The Whitetop Mountain Band

The Whitetop Mountain Band is a family-based band from the highest mountains of Virginia. Whitetop, Virginia is an area rich in the old time music tradition; this band has deep roots in mountain music. The members have done much to preserve the Whitetop regions style of old time fiddling and banjo picking and are legendary musicians and teachers of the style. The band is currently led by Emily Spencer, who was a founding member of the group in the 1970s. Contact by phone at 276-579-4322.

Watkins & Small

Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small evoke a golden era when old-time, bluegrass and country music shared a stage every Saturday night. The duo seamlessly blends overlooked gems of the past with original material, captivating audiences around the globe with their stirring harmonies and tastefully classic stylings. Ashlee and Andrew have a steadily growing collection of ribbons from fiddlers’ conventions around the region, and their string band, The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee, took home first place old-time band at the 85th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. As songwriters, they have been featured in the IBMA Songwriter Showcase and won first prize in the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. In 2022, the duo released their debut album, Dear Companion.

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson is a fifth generation eastern Kentuckian who worked for the Hindman Settlement School for 30 years doing songs, stories, and dances in the elementary schools.  He plays traditional and original tunes on banjo, guitar, autoharp, and mountain dulcimer.  Mr. Wilson has played in many festivals across the country- Appalshop’s Seedtime on the Cumberland, Hindman Settlement School’s Family Folk Week, The Great American Dulcimer Festival at Pine Mountain State Park, The Smithsonian Festival of Folk Music on the national mall, cultural exchange festivals with native peoples of Alaska and Puerto Rican folks in the Bronx, NYC.  Included are concerts and cultural exchanges at the University of Rome, Rome, Italy and a recent tour of music in Japan.

  For twenty years Mr. Wilson produced Kid’s Radio for WMMT at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Ky, airing children’s voices and oral histories from across the region.  He made numerous recordings with students in addition to his own recordings- albums from children’s music to blues to Christmas songs. 

Mountain Music School encourages business and private sponsorship to help fund activities related to our mission. Email mountainmusicschool@mecc.edu or call 276-523-9124 to inquire about possible sponsorship opportunities.

Roger Bullock

Roger Bullock plays guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin.  He performs and records with Appalachian singer-songwriter Richard Phillips and Friends and with Timeless Strings from southwest Virginia and performs with the Jefferson Street String Band in the DC area.  Roger teaches guitar annually at Mountain Empire Community College’s Mountain Music School in Big Stone Gap, VA.  Guitar World magazine noted his 1960’s band Velvet Haze was significant to the heavy metal genre.  For 15 years starting in 1999, Roger was rhythm guitarist and later bassist for Northern Virginia based The Sock Monkeys.   Roger is a retired program manager executive from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Class: Intermediate Guitar

Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips has been pleasing audiences for years with acoustic blues and original music. His original music ranges from crowd pleasers such as “Back When I Was Cool” and “Pizza Time on the Ponderosa” to love songs and exploring the foibles of the human condition. He has recorded ten studio CDs, nine of which feature his original songs. His latest recording is “Some Place to Fall.” He has performed at Natural Tunnel’s Lighting of the Tunnel and its Candlelight Series as well as the Southwest Virginia’s Lunch on the Lawn. He has played at Homecraft Days for the past 30 years.  He has played in Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and continues to perform regularly at various events, venues, and festivals in Virginia and surrounding states and continues to perform regularly with his bands “Richard Phillips and Friends” and “The Timeless Strings Band.”

Richard also teaches intermediate/advanced guitar and blues workshops each summer at the Mountain Music School hosted by Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. You can read more and listen to his music at his web site: RichardPhillipsMusic.Com.

Class: Intermediate Guitar

Martha Spencer

Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog. She performs and has recorded with various groups and has been involved with several roots music projects. She has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK, Canada, and Europe. Martha’s first solo album 2018 and latest release “Wonderland” in 2022 have been featured in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Holler, Wide Open Country, Bluegrass Situation, Americana Highways, PopMatters and more.

Class: Advanced Guitar

Madison Denhardt

Madison Denhardt started her musical journey at a young age, growing up with a few private guitar lessons and attending Mountain Music School. She has been playing guitar since she was six years old, and teaching music since age fourteen. She holds an Old-Time Music certification and associate’s degree in general education. Through her musical and teaching journey, she has several years of experience working with children and adults alike. Some honorable mentions of her work include teaching with JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) camp days in Galax, VA and also in Mars Hill, NC; Mountain Music School in BSG, VA; JAM programs in Wise County + Virtual; teaching privately for the past few years; and is current adjunct faculty with MECC music classes. She is also the owner and private instructor at her music shop, Mac Music.

Madison also holds some musical competition accomplishments in songwriting, mandolin, and guitar. Currently, she is the leader of her family band, The Childress Sisters, and is half of her duo band, Honeysuckle Dream.

Class: Intermediate Mandolin

Julie Shepherd-Powell

Julie Shepherd-Powell is an assistant professor of Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. She is an accomplished traditional Appalachian musician and dancer, winning numerous awards for her flatfoot dancing and performing and teaching across the globe. Julie plays clawhammer banjo with the Kraut Creek Ramblers, the premier stringband of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State.

Class: Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo

Joey O’Quinn

Joey O’Quinn has been teaching guitar with the Junior Appalachian Music program and the MECC Mountain Music School for more than ten years and enjoys sharing his love of mountain music with friends and students. He performs regularly with a local string band, the Hillbilly Hippies, and is a member of the house band each summer at The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama in Big Stone Gap.

Class: Beginning Guitar

Jeff Dickenson

Jeff Dickenson is a 2016 Mountain Empire Community College graduate with a Career Studies Certificate in Old Time Music.  He has served as a teaching assistant and beginning mandolin instructor at Mountain Music School for several years. He is currently an Adjunct Faculty member at Mountain Empire Community College, teaching beginning rhythm guitar, beginning mandolin and intermediate mandolin.

Class: Beginning Mandolin

Haselden Ciaccio

Haselden Ciaccio-Haselden (Hasee / “HAY-zee”) Ciaccio (“see-AH-ko”) [she/they] is a performer, maker, and educator residing in Cove Creek, NC. Born and raised on the Low Country coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, she made her way to the Mountain South in 2010 to study traditional Appalachian music and culture at East Tennessee State University. Hasee drives the upright bass with honed skill and conviction well beyond her years, moving listeners at festivals, intimate venues, and concert halls alike. In recent years, she has been touring with the timeless and legendary act Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands since 2018. Throughout Hasee’s years as a performer, she has shared the stage with artists among the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, Molly Tuttle, Dale Ann Bradley, and David Grisman, playing at such notable venues as New York City’s Lincoln Center, PBS’s Song of the Mountains, WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and San Francisco’s “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.” Her debut album “HAY” was released in Fall of 2018, featuring traditional stringband music and top performers of the Old-Time realm. While off tour, you might find her caning chairs, canning preserves, teaching lessons online, or sitting on the porch at her home in Western North Carolina.

Class: String Band

Cori James

Cori JAmes is the owner of Mountain Melody School of Music, a private music school in Kingsport, Tennessee dedicated to teaching old time, bluegrass, and classical music lessons. She attended East Tennessee State University for music education and has been teaching private lessons for fifteen plus years. Growing up around old time Appalachian music, she was inspired to start taking fiddle lessons at the age of eight. Her great grandfather, Joe Good, gave her one of her first fiddles from his collection. While studying under teacher Scott Gould, she decided to take her lessons further and joined her school orchestra. Classical music and her time in orchestra fueled her desire to teach. Cori began teaching fiddle at Mountain Music School in 2010. She has taught beginner, intermediate, and advanced fiddle as well as teaching numerous workshops over the years.

Class: Intermediate Fiddle

Anne Lough

Anne Lough is an internationally known traditional musician, highly acclaimed for her excellence as a performer and educator. Anne has a Music Education Degree from Murray State University, Murray, Ky and a Master of Music Education Degree from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC and has taught at major dulcimer festivals and workshops  throughout the country, in Ireland, the British Isles and Belgium. Dedicated to the preservation of traditional music, dance, stories and folklore, she now devotes her time to festivals, Road Scholar classes, workshops, performances and school residencies. Her skill on the autoharp, mountain and hammered dulcimers as well as her love of the music bring a rare and unique quality to every performance.

Class: Lap Dulcimer

Alyssa Shell

Alyssa Shell is the choir director/music teacher at L.F.Addington Middle School and Central High School in Wise, Virginia. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and will have her M.Ed by August. Alyssa has been singing since she was young and has performed in various choral events as well as solo performances; the most memorable being singing at Carnegie Hall in NYC. This is her 4th year teaching at Mountain Music School. Alyssa loves getting to share her passion for music and work with new singers.

Class: Singing

Corbin Hayslett

Traditional music has been the mainstay of Crobin’s life from his earliest memories. His Dad taught him to love and sing like The Stanley Brothers while he was still in a car seat and his mom sat him on the front-row pew during choir rehearsals. The music of Virginia’s mountains has been passed down in Corbin’s family for nine generations. He has had the honor of playing mountain music in three hemispheres and on stages ranging from Lay’s Hardware to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. He is honored to share his love of mountain music at Mountain Empire Community College.

Class: Bluegrass Banjo

Danny Brassfield

Danny Brassfield is a musician, singer and dancer who loves to perform, play the dobro and share his passion for music. He has been playing since 1984, is self-taught and enjoys putting his own “spin” on songs. Danny has played with several local groups,as well as groups from Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina and enjoys participating in local jams. He has performed at several venues like WDVX Blue Plate Special, Renfro Valley, Ralph Stanley Bluegrass Festival, TV and radio. Danny wanted to expand his musical interests and enrolled in beginning mandolin at MECC.  He is pleased to be able to pass his knowledge of the dobro on, especially to young people, and encourage their passion for this unique instrument.

Class: Dobro

Mountain Music School is dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Appalachian music and culture. To carry out our mission, we strive to ensure this unique educational opportunity is affordable and attainable for all students. You can help by providing “loaner” instruments for students to play during school, or donating an instrument to a student who demonstrates special talent and promise. Please call us today at 276-523-9124 or email mountainmusicschool@mecc.edu to learn how you can help continue the legacy of our region’s rich musical heritage.

All participants are scheduled to be on campus at 8 a.m. on the morning of festival, July 24 and check in at Goodloe Center in Phillips Taylor Hall.

Lodging

• Comfort Inn
• Country Inn & RV Park:  (276) 523-0374

 RV/Camping

• Jessie Lea RV Park
• Natural Tunnel State Park

Home Craft Days

For more than 40 years, MECC’s Home Craft Days has featured musicians and artisans from throughout Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky. Demonstrations of weaving, pottery making, grist milling, wood crafting, basket weaving, broom making, quilting, tatting and much more are offered, along with musical performances throughout the three-day event.

Clinch Mountain Fest

An old-time Mountain Music Festival held at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia every June featuring America’s favorite music.

Bristol Rhythm and Roots

Established in 2001, the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival celebrates Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia’s music heritage as the birthplace of country music. Showcasing the very best in Appalachian roots music and beyond, the event honors the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and their far-reaching influence on the soundtrack of today.

The Crooked Road

The Crooked Road was designated as Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail by the Virginia Assembly in 2004. This 333-mile-long driving trail connects 10 major venues and over 50 affiliate venues that preserve and promote traditional Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. So, grab your dancing shoes or throw your guitar in the car for a musical adventure of a lifetime and plan your trip today!

2024 Student Schedule

Mountain Music School will be held, July 22-26, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The student schedule is as follows:

Monday July 22nd

8:30-9:00 am - Students Arrive/Registration
9:00-10:30 am - Class
10:30-10:45 am - Break
10:45-12:00 pm - Workshops
12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm - Instructor Concert
2:00-3:00 pm - Class
3:00 pm End of Day

Tuesday July 23rd

8:30-9:00 am - Students Arrive
9:00-10:30 am - Class
10:30-10:45 am - Break
10:45-12:00 pm - Workshops
12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm - Andrew Small & Ashlee Watkins Concert
2:00-3:00 pm - Class
3:00 pm - End of Day

Wednesday July 24th

8:30-9:00 am - Students Arrive
9:00-10:30 am - Class
10:30-10:45 am - Break
10:45-12:00 pm - Workshops
12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm - Whitetop Mountain Band Concert
2:00-3:00 pm - Class
3:00 pm - End of Day

Thursday July 25th

8:30-9:00 am - Students Arrive
9:00-10:30 am - Class
10:30-10:45 am - Break
10:45-12:00 pm - Workshops
12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm - Randy Wilson
2:00-3:00 pm - Class
3:00 pm - End of Day
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Square Dance at Goodtimes Pizza

Friday July 26th

8:30-9:00 am - Students Arrive
9:00-10:30 am - Class
10:30-10:45 am - Break
10:45-12:00 pm - Workshops
12:00-1:00 pm - Lunch (Pizza)
1:00-2:00 pm -  Student Concert
2:00-3:00 pm - Class
3:00 pm - End of Day

All volunteers must have a background check if not currently employed with Mountain Empire Community College. Mountain Music School relies on volunteers to assist with daily operations. Email us if you would like to serve as one of our valued volunteers!