Siobhan Butler (dance)

Siobhan Butler is an interdisciplinary artist based in North Leitrim, Ireland. Her internationally showcased work in traditional dance and visual art explores the connections between movement, nature, and culture. Informed by decades of field work in traditional percussive dances, Siobhan’s work as a performer and educator has taken her to stages and institutions around the world, in addition to founding the online Irish dance education platform, Bánóg. 

Siobhan’s dance style is heavily influenced by some of County Clare’s greatest Set dancers and their unique “battering” style. She uses this influence along with her background in other percussive dance forms to design her own unique voice as an artist. She has been privileged to collaborate with renowned music and dance artists such as Nuala Kennedy, Nic Gareiss, Tony DeMarco, Steve Cooney, Sandy Silva, Kieran Jordan, and many more. 

Siobhan is a passionate advocate for further developing the intersection between traditional dance and music and therefore frames much of her performance and teaching work around the musicality of traditional dance. She also campaigns for percussive dance and dancers being represented in spaces generally oriented towards music like festivals and in audio recordings, in addition to presenting Irish dance from a holistic lens. Her goal as an educator is to show that Irish dances are fundamental to the heritage of Ireland while also being a catalyst from which we can create a more inclusive and equitable identity of Irish culture. 
Siobhan has a BA in Anthropology from Goddard College (USA) and a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick (IRE). www.siobhanbutler.com

Sheila Graziano (dance)

Sheila Graziano discovered her passion for dance at an early age. Rooted in ten years of tap lessons as a child, her enthusiasm grew with the discovery of Appalachian clogging and other forms of traditional dance. Smitten with the art, Sheila Graziano devotes much of her time to continually developing her skills and knowledge of traditional dance, including American, English, Irish, Scottish, and Canadian dance steps. Ms. Graziano was a founder and member of The Crosstown Cloggers and Crow's Feet, and is the artistic director of The CommonWealth Dance Collective. She teaches ongoing workshops for adults, private lessons, various dance workshops at festivals and events, and has been the dance instructor and choreographer for The Saline Fiddlers for 29 years. She is also steeped in The Marley Project; a video archive of a series of dances from the Vaudeville era, with tutorials, for future use by interested dancers, historians, etc.

Sheila is very committed to passing on the 'common wealth' of knowledge of the dances and dance styles that she has learned over the years, and welcomes the opportunity to work with Earful of Fiddle campers this summer!

Evie Ladin (dance)

Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer, choreographer and square-dance caller, Oakland, CA-based Evie Ladin grew up steeped in traditional folk music/dance on the East Coast, and brings a contemporary vision to her compositions and choreography while holding fast to the roots.  Her performances, recordings and teaching reconnect Appalachian music/dance with other African-Diaspora traditions, and have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Lincoln Center, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to Celtic Connections, Brazil to Bali. Evie currently tours internationally with her Evie Ladin Band, and as a duo with Keith Terry. In the trad world, she teaches clawhammer banjo at the infamous Freight & Salvage, online at Peghead Nation with over 350 students, and numerous camps and festivals. In the percussive dance world, she directs the moving choir MoToR/dance, co-founded the International Body Music Festival, does educational outreach with the multicultural Crosspulse, and is an ace freestyle flatfooter. In the songwriter world, she writes clever, poignant and funny songs, subtitling her band “neo-trad kinetic folk." In 2024 she released two CDs, celebrating both of her musical sides: a live album of originals from her Evie Ladin Band, recorded at the esteemed Freight & Salvage, and the second totally trad fiddle/banjo duets with 17 different fiddlers, Riding the Rooster Two. A highly entertaining performer, Evie enjoys facilitating arts learning in diverse communities, always connecting the music with the dance, and educating people about traditional Appalachian culture and history. “The best example I have seen of a Neo-Trad band's sound being authentically anchored in old time music but extending it into new and entertaining directions.”  —Founder, Clifftop Appalachian Stringband Festival  

Louise Bichan (fiddle)

Louise Bichan is a USA-based Scottish musician and photographer who uses both mediums to tell stories old and new.

Growing up in the remote but culturally rich Orkney islands, a place where creativity abounds and playing music has been a part of the social fabric for centuries, gave Louise a solid grounding in music. She started playing fiddle at the age of 7 after witnessing the magic of live music: “I remember the butterflies in the tummy feeling when watching concerts at the Orkney Folk Fest as a kid, wanting to be a part of it all.” The sense of community and belonging it gave her was infectious; she pestered her parents to let her learn.

In the years since, she has honed her craft, first amongst the cream of Scottish folk at Glasgow’s renowned session scene and performances with talent like Orkney group Fara and award-winning singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni, before a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, Boston, where she developed her style further.

Masterfully blending traditional and classical arrangements, her music is thoughtful, and complex, curious and playful. She composes in response to her roots and the world around her; weaving through stories of connection, to people, nature, the past and the possibility of the future.

Ruby John (fiddle)

Ruby John is a Traditional Fiddler and a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa Chippewa Indians from Northern Michigan. Ruby learned to fiddle the traditional way by ear, listening to and learning from experienced fiddlers while attending OFMA Jamborees (Old-Time Michigan Fiddlers Association), TC Celtic Sessions, Algomatrad Traditional Music and Dance camp (St. Joseph Island ON), Elder Youth Legacy Métis Collective and Bluegrass Festivals. Ruby has performed her traditional fiddling throughout the US and Canada and looks forward to sharing this music she loves with others.

AJ Srubas (fiddle)

AJ Srubas grew up in a musical Wisconsin household and began fiddling at age 10 after picking up an instrument his dad left sitting around the house. Soon after his first exposure to old time music, he met the great Wisconsin fiddler Chirps Smith who introduced him to the rich old time repertoire of the midwest. Other influences on his playing include Dwight Lamb and Al Murphy who in turn played with Missouri fiddlers Cyril Stinnett, Lyman Enloe, and Gene Goforth. Currently touring regionally and nationally with various projects including Steam Machine and The Old Fashioned Aces, he has taught private lessons for over 10 years and taught fiddle at many music camps including Augusta Heritage Center, Ashokan Southern Week, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, American Fiddle Method, Minnesota State Fiddlers Association, and the Ossipee Valley String Camp. His fiddling has earned ribbons in various fiddle and band contests, including first place at Clifftop and second in bluegrass at the Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention. After moving to Minnesota to study violin repair, he resettled in Minneapolis where he became an integral member of the vibrant local old time and bluegrass scene."

Cameron DeWhitt (banjo)

Cameron DeWhitt (they/them) is a clawhammer banjoist and Old Time musician living in Portland, Oregon. They play banjo and sing with Morgan Harris and George Jackson as Tall Poppy String Band, whom Country Queer dubbed “an old-timey, queer supergroup.” Cameron is the innovator behind pitchfork banjo, a three-finger clawhammer technique that allows them a unique, improvisatory approach to old time banjo music. They are also the host of Get Up in the Cool, a weekly old time music and interview podcast, featuring conversations and musical collaborations with today’s most influential traditional musicians, such as Jake Blount, Laurel Premo, Tatiana Hargreaves, Bruce Molsky, Adam Hurt, and Dirk Powell. As an interviewer, Cameron acts as audience surrogate, asking illuminating questions to Old Time's best and brightest while telling the larger story of the tradition's modern era. And with over 8 years and 400 episodes, Get Up in the Cool is one of the largest and fastest growing archives of new traditional music recordings. When they’re not performing or podcasting, they produce the online video instructional series PitchforkBanjo.com and teach private lessons and workshops online and in-person in their home.

Grace van’t Hof (ukelele)

Michigan native Grace van’t Hof (they/them) has developed and taken a unique shade of ukulele playing across the United States and overseas with such groups as Bill and the Belles, Aaron Jonah Lewis’ Ragtime Banjo Revival, and Chris Jones & the Night Drivers. Driven by inspiration from American popular music of the early 20th century, Grace thoughtfully incorporates their uke stylings into genres from bluegrass to 80’s pop rock. Most recently, Grace brought their custom steel stringed baritone ukulele to the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry where their solo was featured on the Night Drivers IBMA nominated song, “Riding the Chief.” A devoted fan of early 20th century music, Grace strives to return the ukulele to its rightful place in swing, country, and popular music. In addition to being an accomplished ukulele performer and session musician, Grace also plays the 5-string banjo professionally, is a published illustrator, and is the three-time reigning International Bluegrass Music Association’s Graphic Designer of the Year. Grace makes their home in Detroit, Michigan.

Lindsay McCaw (guitar & dance calling)

Lindsay McCaw (she/her) is a musician, square dance caller and puppeteer who lives in Detroit. Lindsay is a founding member of the Detroit Square Dance Society, and has called dances around the country. She plays fiddle, guitar and Hawaiian guitar in several bands including the Corn Potato String Band, the Boblo Islanders and Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings. Her puppet company is called "Flying Cardboard Theater" and produces the Detroit Cantastoria Festival.

Rina Rossi (guitar & dance calling)

Rina Rossi (she/her) grew up in Ann Arbor, immersed in the folk and traditional dance scene. She grew up listening to old time and bluegrass at festivals and on the radio, and decided to take up the fiddle at age 17. She moved to Minneapolis at 18 and in 2006 she auditioned for the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, touring regionally and internationally with the group for 10 years as a dancer and then as a fiddler. Through the cloggers, she became very involved with the vibrant midwest old-time scene, organizing the Moosejaw Old Time Music & Dance Weekend, serving on the Board of the Bluff Country Gathering and coordinating old-time music and dance activities for the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association. She plays guitar in midwest-based old time bluegrass project Steam Machine, bass in a number of projects including Virginia-based Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee, and calls square dances regularly for the Monday Night Square Dance in Minneapolis and many other public and private events year round. She enjoys teaching and has taught rhythm guitar, bass, clogging, and square dance calling at camps and festivals across the country including Augusta Heritage Center, the Ashokan Center, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, John C Campbell Folk School, the Swannanoa Gathering, and others. As a teacher, she likes to support students in developing their timing and tone, hearing chords and regional back up styles, and working with source recordings to learn by ear. 

Ethan Setiawan (mandolin)

Ethan Setiawan (he/him/his) has a command of the mandolin far beyond his twenty-some-odd years, as evidenced by his wins at both the National Mandolin Championship in Winfield KS, and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship in Lyons CO. Named “creative and virtuosic” by WBUR, his path has wended its way through traditional bluegrass, to Bach partitas, to free jazz. In learning with Ethan, the focus is on the individuals’ unique talents and needs. Lessons are based around establishing a solid foundation on the instrument from which to move forward from in all styles of music including, but not limited to, bluegrass, Appalachian string band, Celtic, and classical. He has taught internationally at institutions such as the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music (Plockton, Scotland), Puget Sound Guitar Workshop (Bremerton, WA), Great Lakes Music Camp (Grand Haven, MI), and Mandolin Camp North (Charlton, MA). He is artistic director of the Glasgow Mandolin Retreat in Glasgow, Scotland along with Laura-Beth Salter and has a popular Peghead Nation course, the Weekly Mandolin Workout.

Emily Doebler (dance collaborator)

Emily Doebler (she/her) works closely with musicians of all kinds to create movement that emphasizes the shared connection between dance and music. She was first introduced to traditional percussive dance forms at five years old through an arts program run by dancer Jeannine Sladick. Growing up, Emily participated as both a student and performer at many different festivals and camps that nurtured her interest in percussive dance and traditional dance and music. Additionally, Emily has been awarded three Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeships with Nic Gareiss. Those apprenticeship opportunities provided Emily the opportunity to focus on improvisation, the complexities and interconnectedness of music and percussive dance, and the history of traditional dance and music. Emily embraces the opportunity to be curious about the collaboration of movement and sound, and emphasizes the importance of reconsidering the conventional confines of movement and expression. Emily also holds a Master of Public Policy from Michigan State University.

Joe Zavaan Johnson (musical collaborator)

Joe Zavaan Johnson (he/him/them) is a multi-instrumentalist, arts educator, Black music researcher, and native Ohioan. He frequently collaborates with grassroots organizations working towards coalition building, community healing, and cultural reparations. He is currently an inaugural Black Banjo Fellowship recipient with the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music where he teaches beginner banjo classes. Johnson was recently a featured artist at the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, the DeFord Bailey Legacy Festival, and the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival. His teachers include Jake Blount and Brad Leftwich. Johnson earned a dual BM in Instrumental Music Performance and Ethnomusicology from Bowling Green State University, and is currently an Ethnomusicology PhD Candidate at Indiana University-Bloomington. 

Gray Reynolds (musical collaborator)

Gray Reynolds (they/them) is a multi-instrumentalist who grew up in the mid-Michigan folk music community. They started out studying fiddle with Bruce Bauman and have since branched out to include other instruments like tenor banjo, mandolin, and guitar in their repertoire. Recently, Gray has been a participant in Ethno Sweden and Ethno USA, two branches of an international traditional music camp, where they spent two weeks learning and teaching folk music with other musicians from around the world. In addition to making music, Gray is a printmaker whose work often draws from and celebrates the American traditional music community.