Born and raised in Missouri, Chris Germain began playing traditional music as a teenager. He learned to play
from legendary Missouri fiddlers Taylor McBaine, Pete McMahan, Cyril Stinnett and Bob Holt. Today, Chris is regarded as one of the leading proponents of Missouri and Midwestern style fiddling. Chris has won numerous awards at fiddling contests around the country, including 1st Place in the Senior Fiddle Championship at the Appalachian Stringband Music Festival (Clifftop) in 2023. He has performed at many music festivals including The Walnut Valley Music Festival (Winfield), The Augusta Heritage Center, Wheatlands Music Festival, Clifftop and many others. He can be heard on the following recordings:
Nile Wilson, Tie-Hacker Hoedown, MSOTFA 202-CD,
Patt, Possum and Chris; Dance Around Molly CWM-013; From The Hazel Nuts, Uncut Gems From Missouri.
Chris also makes award-winning violins, violas and cellos at his Center City Philadelphia
studio. More information can be found at: www.germainviolins.com.
Kellie Allen, an accomplished old-time singer and sought-after backup guitarist and bass player, hails from Kansas but now lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania with spouse Pete Peterson. She started playing old-time tunes with her brother, fiddler and banjo player Greg Allen, and later toured Europe playing old-time music with the Delaware River String Band. Kellie is known for her old-time guitar backup style with extensive use of bass runs, drawing from such sources as Riley Puckett, Roy Harvey, and Gene Meade, and her deep knowledge of old-time repertoire and styles. She performs with Allemande, Orpheus Supertones, and Sugar Pie, and sings old-time and early country duets with Pete. Kellie has taught and performed old-time guitar, upright bass, and harmony singing at festivals and music camps across the U.S., as well as in the U.K. and Australia. She has judged numerous old-time music contests and has won prizes with the Orpheus Supertones and other bands at the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop) and other festivals, as well as individual awards in old-time singing. https://kellieandpete.net/
Pete Peterson is a legendary old-time banjo player, guitarist, and traditional singer. He got his first guitar and banjo over sixty years ago and now plays one of Charlie Poole’s banjos. Pete’s signature and distinctive sound on the banjo echoes Charlie Poole’s old-time three-finger banjo style. Pete also plays guitar with a thumb pick, following in the style of old-time guitarists such as Roy Harvey, Maybelle Carter, and Riley Puckett. His use of these banjo and guitar styles is uncommon and adds to the distinctive sound of Allemande and other bands, including the Orpheus Supertones, and in duets with spouse Kellie Allen. Pete is a stellar old-time singer and teaches vocal harmony techniques. His knowledge, skill, and experience playing old-time music is unrivaled, placing him in high demand as a teacher and contest judge as well. Pete has taught and performed at Mars Hill Blue Ridge Old Time Week, Augusta Heritage Camps, and many others, including Gainsborough (UK), MountainGrass (AU), and Dorrigo (AU). He has been a judge at the Charlie Poole Festival, the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop), and many other contests. He has won top awards at them as well, including first place senior banjo at Clifftop and grand prize for old-time finger style banjo at the Charlie Poole Festival. https://kellieandpete.net/
Paul Sidlick has been playing Old Time Music in the Philadelphia area for many decades, playing mandolin, banjo, and guitar with numerous bands including the Run of the Mill String Band, the Bow Rockers, and Jane’s Gang. Paul has won many ribbons on both mandolin and banjo, and is a two time Delaware state banjo champion. With the Run of the Mill String Band, he has toured Eastern Europe presenting traditional American music in Russia, Czechoslovakia and Austria. Paul has performed at many music festivals including The Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival and the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention. His photography of the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention is featured on
the CD/CDrom The Brandywine Mountain Music Convention, a Twenty Year Legacy of Old Time Music, and Dance All Night, The Highwoods String Band film by Larrey Edleman. He can heard on the following recordings:
Run of the Mill String Band, Along the Way, self-produced
A Tribute to the Appalachian String Band Festival, Chubby Dragon CD 1001, Palmer and Greg Loux, In Good Company Chubby Dragon CD1004, Jane Rothfield, In the Moment, 5 String Productions, Run of theMill String Band, Steal Aboard, Stylograph STY44531, The Piros, Brandywine Ridge, Brandywine Ridge Studios.
After hearing Heidi Germain play Tommy Jarrell once said, “You have a real spark.” Mac Traynam put it this way: “Heidi’s timing is impeccable. She understands the music and where it needs to go.” Heidi’s grandpa, Chester Sanders, played bass, banjo and guitar. She grew up listening to Carter and Ralph Stanley, Johnny Cash, and an extensive record collection of old-time music and country and swing classics. She settled in Virginia when she was 19 years old, and quickly became caught up in the old-time music and square dance scenes in Virginia and beyond.
Heidi has been a mainstay on the old-time music scene for decades, playing with a number of bands, including, The Mountain Boomers, The Queen City Bulldogs, Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters and others. She has performed at numerous music festivals, including: The Augusta Heritage Concert series and workshops, The Hudson River Clearwater Revival, Music at Wolf Trap, The Carter Fold
Music Series and many others. She can be heard on the following recordings: The Hazel Nuts, Uncut Gems From Missouri; Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music, The Harry Smith Connection., Smithsonian Folkways-SFW40085, Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music SFW CD 264, Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40193, 2007.
