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Tom T. Ball (Camp Bass Player) - has played the upright bass in various groups since the mid-1970s, from the New Wexford County Rangers to the seven-piece swing band Jive at Five. He has been active in the Wheatland Music Organization since its beginnings and is currently serving as Vice President of the Board of Directors. A treasure trove of information about all forms of music, Tom has hosted the popular "Homespun" music show on WCMU public radio since 1980, and is a Marketing Representative for CMU Public Broadcasting.

Danny Barnes has developed a highly personal, "way out" version of 3-finger picking that works equally well as a solo style as when fronting a band. He was a founding member of the Bad Livers -- an Austin, Texas-based trio who combined elements of bluegrass, hard country and old time music with the energy of punk. During the 90s, the Bad Livers recorded six critically acclaimed albums of predominately original music, most of which was composed by Barnes, and performed over 1,000 shows worldwide. Barnes left his native Texas for the Seattle area in 1997, and has since teamed up with a variety of stellar musicians to record a number of innovative CDs, including Things I Done Wrong, The Willies, and Dirt on the Angel. Since 2005 Danny has been the banjo player on Tim O'brien's band. (Danny Barnes' Web Site) (Danny Barnes at Elderly.com)

Janet Beazley plays banjo and sings with the California band, Chris Stuart & Backcountry. She also co-produced and engineered both CSB band albums as well as solo projects by Chris Stuart and guitarist Eric Uglum. Janet' solo CD, 5 South, is just out on the Backcountry Records label and is the focus of the profile article in the August 2005 issue of Banjo Newsletter. Janet has taught banjo, music theory and harmony singing classes at the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop in B.C., Canada, the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society Workshop in Edmonton, Alberta, and the California Bluegrass Association Music Camp in Grass Valley, CA. She holds a doctorate in early music performance and when not on the road with the band she teaches at the University of Southern California, University of California at Riverside, and Claremont Graduate University. (Backcountry Records Web Site) (Janet Beazley at Elderly.com)

Mac Benford has been playing the 5-string banjo for 40 years. He was fortunate enough in his formative years to have direct contact with great players like Wade Ward, Kyle Creed, Tom Ashley, and Roscoe Holcomb, all of whom strongly influenced his playing. He came to prominence during the 70s as a member of the legendary Highwoods String Band. Later on, while performing and recording with the Backwoods Band and the Woodshed Allstars, Mac expanded on the traditional role of the clawhammer banjo as a lead and backup instrument. His recent releases Kentucky Favorites and Half Past Four: A Tribute to Ed Haley, showcases his ability to capture the melodic subtlety of complex fiddle tunes without sacrificing the ring and drive of the best traditional playing. (Mac Benford Web Site) (Mac Benford at Elderly.com)

Laura Boosinger is an award-winning performer and recording artist whose primary focus is the interpretation of traditional music from the Southern Appalachian region. She is known as "The Songbird of The Smokies," a moniker bestowed upon her by North Carolina Folk Heritage Award winner, Luke Smathers. For 13 years Laura was a member of Luke's band, which played their style of string band music called "Mountain Swing." Her latest CD Let Me Linger is a tribute to the band's legacy and features Laura's singing as well as her clawhammer and swing style banjo. Laura has taught old-time banjo at American Banjo Camp, Suwannee Banjo Camp, Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week as well as at Augusta Folk Heritage, Swannanoa and Kaufman Kamp. (Laura Boosinger Web Site) (Laura Boosinger at Elderly.com)

Howie Bursen is best known for his gravity-defying, triplet-filled fiddle-tune variations, and his eclectic recordings contain quite a number of extraordinary clawhammer solos. He is not only one of today's foremost practitioners of the style, but he is also an excellent singer, song-writer and guitarist. His responisibilities as foreman of a Connecticut winery generally keep him close to home, but when possible he tours with his wife, folk-singer Sally Rogers, with whom he has made two recordings -- "When Sally Met Howie," and "Satisfied Customers." Howie has taught clawhammer at the Maryland Banjo Academy, Common Ground on the Hill, and Banjo Camp North. His recordings include "Cider in the Kitchen," "Building Boom," and "Banjo Manikin." (Howie Bursen at Elderly.com)

Bob Carlin has taken the distinctive southern banjo style to appreciative audiences all over the US, Canada and Europe and he is a three-time winner of the late Frets Magazine "Favorite Banjoist" readers poll. He has several solo recordings with Rounder Records, including Banging and Sawing, Where Did You Get That Hat?, and Fiddle Tunes For Clawhammer Banjo, in addition to which he as recorded duo CDs with Bruce Molsky and John Hartford. He also played as a regular in Hartford's band for several years prior to the latter's untimely demise. A noted teacher, Bob recorded a two volume instructional series on clawhammer for Homespun Tapes, and he has served as instructor at the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes and at the Ashoken Fiddle and Dance Camp. He started his career as sought after producer of acoustic recordings by organizing the seminal recording, Melodic Clawhammer Banjo back in the 1970s. He is also a highly regarded folklorist. (Bob Carlin's Web Site: cartunesrecordings.com) ( Bob Carlin at Elderly.com)

Bill Evans is well-known within the bluegrass banjo world as a player and teacher. A former member of Dry Branch Fire Squad, Bill currently tours nationally with Peter Rowan, John Reischman, Tony Trischka, and with his solo historical concert The Banjo in America. In addition, he writes a monthly instructional column for Banjo Newsletter and has produced instructional books and videos with Sonny Osborne and J.D. Crowe for AcuTab Publications and Homespun Tapes. He has taught at American Banjo Camp, Augusta Heritage Center, Banjo Camp Northm Camp Bluegrass, and Nashcamp Bluegrass Instructional Camps. (Bill Evan's Native and Fine Web Site) (Bill Evans at Elderly.com)

Cathy Fink In 1980 Cathy Fink became the first woman to win the West Virginia State Old Time Banjo contest, an honor she earned 3 times. Beginning in 1984, she has taught banjo, guitar, fiddle, vocal styles and more at a number of major music camps such as Augusta Folk Heritage, the Maryland Banjo Academy, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Steve Kaufman's Kamp, and Swannanoa. Cathy's banjo recordings include " Banjo Haiku: 26 Clawhammer Banjo Tunes," " Old Time Music Party," " Old Time Slow Jam" with Bruce Molsky and Marcy Marxer, and the new " Singing With the Banjo, Clawhammer Style" DVD on Homespun Tapes. Cathy has won two GRAMMY awards and performs full time with Marcy Marxer. (Cathy Fink at Elderly.com) (Cathy Fink Web Site)

Kevin Gaugier Multi-instrumentalist Kevin Gaugier's three decades of performing experience have taken him from the Eastern European shores of the Black Sea to the wilds of central Alaska where a portable generator was required to power the sound system. Kevin is currently a member of Detour, a bluegrass band based in northern Michigan, as well as a new acoustic band called Luckydog. He has performed with several mid-Michigan bands through the years, including Counterpoint, Overdrive, and Sweetcorn. His guitar work is broadcast weekly in the Kalamazoo area in the theme song of WMUK radio's program "Grass Roots". Kevin's recent performances include appearances with world-class banjoists Tony Trischka, Janet Beazley, and Bill Evans. (Kevin Gaugier Decatour Web Site)

Adam Hurt Deemed a "banjo virtuoso" by the Washington Post, Adam Hurt draws on diverse musical influences from the North Carolina piedmont, the mountains of central West Virginia, the Ohio River Valley and beyond to create his own elegantly innovative clawhammer banjo playing. At age 24, Adam has already placed in or won most of the major old-time banjo competitions including Clifftop, Mount Airy, and Galax, and won the state banjo championships of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama. A gifted and respected teacher, Adam has conducted banjo workshops at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Augusta Heritage Center, and Appalshop, among other venues around the country. In 2006, he released his second CD, "Insight," on the Ubiquitone label. ( Adam Hurt at Elderly.com) (adamhurt.com)

Bill Keith - A renowned explorer of the frontiers of banjo picking and of the instrument's harmonic potentialities, Bill Keith largely invented the three-finger picking style known as "melodic" banjo. He first came to international attention in the early 60s when he played and recorded with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. He co-authored the original Earl Scruggs banjo instruction book and record, and has also written several other banjo instruction books, including the first ones ever published in French and Italian. He has recorded several albums for Rounder, Green Linnet, and Hexagon, and has toured widely throughout North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia. He devised and, through the Beacon Banjo Company, still markets the famous tuning pegs that bear his name. (Bill Keith at Elderly.com)

Peter Knupfer (Camp bluegrass fiddler) - East Lansing's own Peter Knupfer is an award-winning fiddler with over thirty years of freelance and professional practice to his credit.He toured and recorded with 'Grass, Food & Lodging, a Milwaukee-based bluegrass band, for five years, followed by six years playing country, string swing, and Irish fiddle in a variety of bands. He has shared the stage with the likes of Byron Berline, Donald Stiernberg, Tony Trischka, Peter Ostroushko, and Tim O'Brien. He was the state old-time fiddle champ for Wisconsin (1976) and Kansas (1995). Currently he plays with Detour Bluegrass, from the Traverse City, MI area. (Peter Knupfer at Elderly.com) (Peter Knupfer's Web Site)

Brad Leftwich's music is a direct link to the old-time traditions of the southern Appalachian and Ozark regions, notably the area in southwest Virginia/northwest North Carolina known as the "Round Peak " region. A noted banjo player, fiddler, and singer, he has been performing for some 30 years, both solo and in bands including Plank Road, Leftwich & Higginbotham, and -- most recently -- Tom, Brad & Alice. Recordings of his music appear on the County, Copper Creek, Rounder, and Marimac labels. Brad is especially regarded for his teaching of traditional fiddle and banjo style. He is a frequent staff member at the major workshops and teaching camps throughout the country. He has a book on Round Peak style clawhammer banjo published by Mel Bay, and two old-time fiddle-teaching videos released by Homespun Tapes. (The Brad Leftwich Web Page at the Tom, Brad and Alice website.) (Brad Leftwich at Elderly.com)

Joel Mabus (Cameo appearance: Friday morning only) is an accomplished performer, writer and teacher. He learned to play banjo, mandolin and guitar as a child – his parents were both performers on the road shows of the WLS National Barndance, his dad on fiddle and his mom on banjo & mandolin. Joel's own career as musician and songwriter has spanned more than 30 years with 20 albums to his credit. Living in Michigan, he was Elderly Instruments senior instructor for many years, and has taught banjo classes at Augusta Heritage, California Coast Music Camp, Summer Acoustic Music Week, The Maryland Banjo Academy, as well as The Midwest Banjo Camp among others. In 2008, Joel was nominated for Traditional Performer of the Year by the Folk Alliance International. (Joel Mabus Web Page ) (Joel at Elderly.com)

Erynn Marshall (Camp Old-time Fiddler) - has carved out a niche for herself as an old-time fiddler in North America and abroad. Her playing style is expressive, innovative, yet rooted in tradition. She has played for almost thirty years and taught at many music camps in the US and Canada including: Augusta, Swannanoa, The Festival of American Fiddle-Tunes, The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, and others. In 2008, she won first place in the open fiddle category at "Clifftop" (The Appalachian Stringband Festival) in West Virginia. She has recorded two CDs: Calico and Meet Me in the Music and is presently recording her third CD, Tune Tramp. (Erynn Marshall MySpace Page) (Erynn Marshall at Elderly.com)

James McKinney - is both a Scruggs and Reno style expert, one of the foremost jazz players of the bluegrass banjo world, and one of the most technically precise banjoists around. He won the Southern U.S. Banjo Championship at age 15. Before long he had won dozens of state and regional championships, including the National Banjo Championship at Winfield, Kansas. He made the first of several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry at age 19 and worked for a time at Opryland theme park as a banjoist and musical arranger. James moved to Nashville for good in 1990 to play full time in the James and Angela McKinney Band; he also does studio and touring work out of Nashville. James is a dedicated banjo teacher, he has taught countless workshops, and he has been on the staff at a number of major banjo camps, including the Smokey Mountain Banjo Academy, and the SPBGMA workshop. He has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Vassar Clements, Porter Wagoner, Barbara Mandrell, John Hartford, and Johnny Cash . His latest CD is called "Mind Over Banjo." (James McKinney Web Site) (James McKinney at Elderly.com)

Alan Munde needs no introduction to long-time Bluegrass fans. From his early creative work with Sam Bush in Poor Richard's Almanac to his traditional bluegrass apprenticeship with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys to his 21-year stint anchoring the landmark Country Gazette, Alan has blazed a trail as one of the most innovative and influential banjo players of all time. Along the way, Alan also recorded and contributed to numerous instrumental recordings, including the 2001 IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year -- "Knee Deep in Bluegrass." Alan has supplemented his recorded work with several instructional publications for the banjo, and, since 1986, he has taught Bluegrass and Country Music at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. (Alan Munde's Web Site) (Alan Munde at Elderly.com)

Alan O'Bryant (aka OBanyon) - is best known as a singer, songwriter and banjo player with The Nashville Bluegrass Band. Originally from Reidsville, NC his career in Nashville spans some thirty plus years of recording, producing, publishing and performing worldwide. His appearances have included workshop classes on banjo technique and instrument set-up, vocal and band performance dynamics and more at venues including; Augusta Heritage Center,in Elkins WV, Wintergrass Academy in Tacoma WA, Vancouver Folk Festival, Rocky Grass Academy in Lyons, CO, Disney Institute in Orlando, FL and Nashcamp in Cumberland Furnace, TN. Along with NBB and his home project studio Alan currently enjoys picking with his two sons Calan and Ian, learning old time tunes on the mandolin and five string banjo and gives private lessons at the Fiddle & Pick near his home in Pegram, TN. (Alan O'Bryant at Elderly.com)

Ken Perlman - Perhaps the best-known exponent of the "melodic" clawhammer style, Ken is known where-ever banjos are played as a master of clawhammer technique and an expert teacher of clawhammer mechanics. He has been a Banjo Newsletter columnist for over 20 years; he has written several books on clawhammer instruction including the well known works Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Clawhammer Style Banjo, and he has recorded several series of audio and video banjo instruction. He has taught at well over a dozen banjo and general music camps including the American Banjo Camp, Banjo Camp North, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Maryland Banjo Academy, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Common Ground on the Hill, Suwannee Banjo Camp, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute. His most recent recording is Northern Banjo, and his most recent book is Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo. (Ken Perlman's Web Site)(Ken Perlman at Elderly.com)

Art Rosenbaum - has been collecting, studying, and performing traditional American music for nearly 50 years. His repertoire, much of it learned first-hand in the course of his field work, ranges from Appalachian banjo tunes and songs, Southern and Mid-Western ballads and blues, fiddle tunes, sea chanties, and spirituals. Rosenbaum began seeking out traditional performers while in his teens, and has produced over 15 documentary LPs and CDs. An authority on traditional banjo styles and tunings, Rosenbaum learned from and documented old-time banjo players Mabel Cawthorn, Pete Steele, Omie Rose, Buzz Fountain, Chesley Chancey, Jake Staggers, Uncle John Patterson, and many others. He plays in several down-picking and clawhammer styles, and is also expert at old-time two- and three-finger styles. He authored two influential instruction books on old-time banjo -- Old-Time Mountain Banjo and The Art of the Mountain Banjo -- and has taught at both the Tennessee Banjo Institute, Suwannee Banjo Camp, and the Maryland Banjo Academy. Currently he plays banjo with Phil Tanner's Skillet Lickers of Dacula, Georgia, the present day continuation of Phil's grandfather's famed Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers band. Art's most recent solo CD is "Georgia Banjo Blues.". (Art Rosenbaum Web Site)(Art Rosenbaum at Elderly.com)

Mike Sumner - claims numerous playing influences, from his father Joe Sumner to Bela Fleck, Scott Vestal, Allison Brown, and Sammy Shelor. He won the Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Banjo championship seven times and the Kentucky State Banjo championship twice. In 2001 alone, he placed first at Merlefest, first at Rockygrass, and won the Winfield National Banjo Championship (which he repeated in 2007). Mike currently plays banjo for the Randy Kohrs Band. He has taught extensively throughout Indiana and Michigan. (Mike Sumner's MySpace Site) (Mike Sumner at Elderly)

Pete Wernick - Dr. Banjo," is renowned worldwide for his contributions to bluegrass music. He has been a member of such trend-setting bands as Hot Rize and Country Cooking, is a respected author and teacher, and was President of the International Bluegrass Music Association for 15 years. Pete has recorded dozens of original instrumentals and songs since his career got underway in the 1970s, including two bluegrass chart-topping hits, and is known for his soulful tradition-based style. Since 1980, Pete has conducted over 100 instructional camps nationwide and overseas, and continues to refine his teaching methods. His instructional videos and books include bestsellers such as Bluegrass Jamming, Bluegrass Banjo, Branching Out on the Banjo, How to Make a Band Work, and many others. Pete currently performs with his bluegrass/classic jazz fusion group Flexigrass, in a bluegrass duetwith his singer/guitarist wife Joan ("Nondi"), and in occasional reunions with Hot Rize. (DrBanjo's Web Site) (Pete Wernick at Elderly)