BOTMC Square Dance Party
presented by the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
Bruce Molsky & Friends
Ozark Highballers
Jake Blount, Judy Hyman, Jeff Claus, Joe Bass
Callers: Susan Michaels, Connor Maguire
7:30 Clogging workshop with Evie Ladin
8:00 Square dance begins!!
In the back studio:
8:00 Song circle in the back studio with Sarah Kate Morgan
9:00 Old Time Jam led by Harry & Cindy Liedstrand
Instrument check will be available – dance some, jam some!
All ages, free parking across the street in REI lot
Advance tix:
https://tickets.venuepilot.com/e/botmc-square-dance-2025-09-20-ashkenaz-music-dance-community-center-berkeley-f60f6e
Tickets will also be available at the door
More info about the BOTMC (@Berkeley Old Time Music Convention):
https://www.berkeleyoldtimemusic.org/
Three acoustic fiddle bands pumping out music that makes you want to get up and dance, plus two callers who love to introduce the uninitiated to the fun of a square dance party, with the emphasis on “party”!! No dancing experience is needed, the callers will teach all dances from scratch and will call the moves all the way through. The first hour will be geared towards families and less experienced dancers, including a couple of dances that even babes in arms can do! No need to bring a partner, although you can if you want. And same sex partners fit in fine.
Grammy-nominated and described as “an absolute master” (No Depression), Bruce Molsky is best known for his work on the fiddle and has collaborated with some of the world's most highly respected players from roots to rock, including Mark Knopfler, Anonymous 4, Tony Trischka and Darol Anger. He is a special guest on legend rocker Mark Knopfler’s recent CD, “Tracker.” You can see Bruce on the BBC TV “Transatlantic Sessions” with Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, and on “David Holt’s State of Music” on PBS.
Making their West Coast debut at the BOTMC, the Ozark Highballers are a four piece string band from Fayetteville, Arkansas, in western Arkansas’ Ozark mountains. Their music reflects the spirit and drive of the rural Ozark string bands of the 1920s and '30s. This old-fashioned ensemble, formed in 2014, features the dynamic melody duo of Roy Pilgrim on fiddle and Seth Shumate on harmonica, accompanied by the intricate string tickling of Clarke Buehling (winner of the Charlie Poole banjo contest in North Carolina!) on five-string banjo, and the driving chords and bass runs of Aviva Steigmeyer on guitar. The Ozark Highballers have performed and taught at the Brooklyn Folk Festival, Stepehen Foster Old-time Week, Bluff Country Gathering, St. Louis Folk & Roots, CROMA, Ozark Folk Center, and have recently received the Artist 360 grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Jake Blount, an award-winning and genre-defying Black and queer multi-instrumentalist and singer, fell in love with American traditional music when he was a teenager. Judy Hyman and Jeff Claus, founding members of the hugely influential alt-folk string band, The Horse Flies, met Jake when he was a student at Hamilton College, who would occasionally come to Ithaca, NY (their home town) for events. He was playing banjo then and getting started on fiddle. A very dedicated and quick learner, it was apparent his playing was growing fast. For Jake’s senior thesis, a history and cultural study of the fiddle music scene in Ithaca, he interviewed Judy and Jeff, and they became friends. Later, Jake asked them to help him produce his first album after college, Spider Tales. Judy and Jeff say: “We were honored and loved the collaboration and depth of the experience of working with Jake. We’re good friends now, and we love and respect him for his stellar musicianship and his skill as an artist, scholar, and activist. We always look forward to talking, seeing, and playing with him and to watching him make his wonderful way in the world."
Jake has received many honors including the Steve Martin Banjo Prize and has performed at venues from Carnegie Hall to Library of Congress to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
Callers:
Susan Michaels has been calling old-time square dances, family dances, and community dances for more than 35 years, including her hometown “chicken coop” square dance on Vashon Island in Washington. Susan specializes in building community, facilitating joy, and just plain having fun and she believes it is her calling in life to teach people how to hold hands in a circle and move to music. She has a unique gift for making kids, newcomers, 2 left-footers, and shy persons blossom through dance.
Susan has been a featured artist at festivals and camps throughout the U.S. including the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention (CA), Dare2BSquare West (Oakland, Seattle, Portland),Pinewoods American and Family Weeks (MA), and many other gatherings and camps.
Connor Maguire is a farmer who has played lots of different kinds of music. A few years ago he was bit by the old-time bug and took up the fiddle. He has become one of the Bay Area’s in demand square dance callers and loves to initiate newbies into the joys of a community square dance!!
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