Bands and Callers

We have four bands volunteering to play for our 6 hours of dance:

• 12:30  Waltzing with Yellow Goat's Beard- David Prins and Danny Blose first made music together as part of what eventually became known as  the Durham Singing Group (an informal group of friends singing folk harmonies) in 2008.  Danny comes from a family with a long musical history and is the band's "rooting into tradition",  Young David learned music studying classical piano, re-discovered it later in world music and is the band's "nurturing of experimentation". 
• 1:00-2:00 Contra with Yellow Goats Beard, With Lindsay Morris starting off the calling.
• 2:00- Beginning Contra lesson with caller Connie Carringer.

• 2:30- Contra with Contra Culture-- Contra Culture is an exciting new contra dance band from the North Carolina Piedmont made of two established classical music teacher/contra dancers.  Contra Culture plays a mix of contemporary fiddle tunes along with traditional Southern Appalachian, New England, Cape Breton, Irish and Scottish tunes.  They create a beautiful balance in their sets by playing highly energetic tunes along with transcendent lyrical melodies.
  
  Guitarist Austin Murray began studies on the classical guitar at the age of seven and holds an undergraduate and master’s degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in classical guitar. Austin enjoys playing a variety of styles of music including traditional music. He was introduced to contra dance in 1997 and has been immersed in the contra dance community ever since.
  
  Fiddler Jennifer Lane began playing violin at the age of 8 and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University in violin. She has been playing Irish, Scottish, and Bluegrass fiddle for 12 years and has a diverse background in dance including contra dance, English country dance, and ballroom.
• 4:00 Reel Shady with Bree Kalb starting the calling- Reel Shady is known for their support of worthy causes, having also played for a yearly MS benefit in the Triad. The core band of 25 years consists of John Calhoun on fiddle, Sue Stevens on keyboard, Gene Anderson on guitar, David Bailey on mandolin, penny whistle and saw, and Jim Matthews on the bass.  Cappy Kirsch, the organizer for the event, plays fiddle as the newest addition.
• 5:30 Contra with Electric Camel Contra Players 

All band GRAND FINALE with "Reel Electric Goat Culture"