Musician Profiles

I began playing mandolin when I was six.  My dad and his brothers had formed a bluegrass band when they were in high school in Ava, Missouri, in the 1950s.   My dad had evidently played...

Although oldtime guitar is arguably one of the most underrated and overlooked instruments in the tradition, Cameron Knowler is quick to point out that strong, engaging back-up is crucial to the “nutrition” of any...

“When I interact with American fiddle music, it’s hard to distinguish between the sounds that I’m actually hearing and the music that is happening inside of me. From the rhythms of my body reacting...

Emily Elam of Mountain View, Arkansas is a three-time Arkansas State Old-Time Fiddle Champion and long-time student of Billy Matthews. Here she sits down with Oldtime Central to speak about how she got into...

"The first is a tune call Nancy Ann. I learned it from Mose Coffman on a visit back in 1994. He knew the tune from an older fiddler named Glen Gillespie, but never learned...

I grew up north of Charleston, West Virginia in the small community of Mink Shoals, located on the Elk River.  Most of my time was spent running around the woods or fishing and swimming in...

Co-authored by Mark C. Campbell & Rachel Krause Mark C. Campbell is an oldtime musician based in Richmond, Virginia. Mark grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where folk music and Shape Note hymns...

It is a natural human instinct to want to express yourself. To feel that you are heard and will not be forgotten when your time on earth is done. We find many ways to...

Cameron DeWhitt is a clawhammer banjoist and Old Time musician living in Portland, Oregon. He hosts the weekly podcast Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends, which features...

I'm one of the many oldtime musicians out there who got truly infected with a love for clawhammer banjo and oldtime fiddle as a result of the classic recordings of Tommy Jarrell and Fred...