Carol Elizabeth Jones has made her mark as a singer of traditional mountain music and as a writer of new songs in the old tradition. A recording of the Coon Creek Girls, some good friends, and the Mt. Airy Fiddler’s Convention all helped get her started in music in her late teens. As a member of the Wildcats and the Wandering Ramblers, she combined well-honed vocals with sharp-edged string band music. With James Leva she recorded three acclaimed albums of original material. As part of the Heart of a Singer project with Hazel Dickens and Ginny Hawker, she recorded memorable duets and trios, which have enjoyed a second life as part of the O Sister Women in Bluegrass collection. Carol Elizabeth has toured Africa, Asia, Great Britain, Canada and the U.S., and has taught vocal workshops at the Augusta Heritage Center, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, the Swannanoa Gathering, California Coast Music Camp, and others. Originally from Berea, Kentucky, she now lives near Lexington, Virginia, with her daughter, Vivian. In addition to her active musical life, Carol Elizabeth is also the Director of the Literacy and Language Center in Lexington.

Kirk Sutphin grew up in Walkertown, North Carolina, heavily exposed to traditional music of the region from the Round Peak fiddle styles of Surry County to the banjo picking of Charlie Poole. Throughout his life, Kirk has made an effort to visit with countless older musicians of the area. He has learned tunes from many musicians born around the turn of the 20th century. Kirk is an exceptional fiddler whose sound is often compared to that of Tommy Jarrell. He is also an excellent banjo player in both clawhammer and finger-picking styles. 

Kirk’s grandfather was a fiddler who often played for local square dances with Tommy Jarrell. His grandmother loved to dance, and she told him many stories about growing up in an area that was rich in music and dance. Kirk’s father was a Charlie Poole fan, and his interest was contagious. He and Kirk played a lot of music together that included most of Charlie Poole’s recorded repertoire. Kirk not only collected recordings of Charlie Poole, he also sought out musicians who played with Poole, such as Lonnie Austin and Kinney Rorrer, in order to learn from them first hand.

Gellert has been called a “legend in the field of old-time American music,” by Fiddler Magazine. Born in 1949 in New York, Gellert got inspired to learn more about roots music during the folk revival of the 1960s. He learned to play banjo, guitar, fiddle, and sing lots of old and traditional songs and tunes. Fiddler Magazine said Gellert’s fiddling is “bluesy and rhythmic and without regard for modern standards of pitch and tone. In other words, he follows his muse, which makes his music stand alone in a world of timid imitators. Not for the faint of heart, Dan Gellert is a commanding and uncompromising talent.” Gellert has been called “a storehouse of knowledge about traditional fiddle and banjo music from rural American players and early commercial recording artists of the 1920s and 30s.” He has played and recorded with numerous musicians over the years, including a recording of fiddle and banjo duets with his longtime friend, Brad Leftwich. Gellert released a solo recording in 2004, which was received with much acclaim from folk and American roots music enthusiasts.

More recently he starred in a motion picture called The Mountain Minor where he acted and played fiddle throughout the movie. Read more about that here: https://themountainminormovie.com/about-2/. 

Clarke Williams is a flatfoot dancer and multi-instrumentalist based in Marshall, NC. While comfortable in a variety of styles, he has a strong focus on the music and dance traditions of Western NC. He has won awards and recognition for his dancing and his fiddle, banjo and guitar playing at festivals and fiddlers conventions across the Southeast. Clarke has performed nationally and internationally, in bands such as Jenny and the Hog Drovers (with Phil Jamison), the Georgia Horseshoes and the French Broadcasters. Clarke currently teaches at Warren Wilson College (where he studied in the traditional music program) as well as the the JAM program in Buncombe, Madison and Haywood counties. In teaching, Clarke emphasizes developing musical intuition, deep listening skills, and group 'jam' skills.