Susie Glaze & The Hilonesome Band is a newgrass Americana folk fusion quintet presenting mountain folk, newgrass,
and Celtic-inspired originals.
The Hilonesome Band is Steve Rankin on mandolin, Rob Carlson on guitar and dobro,
Fred Sanders on bass and Mark Indictor on fiddle, showcasing the songwriting of lead guitarist Carlson.
Their most recent studio CD “White Swan” was released in March of 2013. A feature article was published
in August 2013 in No Depression titled “Unsung Heroes of Americana Music – Jean Ritchie and Susie Glaze.”
Susie’s version of Ritchie’s “West Virginia Mine Disaster” will be on a Jean Ritchie tribute
album, “Dear Jean” set for late 2013 release. This recording will feature new recordings of Ritchie
songs by Kathy Mattea, Judy Collins, Janis Ian and Pete Seeger and others.
More at: http://www.susieglaze.com or
http://www.youtube.com/susieglaze
The American’s music ranges from traditional American music to original rock & roll, but they'll bring their
acoustic old-time and jug band side to Topanga. Formed in Los Angeles in 2010, the band includes Patrick Ferris,
Zac Sokolow, Jake Faulkner, and Tim Carr.
The Americans have toured all over the United States, twice
accompanying Grammy- and Oscar-winner Ryan Bingham. In 2013, they performed on the Late Show with David Letterman,
the Telluride Film Festival, and the AFI Film Festival, honoring the Coen Brothers and music producer T Bone Burnett
for the film Inside Llewyn Davis.
The Americans are featured on American Epic, an upcoming PBS/BBC
documentary produced by Robert Redford, T Bone Burnett, and Jack White, and their music is also included on the
soundtrack of the Michael Mann-produced film Texas Killing Fields, starring Sam Worthington and Chloë Moretz.
The band’s newest album Home Recordings was released in 2013. Previously, the Americans recorded
their original song “Sweet and Low” on Sons of Rogue’s Gallery, which also includes performances
by Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Richard Thompson, Iggy Pop, Macy Gray, and Dr. John.
More on the The Americans: http://www.theamericansmusic.com/.
Existing in the tension between tradition and frontier, Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest winner and Prairie
Home Companion guest, Run Boy Run, truly exceeds the sum of its parts as touches of classical, jazz, and folk
express themselves through the old-time core of the band’’s unique sound.
Band members include Matt Rolland
(Fiddle/Guitar), Grace Rolland (Cello/Vocals), Bekah Sandoval (Fiddle/Vocals), Jen Sandoval (Mandolin/Vocals), and
Jesse Allen (Bass).
Called by Paste Magazine “one of the top ten Arizona bands to hear now”,
Run Boy Run self-released their full-length album “So Sang the Whippoorwill” in March 2013 to critical
regional and national acclaim.
More at www.RunBoyRunBand.com
Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band is a Southern California based group featuring Devitt Feeley, Lydia Veilleux,
and Craig Ferguson who got their start in the bluegrass music field by winning first place in the 2009
Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest Band Competition. In January of 2012 they took first place in the California
Bluegrass Association’s “Great 48 Showcase Showdown,” competing against the top
bluegrass bands from across the state and earning a spot in the Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley.
Their first recording, “Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band,” released in November of 2010, was recorded in a 1920’s
cabin in the mountain community of Big Bear, CA, and was mastered by legendary bluegrass engineer Billy
Wolf in Arlington, VA. The album has been receiving regular airplay on radio stations across the country.
They have also appeared on 2 episodes of WETV's “My Fair Wedding” with David Tutera as well as in a cover story
photo spread in C Magazine’s wedding edition.
Their live ensemble at Topanga will include Brian Netzley on bass and long-time Topanga banjo contest
judge, Kevin Gore.
More at:
www.rockyneckbluegrass.com/.
The Railroad Stage will host the "Sing-Offs and the Intermediate Fiddle Playoffs in the morning.
Brian and Ben both starting playing Old-Time as teen agers, Brian in Tennessee and Ben in West Virginia. Regularly seeing each other at fiddler’s conventions and contests over the last 10 years, they’ve shared many a session. When Brian began working on his latest CD, Old-Time Music Party, Ben was a natural choice to join in. Of late, Brian and Ben have been touring the East Coast and are excited to be heading out west to play some true southern Old Time.
Steve Werner is your average everyday world-traveling biker-sailor-adventurer-folksinger-songwriter-yodeler. His songs have
been sung and recorded all over the world. Through the years he has shared stages with the likes of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson,
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Mary McCaslin, Peter Yarrow and many more. His duets with Fur Dixon produced four albums of
pure California folk gold.
The “Friends Around the Fire” set is a blend of Steve’s wonderful Campfire originals and classic
folk songs we can all sing along with. Joined by fiddle legend Brantley Kearns, brilliant singer/Appalachian dancer
Rebecca Stout, and you, the singing audience, Steve intends nothing less than to blow the roof off the
Railroad stage (in a good way). Be prepared for big fun.
“Steve Werner should be famous. Do you start with his lyrical songwriting, a catalog of substance, from
shake-you-to-your-depths to charming and funny and I-can-relate-to-that, or do you put up-front his Merle Travis-style
guitar mastery? Either way, this guy should be up there with Steve Earle and Joe Ely.”
Larry Wines, Acoustic Americana Music Guide.
“Steve Werner’s music is like listening to the deepest call from your wild soul to the reaches of your
heart where the wide world meets the dusty trail. It’s at once yearning and yet settled in its wisdom of the
open road and the paths that live in you forever ~ a powerfully warm, acoustic tone poem for all worldly and
weary travelers. His playing, singing and writing are all on a par with the great singer/songwriters of our day.
You should listen to him about being human, and thank your stars he's writing for all of us.”
~ Susie Glaze
“Steve Werner has a way with the word and the strum. He’s a poet and a bearer of a true blue highway
American tradition of songs you can sing-a-long with while rolling along on an adventure with a pal or someone you love.
He makes observations about daily life that just ring. His songs make me happy. I am proud to call him a friend.”
Kelly Marie Martin, Triple Chicken Foot
“Whether you’re a seasoned traveler, or just daydream about it - Steve Werner’s songs take you out
to the open roads of America; big skies, dark nights, dear friends lost or living, and friends you've yet to meet.
Sunshine, rain, wind in your hair, or no money in your pockets - each tale is a treasured moment of our sweet
short lives together!”
Ben Guzman, Triple Chicken Foot
“Always a contender for ‘Nicest Guy in Folk Music,’ Steve Werner is not only a fine musician and
entertainer, he’s always ready to help with a musical endeavor of any sort. He has been a strong supporter
of the Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival for several years and we hope, for many more.”
Carl Gage, VP, Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest
Stuart Mason and Gary Arcemont play a variety of old-time country music on fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandola,
and mandolin. They call it old-time music but the repertoire spans Appalachian fiddle tunes, Cajun two-steps
and waltzes, early bluegrass, country blues, and the occasional Irish jig or reel.
Fiddler Gary Arcemont cooks up a musical roux that originated in the South Louisiana swamps of his Cajun family and the
Appalachian birthplace of his grandfather in Asheville, North Carolina. To add some extra spice, he mixes in
the fiddle traditions of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona to his black iron gumbo pot.
Stuart Mason (Molly’s Revenge, Little Black Train) was born in the hills of West Virginia and has been playing
traditional music on stage for over 35 years. He is known for his authentic vocals, driving backing on guitar and mandola in
alternate tunings, and inability to hold his whiskey. Deeply rooted in Americana, Stuart’s original
songs are the fruit of many years he spent immersed in traditional music.
Pete Seeger, the man who put the “banjo” in Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest, has died. He revived the art of playing the five-string banjo and in 1950 put it on top of the Hit Parade with “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena,” an Israeli dance tune he played with the Weavers; he also started every concert of theirs with “Darling Cory,” an Appalachian mountain ballad that was the title of his first solo recording for Folkways Records, and his mimeographed instruction book
“How to Play the Five-String Banjo” taught an entire generation of young Americans how to play like the musicians he learned from one-by-one, like Pete Steele, Doc Boggs, Uncle Dave Macon, Frank Proffit and Hobart Smith, often seeking them out to learn just one lick or variation of claw-hammer frailing or pre-bluegrass two-finger picking until he evolved his own adapted from their traditional styles.
Before the end of the year the Weavers would be blacklisted for Pete and other members’ leftwing causes and beliefs, two years worth of concert bookings would dry up overnight, and for the next ten years he would travel the country “from California to the New York Island” as a solo folk singer for students in elementary schools, summer camps and colleges, teaching America’s folk music to young people one classroom at a time, like Johnny Appleseed planting seeds of the Folk Revival that would blossom in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary and many others who owed their success to this lanky banjo picker who lived in the log cabin he built on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, the man poet Carl Sandburg called “America’s tuning fork.”
Ross Altman will celebrate the life and music of Pete Seeger, rebel with a cause - a World War II veteran for peace, unions, civil liberties, civil rights and the environment - the man who put the shall in “We Shall Overcome,” who cleaned up the Hudson River with the Sloop Clearwater and taught us the songs of Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie - on the Railroad Stage of the very festival that for fifty-three years has carried on Pete’s legacy by championing the folk songs and instrument Pete helped to popularize, inspiring young people to learn them and become a part of the folk tradition. Ross will sing many of your favorite songs and of course it wouldn’t be a Pete Seeger tribute if the audience is not encouraged - as you certainly will be - to sing along.
Get on board at the Railroad Stage and visit Ross at his Web site, http://www.ultimate.com/altman
The Pavilion Stage will host the Beginning Instrument competitions in the morning.
The Flaw brings you the best in free-range, grass-fed bluegrass. No artifical flavors, no antibiotics,
no growth stimulants. Our sound is carefully raised on our 345-acre farm near Chatsworth, sealed in
air-tight instrument cases, and whisked to the stage to give you the freshest festival sound around.
After the first song, you'll agree, “Man alive, that's good listening.” (Not available in Canada)
Personnel: "Buzz" Brown, mando, John Bryan, banjo; Hiro Goto, fiddle; Gary Friedman,
Dobro; Frank Harper, guitar; Arlo Zoos, bass.
More at:
www.facebook.com/MurphysFlaw
For the last nine years a group of dedicated Old-Time musicians have been putting on a traditional Old-Time festival leading up to the Topanga Banjo•Fiddle contest. This year the group is excited to put together a best of show for Topanga! Stop by and catch a round-robin of some of the best Old Time music from the L.A. area and beyond!
Mike is a founding member and advisory board member for the Western Music Association. His background includes Broadcasting for KCRW and KCSN FM in Los Angeles & KBBQ in Ventura, Ca. Mike was one of three that began the McCabes Concert Series in 1969 and began performing at Topanga with the band Trailmix back in 1980. Mike and Trailmix perform traditional and contemporary Cowboy and Western Swing. Mike regularly hosts the Cowboy Music and Poetry segment at the Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest.
Tom Corbett is a mandolin and guitar playing singer-songwriter who has toured and recorded with
some of the best musicians in the folk and roots musical world. He toured and recorded with The Acousticats
which featured Phil Salazar and Cyrus Clarke (Cache Valley Drifters) which lead to him working with John McEuen
(Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and The String Wizards. Corbett recorded several albums with John as well as the award
winning DVD Nitty Gritty Surround with John McEuen & Jimmy Ibotson on AIX Records. During his stint
with John he played and recorded with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jennifer Warnes, Vassar Clements, Laurie Lewis
and John Sebastian. After working with John for several years Tom then toured with Robin and Linda Williams
from Garrison Keillor's “Prairie Home Companion.” He also played mandolin on Mike Ness’s
(Social Distortion) solo CD “"Cheating At Solitaire.”
In addition to being an in-demand sideman, Tom has recorded three of his own albums which feature many of his
own compositions and a who’s who of guest musicians including Herb Pedersen and Bill Bryson (Chris Hillman,
Desert Rose Band), David Hidalgo and Victor Bisetti (Los Lobos), Nina Gerber, David West, Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan,
Greg Leisz, Tom Rozum, Claire Holley and Jonathan McEuen. His songs were include in Peter Spirer’s feature
film “Dunsmore” from Image Entertainment, and his current CD “Tonight I Ride” has been
in the top 10 on the Euro-Americana charts (2011) for several months. He continues to tour as a sideman as well
as touring as a singer-songwriter, playing concerts and festivals all over the world from America to Spain,
Ireland, England, Germany, France, Scandinavia and Japan. This past April Tom toured Belgium, Germany and
the Netherlands for a month on behalf of the songwriter series “Songs & Whispers” based
out of Bremen Germany.
More at: www.tomcorbett.net
Award winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, Ray Doyle will be performing this year with his band, Reach for the Sky.
Joining Ray will be Dave Hall, Richard Paine, and Bob Rice. Ray has been playing the Cowboy Music and Poetry
circuit since departing popular Western band Wylie & the Wild West two years ago. He traveled and
recorded with the band for 20yrs.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Ray emigrated with his family to Canada, and then settled in Southern California. His second
solo CD, “The Emigrant Trail,” celebrates his Irish heritage, Western music influences, and first-hand
emigrant experience. It was nominated by the Academy of Western Artists for top Western Album of 2009, and by
the Western Music Assoc. for Traditional Western Album and Song of the Year. It also contains Ray’s song
“The Jewel,” the Gold Award winner in the Western Foklife Center’s “Yellowstone”
song contest.
More at: www.raydoyle.net
Long time veterans of the San Diego music scene, Ken Wilcox, Mark Jackson, and Bruce Huntington have joined forces
to create an exciting acoustic musical group, Sidewinder. Featuring raw energy, excellent musicianship,
and polished vocals, the band is turning heads and building a wide fan base across Southern California.
Their musical backgrounds span a cross section of Americana music from Western and Classic Country to
Bluegrass and folk music.
Mark and Bruce are well-respected song writers. Mark has recorded many of his songs on his Mark Jackson Band Albums
and has seven San Diego Music Awards nominations. Bruce was a finalist the last three years running for the Western
Music Association Song Writer of the Year Award and has had numerous songs recorded by top Western performers.
A cowboy poet, storyteller and novelist named with Waddie Mitchell and Red Steagall as the top three western storytellers in America. He will prod your soul with a truer understanding of the deep values and solid character of the American Cowboy.
| 12:30-2:00 | Clogging Workshop with Rebecca Stout |
| 2:00-3:00 | Contra Dancing with Modal Tease |
| 3:00-4:00 | Square Dancing with Bee’s Knees |
ASPS Flatfoot 101 : - Straight from the mountains of Appalachia, this beginner-friendly class
introduces the student to the funny stories, history, culture, styles, steps and all-out fun
of Appalachian percussive step dance. There will be demonstrations, practice sessions, questions,
and music for all to enjoy. No partner or dance experience necessary. No special shoes required.
The student learns the Soldier’s March, Jimmy, Mitchell, Bowman, Leaf Shuffle, Zig Zags,
Chugs, Nashville, Coleman and Buck Step. - 1hr 15min.
As a live performer, Rebecca Stout thoroughly engages audiences of all ages with her unique Flatfoot
and Fancy Free Roadshow. A rarely seen combination of flatfoot dance, old-time, Rhythm & Rhyme,
vintage country standards and new classic Americana. The Flatfoot and Fancy Free Roadshow provides
dance boards for the audience and makes it easy for children and grown-ups alike to participate
in the fun.
Rebecca encourages folks to get up and dance, demonstrating simple steps while serenading the
audience and often joining them on the dance floor. Rebecca has a special knack for working with
children and has been seen in the center of many toddler flatfoot mosh-pits.
Modal Tease has been serving up Old Tunes for New Times since 2009. Rooted in America’s old time Appalachian
music tradition, they’re also adventurous and versatile, expanding into Irish, New England and Swing genres,
providing the diversity expected of a modern contra dance band. Their name derives from their penchant for modal
tunes, which pepper their sets and give their music an “out of this world” quality. This dance
will feature fiddle (Belinda Thom) and clawhammer banjo (Jim Hamilton), driving the groove with tight unison
and harmonized melodies, while bass (Larry Ullman) and guitar (Doug Davis) provide the infectious backdrop.
More at www.ModalTease.wordpress.com/
Bees Knees is Joe Wack (fiddle), Steve Lewis (banjo), and Laura Osborn (guitar/banjo-uke). Their repertoire is an
eclectic mix of traditional music ranging from high-energy, all-out dance tunes to hauntingly beautiful
melodies from the Southern Appalachian region. Though they’ve only been playing together as a trio since
2008, their old-time music reflects decades of playing for dances, concerts, workshops, parties, and events,
as well as just good old-time music-making with like-minded folks on both sides of the country.
Joe Wack was first enthralled by old time music as an art student in West Virginia University in the early ‘70s.
From that time he has maintained the dual vocations of musician and artist. As a banjo player, he was an
original founder of the still-active WV stringband Stewed Mulligan. Since moving to L.A. in '93, he has worked
as a character designer for “The Simpsons” TV series while remaining immersed in old-time music on fiddle,
banjo, and guitar.
Laura Osborn has been a lifelong musician, performing and teaching flute in the Los Angeles area for almost twenty
years. While enjoying a robust family life with her husband, two children, and two cats, she finds time whenever
possible to play old-time music on guitar, banjo, and banjo-uke.
Steve Lewis has played the 5-string banjo most of his adult life. A veteran of contests, fiddlers’ conventions,
and festivals, Steve has also produced and played for contradances since 1989. He continues to play for dances, both
contra and square with one or another of four old-time bands. For the past eleven years, Steve has led an old-time
jam at the CTMS Folk Music Center in Encino on the first Sunday of each month.
See Dance Barn for Details
For nearly 20 years Bill Dempsey has been involved in performing and presenting Traditional Sea Music.
He is a full-time public school music teacher and a part-time professional musician. For
much of that time he has been associated with the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Ca.
Bill has taught living history onboard the Tall Ship Pilgrim. He has been a member of the Pilgrim
sailing crew setting sails and houling lines onboard the Sguare Rigged sailing ship.
In addition to performing traditional sea music on both the east and west coasts of the United States he has
organized monthly shantey sings, booked and performed at the Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point, Ca.
He has appeared on national TV and radio numerous times.
The Hollow Trees have been sharing “Folk Music for Families” around California for
eight years now. Their upbeat acoustic Americana music is like a gumbo made with a mix of
bluegrass, western swing, blues, and folk styles, seasoned with a generous helping of fun.
Hailing from Nelsonville, USA, they perform classic standards, strange and wonderful covers and
great original songs. With some luck they’ll be joined by their friend Nelson playing
his homemade banjitar. Come on by and join the hootenanny!
Learn more at www.thehollowtrees.com
For the past thirty years, the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles have delighted audiences throughout
Southern California with the lively, energetic and irresistibly uplifting music of Scotland,
the Shetlands, Cape Breton Island and Ireland.
Their playing is characterized by hard-driving reels and strathspeys, hauntingly beautiful airs, and sweet waltzes.
Directed by internally known Scottish fiddler Jan Tappan, their music is sure to get your toes-tapping and
your hand-clapping.
The Scottish Fiddlers perform at a variety of venues, and are always accepting new members. For
information on booking the Scottish
Fiddlers, or to join, please contact: info@scottishfiddlers.com
Visit us at www.scottishfiddlers.org.