Podunk Intergenerational Academy

Last year, we expanded the Podunk Kids Academy to offer two new levels of free intergenerational instruction for anyone 15 years of age and older, and are happy to offer this expanded program again this year. The two levels of The Podunk Intergenerational Academy will be focused on jamming and ensemble playing.

• One group (A) will focus on the core skills necessary to participate in bluegrass jams, and is therefore suited to those who have never jammed before, or are new to jamming.
• The more advanced group (B) will focus on the finer points of bluegrass ensemble playing (both jamming and in a band context), and is geared towards more accomplished players looking to add polish to their playing.

Both groups will meet throughout the course of the weekend, from Thursday until Sunday (schedule below). Our top notch instructors will be on-hand to help musicians individually, but the main focus will be
on group playing. This year's staff includes Corrine Judd, Laura Orshaw, and Bluegrass Academy Director, Tony Watt. Complete teacher bios can be found below.

There is no cost for participating in The Podunk Bluegrass Academy. Musicians should bring a playable instrument, and whatever accessories (picks, capo, strap, tuner, etc.) their instrument requires.

• Group A (beginning jammers) is open to all instruments, and the only requirement is that you're able to switch between G, C, D and A smoothly.
• Group B (more accomplished musicians) is also open to all instruments, and participants should already be able to jam and preferably play solos on their instruments (however it's not a
  requirement).

And remember, anyone registering before the festival and attending will receive a free Podunk gift.

Register online now!

Podunk Bluegrass Academy Schedule

Instructor Biographies

Corrine Judd has been playing Old Time fiddle for more than 25 years.  During her younger years you could find her performing with a youth fiddle group, going to Old Time campouts, workshops, jamming, or on the stage with a couple guitars at any opportunity she had.  She began teaching at a young age, sharing her love of the instrument and music with anyone that was interested.  As  an adult she was asked to direct the same youth fiddle group she had been a part of for so many years.  She developed a special type of tablature to help fiddlers be able to learn tunes much faster by incorporating timing.  She has compiled some of those great old tunes into two booklets for beginners and advanced beginners.  She continues to teach students in her home and at the Washington Old Time Fiddler's Workshop every summer.  She loves working with the beginners and showing them how much fun it is.  Learn more about Corrine at www.fiddlelessonsbycorrine.com

Laura Orshaw, fiddler and vocalist, performs with Pennsylvania-based Lykens Valley Bluegrass Band and according to Bluegrass Unlimited, “has firmly established [herself] as a significant emerging artist in
the arena of traditional American music”. Laura grew up in a musical family in Northeastern Pennsylvania; at age 10 she learned to play and sing from paternal grandmother and regional Old Time musician, Betty Orshaw. Throughout her teens Laura performed across the Northeast with her father in The Lonesome Road Ramblers, a four-piece vintage bluegrass band performing classic bluegrass from the 1950’s around one mic. She recorded two solo fiddle projects in her early teens, and recently finished an album with Lykens Valley Bluegrass Band entitled “Nails and Glue”. Laura teaches fiddle lessons and workshops, and has also conducted educational programs covering traditional American music at various colleges, public schools, libraries, and home-school events throughout the Northeast. Her passion for teaching is also evidenced in her professional education, as a master’s level school counselor. Please http://ww.lauraorshaw.com for more details and Laura’s performance schedule.

Tony Watt is an award-winning flatpicking guitarist who has performed throughout the United States and Europe, on the Grand Ole Opry, and elsewhere. He has been featured in Bluegrass Now Magazine and Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and toured and recorded with Nashville-based Cages Bend, east Tennessee-based Meridian, with Rounder Recording artist Alecia Nugent, and most recently with Leigh Gibson, guitarist for The Gibson Brothers. Tony currently performs with his band, Southeast Expressway. He has taught privately for over 10 years, and now teaches courses in bluegrass guitar, mandolin and jamming for the Boston Bluegrass Union's Bluegrass Academy. He has also taught workshops and Kids' Academies at bluegrass festivals including Grey Fox, Joe Val, Thomas Point Beach, and many more. Tony teaches lessons, classes, workshops and jam sessions in Albany, NY, Cambridge, MA, and points in-between. Visit http://www.theoriginaltonywatt.com for more info.