2027 Instructors
Hilarie Burhans has been playing and teaching clawhammer banjo for more than 45 years. She lives in the Appalachian foothills of Athens, Ohio and is a much in-demand player at old-time music festivals thanks to her intensely rhythmic, driving banjo style. Hilarie co-founded the Hotpoint Stringband, a nationally-touring contradance band with whom she has recorded five albums. HBO used a song she recorded on the critically acclaimed show Deadwood, and she has collaborated on too many other musical projects to count! More than 5,000 subscribers enjoy her banjo YouTube channel, and her instructional videos on the Patreon platform have many devoted subscribers who praise her clear, relaxed teaching style.
Joseph Decosimo has introduced audiences around the world to the beauty and vitality of the fiddle, banjo, and song traditions from the Appalachian South. A student of the last master traditional musicians in his native Tennessee, Joseph draws on a well of profound creativity and repertoire even as he creates fresh sounds. A sought-after, supportive teacher, and PhD holding folklorist, he served on the faculty of East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies Program. He is a national old-time banjo champion, winner of the Clifftop fiddle contest, and a member of the prize-winning group, Bucking Mules. His most recent recordings, While You Were Slumbering and The Aluminum Wonder have resonated in the Old-Time scene and far beyond.
Michael J. Miles is a master banjoist, guitarist, award-winning composer, author of numerous theatrical works combining music and history, and an acclaimed music educator. He is one of America’s most innovative clawhammer banjo players with a repertoire that ranges from J.S. Bach suites to his inspired original banjo compositions. When Pete Seeger heard Michael’s very first recording his response was, “This is enough to make me want to learn the banjo all over again.” Michael has published more than a dozen books with such companies as Hal Leonard and Mel Bay; he has recorded six CD’s with great collaborators including Bela Fleck, Darol Anger, and some of Chicago finest musicians. His websites are www.MilesMusic.org and www.ExistentialBanjo.com.
Perhaps the best-known exponent of the “melodic” clawhammer style, Ken Perlman is known where-ever banjos are played as a master of clawhammer technique and an expert teacher of clawhammer mechanics. He was a Banjo Newsletter columnist from the early 1980s till the magazine ceased publishing in 2021; he has written several books on clawhammer instruction including Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Clawhammer Style Banjo, he has recorded several series on audio and video banjo instruction, and he has taught at well over a dozen music camps including Augusta Folk Heritage, Common Ground on the Hill, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, the Swannanoa Gathering, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute; he has also been music or co-director of several banjo camps including American Banjo Camp, Banjo Camp North, the Bath International Banjo Festival, Maryland Banjo Academy, and Midwest Banjo Camp. Ken toured for nearly fifteen years with renowned Appalachian-style fiddler Alan Jabbour (1942-2017), and recorded two CDs with him: Southern Summits and You Can’t Beat the Classics. His most recent solo recording is Frails & Frolics; his most recent banjo books are Appalachian Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer and Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer. In the summer of 2017, Ken was invited to offer a Master’s Showcase at the Appalachian String Band Festival (AKA: “Clifftop”) an event set up to “showcase the legends who have dedicated their lives to the preservation and presentation of old-time music.” kenperlman.com
Lukas Pool is a multi-instrumentalist and luthier known for his innovative playing style and respect for Old-Time tradition. He grew up in Mountain View, Arkansas in the Ozark Mountains, where he started playing banjo at the age of 12. Spending most evening on the courthouse square with his friends and family, learning and growing with the music. In 2008, Lukas left Arkansas to attend Berklee College of Music. Since graduating, Lukas has performed alongside comedian/banjo enthusiast Steve Martin, recorded with fiddling legend Darol Anger, and performed at a wide array of venues and festivals including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. Lukas is a two-time National Old Time Banjo Champion and a returning guest professor at the Berklee College of Music, and is in high demand as an instructor at camps nationwide. He and his wife Eden returned to Mountain View, founded the Ozark Banjo Company and build high quality banjos year-round.
Janie Rothfield is an award winning clawhammer banjo player and fiddler who has been playing Old Time Music “forever.” She has toured professionally for over 35 years, during which she has also been a composer, recording artist, band leader, teacher, and event organizer, with fans around the world. Her clawhammer banjo style borrows heavily from both the traditional and inventive aspects of her fiddle style, and is characterized by great power, drive and in-the-pocket rhythm. Janie performs with numerous old time and dance bands, and currently tours with the duo, Hen’s Teeth. Her latest solo CD, “Out of Thin Air,” features 15 of her own compositions.
Native Floridian Scott Anderson has been performing in professional bluegrass bands since the late 1980s; his first groups were Tom Henderson’s Bluegrass Parlor Band and a band he co-founded called Endless Highway. He has since toured in the US and abroad as banjoist and vocalist with the Jim Hurst Band and Keith Sewell; and he has performed or recorded with such well-known bluegrass figures as Claire Lynch, Vassar Clements, Larry Rice, Byron Berline, Adam Steffey, Clay Hess, Newtown, Chubby Wise, Allen Shadd, and Chief Jim Billie. He has also played banjo with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. Scott was a featured artist in Banjo Newsletter, for which he also wrote features and conducts interviews. He now fronts Medicine Springs and The Scott Anderson Band and teaches private banjo and guitar lessons from his home in Gainesville. His recordings include Endless Highway, Rivers, Another Day (with his daughter Amanda), and his most recent, Tales from the Swamp.
Greg Cahill formed the Special Consensus in the Chicago area and began touring nationally (and internationally) in 1975. Greg has appeared on all 20 of the Special Consensus recordings and has released three solo recordings (two with internationally renowned mandolinist Don Stiernberg, one with mandolin maestro Jethro Burns), and one European bluegrass music recording (with renowned Czech guitarist Slavek Hanzlik). He has also released four banjo instructional videos/DVDs (Musician’s Workshop), one banjo lessons book and one banjo tablature book (both co-authored with Michael Miles, Hal Leonard publishing). Greg has appeared on numerous recordings by other artists and on countless national television and radio commercials (jingles) and conducts workshops and master classes at bluegrass camps and festivals worldwide. His teaching credits include Nashcamp, the Maryland Banjo Academy, Banjo Camp North, American Banjo Camp, Midwest Banjo Camp, Nashville Banjo Camp, Augusta Heritage Bluegrass Week, Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshops, the Sore Fingers Summer School (UK), and Bluegrass Camp Germany. Greg has taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago for over 40 years and became the first adjunct professor teaching banjo for the Columbia College (Chicago) Strings Department in 2011. Greg was a regular contributor to Banjo Newsletter, received the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Distinguished Achievement Award in 2011 and was inducted into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Hall of Greats in 2019.
Gina Furtado grew up playing the banjo in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She first gained international recognition with her stint with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers. Since then she has released two records with Mountain Home Music Company which feature her creative banjo playing and quirky songwriting, resulting in several #1 songs on Bluegrass Today charts; she and has also been a final nominee multiple times for IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year.
Banjoist for the Becky Buller Band and host of More Banjo Sunday and Derailed on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction, Ned Luberecki was named Banjo Player of the Year for 2018 and Broadcaster of the Year for 2023 by the IBMA. Ned is the author of the Complete Banjo Method series for Alfred Music and has numerous lesson videos available at TrueFire.com. Living in Nashville, TN, he is an in-demand performer and session musician having appeared on stage and recordings with Becky Buller, Chris Jones, Jim Lauderdale, Ray Stevens, Nedski & Mojo and many others. Ned is a popular instructor at music camps and workshops across the US, Canada and Europe including American Banjo Camp, Camp Bluegrass, RockyGrass Academy, Kaufman Acoustic Kamp, Midwest Banjo Camp, Sore Fingers (UK) and Bluegrass Camp Germany. He has been teaching and playing bluegrass banjo for over 25 years, having been part of Paul Adkins’ Borderline Band, Radio Flyer, the Gary Ferguson Band, and the Rarely Herd (the latter won SPBGMA’s Entertaining Band of the Year award several times). Ned has appeared on recordings with Paul Adkins’ Borderline Band, the Rarely Herd, Jim Hurst, Bull Harman, and New Strings. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine has declared, “Ned’s banjo captures that killer tone and technique banjo players die for.”
Alan Munde needs no introduction to long-time Bluegrass fans. From his early creative work with Sam Bush in Poor Richard’s Almanac to his traditional bluegrass apprenticeship with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys to his 21-year stint anchoring the landmark Country Gazette, Alan has blazed a trail as one of the most innovative and influential banjo players of all time. Along the way, Alan has recorded and contributed to numerous instrumental recordings, including the 2001 IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year — Knee Deep in Bluegrass. Alan has supplemented his recorded work with several instructional publications for the banjo; from 1986-2006 he taught Bluegrass and Country Music at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. He was recently elected to the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Trevin Nelson is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter whose music is a tapestry of traditional sounds informed by modernity. Having honed his craft at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, he became a founding member and banjoist of the touring band, The Ruta Beggars, known for their dynamic performances and innovative approach to Bluegrass and Americana music. When not on the road, Trevin teaches in Boston at Club Passim’s music school, and offers workshops at festivals and camps. Whether performing solo, collaborating with fellow musicians, or mentoring aspiring artists, Trevin’s dedication to his craft shines through.
Pete Vigour has enjoyed playing old-time music as a hobby and career since his childhood in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and has won first place ribbons in both fiddle and clawhammer banjo at fiddlers’ conventions in Virginia and West Virginia. Pete has been on staff at Augusta Folk Heritage, Pinewoods Music Camp, Sierra Swing, and Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week; he is also director of Front Porch String Band Camp, an event held near his home in Charlottesville. His old-time band, Uncle Henry’s Favorites, has been going strong with the same personnel (including his wife Ellen) for close to 40 years; nowadays, Pete also plays with the Lovell Coleman Band and with Zuzu’s Hot 5. We are happy to welcome Pete back to Suwannee Banjo Camp. For more on Pete go to VigourMusic.com and UncleHenrysFavorites.com
Tim May is a recording artist, sideman, and performer whose projects have included touring with Patty Loveless, Eddie Rabbitt, Rodney Dillard, and John Cowan. He was a regular performer for years on the Grand Ole Opry with Mike Snider and was solo guitarist on Charlie Daniel’s recording of I’ll Fly Away in 2005 (from Songs From the Long-Leaf Pines), nominated for Best Country Instrumental Performance Grammy that year. In 2012 The Nashville Scene selected Tim as Nashville’s Best Instrumentalist in their Reader’s Choice Poll. In 2017 he performed in legendary Carnegie Hall in New York. He currently tours with mandolinist Steve Smith, fingerpicker Richard Gilewitz, with his wife Gretchen Priest-May, and with country music artist Kathy Mattea. Tim is co-author of the eight-volume series Flatpicking Essentials: the Mandolin Player’s Practical Guide to Scales and Arpeggios, and is a contributing writer to Bluegrass Unlimited magazine.
Brian McCarty of Kansas City, MO is a multi instrumentalist, vocalist, mandolin instructor, and is the current mandolinist of the widely-traveled bluegrass band, Special Consensus. He grew up immersed in music, playing drums, fiddle, and singing in his family’s traveling country gospel band. He began competing as a vocalist and instrumentalist early on, winning many awards. Over his 20+ year bluegrass career he has served as mandolinist for numerous bands, such as The Bluegrass Missourians, The Matchsellers, and Greg Blake & Hometown. When he’s not busy on the road, he offers in person and virtual lessons, primarily teaching Monroe and Celtic style mandolin. His goal as an instructor is to provide students with not just a foundation, but also a springboard for developing their own style!
Ellen Vigour has been playing fiddle and mandolin since the 1970’s, and has taught at many camps and workshops including Augusta and Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week. She and her husband Pete are the organizers of the summertime Front Porch String Band Camp. Ellen plays regularly around Charlottesville, VA with her bands, Uncle Henry’s Favorites and the Lovell Coleman String Band. She loves teaching fiddle and mandolin, jamming with her students, and calling dances. Recently retired from her career as a “Special-Ed” teacher, Ellen is happy to now have more time for music-making.