Shana Aisenberg mandolin, guitar, fiddle

Shana is a nationally recognized multi-instrumentalist, playing, composing, recording, and teaching diverse acoustic roots styles from traditional southern Appalachian and Celtic, to eastern European Klezmer, bottleneck blues and jazz. She has been a national flatpicking champion. www.ShanaSongs.com

Catherine 'BB' Bowness banjo

BB hails from New Zealand and has made a home in Boston for the past decade. She co-founded the band Mile Twelve who have toured intentionally and won numerous awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. BB was awarded the 2020 Steve Martin banjo prize. BB's banjo playing is an exciting synthesis of new and old ideas. "She demonstrates a command of the instrument, and plays with great rhythmic clarity both in the traditional and progressive realms. J.D. Crowe co-mingles with the future," says Tony Trischka. Her euphoric energy and love of the banjo are readily apparent in any of her live performances. 

www.catherinebowness.com

Susie Burke vocals, guitar

Susie has a vocal style that is at once stunning and heartfelt. "Burke displays a gift for pulling honest emotional chords--all too rare in these clever and cynical times." (Scott Alarik, Boston Globe)

Bruce Carlson pedal steel guitar

Bruce adds strong jamming skills to the mix, plus he plays the elusive pedal steel guitar (lessons provided also). We let one electric instrument squeak in because he's Ellen's brother!

Darrell Carlson Country, Bluegrass, Swing, Rock guitar, vocals

Darrell has been playing guitar and singing since he was nine years old. He started a band when he was twelve and his sister Ellen and brother Bruce joined in along with some neighborhood kids. Not only has he played with bands in Connecticut and New Hampshire, but he jams into the wee hours playing everything from country to rock to blues welcoming players of all levels.

Ellen Carlson fiddle, guitar, mandolin

Fiddler Ellen Carlson has a strong grasp on several musical genres. She has played with bluegrass, swing, western swing, country, Irish and square dance bands. Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine gave her a coveted highlight review for her solo album "People I Play With" as well as three excellent reviews for her band High Range, calling her "a talented musician." She teaches at numerous festivals and workshops including Fiddle Hell, Grey Fox, Joe Val, and Pemi Valley. She started and leads the New England Fiddle Ensemble (featured on WMUR's Chronicle) with over 100 members. She is a member of the NH State Council on the Arts Teaching Roster. www.EllenCarlson.com

Kevin Caron old-time banjo

Kevin is a Maine-based multi-instrumentalist specializing in several old-time banjo styles. He sings and plays banjo and guitar in the old-time, folk, and bluegrass band Sugar Hill. He is also a founding member of the Maine Marimba Ensemble, playing complex, polyrhythmic arrangements of traditional and contemporary music from Zimbabwe. 

Melissa Bragdon Caron fiddle

Melissa is a Maine-based fiddler known for playing and teaching many different styles of music. Classically trained, she received a degree in Music Education at the University of Maine and has experience teaching string programs and general music at various grade levels in the Maine public schools. Melissa is a member of the Portland-based bluegrass bands Jerks of Grass and Cumberland Crossing. She also plays with the old-time band Sugar Hill and teams up with Ellen Carlson & Kathy Sommer to perform with Fiddlers Three. Melissa is co-director of the New England Fiddle Ensemble, a non-profit organization that supports community by bringing together a large group of musicians of all ages to learn and perform various styles of music. Melissa was greatly involved in the development of 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth, Maine, where she taught fiddle and acoustic ensembles for twelve years. Melissa also teaches at her studio in Scarborough, Maine. MelissaBragdonCaron.com

Bob Dick bass

Bob has been playing music for over 40 years. Starting on guitar, he began playing bass at age 11 and then during college mandolin. He also plays fiddle and resophonic guitar and is an expert at harmony singing. His main interest in music is performing with Bluegrass bands, although he has played in symphony orchestras, jazz bands, folk groups, country bands and more. Bob attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for 5 semesters. He also is known for his great sound reinforcement work and his recording engineering and production. Appleland Studios is his recording studio where he has recorded many of the fine central New England bands, specializing in acoustic music recording. Bob has played with many great bands over the years. Of note, Bob filled in last minute with the Tony Rice Unit when he was just 19 years old. He was a member of Front Range who was a Sugar Hill Recording artist and traveled nationally and internationally for 13 years. Front Range won the IBMA Gospel Recording of the Year for their album “One Beautiful Day” in 1995. He has been a member of SloGrass since 1993 and was a co-founder of Blackstone Valley Bluegrass in 1998. He still performs with these two bands.

https://www.applelandmusic.com/

Scott Hopkins banjo

Scott became interested in bluegrass and banjo music by listening to recordings of Flatt & Scruggs and The Stanley Brothers that his dad played while he was growing up. At 15, Scott started taking banjo lessons, joined the school band on tuba and learned jazz bass to fully immerse himself in the study of music. Scott received a bachelors of music education degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a masters degree of music education from the University of Connecticut with a certificate in tuba performance. As a banjoist, Scott has performed with a number of eclectic bands and collaborations over multiple decades including his own trio featuring originals, roots, bluegrass, jazz and latin styles of music. He has released two critically acclaimed solo banjo albums with the likes Mike Compton, Casey Driessen, Jesse Cobb, Tony Trischka, Joe Newberry, Ellen Carlson and Smokey Greene among others. Scott has a private studio of in-person and virtual banjo students and teaches jamming and banjo at a variety of camps in the Northeast. Scott currently teaches 5-12 Band at Duanesburg Central School District just west of Albany, NY and runs the Ashokan Banjo Weekend each November.

www.scotthopkinsbanjo.com

Paul Hubert guitar

Paul has performed extensively as a solo artist on classical guitar and as a singer/songwriter. He is the guitarist extraordinaire with the NH-based band The Buskers, featuring tasteful finger-style guitar to blues-to-the-metal rock licks. He has produced three solo recordings and is featured on several other recordings and has an ongoing relationship with the New Hampshire Very Special Arts program. www.PaulHubertMusic.com

Steve Muise fiddle

Steve is a graduate of Berklee College of Music. He is in his 30th year as a music educator (strings specialist) in the Mt. Blue Regional School District (centered around Farmington, ME). His responsibilities include directing the Mt. Blue High School and Mt. Blue Middle School Orchestras, and teaching stringed instruments to elementary students. Steve also teaches at the Maine Fiddle Camp, has taught at the USM Summer Strings Academy, and has been the associate conductor for MMYO. He founded and directs the Franklin County Fiddlers, a multi-stylistic fiddle band comprised of talented students at Mt. Blue High School. Steve and the fiddlers have toured New England and Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Ireland and throughout the deep South (including Nashville and New Orleans). Steve was awarded Maine's Music Educator of the Year in 2007, and in December 2010 he was named as a "Director Who Makes a Difference" representing Maine in "School Band and Orchestra" Magazine. He regularly performs throughout New England and beyond with his bands Boréal Tordu, Frigate, and Haggard & Cashed.

Steve Roy bass, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, ukulele

Steve is a multi-instrumentalist from Eliot, Maine who plays and teaches upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and ukulele. He is fluent in a vast array of musical styles, including bluegrass, jazz, folk, rock, jam, country, old time, heavy metal, etc.

As a sideman, he has toured nationally and internationally with many of the acoustic world's top acts, including Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, John Reischman and Eli West, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Joy Kills Sorrow, Hit and Run Bluegrass, and many others. Locally, he is well known for his work with groups such as OldHat Stringband, High Range, Jazzputin and the Jug Skunks, Steve and Dave Play Dead, Spinal Tarp, and countless others. He has been leading a weekly open bluegrass jam on the NH seacoast for over a decade. Bluegrass Now Magazine calls Steve a "devastating weapon." He is currently a faculty member at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth, ME, and at Portsmouth Music and Arts Center in Portsmouth, NH. Steve is the Program Director at Nimblefingers Old Time & Bluegrass Workshops in British Columbia, and he has taught many other music camps and workshops throughout the USA and Canada, including Steve Kaufman's Acoustic Kamp (TN), Fiddleheads Jam Camp (NH), Ossipee Valley String Camp (ME), Walker Creek Music Camp (CA), Aloha Bluegrass Academy (HI), and many others. Steve is also a violin maker, and works in the violin shop of Jonathan Cooper, in Portland, ME. 

Alex Rubin guitar

A member of the April Verch Band from 2016-2020, Alex has toured extensively both at home and internationally, including performances in 49 states and abroad. Alex developed a love for acoustic and traditional music while attending Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Graduating with a degree in Neurobiology in 2011, Alex returned to the vibrant Boston music scene, studying privately with Berklee School of Music's ineffable John McGann. Since then, Alex has performed around the world on distinguished stages including at Merlfest, Australia's National Folk Festival, Estonia's Viljandi Folk Festival, Kaustinen Folk Festival in Finland, the Vancouver Island Musicfest and more. Alex is also the winner of the 2022 Freshgrass Guitar Competition. Currently, Alex lives in Cambridge, MA and is working on a solo acoustic guitar record. alexrubinguitar.com

April Verch fiddle

With 17 albums and 24 years of international touring under her belt, Ottawa Valley native April Verch, is a seasoned veteran. April won’t be the one to tell you about her championship titles, nominations and awards, or the fact that she was one of 6 fiddlers who represented the Canadian fiddle tradition to the world at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Instead, in speaking with her, you’ll hear about how passionate she is about sharing her music; in small gatherings in remote communities in Iqaluit, to large prestigious concert halls like Mozartsal in Vienna. A skilled teacher, she teaches private Zoom lessons, is in demand to instruct at music camps around the world. In addition, April works for Canis Major Music, and is Director of the Acadia Festival for Traditional Music & Dance, a weeklong camp and concert series held in Maine each summer.

https://aprilverch.com/

Kathy Sommer, Fiddle, Fiddleheads Jam Camp Original Co-Organizer

Kathy started Jam Camp with Ellen in 1998 and they ran it together for over 22 years! Kathy continues to be an inspiration to many of our campers, including Ellen and Melissa!

Kathy plays fiddle, electric violin, mandolin, and sings with the band The Buskers, a wild and fun, folky and funky band based in NH, and performs with Northern NY musicians as Yellow Moon Jazz. She is adept at folk, swing and jazz, and has tried her hand at the Latin jazz scene as well. You can catch her performing across state lines, traveling with The Buskers, performing with Fiddlers Three or playing a variety of gigs in northern NY, including the Northern Lights Orchestra. She also has played many years for New England contra and square dances, was a member of The Fiddleheads Band, and Sweet, Red, Hot, and Sassy, and gives fiddle workshops in NH and NY. kathysommerviolin.com