August Week II

Annadeene Konesni Fowler

Steeped in traditions of music and festivals of Western North Carolina and Kentucky from birth, Annadeene was in fact named for old-time guitar player and singer Annadeene Fraley. She’s sure music followed the name.

Exposed to and trying out all kinds of music after moving to Maine, Annadeene discovered the joys of performance and musical theatre at age 7 on the stages of Maine State Music Theatre and playhouses of the Midcoast. She picked up parts singing in high school choruses, and with DownEast Singers. She was a featured vocalist with Portland Symphony Orchestra, and wound up her youth musical studies at Walnut Hill School in Natick, Ma., majoring in Opera.

These days Annadeene weaves her harmonies and melodies with family and friends in genres of folk, country, bluegrass, blues and rock ‘n roll as a singer of Americana band The Hot Suppers.  She has been an instructor at Strung Together Music Festival in Searsport, Maine. She is the co-producer of Belfast Summer Music Series, and promoter of musical and artistic acts throughout Maine.

Leave the cases and capos and pesky breaking strings to the other musicians. Annadeene would like to encourage the Warblers to dig in, open up their mouths and let their inner voice shine!

Endlessly inspired by bonds of kinship forged through music, Cellist, composer, and teacher
Sammy Wetstein found his love for music traveling between multigenerational folk music camps
and festivals in search of a musical community to call home. His journey led him to pursue a
degree in folk and jazz string performance at Berklee College of Music and become versed in a
variety of styles, performing, recording, and teaching throughout the worlds of classical, jazz,
and traditional Celtic, New England, Bluegrass and Old time fiddle music.
As a multi instrumentalist fluent in playing accordion, guitar, mandolin, bass, violin, and viola, he
has appeared at venues such as the Newport Folk Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass festival, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Berklee College Of Music Convocation, The Library of
Congress, and the annual International Bluegrass Music Association festival. He has served as
faculty at Maine Fiddle Camp, The Swannanoa Gathering, The Ashokan Center, Fiddle Hell,
Pinewoods dance Camps, and the IBMA Kids on Bluegrass Program.
Sammy has appeared alongside artists such as the Grammy winning 8 Bit Big Band, jazz icons
Joe Levano and Kenny Barron, renown string players including Eugene Friesen, Darol Anger,
Mike Marshall and Jason Anick, and toured with trailblazing folk artists Jake Blount and Nic
Gareiss. Advocating for furthering the role of the cello in traditional music, he has been featured
on Bluegrass Today and Sirius XM Bluegrass Junction. In 2024 his new acoustic quartet Catfish
in the Sky was a winner of the Freshgrass band competition, and his Celtic trio was voted one of
the top 5 Celtic bands of 2022 by Irish and Celtic music podcast.
Sammy’s love of music stems from his dream to find belonging and bring others together, and in
his teaching he hopes to encourage string players of all ages and backgrounds to find freedom
in their music, explore global music styles, and play music as a means to exist in community
while better understanding oneself.

Clara grew up playing music in the woods of southern Maine in a family of classical musicians. She fell in love with fiddle music when she came to Maine Fiddle Camp for the first time in 2013. Clara minored in music and started playing the lever harp while earning her master’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern Maine. She started playing for contra dances in 2016 with Jamie Oshima in their duo project Joy Compass. Clara currently tours with the Red Case Band (fiddle and harp) and the Gaslight Tinkers (fiddle) as well as other projects and solo. She teaches at camps and festivals and offers private lessons.

w: https://www.claraconstancemusic.com/
e: [email protected]

Mia Bertelli grew up in the mountains of New Mexico, singing at every chance she could get. Her love of song led her to Vermont at the age of fifteen, where she dove into the polyphonic singing camps of Village Harmony like a penguin into the sea. Since then she has been filling kitchens, streets, concert halls, vegetable gardens, and public restrooms with song, both in the northeast and overseas. Her irrepressible inclination to harmonize and great love of playful nuance have mostly gotten her into all the right sorts of trouble, so she counts them among her blessings.   (more…)

Susie Burke has been singing and performing since the early 80s, as a soloist, and a member of several bands and duos, the longest running being with David Surette. Her musical tastes and influences are varied, encompassing contemporary and traditional folk, swing, country, topical songs, and acapella singing, with detours along the way for Broadway showtunes and classic ballads. “She posesses one of the finest, purest ballad voices heard in folk music today” wrote Scott Alarik in the Boston Globe, noting that “her phrasing is unerringly devoted to the lyric…Burke displays a gift for pulling honest emotional chords – all too rare in these clever and cynical times.”  (more…)

A self-described “tune hound,” Jim DiCarlo has been playing Irish music on whistle and wooden flute for contra dances, at sessions, and in the hallways of music festivals for the past 25 years.  He loves learning new tunes and has even composed a few of passable quality.  A long-time member of the Maine-based, not-entirely-traditional group Wake the Neighbors, he played alongside Lissa Schneckenburger, John Cote, Jessie & Greg Boardman, Ed Howe, Anthony Shostak and Alfred Lund.  (more…)

Maine coast musician, and member of the North American Fiddler’s Hall of Fame, Frank Ferrel is considered one of the seminal traditional New England and Maritime fiddlers. In fact, Boston Globe music critic, Scott Alarik called him, “One of the finest living masters of the genre.” his CD recording, Yankee Dreams, was selected by the Library of Congress to be included in their, “Select list of 25 examples of American folk music on record.” His original compositions have enjoyed great popularity in the Canadian Maritimes, and have been recorded by such notable Canadian fiddlers as Buddy MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Brenda Stubbert, Tracy Dares, Maybelle Chisholm, Andrea Beaton, Joe Cormier, Shane Cook, Tara Lynn Touesnard and Douglas Cameron and J.J. Chaisson. He is a regular fixture at local traditional dances and concerts, and has preformed and toured throughout North America, Ireland and the British Isles, including numerous appearances with the legendary Celtic group, The Boys of the Lough. He has also been a regular featured guest on the National Public Radio series, A Prairie Home Companion, and is included on their CD recording, PHC Tourists. Frank has recorded his music for national labels including Rounder records, Flying Fish, Voyager and Great Meadow Music. He has written numerous books of traditional music, and has contributed numerous articles to folk and music magazines and journals.

Frank Ferrel 114 Old Brunswick Road, Bath, Maine 04530, USA, (207) 449-1614 (home), (207) 841-9918 (cell) www.frankferrel.com [email protected]

Ellen Gawler is a celebrated fiddler, masterful in many styles, including Irish, French-Canadian, Maritime, Shetland and New England. Her fiddling possesses sparkling clarity, authentically rooted in tradition while at the same time inventive and playful. Her lively delivery of traditional fiddling has sent many a contra dance hall into whirling delight with soaring melodies and driving rhythms. (more…)

Elsie Gawler is a multi-instrumentalist and songster rooted in Maine’s traditional folk music and culture. With her family, the Gawler Family Band, she has played throughout the state and beyond, sharing traditional fiddle tunes, songs, and original works since she was 6 years old. From this foundation she has branched out and launched her debut solo album, Sweet As Honey. The album is a collection of 9 original songs inspired by sacred connection to earth and community. While continuing to play regularly with The Gawler Family Band, her other projects include duo Elsie & Ethan, trio Springtide, and trio The Gawler Sisters. She has also been a long-time member of the group Childsplay. Elsie grew up at Maine Fiddle Camp and transitioned to a teaching role in 2010.
(more…)

Tamora has been playing the fiddle since the early 1980’s and teaching for more than two decades. She teaches a broad range of music and created the first strings program at Ashwood Waldorf school. She was on the teaching staff at 317 Main Community Music Center for 3 years, is currently teaching fiddle from home in Warren, Maine, and is happily open to travel to lead groups. Tamora is primarily known for her music in the Irish/Celtic tradition and in the world of Contra Dance. (more…)

Born into a musical family, Ed started playing fiddle at the age of 4, learning Suzuki method. His musical interests cover a wide spectrum from Bluegrass to Celtic and beyond and he has been a regular instructor for Maine Fiddle Camp since 2003. Howe has an extensive electronics background, and took an interest in the electric violin. He plays a 5-string NS Design electronic violin and is a featured artist on the NS design artist page. (more…)

McKinley James is a cellist studying at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. She has also played with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, Middlebury College Orchestra, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and the New England Conservatory Symphony, and soloed with the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra.
She is a founding member of the band Night Tree. The group, all students at NEC, were named the Conservatory’s WildCard Honors Ensemble for 2016-2017. Awards for this title included a sponsorship from NEC, a headlining performance at the historic Jordan Hall, and a year of working with Winifred Horan, fiddler and co-founder of Irish super-band, SOLAS. As acoustic sextet Night Tree, Brian O’Donovan, Senior DJ at Boston’s own radio station, WGBH, calls them “One of the most exciting roots-based music groups to emerge from the New England Conservatory in many years. Their individual chops and adventurous approach make Night Tree a band to watch for.” Together they have toured throughout the US, opened for Solas in Portsmouth Music Hall, and played in Jordan Hall, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Public Library, and Rockwood Music Hall. They released their debut album in 2017 and toured in Europe in 2018. She has also toured in China with her piano trio. She studied with Yeesun Kim at the New England Conservatory for her Bachelor’s Degree

One of the most in demand upright bass, and five-string banjo players on the US contradance circuit, Stuart Kenney’s regional musical interests sweep from Southwest Louisiana to Acadia. He has a long career in many traditional music genres. His interest in Quebecois music formed through the fiddling of Lisa Ornstein, and performances by La Bottine Souriante. The inclusion of French Canadian music into the living tradition of New England contradance music caught his attention early on. (more…)

Bennett Konesni grew up in Appleton, Maine, 10 miles downstream of Maine Fiddle Camp.  He was naturally drawn into the strong communities of old-time music, sailing, and farming in the area.  At thirteen he shipped as a deckhand aboard local schooners, sailing Penobscot Bay and learning the traditional work songs of the tall ships as he raised sails and hauled anchor.  Later, at Middlebury College, Bennett co-founded the student farm and spent six months studying Zulu farming songs in South Africa.  (more…)

Carter plays banjo with his band “Jerks of Grass” and also plays for dances. He has a unique repertoire and we are pleased to have him on staff at camp
www.jerksofgrass.com

Glen gives private lessons for mandolin and tenor banjo from his home in Portland, ME, and plays for contradances throughout the Northeast, and at festivals across the country with bands such as Frigate, Steampacket, Riptide, and Stomp Rocket.   Visit Glen at www.glenloper.com.

49 Brackett St, Portland ME, 04102
Phone: 207-837-8249

Elaine Malkin has played the violin since the age of 5. She was part of the resurgence of contra dances in Maine in the early 70’s, having learned from Otto Soper and Dudley Laufman. She played New England contra dances until 2009, when she began an intensive study of Québécois fiddle with mainly Éric Favreau, but also with Lisa Ornstein, André Brunet, Yvon Mimeault, and Liette Remon. This music has completely captured her heart and she uses a traditional Québécois repertoire for contra dances, concerts, and other venues. Learning, teaching, and sharing this special music is her greatest joy.

Kaity teaches fiddle in Damariscotta and has played for dances for many years with The Maine Country Dance Orchestra, and with the band The Lady Bugs. A native of Great Britain, Kaity has brought many a fine tune from the British Isles to our local dances. Kaity also plays viola in the local community orchestra and has four children, all of whom play music and come to camp every year.
7 Creek Lane Damariscotta ME 044543 207-563-8440

Ed Pearlman is based in South Portland, enjoys many styles of fiddle music, and is best known for Scottish and Cape Breton fiddling, often working with his son Neil, daughter Lillie, and his wife, dancer Laura Scott. He has taught in-person workshops and private lessons since the 1980s, and since 2014, has run www.fiddle-online.com, an instructional fiddle website offering many styles and techniques. Ed co-led music and walking trips to Scotland for 14 summers, and now writes weekly posts about them on substack.com, as well as weekly posts about learning fiddle. Ed has worked closely with many top fiddlers, wrote for Fiddler magazine for several yeas, and was the music columnist for Scottish Life magazine for 24 years. He directed the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club 1981-99, and the Roaring Jelly open contra dance band for several years. With Neil on piano, Ed has toured widely and recorded 3 CDs (one with Lillie on fiddle). Together, they published a book of 150 original tunes called the “Pine Street Collection”. Ed invented the popular Finger Finder, a slide rule for violin fingering in all keys. In 2024, Ed was inducted into the Scots Trad Music Hall of Fame, an honor rarely awarded to people living outside the UK.  Contact: [email protected]

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, step dancer and host of the TradCafe podcast, Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary folk music. Described as “a tremendous pianist” on BBC Radio Scotland and “a force to be reckoned with” by WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan, Neil is best known for his groundbreaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. Motivated by a deep musical curiosity and a love of collaboration, his playing is continually evolving and spontaneous without losing its roots in the traditional piano styles of Atlantic Canada, New England and Scotland. He has appeared internationally at major festivals such as the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Celtic Colours in Cape Breton and the Orkney Folk Festival and has recorded or performed with luminaries of traditional folk music including Natalie MacMaster, Darol Anger, Seamus Egan and Alasdair Fraser.

Neil’s deep love of the Gaelic music traditions has seen him welcomed into spaces that few other Americans have been. He was selected for the 2025 Shannon Residency at Beinn Mhabu in Cape Breton and has performed and guest lectured at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at University of Limerick, Ireland and the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton, Scotland. His first solo piano album Refractions features frequently on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and BBC Radio Scotland and his 2020 release with Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson received 5 stars from Scotland’s national newspaper The Scotsman.

In addition to touring regularly with Kevin Henderson, the Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, Neil teaches at festivals throughout North America and Europe and has guest lectured at Berklee College of Music, Northeastern University and the aforementioned University of Limerick. He co-directs an annual St. Patrick’s Day concert with Katie McNally at Groton Hill Music Center and releases podcasts and video collaborations with musicians from around the world through his production company TradCafe.

John started his early musical life as a drummer, but by some miracle got hooked on traditional music in his teens.

John’s been teaching fiddle and harmonica at MF Camp since its start in the mid 90’s.  He’s been known to get a few silly skits going for the evening variety show. He teaches fiddle, guitar and harmonica privately and can be contacted at [email protected] 338-0296 (cell 213-3294).

Sharon has been a student of tin whistle and wooden flute since 1977 when she attended the Willy Clancy Summer School while working in Ireland for the year. On her return to Boston to care for her grandmother, she studied with master flute players in the Hanafin /Cooley Comhalthus branch. She move to Maine to raise her children and became a member of the Portland Ceili Band and Ladies of the Lake. She runs a music studio in Bath, Maine where she teaches flute and whistle and Music Together. For a few months every year since 2000, she happily lives and breathes Maine Fiddle alongside director Doug Protsik.  Sharon can be contacted at [email protected] or 207-522-3900.

Kenny first picked up a ukulele at age 8, when a family friend bought him one.  Now 50 plus years later, he’s not half bad! He’s got a menagerie of them, from soprano to baritone, and plays a variety of styles, swing music being his favorite.  Kenny has been an actor and physical comedian for 35 years, and has performed internationally, as well as on Broadway.  He also starred as the lead clown in Cirque du Soleil’s Nouvelle Experience.  He and Francis Berks make the acoustic duo The Doppelgangers.

Maggie Robinson has been teaching fiddle since 2003.  She began taking fiddle lessons the age of 10 and became concert mistress of her school orchestra during her senior year.   Many years later she discovered Contradancing and fell in love with the music  She took the violin out of the closet and began learning fiddle tunes. She completed a course in 2003 at the Hartt College of Music, Theater, & Dance on “Teaching Fiddling”.

Currently she is teaching at several locations in greater Portland, and also regularly calls for contra dances around the state.

A new England fiddler and folk singer, Lissa grew up in Maine as an active member of the folk music and dance community, where she cut her teeth as a musician at a very young age. She has continued to explore music throughout her life, leading to her graduation from The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts (2001). Her list of mentors includes Greg Boardman, Alasdair Fraser, David Kaynor, and Hankus Netsky. While embracing a diverse pallet of musical influences, she still stays true to her New England roots.
For more info on Lissa, check out her website at www.lissafiddle.com

David Stimson began backing up country dance music on the guitar in 1965 at the age of eleven. During several summers the 1960s he attended Pinewoods cape with his family while his stepfather, Bob Guillard, taught Morris Dancing and English Country Dance. David’s was first exposed to Contra Dance during the evening dances at Pinewoods; however, the disease remained latent until he learned English Concertina and joined the Woods Hole Folk Orchestra in1979. (more…)

Bethany Waickman is a guitarist based out of Portland, Maine. She grew up in a musical family in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York state. After college she spent some time traveling, hiking, and playing music in Ireland. Upon returning, she moved to Boston to focus on music. She co-founded the contra dance trio, Anadama, and is the guitarist for VT-based fiddler/singer Lissa Schneckenburger. (more…)

Pam sings and plays several instruments in the folk trio, T-Acadie, is fiddler and singer for the Maine-based Cajun dance band, Jimmyjo & the Jumbol’Ayuhs, plays fiddle and mountain dulcimer in the contradance band, Scrod Pudding, and performs solo or with guitar player and caller Bill Olson. She is an accomplished tunesmith and has composed scores of tunes, from lively jigs and reels, to entrancing airs and beautiful waltzes.

(more…)

Dr Steven Weiss (he is an osteopathic physician) began blowing harmonica when he was four years old. His father and his grandfather both played the mouth organ as well.

Growing up in the more popular “cross-harp” rock/blues/boogies styles, he began playing “straight harp” style (melodies rather than chords or blues):  traditional, mostly old-timey, tunes on the harmonica in 1970, hanging out with southern tow boat pilots on the Ohio River near where he went to college. This was followed by many years living in Maine playing for contradances, folk clubs, concerts, festivals and playing to back-up other performers.

Although he is perhaps best known for his playing of fiddle tunes and traditional music (he has won fiddle and traditional music contests playing tunes on the harmonica), he loves pushing the instrument’s musical envelope playing rhythm vamps (known in Piedmont Blues style as “The Wind Chops,” accompaniment, blues, jazz, classical and old swing standards. He has performed extensively with various bands, including most recently the nine piece funk band “The Truthseekers” based in New York City.