Bluegrass and old-time mountain music will fill the air at the WV Culture Center for two days, January 31 and February 1, sponsored by FOOTMAD – Friends of Old-Time Music and Dance. Billed as FOOTMAD’s “Winter Breakdown,” the weekend will include square dancing, workshops and an evening concert. All activities are open, and the public is invited. Admission fees vary. All the events take place at the WV Culture Center.
Festivities begin 7 p.m. Friday, January 31, with a square dance in the Great Hall. Taylor Runner of Morgantown will be the caller, with live music by The Hollertones from southern Ohio. No experience, partner, special shoes or special clothing is necessary. All dances will be taught.
Saturday activities feature an array of traditional instruments for the public to see, hear, and try playing. A hands-on instrument display will be provided by Fret ’n Fiddle music store of St. Albans.
Workshops in music and dance skills are offered from 11 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Each will last 80 minutes. New this year is a recording and performance workshop led by the producers of the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbor Show, Jeff and Victoria Bosley.
Other offerings and teachers include harmony singing with Andrew Small and Ashley Watkins, dulcimer with Dave Haas, Eastern Kentucky fiddle with Linda Scutt, square dance calling with Taylor Runner, Southwest Virginia tunes with Andrew Small and Ashlee Watkins, dance tips with Andrew Carroll, old-time banjo with Cody Jordan, old-time guitar with Jesse Pearson, mandolin with Johnny Staats, bluegrass guitar with Doug Cossin, bluegrass banjo with Butch Osborne and bluegrass fiddle with Ray Cossin. All workshop teachers are renowned experts in their fields.
The Saturday evening concert at the WV Culture Center theater will feature three Appalachian bands to round out the “Winter Breakdown” schedule. The concert opens at 7:30pm with the old-time trio The Modock Rounders—Kim Johnson (banjo), Cody Jordan (guitar) and Jesse Pearson (fiddle). Next up from Southwest Virginia will be The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee with their superb harmonies and instrumentals. The renowned Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys will close out the event. Staats won the Vandalia Festival championship in mandolin three times, once on guitar and placed in fiddle. The Delivery Boys include Butch Osborne, Ray and Doug Cossin and David Vaughn. Each band will perform a 45-minute set.
Concert tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, $10 for students; under age 13 are admitted free. Workshops are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Dance admission is $10 for adults, $5 under age 25, under age 13 admitted free. AmeriCorps/VISTA members are admitted free to the dance and concert.
Weekend passes are available in advance or at the door—$55 for adults and $25 for students and will cover the dance, up to three workshops and the concert. Admission to all events can be paid at the door. Concert advance tickets are available online at FOOTMAD.org or by calling 304-729-4382.
This program is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. Additional sponsors include the Nancy McClellan Charitable Gift Fund and McKinley Carter Wealth Services.