SPRING FLING 2023 Teachers
Wilson Savoy - cajun fiddle, accordion, piano
Wilson Savoy is a grammy-award winning cajun fiddle, accordion and piano plater. Wilson was born in Eunice, Louisiana and began his musical career in 2000 with the Savoy Family Band (consisting of his father Marc, mother Ann, and brother Joel Savoy). In 2004 he joined the Red Stick Ramblers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and in 2005 formed his own band, the Pine Leaf Boys. In 2006 he and his brother Joel were instrumental in starting the annual Faquetigue Courir de Mardi Gras as an alternative to the main Eunice event. In 2008 the Pine Leaf Boys were nominated for a Grammy Award for their 2007 album Blues de Musicien, released on Arhoolie Records. In 2013 the eponymous debut album of The Band Courtbouillion, featuring Savoy, Steve Riley and Wayne Toups won the Grammy Award in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category.
Nokosee Fields - fiddle, bass
Over the last few years, musician, artist, and collaborator Nokosee Fields has proven himself to be one of the most provocative, significant, and capable voices in the North American traditional music scene. A quest for balance shapes his work, whether he’s reconciling the weight of tradition with his creative impulses; challenging the demands and vacuity of colonialist, capitalist structures and systems with the richness of his experience and upbringing as a member of the Osage, Creek and Cherokee Nations; or simply anchoring the beat in the rhythmic push and pull of the multiple bands in which he works. The great nephew of celebrated Cherokee fiddler Sam O’Fields, Nokosee carries a longstanding Cherokee fiddling tradition into the present. Through powerful live and recorded performances, he lovingly and playfully reimagines his tradition with immense skills and sensitivity as a performer of traditional fiddle music.
Emily Mann - fiddle, banjo
Emily Mann is a Big Sur, CA native with her heart in the old Appalachian mountains. She grew up immersing herself in a variety of traditional music styles at music camps and is a fluid and well rounded musician as a result. While at home in many genres and traditions, her artistry is strongly influenced by her time spent with oldtime musicians such as Paul Brown, Bruce Molsky, and John Herrmann. She tours with her duo Paper Wings with Wilhelmina Frankzerda. She has also toured with Darol Anger's Furies and she is a current touring member of old-time string-band, The Crooked Jades. Emily stands as a musician of deep intention and curiosity, ably conveying tradition into the future.
Sami Braman - fiddle
Sami Braman has been playing the fiddle since she was 6 years old, coming up amid the music festivals and jamming communities of the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant traditional Old-Time music scene. Under the instruction of fiddle tradition-bearer Ruthie Dornfeld, she studied both classical and fiddle music. Sami now teaches and performs across the U.S., primarily with The Onlies and Willie Watson (David Rawlings Machine, Old Crow Medicine Show). She has appeared onstage alongside Watchhouse, Laurie Lewis, Bruce Molsky, Elvis Costello, Darol Anger, Kristin Andreassen, Critter Eldridge, Cahalen Morrison, Eli West, Pharis & Jason Romero, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Altan.
Dirk Powell - fiddle, banjo, guitar, Cajun accordion
Dirk is known as a master of Appalachian and Cajun traditions, as well as a “musician’s musician.” He learned from his grandfather, J.C. Hay, of Ashland, Kentucky and will focus primarily on fiddle and banjo technique, while throwing in a few Cajun spices here and there. He is a renowned producer and owns a studio on the banks of Bayou Teche near Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
Irena Eide - guitar, voice, songwriting
Irena Eide is the West Marin Fiddle Camp founder and camp director. She is a Norwegian-born Americana singer-songwriter, performer and educator. Originally from Bergen, Norway, she made her home in the bay area for 15 years before resettling in Louisiana in 2020 where she has been recording and performing with her band Rainy Eyes and with Dirk Powell. She has toured throughout the US for the past decade, playing with legendary artists such as Peter Rowan, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Dirk Powell, Joan Baez, Willie Watson, Laurie Lewis and many more. Both solo and with a band, her performances have a spellbinding, inspiring effect and a soulful, heartfelt and timeless sound with tight-knit harmonies, melodious solos, and thoughtful songwriting. Rainy Eyes also won "best song of the month" at the Freight and Salvage West Coast Songwriters competition in April 2015 for her song Moon In The Mirror, and has co-written and recorded songs with grammy-award winning Peter Rowan featured on her album ‘Moon In The Mirror’ produced by Eli West.
She is the owner and creator of Little Folkies, a multi-award winning children’s music program and has been teaching music lessons, classes and camps to kids and adults for over 15 years.
Amelia Powell - guitar, voice, children’s program
Amelia hails from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where she grew up immersed in the culture championed by her grandfather, Cajun fiddler Dewey Balfa. She has a lifelong love of harmony and a very diverse set of musical skills. She has performed since the age of 12, around the world, and been featured many times on radio and TV. Having grown up in the hands-on Montessori tradition, she is a committed teacher to younger students.
Summer 2022 Teachers
Eli West - guitar, banjo
It’s always illuminating to ask an artist how they understand music, but Eli West’s perspective is nothing short of ground-breaking. A trained designer, he sees music architecturally, visualizing his compositions spatially. It’s a highly unusual way to think about music, tied to his verdant natural world of the Pacific Northwest. On his new album, Tapered Point of Stone, West lays out original songs and tunes like houses built by hand, weaving their melodies into the setting of acoustic roots music that first inspired him. Recorded in 2020, just before everything shut down, the album brings together West’s favored quartet of musicians: Andrew Marlin (Watchhouse) on mandolin and guitar, Christian Sedelmeyer (Jerry Douglas) on fiddle, himself on mandolin, guitar, and banjo, and Clint Mullican (Watchhouse) on bass. This is the third album this quartet has built, including solo albums for Marlin and Sedelmeyer, and at this point they operate on a near-magical wavelength. As both a noted arranger, songwriter, performer, and composer, West has been crafting a Northwest-centric roots music aesthetic through earlier collaborations with Cahalen Morrison and John Reischman, and recordings with Bill Frisell and Dori Freeman. Tapered Point of Stone showcases West’s collaborative nature.
Nokosee Fields - fiddle, bass
Over the last few years, musician, artist, and collaborator Nokosee Fields has proven himself to be one of the most provocative, significant, and capable voices in the North American traditional music scene. A quest for balance shapes his work, whether he’s reconciling the weight of tradition with his creative impulses; challenging the demands and vacuity of colonialist, capitalist structures and systems with the richness of his experience and upbringing as a member of the Osage, Creek and Cherokee Nations; or simply anchoring the beat in the rhythmic push and pull of the multiple bands in which he works. The great nephew of celebrated Cherokee fiddler Sam O’Fields, Nokosee carries a longstanding Cherokee fiddling tradition into the present. Through powerful live and recorded performances, he lovingly and playfully reimagines his tradition with immense skills and sensitivity as a performer of traditional fiddle music.
Cahalen Morrison - guitar, banjo, mandolin
Originally hailing from the high desert of Northern New Mexico, Cahalen has made a name for himself. Over the past decade touring solo, as a duo with Eli West, or with his band Western Centuries, Cahalen has played shows and festivals all over the world and performed on stage with the likes of Tim O’Brien, Kelly Joe Phelps, Hot Rize, Crooked Still and Kris Drever. Equally at home on guitar, banjo, mandolin, singing three part harmony or unaccompanied, he has carved out a place for himself as a unique voice in American music.
Rachael Price - vocals, harmony, songwriting
Rachael Price grew up in a musical environment in Portland, OR. At an early age Rachael began taking voice lessons and singing in local choirs and discovered that she wanted to sing professionally. She attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship as a vocalist. Rachael graduated with a degree in Professional Music with an emphasis in Songwriting from Berklee. She and her husband, Luke Price, just released their second studio album of indie soul under the name Love, DEAN. Rachael frequently performs her own music as well as being a background vocalist for other bands.She enjoys teaching all levels of students how to sing with intention; helping others to build confidence with their voice and learn techniques to sing their best!
Luke Price - fiddle, guitar
Luke Price is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer, and studio musician based in Portland, OR. He has his roots in American fiddling and swing traditions, which have influenced his rhythm, taste, and style as they have spread into Soul, Jazz, Pop, and Americana. Luke brings a unique voice to any music he plays whether he's on the fiddle, electric guitar, or singing.
Growing up in Boise, Idaho, Luke began competing in fiddle contests and playing around the country. He's won a plethora of contests, awards, and scholarships. He is a 3-time, National Fiddle Champion. His love for rhythm and improvisation born out of these traditional music styles led him to Boston, MA to attend The Berklee College of Music where he met his now wife and musical partner, Rachael Price, to form their indie soul band, Love, DEAN.
Riley Baugus — banjo, guitar, fiddle
Riley’s deep roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina come through in all he does, from his driving clawhammer banjo style to his slippery, soulful fiddling and powerful ballad singing. He’s known as a leading banjo player and maker, and teller of powerful stories, around the world. He’s performed and recorded with the likes of Willie Nelson and Allison Krauss.
Dirk Powell - fiddle, banjo, guitar, Cajun accordion
Dirk is known as a master of Appalachian and Cajun traditions, as well as a “musician’s musician.” He learned from his grandfather, J.C. Hay, of Ashland, Kentucky and will focus primarily on fiddle and banjo technique, while throwing in a few Cajun spices here and there. He is a renowned producer and owns a studio on the banks of Bayou Teche near Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
Amelia Powell - guitar, voice, children’s program
Amelia hails from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where she grew up immersed in the culture championed by her grandfather, Cajun fiddler Dewey Balfa. She has a lifelong love of harmony and a very diverse set of musical skills. She has performed since the age of 12, around the world, and been featured many times on radio and TV. Having grown up in the hands-on Montessori tradition, she is a committed teacher to younger students.
Irena Eide - guitar, voice, songwriting
Irena, aka Rainy Eyes, has had her original sound described as “dreamy folk Americana,” but her passion for old-time traditional music runs deep. Originally from Bergen, Norway, she made her home in the bay area for many years before resettling in Louisiana. Irena plays and sings with honesty, openness, and soul. Known to some audiences for creating the award-winning Little Folkies children’s music program, she is a charismatic and inspiring teacher to students of all ages.
Simon Leone - fiddle, voice, children’s program
Simon Leone is a fiddler and vocalist from Portland, Oregon. He is currently studying vocal performance and music industry studies at Loyola University in New Orleans. He grew up immersed in the burgeoning Oregon music scene, in which his parents were actively and foundationally involved. As an attendee of music camps since his birth, and the eldest in a family of brothers, he is adept at helping younger kids learn music.