CT’s Own Podunk Bluegrass Festival – Aug 10-13

Check out the lineup at Connecticut’s own Bluegrass Fest!

List of Bluegrass, Old Time, and Americana Festivals in the Northeast / New England

• Podunk (CT) Aug 10-13
• Grey Fox (NY) July 12-16
• Thomas Point Beach (ME) Aug 31- Sept 3
• Jenny Brook (VT) June 22-25
• Blistered Fingers (ME) June 15-18 Aug. 24-27
• Green Mountain (VT) Aug 18-20
• St. Johns Bluegrass Festival (CT) Aug 26
• Ossipee (ME) July 27-30
• Basin Bluegrass Festival (VT) July 6-9
• Danby Bluegrass Festival (VT) July 20-23

Want an even more in depth list? Check out Jim’s Roots and Blues Complete Festival List

New Jam Class, Saturday Feb 11 Norwalk CT

Would you rather be jamming? – Join Wernick Method teacher Austin Scelzo for a Saturday of bluegrass. Learn the key skills you need to to get out and start jamming — Austin will show you how! This class runs 10am-5pm Norwalk, CT at Temple Shalom, and precedes the Nefesh Mountain Concert at the same location. Join the fun!  

https://mailchi.mp/drbanjo.com/as-2023-02-norwalk-announce

New Bluegrass Jam Tuesday Feb 7 -East Haven (First Tuesday)

New Bluegrass Jam at the Shoreline Trolley Museum on 2/7 6-9PM

List of CT Bluegrass Jams in Feb

Ridgefield

Sunday, Feb 12 1-4 PM Nod Hill Brewery Ridgefield CT

Wethersfield

Pitkin Community Center in Wethersfield. 30 Greenfield Street. Room S-3 

First and third Tuesday of each month in Wethersfield. There is a $3.00 suggested donation to cover the cost of the room. All levels are welcome. Acoustic instruments only. Wernick jamming etiquette is followed (announce your song with key, etc).

New Haven

Thursday, Feb 23 (Fourth Thursday)

Hamden

Sunday, Jan Feb 12 from 1:30 pm, at Best Video, Hamden.  Please join us, come to pick, or come to listen.

Burlington/Bloomfield, CT

Yankee Bluegrass Jammers, every Wednesday from 7 to 10 p.m. Location is either Elton Tavern, 781 George Washington Turnpike, Burlington, CT 06013 or Auer Farm, 158 Auer Farm Rd, Bloomfield, CT 06002. To learn where the jam will be held, contact either Carl Salsedo (carl.salsedo@uconn.edu) or Andy Szpekman (andy@ahscommunications.com).

East Hampton,

Monthly on the third Sunday Dexter’s Tune, Tales, & Ales, Sunday, ⋅1:00 – 4:00pm

Easton

Second Thursday 7:30 – 10:00pm 59 Church Road Easton

*NEW East Haven

Tuesday Feb 7 -East Haven (First Tuesday of the month) Shore Line Trolley Museum 17 River St, East Haven, CT 06512

Norwalk

Saturday, Feb 11 5:30-6:30 preceding the Nefesh Mountain Concert

Temple Shalom at 259 Richards Avenue

*New Katonah, NY

Sunday, February 26 1-4PM – Select Sundays Katonah Library

Good Quality Banjo for sale

Listing is up! https://www.banjohangout.org/classified/97611

The listing has pictures and video clips. Owner is willing to give CTBA followers a deal

Music Camps North – Instruction on all Bluegrass Instruments

Think Spring! Mandolin Camp North April 21-23 Banjo Camp North May 19-21   Scholarship applications opening soon! Register for either camp here https://musiccampsnorth.com/2023-registration-information/ Know any fiddle players?  We have classes at both camps but not many students.  Encourage your fiddling friends to sign up!  Registration is going well!  Thank you all who have registered; we can’t do this without you.  Scholarship applications will open soon-look for another email and a link on our website. You can apply even if you’ve already signed up.  Please do apply, we have money donated so you can come to camp even if you can’t afford it.  We offer partial and full scholarships depending on the number and content of the applications.   Mandolin Camp North with Guitar and Fiddle Classes  Don Stiernberg, Jacob Jolliff, Sharon Gilchrist, Jim Richter, Maddie Witler, Skip Gorman, Don Julin, Lauren Price Napier, Ben Pearce, Moriah Ozberkmen, Ethan Setiawan, Claudine Languile, Bill Thibodeau, Lorraine Hammond Guitar teachers: John Kael, Joe NewberryTony Watt, Lincoln Meyers, Alex Rubin Fiddle teachers: Annie Staninec, Austin Scelzo, Janie Rothfield, Louise Bichan ————————– Banjo Camp Northwith Fiddle Classes  3 Finger teachers: Tony Trischka, Alan Munde, BB Bowness, Bill Evans, Murphy Henry, Grace Van’t Hof, Gabe Hirshfeld, Rich Stillman, Gretchen Bowder, Scott Hopkins, Glenn Nelson, Bruce Stockwell, Max Wareham Clawhammer teachers: Bruce Molsky, Chris Coole, Riley Baugus, Michael Miles, Lorraine Hammond, Tim Rowell, Sara Grey, Howie Bursen, Maggie Shar, Craig Edwards, Bennett Hammond Fiddle teachers: Janie Rothfield, John ShowmanSteve Roy, Ella Jordan

Nefesh Mountain in Norwalk on Saturday, February 11^th at 7 pm

 The concert will be held at a synagogue, Temple Shalom at 259 Richards Avenue, just up from Norwalk Community College.

Tickets are $36 each and kids 12 and under are free.  They can be purchased at the following link:

https://www.templeshalomweb.org/form/nefeshmountain2023

This event will be preceded by an all day Bluegrass Jam Class from 10AM-5PM then an Open Bluegrass Jam from 5:30-6:30

ACOUSTIC NOMADS at Westchester Bluegrass Club
6:30 pm Doors open
7:00 pm open mic
8:00 pm Show

At the crossroads between South American folk music and Northern Americana you will find the Acoustic Nomads.  First created by Noah Harrington (bass) and  Maurizio Fiore Salas (Quattro and Guitar) as Noah y Maurizio, they have evolved, with mandolinist Ethan Setiawan and fiddler Sofia Chiarandini.  The music is elegant and ground breaking, truly showing how cultures come together and music defies borders.  The virtuosic playing of these musicians is a revolution in the evolution of the Acoustic string band and Americana.

The band has just released it’s third album, The Abominable Stringband Vol. 2 .

https://www.nymacousticnomads.com/

Podunk Announces its Songwriting Competition 

The 2023 songwriting contest sponsored annually by the Podunk Bluegrass Festival is underway.  Entries will be accepted until midnight April 30. See Podunkbluegrass.com for guidelines and details. 

When you attend Podunk in August, be sure to catch the band competition where you will hear all the band contenders perform the winning song from last year’s Songwriting Contest. That song  (Can’t You Hear It Callin’) was written by the 2022 co-writer winners, Stacy Keach and Jeff Trippe. 

Each of the band competition groups will put their own spin on the song. Their presentation will be judged as part of their overall performance in the band competition which is hosted annually by Telefunken Elektroakustik, producers of superior quality dynamic and condenser microphones.

The Podunk Bluegrass Festival will happen August 10-13, 2023, in the northwest corner of CT, at the Goshen Fairgrounds in lovely Litchfield County. It’s a beautiful spot to spend a fun weekend. Go to podunkbluegrass.com to learn more about both these contests and the festival, itself, plus see how you can  become a Podunk volunteer

Janie’s Jumpstart Music Camps

Cleveland OH 2/17-19 With Rhys Jones (fiddle/clawhammer banjo), Janie Rothfield (clawhammer banjo/fiddle) & Allan Carr (back up guitar)

Pittsfield MA 4/14-16 With Erynn Marshall (fiddle), Carl Jones (Mandolin), Janie Rothfield (clawhammer banjo) & Allan Carr (back up guitar)

Chesapeake City MD 4/28-30 With Janie Rothfield (fiddle/clawhammer banjo), Rachel Eddy (clawhammer banjo/fiddle) & Allan Carr (back up guitar)

Hopewell Junction NY 5/5-7 joe Newberry (clawhammer banjo), Janie Rothfield (fiddle) & Allan Carr (back up guitar)

Click Here for more: https://janierothfield.com/about-janiesjumpstart