2025 Gathering Performers
Alice Gerrard ★ Jerron Paxton ★ Cookhouse ★ Bobby Winstead & The Long Goodbyes ★ Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms ★ Amy Hofer ★ Tradwife Stringband ★ Caroline Oakley ★ Sue Truman ★ Richard Melling & Karen McCracken ★ Côte Ouest Cajun Band ★ Tony Mates ★ Dan Fish & Sarah Ells Fish ★ Brooks Masten ★ Big Chimney Barn Dance ★ Steph Noll ★ Arlo Leach ★ Old Barn Preservation Society ★ Portland Sacred Harp ★ Reed Stutz ★ Marta King ★ The Canote Brothers ★ Maggie Lind ★ Andy Grummon ★ Bex Bee
alice gerrard
Friday Concert and Saturday Fiddle Workshop
jerron paxton
Friday Concert and Saturday Banjo Workshop
Alice Gerrard is a talent of legendary status. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats and has in turn earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. She is known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens during the 1960s and ’70s: the duo produced four classic LPs on Rounder and Folkways that influenced scores of young women singers. In 2023 Alice finished her latest recording project, Sun to Sun, on the Durham, N.C. label Sleepy Cat Records. It features all original songs by Alice and one original instrumental by Reed Stutz, who also plays on the recording along with Tatiana Hargreaves and others.
-Concert at Alberta Abbey: Friday Jan. 17 at 8:00 pm
-Virginia Fiddling Discussion at Alberta Abbey: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3:00 pm
(Description from Alice: I’ve fallen in love with a fiddle style that was prevalent around Galax and other parts of SW Virginia. It tends to be notey and there is (as in most fiddle styles) a lot of attention to the bowing. I will play a number of my favorite tunes and you are welcome to play along as you can, but I won’t try to teach them, although I will try to break them down a bit. You should bring recording devices and record them, take them home and learn them. I will point things out about the bowing and the style, and I will talk about the fiddlers and their stories. You are welcome to ask about the playing of the tunes or anything else about them. The folks I learned these from would be pleased to know that their music is heard and played out in Portland.)
Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920’s and making them wish they could stay there for good. Jerron sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones (percussion). Paxton was featured on CNN’s Great Big Story and appeared in the multi award winning music documentary AMERICAN EPIC produced by Robert Redford, Jack White & T-Bone Burnett.
-Concert at Alberta Abbey: Friday, Jan. 17 at 8:00 pm
-Banjo workshop at Alberta Abbey: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1:30 pm
Cookhouse
Friday Bar Band
bobby winstead & the long goodbyes
Thursday Kickoff Show
Cookhouse includes Portland-based musicians Sophie Enloe, Maggie Lind and Patrick Lind.
-Bar band at Alberta Abbey: Friday, Jan. 17 at 6:00 pm
Bobby Winstead and the Long Goodbyes originally hail from Portland, Ore. and are happy to return to the Portland Old Time Music Gathering to fuel your honky-tonkin, boot-shufflin passions. Inspired by legends both past and present, they initially formed in 2014 to bring you a lively assortment of classic gems and Bobby’s original country songs. Impossible to witness and remain sitting still, they are sure to bring out a dazzling array of dance moves that you never knew you had in you. You may just astonish yourself, and before you know it the honky tonk rhythms and ultra-tight harmony singing wafting into your ears will lift you up on wings of bliss till you effortlessly float around the dance floor with spine-tingling waves of euphoria washing over you. Backing up Bobby “Boom Chuck Norris” Winstead are Jesse “Can Do” Cunningham on steel and guitar, Kevin “Shuffle King” Major on drums, Gordon “Keep it All Together” Keepers on bass, and Fiddlin’ Joe Fulton on fiddle.
-Kickoff Show: Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8:00 pm at the Spare Room Lounge
caleb klauder & reeb willms
Saturday Vocal Harmony Workshop
caroline oakley
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
One of the great things about Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms is that they immerse you in the sheer joy of classic country music until all other cares of life fade away. These two originally hail from Washington state, Caleb from the coastal islands and Reeb from the high desert plateau of central Washington. They have come together in music and are two of the most compelling musicians making country roots music in America today. They carry the torch of their music around the world touring as a duo or backed by their cosmic honky tonk band, as well as with the Foghorn Stringband.
-Vocal Harmonies Workshop: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Caroline Oakley is a musician and dance calling machine who has been teaching and calling old-time community square dances for over a decade. She enjoys fiddling, playing guitar, singing old country songs, growing vegetables, sewing, fermenting things, dancing and numerous other forms of physical activity. Caroline is a music educator in Corbett, Oregon, teaching music to young families through Music Together and community square dancing in local school.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
tradwife stringband
Saturday Bar Band
sue truman
Crankie and Kids' Show / Mini-Crankie Making Workshop
Tradwife Stringband is a new quintet offering a respite from our worrisome, troublesome, modernsome world with some good old fashion fiddle tunes, songs, and values. Come lay down your burdens and kick up your heels with the old time stylings of Doreen Ditties, Muffins Debrief, Mrs. Mandy Lynn, Madge, and Moose!
-Bar band on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Sue Truman has been making, performing, and teaching crankie making for the last 13 years. Her website, The Crankie Factory, has over a million views and is the “go to” place for information. She has presented and performed in Europe and both US and Canadian coasts. At the 2025 Gathering Kids’ Show, Sue will be performing with Jerry Gallaher (banjo, vocals and crankist) and Bruce Reid (guitar, vocals and crankist).
-Crankie and Kids’ Show: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
-Mini-Crankie Making Workshop: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
amy hofer
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
andy grummon
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
Amy is a seasoned square dance caller, musician and organizer. She has helped put on Dare to be Square in multiple cities, taught string band classes in Berkeley and Portland, and has helped organize Portland’s Every Sunday Square Dance, the Portland Old Time Music Gathering, Centrum’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Andy is a banjo player and square dance caller living in Portland. The highlight of their square dance career was calling a gender inclusive dance at the Q Center in 2019. Andy’s goal is to create a supportive and fun dance environment in the service of bringing the joys of square dance to those who may have been traumatized by middle school gym class.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Big chimney barn dance
Saturday Night Square Dance
Tatiana hargreaves
Friday Night Concert / Saturday Night Square Dance
Big Chimney Barn Dance is a powerful Alaskan old-time and bluegrass string band specializing in a unique style of North Country Americana dance music. Steeped in songs and the fiddle tune tradition of the hills of Southern Appalachia, the band honed their sound in the cabins found at the foot of the Chugach Mountains in Alaska. Big Chimney features Nate Williamson on guitar, Danny Consenstien on fiddle, Scotty Meyer on fiddle, Carter Bancroft on fiddle, Jay Marvin on banjo and Karen Loso on bass.
-Band for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Over the past decade, Tatiana Hargreaves has been on the forefront of an up and coming generation of old time, bluegrass and new acoustic musicians. From placing first at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest, to her bluegrass fiddling on Laurie Lewis’ GRAMMY-nominated album The Hazel And Alice Sessions, Hargreaves shows a musical fluency that flows between old time and bluegrass worlds with ease. She has toured with musicians such as Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Laurie Lewis, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky and Jake Blount. She currently tours with banjo extraordinaire Allison de Groot and teaches bluegrass fiddle at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
-Performing with Alice Gerrard during Friday Night Concert (at Alberta Abbey: Friday Jan. 17 at 8:00 pm)
-Playing for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
arlo leach
Saturday Jug Band Jam
brooks masten
Sunday Cabaret
Arlo Leach heads up the monthly Portland Jug Band Jam and plays in several jug bands. He plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle and won the jug playing contest at the 2012 Jugapalooza. He has taken an interest in researching pre-War blues musicians, especially those that seem underrated relative to their contributions and has organized gravestone benefit projects for Will Shade, Joe and Charlie McCoy and Charlie Burse, and is helping with a similar project for Earl McDonald.
-Host for jug band jam on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Brooks Masten makes amazing banjos, and he plays them as well. As he has the past few years, he’ll be serving as the genial host of our big Sunday Cabaret (Jan. 19 at 1:00 pm at the Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge). His ever-changing array of flamboyant costumes should not be missed!
lauren sheehan
Guitar Fingerpicking Workshop
steph noll
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
Lauren Sheehan brings her down-home music uptown, mixing old blues, early jazz and roots of country for a bluesbilly-good-time sound. Dubbed “Portland String Queen” by The Oregonian for her multi-instrumental prowess, Lauren is also known for her unforgettable voice and sings like “an angel with horns”, (Charlie Rowley, fan). She tours, teaches at Pacific University, and has recorded albums played on radio world-wide, including BBC, NPR, and BBKing’s Bluesville.
-Guitar fingerpicking workshop on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 12:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Steph Noll called her first dance around 2007 in the parking lot of Liberty Hall during a workshop given by Bill Martin. Since then she has enjoyed picking up dances from fabulous West Coast callers (and occasionally from a visiting Easterner). She has yet to not feel total delight at the sight of a hall full of grinning, dancing people. Playing music with friends and singing and dancing with her young kids are among her deepest joys, and she’s thrilled that her boys have taken an interest in old time music and square dancing.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
portland sacred harp
Saturday Shape-Note Singing Session
Côte Ouest Cajun Band
Thursday Kickoff Show
Shape-note singing is a uniquely American tradition that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems. It is a proudly inclusive and democratic part of our shared cultural heritage. Participants at Portland Sacred Harp singing sessions are not concerned with re-creating or re-enacting historical events. Our tradition is a living, breathing, ongoing practice passed directly to us by generations of singers, many gone on before and many still living. All participants are welcome, including beginners and newcomers, with no musical experience or religious affiliation required.
-Hosts for shape-note singing on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2:00 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Get ready to dance to traditional Louisiana Cajun two-steps and waltzes provided by the Côte Ouest Cajun Band. They are Seattleites Tony Mates on bass, Catherine Alexander on triangle, W. B. Reid on fiddle and David Cahn on accordion; Port Townsend’s Peter McCracken on fiddle; and Portlanders Caleb Klauder on drums and Jinny Macrae on guitar and vocals.
-Kickoff Show: Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8:00 pm at the Spare Room Lounge
the canote brothers
Saturday Fiddle Workshop / Monday Night Hostel Show
maggie lind
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
Greg and Jere Canote are identical twins living in Seattle whose music is all about having a good time. They do, you will. It’s steeped in vintage Americana — forgotten fiddle tunes, swing classics, and quirky novelty songs — but with their own twists (and a few of their brilliant original takes on the world around us). They’re fabulous musicians, moving effortlessly among fiddle, guitar, banjo, ukulele, and various hybrids, and their genetically-matched voices recall brother duets from the Blue Sky Boys to the Everlys.
-Fiddle workshop: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
-Monday night show: Monday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 pm at NW Portland Hostel
Maggie Lind is a square dance caller, old-time musician and music educator who teaches children and adults and is a founding member of the popular Portland Stringband Class.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
sarah ells fish & dan fish
Saturday Instrument Petting Zoo
karen mccracken & richard melling
Saturday Sing-Along
Karen McCracken and Richard Melling draw from the old-time, bluegrass and early country traditions, singing close harmonies and playing multiple instruments. Together, they have a genuine old-time duet sound.
-Hosts of Sing-Along on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1:45 pm at the Alberta Abbey
tony mates
Saturday Square Dance / Square Dance Calling Workshop
old barn preservation society
Wednesday Night Jam Hosts
Tony Mates started dancing and calling in the late 1970s, with Sandy Bradley, the Gypsy Gyppo String Band and many other fine trouble-makers. He likes to call dances that aren’t too hard, and let the pleasure of the enterprise come partly from the dancers dancing to the music and the musicians playing to the dancers.
–Square Dance Calling Workshop: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4:15 pm at the Alberta Abbey
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Portland-based Old Barn Preservation Society plays old time tunes, as well as gospel and country songs. They like to hoot but love to holler.
-Hosts of “pre-Gathering” jam: Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 pm at the Moon and Sixpence
marta king
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
Bex Bee
Caller for Saturday Square Dance
Marta has served on the Sunday Squares Square Dance and Dare to be Square – West! organizing committees and is a square dance caller. She first began calling in 2013 at Dare To Be Square – West! in LA. She is very fond of red lipstick, and aspires to turn every party into a dance party.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
Bex Bee has called squares across the wide plains of Montana, the swampy mosslands of the PNW, the gulf islands and the far reaches of Northern BC and Alberta. She now resides in Portland, and is excited to call for the first time at POTMG, the gathering where it all began! Bex also teaches flatfooting and partner dancing such as 2-step.
-Caller for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
reed stutz
Friday Night Concert / Saturday Night Square Dance / Saturday Mandolin Workshop
POTMG Perfomrer
Reed Stutz is a multi-instrumentalist and singer who makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He plays mandolin, guitar, banjo, and fiddle, performing with numerous groups including the Alice Gerrard Band and the Nokosee Fields Trio. He draws heavily on early recorded bluegrass and old time southern fiddle music, taking a traditional approach while bringing a personal style.
-Performing with Alice Gerrard during Friday Night Concert (at Alberta Abbey: Friday Jan. 17 at 8:00 pm)
-Playing for square dance on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm at the Alberta Abbey
-Mandolin Workshop: Saturday, Jan. 18 at noon at the Alberta Abbey
