Music Camps

I am a teacher at heart. It is so satisfying to help people learn how to play and share music that I have focused equally throughout my career on performing and teaching.

For nearly a decade I have been on the staff of the wonderful Rustic Roots Music & Food Retreat, held annually among the high peaks of the Rockies. I lead the group sings, teach guitar, uke, and bones, and am counted on to bring a lusty ditty or two to the late-night campfire jams. Working with artists such as Joy Adams, Andy Reiner, Natalie Padilla, Ric Robertson, Chris Turner, and Rachel Maloney at Rustic Roots has deepened my commitment to fostering community music making of all kinds.

I recently joined the staff of Fiddle Hell, a devilishly delightful music festival in Massachusetts, where I lead workshops in singing, ukulele, guitar, and bones. I am also a mainstay of The Whomp – “a primal gathering of the groove, with tunes and songs from oldtime, blues, world, intergalactic and other traditions.”

Workshops

Here is a partial list of workshops I have led.

  • Working with Guitar and Voice

  • Chanteys at Work

  • Tin Pan Alley Songs for Ukulele

  • Learn the Bones

  • African-American Influences in Sea Music and Chanteys

  • Rhythm Chops for Strummers

  • Songs of New England Fishermen

  • Drinking Songs That Are Not About Beer

Papers

Spending time going through dusty old books of folksongs has led me to publish a number of papers. These have been presented at the Sea Music Symposium at Mystic Seaport over the years.