2025 Dance Callers, Musician and Instructor Lineup
Dance Callers
LP Kelly
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LP Kelly has been teaching and calling traditional dances throughout the southern Appalachian mountains for over a decade. As one of the core organizers of the Blacksburg Square Dance (one of the longest-running traditional square dances in the country), he has had the opportunity both to learn from the old masters and to mentor younger callers.
Kelly’s calling resume includes public engagements at the Blacksburg Square Dance, the Moss Art Center, Floydfest, the Floyd Country Store, the Southern in Charlottesville, the Durham Rowdy Square, NC Squares, the Hoppin’ John festival, the DC Square Dance, the Baltimore Mobtown Square Dance, as well as dozens of private events at weddings, parties, and late night fiddler’s conventions throughout the southern Appalachian mountains. His teaching style is concise and efficient; his calling style is musical and high-energy. Because if you’re having a good time, you’re doing it right! |
Becky Hill
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Becky Hill is a percussive dancer, square dance caller, choreographer, community organizer, and educator. As an avid organizer and teacher, Becky's work is deeply rooted in the connections between music and community. She believes there is always more to learn and is dedicated to creating innovative choreography rooted in Appalachian music and dance. She grew up in Michigan, spent extensive time in West Virginia and now resides in Brentwood, Maryland. Becky served as the Artist in Residence at Davis & Elkins College from 2013 - 2015 where she coordinated The Mountain Dance Trail of Augusta Heritage Center and co-directed the Appalachian Ensemble. She became the Events Coordinator for Augusta Heritage Center from 2015 - 2019 organizing their summer intensives. Together with noted folklorist Gerry Milnes, she produced a documentary film on West Virginia dance traditions, Reel ‘Em Boys, Reel ‘Em. Becky has organized Helvetia Hoot, formally known as Dare to be Square West Virginia since 2013. She is currently a Programming Manager for the National Council for the Traditional Arts.
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Janine Smith
Camp Co-director
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The Janine Smith experience is what you get when you cross a howdy-ma’am-BBQ-and-beans Honky Tonk with Zoom contra and sprinkle on some twinkly lights for sass. She’ll bring you a night of fun dances, from squares to contras, heck maybe a Singing Square, whether you’re sitting, standing, or somewhere in between. Her teaching is clear and to-the-point, though she has been known to goof around a bit. She’s one of the “Hot Square Babes”, a quintet of female callers who threw a monthly Square Dance Party in the DC area from 2004-2018, and a founding member of the DC Square Dance Collective.
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Musicians
The Elderblossoms
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The Elderblossoms originated as a ragtag crew of Utah friends uniting in the deep woods of Clifftop, West Virginia to stay up all night and play old time music. The Western-based group shares a deep appreciation for the traditional music, but also brings a fresh approach to harmony and groove that allowed their sound to forge a new path through the forests of Clifftop and all the way back home to Salt Lake City. This is a document of what Utah’s old time scene sounds like as much as it is a testament to five dear friends sharing in life together. The Elderblossoms—Grayson Wickel (fiddle), Melissa Chilinski (banjo), Ben Weiss (mandolin), Nathan Royal (guitar), and David Baker (bass)—explore an unusual dichotomous blend of high octane, raging shred and also sentimental, misty-eyed gentleness. Featured throughout is the daring incorporation of jazz harmonies, group vocals, Travis picking, slap bass, and influences firmly outside of the fiddle world. The group recognizes that they live outside of the known fiddle centers of the world and so they have embraced the unique sounds that make the group Utahn.
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Melissa Chilinski
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A multi-instrumentalist and artist based in Salt Lake City and originally from the greater Boston area, Melissa grew up with an early proclivity for entertaining. Dancing, singing, and writing shaped her adolescence and her love of playing music became her full time profession several years ago. Since becoming a full time musician, she has made a name for herself performing on professional stages, recording and writing albums, traveling and making relationships with music professionals across the country, building community, and honing her skills as a music educator. She develops and directs the Trash Moon Collective, a program of Hot House West 501(c)(3) that supports local acoustic musicians of all ability levels to learn and thrive. She has been a staple part time employee and banjo expert at Acoustic Music in SLC, the local hub for all things acoustic since 1973, and teaches clawhammer and 3-finger banjo out of her home in Salt Lake City.
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Grayson Wickel
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Born in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, Grayson was immersed in the rich musical traditions that echo the rugged rhododendrons hills of Western North Carolina. From the young age of seven, Grayson delved into the world of Old-Time and Bluegrass fiddle, honing the craft of Appalachian string band music from family members and local players around. Growing up, Grayson had spent two summers attending the invitational fiddle camp, Shasta Music Summit, where he had the honor of learning under the guidance of artists such as Brittney Haas, Bruce Molskey, Tony Trishka, and other musical talents. During Grayson’s recent years of college in North Carolina, he developed a passion for sharing traditional Appalachian mountain music through being involved with the Avery County 4H Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program, teaching fiddle to local youth in the community. Since moving to Salt Lake City last winter, Grayson has been involved in multiple music groups and projects including Theoretical Blonde, the Elder Blossoms, and Josie O and the Big Six. Periodically, Grayson returns home to play with the brother/cousin trio Gray's Lawn Care.
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Ben Weiss
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Ben was raised in Salt Lake City on the sounds of Grisman and Garcia. The first concert he can remember was when he was 4 years old and his parents took him to see the Grateful Dead perform what would be their last concert in Salt Lake City before Jerry died. At the age of 22 he bought his first mandolin. He had a lifetime of bluegrass in his bones that seemed to awaken as he began to gradually play more mandolin than guitar, acoustic music more than amplified music. In 2015 he met singer-songwriter Katia Racine and formed Pixie and The Partygrass Boys alongside childhood musical compatriots Andrew Nelson on guitar and Zach Downes on bass.
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Nathan Royal
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Nathan Royal is a guitarist, banjoist, singer, teacher, and band leader based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Whether it's jazz, Gypsy jazz, old-time fiddle tunes, trad banjo, bluegrass, roots country, or an artistic blend of all the above, his music is deeply rooted in a love for acoustic music styles and traditions. A regular on the Utah acoustic music scene, he has performed thousands of gigs all throughout the state and beyond on stages big and small. Nathan is the original founder of Hot House West and has seen it grow and change from a band into the community-centered nonprofit that it is today. He runs the organization as the Executive Director and has turned his attention to transforming Salt Lake City into the greatest music city in the world!
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David Baker
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David Baker is currently serving as Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz & Commercial Music at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He received his Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado in Jazz Studies emphasizing in performance and composition. David is well-versed in popular music styles and can be heard on records with Emily Merrell and Sam Costigan. He has likewise been hired by The Platters, Frankie Avalon, Bryce Merritt, and the Colorado Symphony as an electric bassist. He is currently an active member of the Diamond Empire band and Hot House West and can be seen performing all over the Intermountain West. David works as a singer/songwriter, and has been writing and recording his own music for over ten years. He combines these skills with music business, graphic design, and marketing under Moddl Records™, his independent record label.
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The Wild Shoats
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The Wild Shoats are an Alt-Folk group who make music rooted in, and informed by their Appalachian home.West Virginia native Mary Linscheid, brothers Gus and Huck Tritsch of Millheim, PA, and Alex Heflin of Morgantown, WV, set an alt-folk soundtrack to the strange late-stage capitalist Appalachia they grew up in. Calling on their collective backgrounds in folk songs, honky tonk, and the Appalachian high-lonesome sound, the Shoats reimagine the songs and sounds of their home through haunting original material and well-loved covers. The Shoats won the Appalachian String Band Music Festival’s Neo-Traditional Band Competition in 2023, just a few months after the band’s formation.
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Gus Tritsch
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Huck Tritsch
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Mary Linschied
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Alex Heflin
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Brad Kolodner
Jam leader, Camp Co-Director
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Hailed as a “defining voice in the contemporary banjo community,” Baltimore-based clawhammer banjoist Brad Kolodner represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory. Regarded for his delicate touch, expressive style, and original compositions, Kolodner has rapidly gained national attention for his unique approach to the banjo. A six-time finalist in the banjo contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop), he is on one hand rooted in tradition and on the other fiercely innovative. Off the stage, he is an acclaimed teacher, award-winning radio broadcaster for Folk Alley and Bluegrass Country Radio, jam leader, festival organizer, community builder and ambassador for Old-Time and Bluegrass music.
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