Helen White has been involved in traditional music and dance for more than three decades. Known for her accessible and inclusive teaching style, playful demeanor and commitment to community-building, she leads and plays flute for English country dance and contra, sings with the ArtMob (a quirky New York-based a cappella group), and delights in encouraging children and adults to enjoy themselves and each other through dance and song.
With roots in the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, and the Piedmont of Virginia, Richmond-based guitarist and songwriter Justin Golden’s origins are deeply vested in the blues. First picking up the guitar at age 19, Golden did what came naturally and let the music flow through him. With an extremely diverse musical palette, Golden aims to bring some new ideas to traditional blues forms. In addition to his work as a recording and performing artist, Golden maintains a busy teaching schedule and works with the non-profit The Rhapsody Project to provide community enrichment through anti-racist cultural heritage programs.
Jesse Ball is one of the most sought-after accompanists on the New England traditional music scene. He has toured up and down both coasts of North America playing for concerts and dances throughout. On any of his fleet of instruments he is known for his commanding musicianship and infectious groove. At his fingertips is a wealth of music from crooked Québécois gigues to sweet waltzes, with so much in between. When not onstage, he can be found driving a bus,
Kristen Planeaux began playing classical piano at the tender age of eight and continued on until she found her true calling—traditional dance musician—at 23. Ever since, she has brought her own flavor of bold rhythm and warm, imaginative harmony to the English and American scenes. She is a retired member of The Ripples and a current member of River Road with Jesse Ball and Sarah-Hadley Yakir. When away from camp, you can find her teaching music to children and frequenting the ice cream parlors of Western Massachusetts.
Ken is a renowned acting coach and a powerful a cappella singer with a lifetime of experience in traditional music and an eclectic repertoire of sea songs and chanteys, gospel, blues, ballads, and work songs. His credits include performances and teaching workshops at major folk festivals, museums, clubs, and concert venues on both sides of the Atlantic, with many of America and Britain’s foremost interpreters of traditional song. He teaches Traditional/Folk/Roots Singing Styles and Performance Technique at Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Brooklyn,
Becky Wright fell head over heels in love with shape-note music 15 years ago, and she hasn’t stopped singing since. She has taught at singing schools up and down the east coast, and she’s known for her friendly, approachable teaching style. Becky has also been morris dancing for over 20 years, most recently with Braintrust Morris and Marlboro Morris M, and has co-founded two morris teams. She also enjoys other types of social singing,
Musician, scholar and educator Robert Young Walser’s musical career spans decades and continents. In the early 1980s he made his living as a shantyman (!) at Mystic Seaport, one of the largest maritime museums in the USA. Since then he has presented Shake These Bones folk music and dance programs as an artist-in-residence in schools across the USA, taught at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and performed as a singer,
Dr. Kathy Bullock is an educator, scholar, singer, accompanist, arranger and choral conductor who specializes in gospel music, spirituals and classical works by composers from the African diaspora. A Professor Emerita of Music from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, she is currently teaching, performing, and conducting workshops and other programs on African American music throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa.
Molly Tucker is a fiddler, composer, and educator based in Boston. Growing up studying classical violin, she spent a great deal of her childhood listening to and playing fiddle tunes and awaiting the next contra dance. With a love for many styles including New England, Celtic, and Old Time, her fiddling is sonorous, yet full of energy and groove. She performs regularly with folk and contra dance duo Casey Murray & Molly Tucker as well as improvising string quartet,
A hybrid player of classical violin and contemporary fiddle, Sarah-Hadley Yakir brings a rich sound and distinctive style to traditional music. After touring extensively internationally as a classical violinist, she was introduced to contra dancing in 2018 and frankly, the rest is history. She plays primarily with her band River Road.
Dance, Music, & Song Camps