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Summer Concerts!!!
July 6-10, Traditions Week I Concerts, Events & Dances
Every evening, Monday - Friday, there will be a concert/event at 8 PM, followed by a dance at 10 PM.
All events are open to the general public, ticketed admission at the door.
Full time Common Ground on the Hill attendees are admitted free.
Go to the schedule of events.
July 13-18, Traditions Week II Concerts, Events & Dances
Every evening, Monday - Friday, there will be a concert/event at 8 PM, followed by a dance at 10 PM.
All events are open to the general public, ticketed admission at the door.
Full time Common Ground on the Hill attendees are admitted free.
Go to the schedule of events.
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2009 -2010 Concert Series
October 3rd, 2009
April Verch
Canadian fiddler/dancer and her amazing band!
When you see April Verch perform, the first thing that strikes you is the pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and stepdancing. When you listen to her though, what draws you in are more subtle things—her pure voice, the finely detailed elegance of her fiddle phrasing and the depth of a repertoire that ranges through material from bluegrass to Brazilian to Celtic, from a jaunty Canadian folk- song to a poignant contemporary ballad. April is world-class fiddler, a champion Ottawa Valley stepdancer, an acclaimed composer, and a vocalist whose voice has been hailed as “absolutely captivating” by the Toronto Star. In addition to April’s talents, the April Verch Band features world-class musicians Marc Bru on percussion, Lincoln Meyers on guitar, and Cody Walters on upright-electric bass. The April Verch Band tours tirelessly across Canada, the United States, the U.K. and Europe. They have established a reputation as consum-mate performers, winning over audiences not only with sheer virtuosity on their respective instruments, but also with charm, humor and boundless energy on stage.
Click here to visit April's website
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November 7, 2009
Russ Barenberg
GRAMMY nominated acoustic guitarist and composer Russ Barenberg creates “exquisitely original” music that joyously integrates bluegrass, jazz, and American/Celtic fiddle and dance traditions. Long at the creative forefront of the acoustic music scene, Russ has collaborated with many of its finest artists, including Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Alison Krauss and most recently, legendary jazz bassist, Charlie Haden.
“Russ is a musician’s musician. For many years he made every film he played on for us better. His talent and his heart always announce his presence.” – Ken Burns
December 19, 2009
Walt Michael & Co. Holiday Concert
 Half a century ago, people in the mountains of the North Carolina and Southwest Virginia celebrated Christmas quite differently than the way most of us do now, holding two weeks of informal house parties that were filled with old time fiddle music, song and dance - a tradition they called "Breaking Up Christmas." These Christmas parties ran through and ended with Old Christmas, January 6th. Walt Michael & Company will "break up Christmas" with you this evening as they share their wide-ranging repertoire of tunes and songs that reflect the rich musical heritage of the Appalachians. The traditional folk musics of Scotland, Ireland, England and Africa made their way into the remote mountain hollers, later emerging as an integrated American musical genre that continues to evolve. Traditional string band music is passed down from generation to generation., from singer to singer, from musician to musician. In this great oral tradition, songs and tunes are evaluated and winnowed by time. Memorable melodies and lyrics that withstand this test of time take their place among the venerable repertoire. Welcome to an evening of old time music. Let the season begin!
Considered to be a virtuoso of tremendous influence in the revival of the hammered dulcimer, Walt’s wide repertoire ranges from old-time Southern Appalachian, to Celtic, to folk, to breath-taking original compositions. His various musical incarnations, including Bottle Hill, Michael, McCreesh & Campbell and Walt Michael & Co. have spanned over 35 years and taken him from the coal camps of Appalachia to the Closing Ceremonies of the 13th Olympic Winter Games in 1980, when 900 million world viewers heard his signature composition, Snowblind. As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist he has recorded sixteen albums and instructional videos, appeared at the White House, the Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe and the UK. His music has been heard on ABC-TV, NBC's Tonight Show, Broadway, BBC, TNN, CBC, OLN and PBS. Walt is the Artist in Residence at McDaniel College, as well as founder and Executive Director of Common Ground on the Hill.
Photo by Richard Anderson
www.waltmichael.com visit Walt's website
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January 9, 2010
Mike Seeger
A founding member of the famed New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger is at the epicenter of the renaissance of old time music. Mike has been honored with six Grammy nominations, recently for Southern Banjo Sounds in 1998 and Solo: Oldtime Country Music in 1991. In 1995 Mike received the Rex Foundation's Ralph J. Gleason Lifetime Achievement Award, established by the Grateful Dead to recognize "those who exemplify the qualities of talent, vision, innovation that Ralph so tirelessly supported." In the words of the award citation, Mike Seeger ". . . remains one of our great musical and cultural resources. To see him perform is to experience the richness of our traditions."
"In brushing the dust of time from American folk music, Mike Seeger illuminates the roots of contemporary music and champions their strength" Dan Bottstein, Billboard
"Clean and crisp as any acoustic music now being played . . . Here is an American artist standing forth, voice 'well trained', in narratives, in fun, in irony, himself branch and root of the entwined true vine." Jon Pankake, Rolling Stone
"His instrumental technique borders on the astonishing. He switches easily from guitar to banjo to autoharp to fiddle to mouth harp, singing and foot stomping all the while. Just playing with authenticity and style is a trick in itself, but Seeger does it with class and jovial spirit." Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner
February 6, 2010
John McCutcheon
 John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality.
www.folkmusic.com visit John's website
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March 6, 2010
Alisdair Fraser & Natalie Haas (tentative)
"Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner. Haas can switch just as effortlessly as Fraser from a gentle singing tone to driving, dancing melody. A positive joy."
—The Scotsman
Fraser, acclaimed by the San Francisco Examiner as “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling,” has a concert and recording career spanning 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans,Titanic). Natalie is in the vanguard of young cellists who are re-defining the role of the cello in traditional music. “Cellists are coming out of the woodwork to study with Natalie, to learn how she creates a groove and a whole chunky rhythm section,” says Fraser. “It’s inspiring to hear the cello unleashed from its orchestral shackles!”
April 10, 2010
Gandydancer
 The West Virginia stringband, Gandydancer, performs spirited old-time mountain music on a variety of stringed instruments. Five musicians, from various counties in West Virginia, play driving fiddle tunes and banjo pieces, and sing ballads, folksongs and old-time spirituals in four-part harmony. The band takes its name from 19th-century railroad workers; much of their material emanates from that era. Ron Mullennex, Dave Bing, Mark Payne, Jim Martin and Gerry Milnes represent lifetimes of experience collecting and performing traditional music. They pride themselves on bringing to life unusual, old and rare selections at their performances and represent the very best of authentic old time southern Appalachian music.
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