Join us for the first Halsway Old-Time Weekend, hosted by one of the UK’s foremost Appalachian bands, Old Spot. The weekend will be a relaxed and joyful way to connect with the roots of Appalachian music at the foot of the beautiful Quantock Hills and will include:
- Workshops – building repertoire, technique and deepening understanding of the genre. We will draw from classic string band repertoire and find hidden gems in the Halsway archive. We’ll help you build the technique, ear and understanding to deepen your enjoyment of Old-Time music.
- Jams – supported and friendly Old-Time jams, with the opportunity for a slower pace if that’s requested. We’ll leave plenty of room for spontaneous jams to pop up all weekend and fill the manor with music.
- Square Dance – this is dancing music, and we’ll be including some dancing as part of the weekend! If dancing is not your thing, you can join the scratch band.
You’ll also be able to enjoy informal performances by Joe and Rowan, when you’ll hear Old Time music explored and brought to life.
Most of the sessions will be guided by the tutors in small groups, with some self-led time, and will offer you a chance to learn new skills, techniques and repertoire, or an opportunity to build on what you already know.
Everyone will go away with a deeper understanding of the European roots of Old-Time music and have developed techniques and understanding to help you thrive in an Old-Time session. You’ll also have the chance to explore some of the ways Old-Time music is evolving and developing in 2025, looking at arrangements, instrumentation and harmony, and how it’s received by modern audiences.
Joe and Rowan hope to offer you a weekend where players can feel connected or re-connected to their instrument, this repertoire and their fellow musicians, through the meditative, connective magic of Appalachian music.
Who is it for?
This is a course for instrumentalists who play Fiddle, Banjo, Double Bass, Viola, Mandolin, Guitar, Dulcimer or Autoharp- the classic String Band instruments.
You will need to be comfortable with learning by ear, but you don’t need to be able to read music.
You won’t need to prepare anything in advance of the course. The tutors will send you a timetable, a list of what to bring with you, and course materials a few weeks in advance.
The Team
Rowan Piggott & Joe Danks were introduced in 2021 and bonded over a shared passion for Old Time Appalachian music. An initial campsite session turned into living room jams, sharing lifts to sessions and ultimately the creation of a new old-time duo – Old Spot. Old Spot play Old-Time Appalachian music made with modern audiences in mind, seeing two musicians from strong traditional backgrounds exploring a shared musical love, creating new music that is bursting with joy and imagination. Old Spot have taught workshops at Gainsborough Old-Time Festival and Sidmouth Folk Festival, and both have extensive experience as educators and facilitators in various traditions.
Joe is a multi instrumentalist, singer and Morris dancer based in Wirksworth, Derbyshire. He has released a number of solo projects (Seaspeak 2021, Take Courage 2024) to critical acclaim and national press coverage. His solo work has been featured on BBC Shows across the UK, Wales & Scotland. Joe is also currently performing with experimental folk acts Nick Jonah Davis and Jim Ghedi. Despite being best known in the English folk scene, he grew up surrounded by the patchwork of American folk musics played by his parents, and found himself drawn home to these traditions in the confusion of lockdown. Five string banjo became Joe’s place of solace and is now the beating heart of Old Spot. His trademark rhythmic intensity and energy is more present than ever.
Rowan is a folk fiddler, traditional singer and tune collector who grew up in the foothills of the Burren on the west coast of Ireland, surrounded by traditional music. The author of two successful tunebooks, he is an experienced teacher and has also written articles for several magazines and led workshops at festivals all over the UK. His debut album, Mountscribe, was met with critical acclaim, as was his SONGHIVE folksong project to raise awareness of the current plight of the bees. Rowan is best known for performing and writing with his folk trio, The Wilderness Yet, and he brings his scholarly passion for different traditions to link Old-Time to its European and African roots with his inventive and unique 5-string fiddling.