Fiddle Hell is an informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun.
It will be November 8-10, 2013. at the Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts. We’ll also be using the nearby Concord Scout House for the Saturday night concert and dance, and for a few workshops. There will be more than 100 scheduled workshops and jams in 2013.
The 2013 schedule is now posted at http://www.reinerfamilyband.com/ Costs are modest – see the website.
Our 2013 Workshop and Jam Leaders will include an incredible range of wonderful fiddlers and accompanists, covering Bluegrass, Cajun, Cape Breton, French Canadian, Gypsy, Irish, Klezmer, New England, Oldtime Southern, Scottish, Swedish, Swing, Texas, and Western Swing styles. They are Alan Kaufman, Andy Reiner, Barbara McOwen, Bob Alessio, Clayton March, Dave Reiner, David Kaynor, Ed Pearlman, Ellen Carlson, George Fowler, John Chambers, Julie Metcalf, Laurie Hart, Lena Jonsson, Mark Simos, Matt Glaser, Matt McConeghy, Paul Harty, Pete Anick, Serena Eades, Stacy Phillips, Terri Lukacko, and Tom Morley.
Dave’s website has the common tune list, jamming guidelines, and 2013 fee schedule (soon).
The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany. Fiddle Hell Massachusetts is by far the largest.
Last year (2012), we had 180+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the eighth Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 14 states and 3 foreign countries! This amazing gathering starts at noon on Friday and goes until 6PM on Sunday.
Lots of different fiddle styles will be represented at Fiddle Hell, by fiddlers with a variety of experience, which makes it all the more interesting.
Please understand that Fiddle Hell is not for novices who can’t play any tunes yet; it is intended for beginners (who know at least 6 tunes, say), advancing beginners (15 tunes, say), intermediates (30 tunes, say) and advanced players.
Workshop and jam levels are generally shown in the schedule. These levels are approximations that you can use as guidelines to pick your workshops and jams. However, if you find a session to be too difficult or are not enjoying it, please head off to a different one.
If you’re not sure about your level, contact Dave to ask, or just find the sessions where you’re comfortable once you’re at Fiddle Hell. There are some very helpful workshops on Friday afternoon if you’ve had little experience learning by ear, or would like to understand chords better.
Fiddle Hell has very limited space for musicians other than fiddlers; please contact Dave first to ask (via Facebook or through the Contact page at his website.
There will be two sessions where we’ll play through 52 common tunes together. We used to include a quick solo tune by each fiddler, but it got to be too long. In 2013, we have a longer break between sessions, giving you a chance to play tunes for and with your friends.
You can order an instructional 2-CD set of all 52 of the Fiddle Hell common tunes, played both up-to-tempo and slowly by the Reiner Family Band. This is just $15 postpaid (within the US) at http://www.reinerfamilyband.com/store.html .