HOME   BIOGRAPHY   MERCHANDISE   PRESS KIT   PHOTOS   AUDIO   TEACHING   LINKS   CONTACT    Old-Time Music is the name used as long ago as the 1920's for the dance tunes, songs and solo pieces people played for entertainment before radio and recordings caused most people to put their instruments away. With roots in Ireland and northern Europe, and African influences, the music adatpted to many American environments as it was played and passed from person to person. New tunes were "made" and became part of the tradition. Banjos joined fiddles, and when the era of the mail-order catalog came, guitars were added, too. By the mid-1920's, the new recording industry in the United States became interested in recording the traditional dance tunes. Sentimental and religious songs also became part of the old-time music captured on heavy 78 RPM discs. Old-time music at its best is tunes and songs and the stories that give them life. Played from the heart, the music conveys the feelings and stories of those who played it first. Tom's radio program In The Tradition airs on WDIY 88.1 FM every Wednesday from 7 to 9 pm "American music from the roots to the branches" He can also be heard on WXLV 90.3 FM every Thursday from noon to 4 pm Back Home Our new CD! Recorded live in performance at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA and at our home, it includes songs from the Carter family, Dave Bing, Uncle Dave Macon, Julie Miller, Bob Dylan, and more. For online ordering information, please visit our merchandise page.   Upcoming Events May 23, 2008 - 12:15 - 1:00 pm WXLV Radio Concert Through the airwaves or on a computer near you! We'll visit Theo Anderson for an informal lunchtime concert. Listen in on 90.3 FM or on the web. The plan is to talk a little, play and sing some favorites, and have a good time in the WXLV Roots 90.3 studios. www.wxlv.org May 25, 2008 - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Emmaus Farmers' Market, Emmaus, PA Radishes, spring onions, flower and vegetable plants, honey, goat's milk, old-time music and more. Listen and shop locally! Their website has the details, with a harvest calendar to check what's in and coming in soon. www.emmausmarket.com May 30, 2008 - noon - 1:00 pm Good Shepherd 100th Anniversary Celebration, Allentown, PA This is the place where Tom worked for many years before he became a full-time musician, teacher and writer. He promised to come back for their Centennial celebration, and so we shall. June 13, 2008 - 7:30 pm Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA We were pleased to be asked again to be part of this concert series. There's always a friendly audience, and they listen and ask good questions, too. Check the library's website for information about this Second Friday series and many other library events. www.ivpl.org June 15, 2008 Lehigh Valley Civil War Days, Whitehall, PA Battle & Skirmishes!!! Artillery Firing Demonstrations!!! Civil War Music!!! Free admission!!! Rain or shine!!! Saturday Evening Candlelight Tour!!! Living History Scenarios and Camp Life Displays!!! The event runs June 13-15 at the Whitehall Parkway Recreational Area. Visit their website for information, directions and registration. www.campgeiger.org June 27, 2008 Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild Mini-Festival At Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA. We'll be part of a concert of songs and stories, one of our favorite combinations. More details to be decided as time draws near, but we'll spin a couple of good stories and play the tunes that go with them and maybe sing a song or two. The best place to find out more? Right here, for now. Others will perform, also, and we'll post them soon. www.godfreydaniels.org July 1, 2008 "Horses Sing None Of It" Television Taping We'll be taping a visit for "Horses Sing None Of It," Ralph Litwin's syndicated cable old-time music show. We've finally worked out a date and time to do this; it will be some talking and some playing. Look for it in the future on SEC-TV, and other outlets. We'll let you know about air dates when we know. www.folkproject.org/fp_folkTV.html July 5, 2008 - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Emmaus Farmers' Market, Emmaus, PA Zucchini, flowers, ground buffalo meat (the other red meat?) bread, fruit pies, etc. We'll bring our old-time tunes and rare song gems from the past to the Market. www.emmausmarket.com July 12, 2008 2nd Annual Music in the Valley Day Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm, Stroudsburg, PA Local and regional musicians present a variety of traditional music in a beautiful and peaceful setting. The farm is located a few minutes off Route 33. www.quietvalley.org July 20, 2008 - 1:00 pm - whenever Meadowood Music, Blandon, PA It's the Meadowood Music Birthday Party! Food, open mic and scheduled performers, food, music, friendship, food, fine musical instruments, food, and surprises. Check the Meadowood website for directions and updates. Tom will MC, Betty and Tom expect to perform, but Nathan will be in the mountains of West Virginia for most of July and part of August, and gas will cost too much for him to drive back even for this annual picnic. Free and open to everyone who'd like to find out more about their teachers, the store, or their fine instruments. Meadowood is located at 8521 Allentown Pike in Blandon, but that's just Route 222 about 7 miles past Kutztown, and easy to find. www.meadowoodmusic.com July 28 - August 1, 2008 Folk Arts Week, Augusta Heritage Center, Elkins, WV For those who'd like a sampler of traditional crafts, music and dance, whether as a family or an individual, we welcome you to try this intergenerational week at Augusta. We've assembled a great group of people with experience as both "do-ers" and teachers of music, basket making, dance and storytelling to help you have an amazing experience in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. For ages 7 to ???. Betty is the Coordinator, and Tom is the Elderhostel Coordinator for 2008. Folk Arts Week runs concurrently with Bluegrass Week. www.augustaheritage.com August 3 - 8, 2008 Old-Time Week, Augusta Heritage Center, Elkins, WV Tom will teach a Beginning/Intermediate guitar class in the morning, and many other fine musicians will offer instruction on banjo, fiddle and mandolin, too. Beyond whatever class you take, there are afternoon workshops, visits with master musicians, concerts and jamming through the night. Vocal Week and Dance Week will also take place during this week at Augusta. www.augustaheritage.com August 8 - 10, 2008 The Augusta Festival Elkins City Park & Davis and Elkins College, Elkins, WV The end-of-summer weekend for the five-week Augusta Heritage program. Crafts and music and dance in the park, concert and dance on campus, gospel in the chapel on Sunday morning. Exact schedules won't be finalized until early August, but it will be a good time no matter who's involved. www.augustaheritage.com September 7, 2008 - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Emmaus Farmers' Market, Emmaus, PA Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, maybe mums, garlic, jams and jellies and some dance tunes for your restless feet. www.emmausmarket.com September 12-14, 2008 Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering, Huntingdon County, PA The Greenwood Furnace Folk Gathering is a weekend of music workshops, jamming, concerts and dancing at Greenwood Furnace State Park in Central Pennsylvania, and this year they will celebrate their fifth year. The park is on the western edge of an area of Central Pennsylvania known as the Seven Mountains. It is an area of "rugged beauty, abundant wildlife, breathtaking vistas and peaceful solitude" according to the park website — and the photos are beautiful! We'll be there for the weekend, with details of workshops to be announced later. www.simplegiftsmusic.com/greenwood September 19, 2008 - 7:00 - 9:00 pm Global Libations, 21 East Main Street, Kutztown PA A first musical visit to this fine coffeehouse that offers music every Friday night. Betty recommends their mocha lattes. We'll be in the front window, not on a front porch, but we hope to keep the same effect. 484-646-9683 for more information about Global Libations. September 21, 2008 - all day, into the evening Lyons Fall Fiddle Festival, Lyons, PA Always a fall highlight if you like bluegrass and/or old-time music, or just old-time community events with food prepared by local church groups and great ice cream. Bring your lawn chairs, and be in time for the special musical guest, famed bluegrass star Jesse McReynolds. Listen or play in the many jams, enjoy the fiddle contest and end the day with the Bluegrass Gospel church service at 6:00 p.m. www.lyonsfiddlefest.com October 11 & 12, 2008 Harvest Festival Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm, Stroudsburg, PA Crafts, demonstrations, farm animals, and lots of good old-fashioned food like apple dumplings (Betty personally recommends these!). Music, too, on stage and on porches. Hope it's a little cooler than October 2007! www.quietvalley.org October 24, 2008 - 7:00 - 9:00 pm Global Libations, 21 East Main Street, Kutztown PA Spend a cool autumn evening listening to tunes and enjoying some coffee and the surroundings. 484-646-9683. April 4, 2009 - 8:00 pm Mountain Moon Coffeehouse, Wheeling, WV Over the mountains of Western PA, to a city filled with hills, highways, rivers and railroads. We often tell stories about the beautiful building that houses the Mountain Moon concert series — the real Tiffany windows dripping with rosebuds, the tin ceiling in the concert room, the checkered tablecloths and Barb's fine cookies. Bob Heyer and his wife Barbara have managed The Mountain Moon for many years; Bob is a fine singer and musician himself (visit www.bobheyer.com to find out more) and we hope he'll join us for a song or two. www.oionline.com/mountainmoon    We also host two old-time jams each month: First Tuesday of each month at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, an open old-time jam from 7-9:00 p.m. Admission ($2.50 to play or listen) helps to cover the electric bill! Fourth Friday of each month at Meadowood Music in Blandon, PA, along Route 222. 7-9:00 p.m. Free.