Old-Time Music & Dance Week, July 20-26, 2025
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 Bryan, Jeff Claus, Phil Jamison, and Paul Kovac. Singing classes will be offered by Sheila Kay Adams (ballads), Cary Fridley (gospel and country blues), Ron Pen (shape-note), and Carol Elizabeth Jones (country harmony). Rounding out the staff will be Carl Jones (mandolin), 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, ukulele, and multiple band labs. Gina Dilg will head up our popular Young Old-Time youth program, and Bruce Greene, Bob Carlin, and Larry Sigmon will be among the visiting Master Artists for 2025, with more to come!
Our oldest program, Old-Time Music & Dance Week at 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 as many as three regular classes during the week, and each afternoon a variety of short workshop topics are offered during the Potluck Sessions. The daily Communal Gathering features guest master musicians, singers, and dancers. Evening activities include jam sessions, singing, square dances, clogging, concerts, the Old-Time Social open mic and the popular Late-Night Honky-Tonk! To accommodate families, we offer the Teen Gathering, a class specifically for teenagers, Young Old-Time, an evening jam for young players, and a Children’s Program for ages 6-12. Food and the craft beer trucks are open nightly. It’s hard to beat the fun and community vibe at late night jams during the pleasantly warm evenings at Swannanoa nestled in the mountains of North Carolina.