• Michael Cleveland and FlameKeeper (Sat)
• The Whites (Sat)
• Special Consensus (Sat)
• Sierra Hull and Highway 111 (Fri)
• Steep Canyon Rangers (Fri)
• The Claire Lynch Band(Sat)
• The Spinney Brothers (Fri)
• Bill Keith and  Jim Rooney Reunion (Sat) 
• Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein withspecial guest Jonathan Edwards (Sat)
• Josh Williams Band (Sat)

Tickets can be purchased here

The festival features Jesse Brock, Claudine Langille, Skip Gorman, and David Surette, with special guests Susie Burke and Baron Collins-Hill. This two-day event offers group lessons, workshops on a variety of topics, jam sessions, and an evening concert. Additionally, the festival will present a March 2, Friday night concert featuring the same performers at The Elysium Arts Folk Club, Rollinsford, NH (this is a separate ticket from the Concord events).

To register for the festival, send a check for $110 made out to:

Concord Community Music School
23 Wall St.
Concord, NH 03301

Lodging is available at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Concord, New Hampshire, with a special festival rate. A limited number of rooms have been set aside, so if you are interested, please contact the hotel directly at (603) 225-0303.

Festival sponsors include Sanborn, Head and Associates, the NH State Council on the Arts Traditional Arts program, and the Concord Courtyard by Marriott, where festival accommodations are available at a special rate. Support is also provided by mandolincafe.com.

RSVP, ASAP to reserve a space.
info and reservations: holt.e@comcast.net, (603) 679-1915
PRICE: $25.00, includes admission to the evening dance where workshop leaders will be calling and playing. (Contact us at the above address to explore the possibility of a few limited scholarships if needed). Additional details will be sent to workshop participants.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
(1) “Play in the Band”: with Carol Compton.
3:30 – 6:00 P.M.
*What makes a good dance tune? *How do we shape a tune set? * Creative and danceable intros, good transitions, fun endings, and cheap harmony tricks. *How do we shape an evening, *Tips on working with callers. This a 2 ½ hour afternoon workshop for musicians who want to learn to play for contra dancing – or who already do that and want to get even better at it than they are. The workshop will be tailored to the interests of the participants. The goal is to provide some useful tools for participants to use, and perhaps introduce some topics for possible later, more in depth workshops.

LEADER – Carol Compton – has led workshops for both Contra and English country dance musicians for many years. She coordinated the 30+ person pickup band in Philadelphia (SPUDS) in the 1990s, and has played piano, recorder, and accordion for dances from Ontario to West Virginia since the 1980’s. She has played at festivals and dances, and is a memberof, and the tune leader for Northern Spy, a large contra dance band in Norwich, Vermont. She currently also plays in ensembles as small as 2 (Trip to Norwich) and as large as 10 (Calliope). She can be heard on the Smithsonian recording “Choose your Partner” and in David Millstone’s “What’s Not to Like” video.

RESPOND IN TIME: You will get the most out of the workshop if you: have some proficiency on your instrument, and let us know you are coming so Carol can find out what tunes you might already know or suggest a couple to work on.
Come with a sense of adventure, and be prepared to leave with a bunch of things to try on your own.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
(2) “Call Chestnuts” : With David Millstone AFTERNOON; TIME TBD

CALLERS – Money Musk, Chorus Jig, Hull’s Victory, Rory O’More, Sackett’s Harbor, British Sorrow – all Chestnuts, and caller David Millstone will be conducting a special Chestnuts Calling Workshop in Deerfield, NH, February 4th, for callers interested in learning how to call these traditional contra dances. Chestnuts are different from modern contras and from each other; different enough to be recognizable, and cherished. Many of these dances are hundreds of years old. Come call (and dance) with the ancestors. Participants will have the opportunity to call one or more of these for a group of appreciative colleagues – who are all in this together – under the friendly eye of one the most expert and supportive callers working today. We will become a community of callers, united in this common love.

DANCERS While this is a workshop, not a dance (the dance is that night) we still need dancers. If you’ve ever danced Chestnuts, you know how much fun they are! And it’s a great chance to support your fellow callers in this learning experience. Participants who are there only to dance and observe will not be charged for the workshop. Done it before? Do it again!!! Think how long it took for these dances to develop!

LEADER – David Millstone.
With David Smukler, David Millstone has literally written the book on dancing and teaching the classic American contras that we now call Chestnuts, and that book is Cracking Chestnuts published by CDSS. David has led the monthly dance in Norwich Vermont, since 1980 and has an American repertoire ranging from our traditional New England chestnuts to high-energy recent compositions. Known for his clear and supportive teaching style, the breadth of his repertoire and his sense of humour, David has called dances throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in seven countries in Europe.
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: some experience calling contras
RESPOND IN TIME TO GET YOUR DANCE TO CALL IN ADVANCE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3
(1) “CALLER’S WORKSHOP – A SOLID FOUNDATION” with Chris Ricciotti 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. LIMITED TO 12 CALLERS !!!!
This workshop is geared toward anyone who has never called before and has an interest in trying it out, as well as for people who have had limited calling experience, and would like a solid foundation to improve their skills. Practice material and caller guides will be handed out during the workshop for participants to use during the workshop, which they can keep. Experienced callers are welcome to help support newer callers. Dancers are welcome and encouraged to
attend to be a supportive audience and to give support to our budding callers as appreciative dancers. To ensure that all callers get the time they need in this workshop, this workshop will be limited to 12

(CONTRA DANCE MUSIC AND CALLING WORKSHOPS DEERFIELD, NH )
( Feb. 4 – Carol Compton, David Millstone / March 3 – Chris Ricciotti, Sylvia Miskoe )

callers. There are no limits on dancer participation. (Participants who are there only to dance and observe will not be charged for the workshop)
LEADER: Chris Ricciotti has been calling and organizing dances for the past 30 years. He also has a passion for teaching the art of calling to spread the joy of what has been a great community building activity in his life. Chris now calls all over New England and the U.S. He is very active in the gender-free dance community and helps organize and network a growing list of local gender-free dances across the US and overseas. Gender-free dancing lends itself easily to family dances as well as to adult dances; it is a fun way to learn both parts of the dance and a great way for kids and adults to dance together. Chris is skilled at calling and teaching using both gender-free and conventional gender language. He specializes in providing a rewarding and accessible dance program to new and mixed level dances where there are a lot of first time dancers in attendance by creating a strong foundation for dancers early in the dance program, and building on that experience with each successive dance until everyone is dancing together. He choreographs many of his own dances using figures that allow experienced dancers to have fun while providing a forgiving and enjoyable dance experience for newcomers.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3
(2) “Play Your Accordion for Dancing”. AFTERNOON: TIME TBD Accordion players unite and learn to play for dancing. While accordions have always been included in dance bands they are often overshadowed by fiddles. This workshop will cover ways to play the tunes and make them danceable, choice of tunes, and blending with other musicians. We will also cover basic techniques such as best fingering, pulsing with the bellows, and volume control. Some music will be provided.

LEADER: Sylvia Miskoe ,one of the masters, is the recipient of the 2011 Governors Arts New Hampshire Folk Heritage Award. Sylvia has been playing for contras since the 1970s. She also pla ys the accordion for Scottish music. She has traveled to Scotland to further her knowledge of traditional music. She was one of the musicians invited to represent New Hampshire at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and at the Celebrate New Hampshire festival held in 2000 in Hopkinton. Sylvia is also a devoted teacher and has served as master artist for two NHSCA Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants.

“I have had Sylvia playing for a contra dance I called in Nelson, NH and she lit up the room. Believe me she is all you really need.” Rickey Holt, caller and dance organizer.

RSVP, ASAP to reserve a space.
info and reservations: holt.e@comcast.net, (603) 679-1915
PRICE: $25.00, includes admission to the evening dance where workshop leaders will be calling and playing. (Contact us at the above address to explore the possibility of a few limited scholarships if needed). Additional details will be sent to workshop participants.

Mike Compton has completed his first solo mandolin recording, a compilation of original and traditional selections entitled Rotten Taters. The project was spontaneously conceived and recorded in Australia this past summer while on a solo tour.

Compton’s new recording will be a welcome gift to his fans. Accompanied only by mandolin, mandola and voice, Rotten Taters displays his considerable songwriting skills and the ability to interpret traditional American music as few can.   Read more here…

Here’s a list of our upcoming public appearances:

Haunted Happenings , Salem MA
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
from noon – 3pm

Bluegrass music for zombies, vampires, witches and the undead…

The Goodtime Stringband will be performing with special guest Ethan Robbins on fiddle. Stop by the town Common in the coming Saturdays to enjoy our music and some family fun.

The town common will be the center of tons of activities including costume parades, a zombie re-enactment of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, ghost tours and much more. On the common, there will be stuff for the whole family including small rides, face painting, balloons and much more. It will be spooktacular

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Haunted Happenings, Salem MA
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
from noon – 3pm

Bluegrass music for zombies, vampires, witches and the undead…

The Goodtime Stringband will be performing at one of the country’s largest ongoing Halloween celebrations in the coming weeks – Haunted Happenings in Salem, MA! Stop by the town Common in the coming Saturdays to enjoy our music and some family fun.

The town common will be the center of tons of activities including costume parades, a zombie re-enactment of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, ghost tours and much more. On the common, there will be stuff for the whole family including small rides, face painting, balloons and much more. It will be spooktacular

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Café Ole, Lowell MA
Thursday, November 10, 2011
9:00pm – Midnight

Dinner music by the Goodtime Stringband and the BEST SANGRIA in the Merrimack Valley

Olé Restaurant & Tapas Bar
76 Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852-1720

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Harpoon Brewery Beer-B-Q, Boston MA
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Noon – 3pm

What do you get when you mix Harpoon beer, the Goodtime Stringband, and the New England BBQ Society? The Harpoon Helps Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q, that’s what!

Join us for the Annual Harpoon Helps pre-Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q, right at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston on Sunday, November 13. Once again, we’ve joined forces with our friends at the New England Barbecue Society (NEBS) to put together a Thanksgiving meal, barbecue-style, to raise money for the Greater Boston Food Bank’s annual Food Fund, which supplies Thanksgiving meals for families in and around Boston.

The folks at NEBS will hitch up their huge smokers, park them in front of the brewery, and smoke a whole gaggle of turkeys, with all the trimmings. Not only that, the NEBS team will be on hand to give you some tips on how to make your Thanksgiving meal a little different this year with some interesting recipes from the menu. Speaking of which, check out the menu – it’s incredible

Of course, there will be plenty of fresh Harpoon to go with the meal. What’s a pre-Thanksgiving-barbecue-style meal without Harpoon?!

So come have an unbelievable meal, listen to some great bluegrass and swing music, wash it down with some fresh beer, and do it all for a great cause – so other folks in our area can enjoy Thanksgiving too.

Harpoon Brewery
306 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA

For more information visit http://www.harpoonbrewery.com

Stars bring Hank’s ‘Lost Notebooks’ to life

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Over the years, Holly Williams never felt much of a connection to her grandfather. So when she slipped on a pair of white gloves and lifted one of Hank Williams’ old spiral-bound notebooks to inspect its pages full of careful cursive script recently at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, she was a little bit startled to feel a deep visceral reaction.

“Just amazement,” she said a few minutes later. “Just shock and awe.”

Touching the notebooks left her with a feeling of “just how prolific he was.”

“I’m 30,” she said. “It makes me go, ‘God, I sure haven’t got much done.’ … He died at 29 and he wrote these songs.”

Williams’ notebooks not only inspired his granddaughter, but an all-star cast of artists who put the country archetype’s unfinished lyrics to music for the new project “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams.” Williams used to carry the notebooks in a battered old leather briefcase he always had with him, including at the time of his death just before or on Jan. 1, 1953, on the way to a show in West Virginia. His mother found a cache of material after his death as well. She turned the song fragments over to Williams’ publisher and they’ve sat in a vault for most of the ensuing decades, until producer Mary Martin came up with the idea for breathing life into them.

All participants were challenged to put Williams’ words to music. Some added lyrics of their own to flesh out fragments, and all were responsible for their own melody and instrumentation. For the most part, the principles stick close to what they imagined the source material should have sounded like, but each brings something a little different.

Williams is joined by her father Hank Jr. on her contribution “Blue is My Heart.” Dylan, his son Jakob, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, Jones, Jack White, Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell, Lucinda Williams and Sheryl Crow also cut songs for the long-simmering project, which Bob Dylan released this month on his Columbia Records imprint Egyptian Records, in association with the hall of fame.

Jackson delivers the closest homage with leadoff song “You’ve Been Lonesome, Too,” Norah Jones keeps it stripped down to acoustic guitar and harmony on “How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart,” and Crowell and Gill lay down what sounds like a classic song coming out of the radio circa 1950 on “I Hope You Shed a Million Tears.”

Gill and Crowell frame part of their song as a spoken-word monologue, adding a classic feel.

“To say you wrote a song with Hank Williams, yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Gill said. “Rodney was the biggest part of that, of taking it and making it something special. You couldn’t envision that would ever happen. You wouldn’t think there’s a bunch of unfinished Hank Williams songs laying around and they’re going to be giving them some folks who are kind of eccentric and talented, and have them finish them up.”

Martin’s original intention was for Williams fan Dylan to do a full album, but he eventually scuttled that plan. He spoke with Holly Williams about it around eight years ago, giving her a handful of copied lyrics while the two stood outside his tour bus.

“And you could tell it was a Hank song in an instant because of the way it was written,” she said. “I said, ‘These are Hank lyrics,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, they want me to do an album of these but that’s a lot of pressure on me, so I may give them to a lot of different artists.’ I wanted to take them and run with them and read them, but he put them back on the bus.”

Two years later she got a call saying it was time to come pick up a few samples of what was available.

“I ran down to my publishing company and got the lyrics and spent two days soaking it up, like a lost ‘Harry Potter’ book or something,” she said. “I could not wait to get my hands on it.”

“Blue is My Heart” had just six lines when she picked it. She fleshed out the song lyrically and added a melody.

“I hope that you can’t tell when he stopped writing and when I started writing it because it was exactly half,” she said.

Her father, Hank Jr., makes an appearance on her song. But that’s about all he has to do with the album. Asked what he thought of the project, he said: “Yeah, yeah, it’s different. Some of it’s OK, some of it’s not. It’s all right.”

Asked if he had a favorite song, he pointed to the entries from his daughter and Jackson.

“That’s probably the best two on there,” he said. “I wasn’t really contacted about it at all. Let me tell you, if you don’t need me, go ahead, rock on, brother.”

Holly Williams is extremely pleased with the project, though. She thinks it provides a chance for a new generation of fans to access the music of her grandfather in a meaningful way.

Williams combined lonesome country sounds with the blues and other influences from his childhood in Alabama to revolutionize country music with universal themes almost anyone can identify with. He sold his first song at 19 and went on to record timeless classics like “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” ”Hey, Good Lookin’” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” His hard-living lifestyle and his tragic early death helped ensure his place as an American icon.

Combined with recently unearthed material on the new collection “The Legend Begins” and last year’s “The Complete Mother’s Best Recordings,” there is a new sense of discovery swirling around Williams in the 21st century.

“I feel like (‘Lost Notebooks’) is just going to open a door where people say, if Jack White or Norah Jones or Lucinda love this, maybe I should check it out,” Holly Williams said.

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AP writer Caitlin R. King in Nashville contributed to this report.