Our workshops give you the opportunity to meet with the musicians, ask questions, and improve your playing ability or appreciation of the traditional and acoustic instrument arts.  All our workshops are hosted by our performers who appear on the Main Stage and are among the best in their craft.  All our workshops are free so come and enjoy!
 
We feature two types of workshops.  Showcase workshops will be of interest to all including those who don’t play an instrument.  The showcase workshops will all be held in the Community building from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Instrument workshops will be of more interest to those who play an instrument or who are considering taking up an instrument.  These workshops will all be held in the Needlecraft and Cook Shack buildings just south of the Community Building from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.  Bring your instruments!

9:00 - 10:00 am		The Greencards – A mix of two Australians, an Englishman, and one hot guitar player.  Moving from down under and way yonder to Austin, Texas a few years back, this group has become a favorite across the country as well as across the ponds.  Now living in Nashville, this group features a mix of traditional, bluegrass, country and blues.  Carol Young is phenomenal on vocals and this is a group we’ll be hearing about for years to come.  We know it’s early but you won’t want to miss this workshop.
10:00 - 11:00 am		Meet the Wiyos – This may be the best group you never heard of.  From Brooklyn New York, the Wiyos take their name from a New York street gang of yesteryear.  They bring a blend of early swing, blues, rural and urban roots music spiced with their vaudevillian antics.  By the way, people are taking notice as they are on tour this summer with Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson.
11:30 - 12:30 pm		Art of the Jam with Pete & Joan Wernick – Pete Wernick, renowned player and teacher of the banjo, also known as Dr. Banjo, will lead this hands-on workshop on jamming with his wife, Joan.  Have you wanted to jam but were a little bashful?  This workshop will provide the cure. Bring Your Instruments!
1:00 - 2:00 pm		Anne & Pete Sibley:  A Prairie Home Primer – The darlings of the Festival, Anne & Pete have been with us since the first festival.  We always thought they were the best vocal duet in the country and they proved it when they won Prairie Home Companion’s Great American Duet Sing-Off hosted by Garrison Keillor in April of this year.  Come and hear how a couple of classically trained musicians drifted to the traditional acoustic arts and were catapulted into national fame.
2:30 - 3:30 pm		Song Writing with The SteelDrivers – The SteelDrivers are one of the hottest bands emerging out of Nashville in recent years.    This group has been exploding the airwaves with original tunes of their own.  Chris Stapleton provides the band with its signature sound.  He has truly amazing vocals you won’t forget with that southern, bluesy grit.  Chris has been a much sought after song writer in Nashville, penning tunes for many of the country’s top country artists. Come listen to Chris and the group as they explore the making of an original song

12:30 – 1:30 pm		ROCKY MOUNTAIN WORKSHOP Jalan Crossland and Jeff Troxel – Jalan Crossland lives in Ten Sleep, Wyoming and tours with the Jalan Crossland Band.  Jeff Troxel lives in Cody, Wyoming, plays solo and with other musicians, and teaches.  Jalan plays guitar, banjo and mandolin, was the Wyoming Flatpick Champion in 1999, and took second place in the National Fingerstyle Championship in 1997.  Jeff graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music and earned a masters in Jazz Guitar Performance from the University of Southern California.  In September of 2003, Jeff won the prestigious National Flat-Pick Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Music Festival.  Come and find out about the challenges and the joys of being a musician in the Rocky Mountain Region.
12:30 – 1:30 pm		BASS WORKSHOP Gene Libbea  & David Thomas – Gene Libbea is the bass player for Long Road Home.  After a stint with the New Christie Minstrels he spent 12 years as the bass player for the Nashville Bluegrass Band notching five Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins.  He now makes his home along the front range of the Rockies.  David Thomas is the bass player for The Special Consensus.  He co-founded the bluegrass band Roanoke in 2003, winning several band competitions in Alabama and Tennessee until joining The Special Consensus in 2006.
2:00 – 3:00 pm		FIDDLE WORKSHOP Megan Lynch & Justin Hoffenberg – Megan Lynch, from Tennessee, has 6 National Fiddle Championships, six California State Titles and is a Minnesota State Championship.  Need we say more?  She appears this year with Steve Smith & Hard Road and as the duo, Bill Evans & Megan Lynch.  She is the founder and director of FiddleStar Youth and Adult Fiddle Camps and is in much demand as a private and group teacher.  Justin Hoffenberg, from Boulder, is the phenomenal fiddler for Long Road Home.  Now at the revered age of 21, Justin began playing professionally at the age of 14.  He played two years with Coal Creek Bluegrass Band and joined Slipstream in 2006.  He now plays full time with his band Long Road Home.
2:00 – 3:00 pm		GUITAR WORKSHOP Jeff Troxel & Martin Gillmore - Jeff Troxel graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music and earned a masters in Jazz Guitar Performance from the University of Southern California.  In September of 2003, Jeff won the prestigious National Flat-Pick Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas.  Martin Gillmore, with Long Road Home is another of Wyoming’s own and is a singer, songwriter, and teacher.  He’s just a young kid but as we saw a couple years ago when he was last at the Festival, he can burn the bronze off those guitar strings.
3:30 – 4:30 pm		BANJO WORKSHOP Bill Evans, Greg Cahill & Pete Wernick – three of the best banjo players in the country!  Bill Evans will moderate for this group of superstars.  Bill lives in the Bay Area and is one of the most sought after banjo instructors in the country.  Player, teacher, and innovator, he is also known as an expert in 19th century parlor and minstrel styles.  Greg Cahill formed Special Consensus in 1975 which has been going strong as one of the most widely known and loved bluegrass bands in the country.  Greg is a renowned banjo player and teacher now living in the Chicago area.  He has released 4 instructional DVDs and is the current president/chair of the IBMA.  As Dr. Banjo, Pete Wernick’s name is almost synonymous with the instrument.  Living along the Front Range, Pete was a founding member of Hot Rize, and this year is appearing with Long Road Home and his own group, Flexigrass.  Pete has been a pioneer in bluegrass instruction and his instructional books, CD’s and videos include best sellers in their respective fields.  He is in much demand at camps and clinics across the country.
3:30 – 4:30 pm		MANDOLIN WORKSHOP Steve Smith & Jordan Ramsey – Steve Smith is one of the premier mandolin players in the country and in great demand as a teacher and instructor.  Playing professionally for over 30 years he now appears with the Alan Munde Gazette and his own band, Steve Smith & Hard Road.  Steve offers private lessons and workshops and is a regular instructor at Camp Bluegrass.  Jordan Ramsey, from Lyons, Colorado, is appearing now with Long Road Home.  He is a master of the McReynold style of cross-picking, and is the 2008 winner of the prestigious RockyGrass Mandolin Championship.  He loves teaching as much as performing and takes students of all ages and levels.