Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 20-26, 2025
Old-Time Week 2025 Catalog Section
As a seasoned coordinator of one of the Gathering’s flagship programs, Erynn Marshall assembles some of the greatest old-time music and dance musicians year in and year out for one of the most unforgettable weeks you will find anywhere. For 2025, we will have fiddle instructors Jake Blount, Matt Combs, Judy Hyman, Rhys Jones, Rosie Newton, and Adam Tanner. The banjo staff includes Gordy Hinners, Joe Newberry, and Travis Stuart. Teaching guitar will be Rachel Combs, Jeff Claus (banjo-uke, guitar), Phil Jamison, and Paul Kovac. Singing classes will be offered by Sheila Kay Adams (ballads, banjo), Cary Fridley (Honky-Tonk, High lonesome singing), Ron Pen (shape-note, OT music history), and Carol Elizabeth Jones (southern harmony, singing with fiddle tunes). Rounding out the staff will be Mike Compton (mandolin), Carl Jones (uke, tunesmithing/songwriting), Kevin Kehrberg (bass), Jackie Merritt (harmonica and bones), Don Pedi (mountain dulcimer), and clogging instructors Leanne E. Smith and Rodney Sutton. Additional classes include square dance calling (Phil Jamison) and multiple band labs (Matt & Rachel Combs, Gordy Hinners). Gina Dilg will head up our popular Young Old-Time youth program, and Jarrett Grey Wildcat, Bruce Greene, Bob Carlin, Larry Sigmon, and Eddie & Bonnie Bond will be the visiting Master Artists for 2025!
Our oldest program, Old-Time Music & Dance Week atat the Swannanoa Gathering features fabulous jams, great food, a beautiful location and the best old-time musical line-up in the country! The week explores the rich music, dance, and singing traditions of the Southern Appalachian region through a wide variety of classes taught by an experienced and supportive staff. The many diverse offerings enable students to explore new areas; fiddlers sing, singers dance, and dancers learn to play instruments. Students enroll in 2 to 3 regular classes (capped at 15 students unless otherwise noted) during the week. During the afternoons, our stellar teachers present 20 additional, engaging workshops called “Potlucks” open to all participants. Guest master artists come daily sharing stories and music. Evening activities include jam sessions, singing, square-dances, concerts, a film, the Old-Time Social open mic and the popular Late-Night Honky-Tonk! To accommodate families, we offer Young Old-Time, an evening jam for young players, and a Children’s Program for ages 6-12. Food and craft beer trucks are open nightly. It’s hard to beat the fun, community vibe of everyone jamming and visiting during the pleasant summer evenings at Swannanoa, nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina—a hotbed for traditional old-time music in the U.S.