Newberry moved to North Carolina as a young man and quickly became an anchor of the incredible music scene in the state

Kay Justice began singing and playing the guitar in the 1960’s when she discovered popular folk music. Later, while a student at Clinch Valley College, she became enthralled with the songs, tunes, and ballads of the Appalachian region. Over the years she played music with various individuals and groups during which time she honed her guitar playing and singing skills.  She has recorded with Ginny Hawker and with the Herald Angel Band with Alice Gerrard and Gail Gillespie. Kay has taught at numerous music camps including the Augusta Heritage workshops, Mars Hill Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, Southern Week at Ashoken, Alleghany Echoes and the Swannanoa Gathering. She has performed at festivals throughout the US and Canada and is widely respected as a patient and gentle instructor.

Children’s Program coordinator Melissa Hyman is involved with kids and music in all the many facets of her working life. She has taught music to elementary students at Asheville charter schools and coordinated children’s programming at regional music conferences. She is a touring and recording artist, cellist, bassist, singer and songwriter who works with many beloved Asheville bands including The Moon and You, Tina & Her Pony and Hannah Kaminer & the Wistfuls. She teaches rock band at French Broad River Academy middle school, in addition to private music students of all ages. She is also the Music Teacher for the Asheville chapter of Arts for Life (artsforlifenc.org), a non-profit providing art and music programming for patients in NC’s major children’s hospitals and outpatient clinics. In 2016 Melissa founded Arts For Life’s Heartbeat Sessions program (heartbeatsessions.org), in joyful collaboration with Echo Mountain Recording Studios and many talented members of the Asheville music community. Melissa looks forward to many more unforgettable summers in Swannanoa, leading a ragtag crew of amazing kids and counselors on adventures through space and time. She feels right at home in this world of messy games, silly songs, amazing crafts and fast friendships.