Meet our Performers

Bosco Over four decades ago, several journeys were made into the depths of American traditional music culture by a curious young musician from Japan. His name is Takaki Kosuke. However, he’s best known in the world of old-time music as Bosco. As a child, Bosco’s obsession for the music of the Carter family and Woody Guthrie led him to study the guitar and mountain dulcimer. Soon after, his obsession for fiddle and banjo brought him to America where he befriended and learned directly from many of the legendary elders who are practically worshipped as musical gods by today’s old-time aficionados: Tommy Jarrell, Melvin Wine, Burl Hammons, Maggie Hammons, Joe Birchfield, and the list goes on. Bosco’s style is a virtual musical time capsule containing the mystical “old sounds” that countless folk musicians strive to conjure on their instruments. His photographs of the great old masters are sacred treasures for fans and students of the genre.

Scott Prouty has an extensive and eclectic repertoire rooted in the old mountain style of fiddle playing which includes dance music as well as beautiful solo fiddle tunes. He grew up in the old-time music scenes of Washington DC and West Virginia and currently lives in Toronto. An archivist by training, his music has been shaped by rare field recordings as well as time spent with older-generation players and contemporary musicians. He has taught at camps including the Augusta Heritage Center, Cowan Creek Mountain Music School, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and the Berkeley Old-time Music Convention. Scott is also a featured Tiki Parlour Recordings recording artist and his music and film release "Shaking Down the Acorns" is available at Tiki Parlour Recordings.

For over a decade Tricia Spencer & Howard Rains have blended their fiddle sounds into a unique voice in old-time music. Together, Spencer & Rains have performed nationally and internationally, singing traditional American folk songs and playing old time fiddle tunes. They are both steeped in traditional music, yet at the same time, often take traditions in very personal directions with their tight vocal harmony and distinct twin fiddling. Tricia and Howard integrate their folk art and folk music in new and exciting ways while always staying true to their roots.

The SLO County Stumblers are an energetic American string band based in California’s Central Coast. The band features fiddler Casy Meikle, guitarist David Baine, banjo player Daniel Bohlman, and banjo builder Jerry James on bass. The band formed in 2018 when Meikle returned to California after several years in Middle Tennessee where he became steeped in the region’s musical traditions, traveling extensively with a variety of Southern string bands and with buckdancer Thomas Maupin. The Stumblers play hard-driving old time fiddle tunes and spirited songs, heavily influenced by the golden-era string bands of the 1920s and 30s. Their performance is filled with humorous stories and banter and is guaranteed to get feet moving across the dance floor.

Jimmy Triplett plays fiddle tunes learned from rare field recordings and visits with older musicians throughout rural West Virginia. He has become an in-demand fiddle teacher. In his workshops, he emphasizes bowings and ornamentation that capture the simple beauty and graceful rhythm of old-style Appalachian fiddling. Jimmy worked for several years at the Augusta Heritage Center, where he co-produced “The Fiddling of Ernie Carpenter” and “One More Time: The Life and Music of Melvin Wine.”

---------------------------------------------