The Surry Arts Council welcomes everyone interested in making time for old-time in Mount Airy during the Tommy Jarrell Festival. We celebrate the rich contribution of old-time music and dance, past and present. Learn from some of the most esteemed and respected musicians in the field through classes, presentations, workshops, and performances.
The 2020 retreat instructors include Martha Spencer, Emily Spencer, and Trish Kilby Fore.
Classes are small with attendance limited to no more than 50.
The classes are held at the Andy Griffith Playhouse and Historic Earle Theatre and include fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass, slow jams with singing and dancing. A group performance at the WPAQ Merry-Go-Round is scheduled for the Historic Earle Theatre on Saturday. There will also be clinics for old-time band, influential women in old-time music, and other topics.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
- 3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Registration
- 4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Old-Time Flatfoot Lessons
- 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Dinner on your own (see list of SAC Supporters)
- 5:30 p.m. Youth Fiddle Workshop with Jim Vipperman
- 6:15 p.m. Youth Guitar/Banjo Workshop with Jim Vipperman
- 7:00 p.m. Jam Session Historic Earle Theatre, Free
Friday, February 28, 2020
- 9:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Registration
- 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Old-Time Retreat Classes
- 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Old-Time Retreat Classes
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Ribbon Cutting for the Surry County Women in Old-Time Music Exhibit
- 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Lunch on your own
- 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Old-Time Retreat Classes
- 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Old-Time Retreat Classes
- 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Dinner on your own
7:00 p.m. Tommy Jarrell Birthday Dance featuring the New Smokey Valley Boys with Trish Fore, hosted by Lew Bode, $10 (Free for retreat participants)
Saturday, February 29, 2020
- 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Old-Time Retreat Merry-Go-RoundRehearsal led by instructors
- 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Old-Time Retreat Slow Jam
- 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. WPAQ MERRY-GO-ROUND featuring women old-time masters and students from the Mount Airy Old-Time Retreat. Retreat instructors and students will be featured from 11:00 AM-Noon, Historic Earle Theatre, Downtown, Followed by Gaining Ground Bluegrass Band from 12-1:00 PM
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. WPAQ Merry-Go-Round and Lunch (on your own)
- 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Strings of Life: Conversations with Old-Time Musicians presentation by Kevin Donleavy. Sponsored by the Surry Arts Counciland the Surry County Genealogical Association with a grant from the NC Arts Council, A Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Free
- 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Old-Time Retreat Classes
- 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Dinner on your own
- 7:00 p.m. Tommy Jarrell Birthday Concert and Dance featuring Whitetop Mountain Band hosted by Lew Bode, $10 (Free for retreat participants)
