Schedule:

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Workshops, Gathering Place, Etc:
Early Bird Bluegrass Jam
6:00 p.m: Hosted by Chris and Steve Anderson
As at past indoor festivals, we are again inviting any and all Bluegrass Fans to an Open Bluegrass J a.m: in the Crown Plaza Fireside Lounge on Thursday night, March 2, beginning at 6:00 PM. This is a Free Bluegrass Jam, and new jammers (and Listeners too) are Welcome. You’ll see a few “Jammers’ Commandments” to help novice jammers understand the rotation of turns and instrumental breaks, but Lots of compassionate folks who’ve Been Where You Are, and not only Survived, but went on to join in more Jams during Summer, Fall and Winter Weekend Festivals, as well as lots of others for years. Meet some Great Folks, make new friends, get tips on playing your instrument and/or singing…..but most importantly, Have Fun With Music!  You Don't have to be a Pro at playing, have a History of Bluegrass knowledge, or an expensive instrument – we had none of those when we started either!  Steve and I are past Trombone players who met in Jazz Band, and now he’s a Fiddler and I play Bass and Guitar and Love to Jam.

Gathering Place - Conference Room E:
Make the Gathering  Place your hub for information, upcoming festivals, magazine browsing, and take home crafts for kiddos.
Open at 9 a.m: daily.
6pm: Gathering Place Opens
7pm: Open Stage Signup Begins

Friday, March 3, 2023

Winter Weekend Stage Schedule:
Nechville Stage - Auditorium
MC: Kim Monson
6:00 p.m: Tickwood String Band
6:50 p.m: Long Time Gone
7:40 p.m: The Seldom Herd
8:30 p.m: The Mark Kreitzer Band
9:20 p.m: JedFest
10:10 p.m: Blue Drifters Bluegrass Band

Willie’s American Guitars - Europa Room
MC: Doug Chasar
6:00 p.m: Transcendental Bluegrass Band
7:00 p.m: Spotlight On: Songwriting on the Banjo hosted by Ellen Stanley

Workshops, Gathering Place, Etc
Gathering Place - Conference Room E:
Make the Gathering  Place your hub for information, upcoming festivals, magazine browsing, and take home crafts for kiddos.
Open at 9 a.m: daily.
6:00 p.m: Gathering Place Opens
7:00 p.m: Open Stage Signup Begins

Europa Room
Spotlight On: Songwriting on the Banjo
Hosted by Ellen Stanley
Friday, 7-9  p.m: - Europa Room
Join us Friday night in the Europa Room for a spotlight on songwriting on the banjo. Hosted this year by Ellen Stanley (Mother Banjo, Womenfolk Radio), this will be a deep dive into the process of songwriting and the nuances of crafting compositions on the banjo. She’ll welcome an eclectic range of banjo-playing songwriters, including bluegrass favorite Mark Kreitzer,  old-timey multi-instrumentalist Ad a.m: Kiesling (Corpse Reviver, Pop Wagner, Bussard Situation), radio-charting folk songwriter Jaspar Lepak.

Saturday, March 4, 2023

8:20 p.m: Winter Weekend Headline Concert
Nick Dumas & Branchline
Nick Dumas is an IBMA award-winning mandolinist familiar to MBOTMA audiences from his stint with Special Consensus.
His newly-released recording, "Details" was released this January. His recent single, "We'd Go to Town," reached #3 on the Bluegrass Today airplay chart.

7:20 p.m: Opening for Nick Dumas is MBOTMA favorites, Art Stevenson & Highwater

Old Time Music Headline Concert:
Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small with Jared Boyd, Saturday, March 4
10:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m: Workshops
2:00 p.m: Old Time Headline Concert
3:00 p.m Clogging Showcase ft. Wild Goose Chase Cloggers
4:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m: Square Dance

Nechville Stage - Auditorium:
MC: Tom Schrack
11:00 a.m: Rosby Corner
11:50 a.m: Mother Banjo
12:40 p.m: Roe Family Singers
1:30 p.m: Prairie Potluck
2:20 p.m: Def Lester
3:10 p.m: Tony Rook Band
4:00 p.m: FlattGrass Revival
4:50 p.m: Brian Wicklund & Mike Cramer

Headline Concert:
7:00 p.m: Doors Open
7:20 p.m: Art Stevenson & Highwater
8:20 p.m: Nick Dumas & Branchline

Willie’s American Guitars - Europa Room:
MC: Joe Meyer
10:00 a.m - 11:20 a.m: Open Stage (sign up in Gathering Place starting at 7 p.m: Friday)
11:30 a.m: Blue Groove
12:20 p.m: Gritpickers Old Time String Band
1:10 p.m: Waxwing
MC: Nathan Hess
2:00 p.m: Rusty Playground
2:50 p.m: Sloughgrass
3:40 p.m: Bullypulpit Bluegrass

Dinner Celebration - 5:00 p.m - 10:00 p.m: (Dinner served until 8pm) with entertainment by:
MC: Doug Chasar
5:00 p.m: The Fish Heads
5:50 p.m: Switched at Birth
6:40 p.m: Cousin Dad
MC: Kim Monson
7:30 p.m: Jon Garon & Friends
8:20 p.m: Kim Harrington & Helen Militich
9:10 p.m: Poppa John & the Poppettes

Gathering Place - Conference Room E:
9:00 a.m: Gathering Place Opens
9:00 a.m: - 11:00 a.m: Wee folks Colorful Crafts & Take Home Fun with Ms Kim
11:00 a.m: - 12:00 p.m: Bluegrass Jam—Beginners to Intermediate. Bring a song to share! With the Fish Heads
12:00 p.m - 1:00 p.m: Ukulele Jam
1:00 p.m - 2:30 p.m: Remembering Bob Douglas with Mad Jack and the Black Label Boys
2:30 p.m - 3:15 p.m: Meet & Greet with the MBOTMA Board
3:30 p.m - 4:30 p.m: Craig Evans Old Time Conversations showing. Bart Reiner & Rayna Gallery Interviews
4:30 p.m - 9:00 p.m: Open

Workshops:
Dance Parlor Downstairs

10:00 a.m: Old Time Fiddle SW Virginia Style with Andrew Small:
Using the traditional repertoire of Southwest Virginia as a vehicle for exploration, we’ll make a deep dive into the soul of old time fiddling and explore style, purpose, expression, functionality, and the role of the fiddle within an ensemble. With an emphasis on developing listening skills and recognizing patterns, we will break down techniques for bowing and phrasing that are at the heart of the old time sound. Recording devices are encouraged!

11:00 a.m: Harmony Singing Workshop with Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small
In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how to achieve a good vocal blend by examining phrasing, pronunciation, tone, and intonation. We’ll learn repertoire from SW Virginia’s Carter Family as we delve into how we choose parts (assigning lead/tenor/baritone/bass) and find the right key as well as the stylistic choices involved in designing a harmony line. Bring a friend, an instrument if you play one, and all of your questions about harmony singing!

3:00 p.m: Clogging Showcase & Workshop with Wild Goose Chase Cloggers
Come see a clogging demonstration, then learn a few steps yourself!

4:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m: Happy Hour Square Dance with Andrew Small, Ashlee Watkins, Jared Boyd & Friends

Green Room (Behind Old Time Dance Hall):
10:00 a.m: Old Time Country Guitar with Ashlee Watkins
In this old time country guitar workshop, we will focus on the three T’s: Tone, Taste and Timing! We’ll discuss the importance of right hand technique while trying out a few different feels such as waltz, two-step and breakdown. We'll also explore the creative and stylistic outlet that chord choice and bass runs have to offer, all while debunking the myth that the fiddler has all the fun!

11:00 a.m: Old Time Banjo with Jared Boyd:
Jared has won the clawhammer banjo competition at many of the fiddlers conventions around the Galax area, including winning the blue ribbon three times at the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention and Best All Around Performer at the 2022 festival. You won't want to miss this workshop!

Studio 2:
2:00 p.m: Embellishing Fiddle Tunes with Jim Price (sponsored by the MSFA)
A general discourse on improving technique, tying into a rhythmic pulse, stylistic affectations and variations, and discovering new material to embellish what fiddlers already have in their repertoire. Geared towards fiddlers with a few years of experience who want to improve their playing.

Studio 3:
10:00 a.m: Bluegrass Banjo with Bruce Johnson:
You can play Banjo (and still have friends!) Come see how.

11:00 a.m: Beginning Improvisation on Guitar with Greg Landkamer
Do you shake your head “no” when it’s your turn to take a break during a jam? Discover the art of guitar improvisation in a beginner-friendly workshop. Learn basic concepts, techniques and exercises to unleash your creativity on the fretboard. Gain confidence in playing with others, primarily for beginners.

12:00 p.m: String Instrument Set Up with David Vincent:
There are 5 things/parts/conditions that affect action or play ability of string instruments. We'll talk about them and which ones you can perhaps adjust yourself and which ones should be left to a pro.

1:00 p.m: Bass with Mark Anderson:
Come learn tips and tricks for being a boss on bass.

2:00 p.m: Dobro Workshop with Andy Kozak and special guests Michael Kilby, Dale Reichert, and Paul Jones
3:00 p.m: Beginning Swing for Fiddle and Mandolin with Brian Wicklund
4:00 p.m: Guitar Fun in the Key of E with Jon Garon and Mark Kreitzer

Studio 5:
10:00 a.m: Clawhammer Banjo with Rob Daves:
Just like it sounds!

11:00 a.m: Fiddle Bowing with John Wallace:
Foundations of fiddle bowing, old time and more

12:00 p.m: Guitar Theory:
Alternate chord shapes up the neck with Lew Tousignant: how to use known chord shapes up the neck and across the strings to make new, moveable chords.

1:00 p.m: Old Time Fiddle - tunes that shift past 1st position with AJ Srubas:
Come learn some fun old time tunes that require shifting up the neck to reach notes in higher positions, and learn some tips and techniques for smooth shifting

2:00 p.m: Bluegrass Jamming for Beginners with Matt Jensen:
The ins and outs of playing in a bluegrass jam

3:00 p.m: Kentucky Fiddle Tunes on Clawhammer Banjo with Caleb Hall:
This workshop will be for clawhammer banjo and will cover the fiddle tunes "Old Buzzard" from Doc Roberts and "Last of Harris" from John Salyer and how to play them in a melodic style.

4:00 p.m: The Care and Feeding of your Voice with Julie Kaiser:
Techniques and tips for creating quality vocal sound, including posture, breathing, warm ups and exercises.

Auditorium:
4:50 p.m: Inside Bluegrass with the Eclectics:
Takes you inside the workings of a bluegrass band, tells of the roles of the different instruments and gets more personal as the players relate about their inspirations for breaks and solos. The players also talk about working together to polish song arrangements for performances.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Nechville Stage - Auditorium
MC: Pam Kolupaio
11:10 a.m: Gloryland Gospel Band
12:00 p.m: Singleton Street
1:00 p.m: Grass Seeds Recital

Gathering Place - Conference Room E
Make the Gathering  Place your hub for information, upcoming festivals, magazine browsing, and take home crafts for kiddos.
Open at 9 a.m: daily.
9:00 a.m: Gathering Place Opens
4:00 p.m: Gathering Place Closes

Date: March 3 - 5, 2023

Location:

Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West
3131 Campus Drive
Plymouth, MN 55447

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