Daily Schedule

All of our instructors have prior experience in well-known workshop settings, and are skilled, patient, and caring teachers. A typical day’s schedule will be as follows:

Daily Events

9am - 12pm Group Classroom Instruction

12pm - 1:30pm Lunch

1:30pm - 2:15pm Individual Instruction

2:15pm - 3pm Slow Jams

2:15pm - 3pm Staff Showcase of Styles

3pm - 4pm Masters Program

2023 Allegheny Echoes Masters

Pat Shields- was born in Illinois in 1942 and raised in Georgia. Pat moved to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia in 1964 and to a farm in Keyser, W.Va. in 1973. He became a Musician in Residence for the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Council in 1976 in Braxton County, and in Mineral County in 1978. In this capacity he was fortunate to play with West Virginia greats Melvin Wine, Sloan Staggs, Andy Boarman, Woody Simmons, Wilson Douglas, Phoebe Parsons and many others. His early influences John and Robert Lancaster, Mabel Carter, Gene Meade, Riley Puckett, and Rodney Dillard inspired him to stay strictly with backup guitar work.

Amanda Smith was born in the small town of Davisville, West Virginia, and grew up singing in church choirs and participating in talent contests at local fairs. “I always sang, my mom and dad said, even before I can remember,” she says. She started playing guitar in high school to accompany herself, and soon discovered bluegrass music through female artists such as Rhonda Vincent and Alison Krauss.

Mud Hole Control - Jr Loudermilk, from Greenbrier County, WV is well known for his work in old time and bluegrass music.  He played with his dad Charlie and Junior Spencer in the band Mud Hole Control.  He also has worked with Richard Hefner and the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys as well as the Bing Brothers.  He will appear with his cousins Eric and Pudge Spencer.  Eric is well known for his lead and tenor singing and solid guitar work.  He has played with Robert Montogmery and Mountain Rhythm, Steel Creek, and currently is with Homegrown Bluegrass.  Pudge Spencer will join JR and Eric with his great baritone voice, which has been a feature of Mud Hole Control for years.  Their family harmonies have entertained in West Virginia and the South for decades.

Richard Hefner, lives in Renick, WV, but was born and raised in Mill Point, Pocahontas County, WV. His traditional bluegrass group, the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, has played across WV and the East Coast since 1968. The band’s high finish in Nashville’s SPBGMA contest solidified Richard’s standing as one of the best  traditional bluegrass banjo players in the field. A three-time winner at Vandalia Gathering, he has won the WV and Maryland state championships. His repertoire includes tunes from Flatt & Scruggs, Don Reno, The Stanley Brothers, and Del McCoury.

Creative Writing Master

Pete Kosky is not only a multi-talented singer, songwriter, storyteller, and award-winning musician, he also is an   accomplished writer. In addition to his 5 albums of original and traditional music; The America I Knew, South Of Monahans, Ballads For A Long Night, Songs Of The Allegheny Frontier, and West Virginia Every Time, he also has published two collections of short stories, "Mountain Tales & River Stories" (2017), and "Mountain Tales II" (2019) both by Mountain State Press.  His story "Popcorn Balls" was published in the "Wiley Cash Volume X edition of Anthology of Appalachian Writers" from Shepherd University.   A two time winner of the West Virginia Liars Contest at the Vandalia Gathering, Pete is as comfortable telling stories on a stage as he is around a campfire.  A proud member of West Virginia Writers, Pete lives in Charleston with his wife Ariana and daughter Claire, where teaches History and Appalachian Studies for Kanawha County schools.