Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering brings top talent to Ohio

Grab those banjos and head for the hills of Southeast Ohio. The Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering will provide a weekend full of jamming and workshops, Sept. 24-27, at Snow Fork Event Center in Nelsonville, Ohio. Formerly known as the Happy Hollow Hootenanny, the event is entering its fourth year, and the organizers have pulled out all the stops to provide programming led by some of the top old-time musicians in the country. 

For banjo players, there are several workshop options for musicians of all levels. There are beginning workshops by Janie Rothfield and Hilarie Burhans, an intermediate program by Whitt Mead, and an advanced course on crooked tunes led by Mark Olitsky. Plus, there are daily open jam sessions where banjos are always welcome. 

As a proponent of Ohio old-time traditions, there's a workshop on Ohio Fiddle Tunes conducted by Mead, who will also be teaching Ohio tunes in the banjo workshop mentioned above. 

Vibe check

Happy Hollow is a relaxed, weekend-long celebration of Appalachian music, crafts, and culture rather than a competition-driven festival. Days are built around hosted jams and workshops led by well-known old-time musicians, with lunch breaks and casual playing woven throughout. Friday and Saturday evenings bring a concert followed by a square dance and a community campfire. 

In addition to banjo, workshops focus on a variety of topics, including fiddle, bass, clogging, regional tunes (e.g., Kentucky, Oklahoma, Virginia, etc.), plus instrument-making, crafts, herbology and more. Check out the full schedule here. 

Camping is encouraged, and organizers note there's plenty of level, scenic ground on-site for anyone looking to set up for the whole weekend rather than commute in and out. 

Admission is $34.51 for the entire weekend, and an additional $34.51 for a camping pass. Teens 12-18 and kids under 12 get in free. There are also scholarship and volunteering opportunities. Ticketing information is available here. 

Who's who?

The Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering has built its reputation on drawing respected names from the old-time music world. In addition to Burhans, Rothfield, Olitsky, and Mead, who were mentioned above, other well-known artists who have been confirmed to host jams or hold workshops this year include Rhys Jones, Erynn Marshall, Carl Jones, Earl White, Paul Kirk, John Harrod, and Jim Childress. Check out the full list at the event website.

Why you should go

Old-time music lives and dies in community — in jams, on porches, at campfires. Happy Hollow is built around the musical exchange that happens when playing with others, with the structure of instruction layered on top. Whether you're working on your first tune or you've been playing for several years, it's a weekend built to send you home with new tunes, new friends, and probably a few new tricks up your sleeve.

I reached out to Hilarie Burhans, a well-respected banjo player and teacher who has lived in Southeastern Ohio for more than 50 years and who has a reputation for engendering inclusivity at old-time music events like Clifftop. She has been involved with the Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering in previous years and has helped steer the event toward a more jamming-focused event. 

"I find teaching to be truly rewarding, and in the previous iteration of Happy Hollow, which was geared specifically toward music instruction, I had been hired several times by the parent organization of HH, called Stuart’s Opera House, to teach clawhammer banjo. But I have always thought it would be great to have basically a jam-oriented festival (a little like Clifftop) here in our area," Burhans told me last week in an email exchange. "The leadership at Stuart’s Opera House was amenable to beginning to move in that direction, and this festival came into being." 

Burhans views Happy Hollow as a space for new old-time musicians to get comfortable with playing with other musicians. 

"My banjo instruction for many years has been focused on helping fledgling banjo players gain the skills and confidence they need to experience the joy that comes with playing with others," she says. "Don’t get me wrong, playing an instrument alone can be fun, but it’s not the same as the next-level communication that can happen when playing with (not just next to!) other musicians."  

Over the years, Burhans says she has witnessed "a lot of angst among students regarding their roadblocks to playing with others," including having learned overly complicated arrangements that they can’t play up to speed at a jam, feeling stymied when the versions of tunes they learned don't match what is being played, lack of proximity to a jam, jam etiquette, and other concerns. 

"They fear that they will attend a festival but not find anyone to play with," she adds. "At Happy Hollow, we’ll have hosted jams led by old-time musicians who have been invited not just for their skill on their instruments, but also for their love of sharing those skills with others. These same musicians are also going to teach a variety of workshops. And of course there will be plenty of spontaneous campsite jams too!"

However, Happy Hollow isn't just for newbies. Burhans stresses that the gathering is ideal for "anyone who is interested in playing or listening to old-time music or loves a good old-fashioned barn dance-style square dance, or just wants to take one of the craft workshops" that are offered during the weekend.

"One of the things that I love about old-time music (well, any music, actually) is that you can really swim out and dive deep into it, or just have fun wiggling your toes in the water at the shore," she adds. "Both approaches are valid, and both can be fulfilling. So we’re hoping that absolute novice players will come and see what old-time music is all about, and that experienced players will use this opportunity to come jam with some of the finest players around. And that folks somewhere in the middle between novice and experienced will have fulfilling experiences playing with others."

Speaking of some of those finer players, Burhans says she is excited that she "managed to convince my top three favorite fiddlers to come," and she's looking forward to playing plenty of tunes with each of them. But that's not all. 

"I’m excited that some of my banjo students, many of whom I’ve never met in person because I’m their teacher through Zoom or my Patreon, are planning to come," she adds. "Also, I don’t spend nearly as much time in nature as I wish, and the site (and the region) is gorgeous in the fall."

Burhans listed several experiences that she wants attendees to gain at Happy Hollow. 

"Confidence in playing with others. Some new tunes or techniques. Making new musical connections with people. And the de-stressing that camping with a bunch of fellow musicians for a few days often brings," she says. "For me, going to festivals is an opportunity to be with what I think of as my tribe. So of course I want other attendees to experience that as well."

Burhans highlighted a few reasons specific to fellow banjo players to attend.

"I’d say the main reason is that I’ve gathered some absolutely fabulous fiddlers, guitar players and bassists for y’all to play with, in low-stress jam situations," she says. "And some stellar banjo players to learn some new techniques and tunes from! Also, some lovely (we hope) fall days in a gorgeous natural environment."

For more information about the Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering, visit happyhollowoldtime.org.

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[Photo credit: Thanks to Hilarie Burhans for providing the image from last year's Happy Hollow.]