7:00pm – Keynote lecture by the “Dean of American Folklorists” Henry Glassie.
8:00pm – The Scottish Connection, a concert featuring master fiddler Jamie Laval with his band The Buzzrunners and guest artists including legendary Southern balladeer Sheila Kay Adams.
Starting at 10:00am on Saturday, April 28 a series of lectures, demonstrations and panel discussions will explore a range of topics from the migration of fiddle tunes and ballads to the role of tradition and innovation in roots music to the question of “Celtic” influence on Southern music. Saturday’s events culminate with The Irish Connection concert at 8:00pm, featuring Atlantic Fringe fronted by Irish singing legend Cathy Jordan and harmonica virtuoso Rick Epping, accompanied by Irish-Appalachian fiddler Henry Benagh and Canadian folk guitarist Jordan McConnell.
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The conference will conclude Sunday with The Appalachian Connection at 1:00pm. The Vega Quartet of Emory University will perform “i ain’t broke (but i’m badly bent) – Thirteen Fiddle Tunes for String Quartet” by American composer David Garner, followed by a performance of traditional ballads by Mary Lomax and Bonnie Loggins, authentic bearers of the tradition from North Georgia, introduced by Grammy Award-winning music collector and artist, Art Rosenbaum. Finally, fiddler Alan Jabbour, former Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and banjo virtuoso Ken Perlman will present a concert with commentary on Celtic-Appalachian connections in folk music. The session will finish with an improvised hootenanny in which everyone is invited to participate.