Charlie Walden 

Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 11 when inspired by players in a fiddler’s contest at the Boone County Fair in his native Missouri.  With the generous help and encouragement of older master fiddlers he went on to be recognized as one the best Missouri old-time fiddlers of his day.  He has won dozens of local fiddle contests as well as major championships in Missouri, Illinois and West Virginia.   

Charlie has taught fiddle and guitar to dozens of aspiring players.  He has served as an instructor at the Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, The Snowshoe Workshops/Allegheny Echoes in West Virginia, and the Montana Fiddle Camp.  Intent on preserving and passing on the unique Missouri style and repertoire, Charlie organized the Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp in Bethel, Missouri, and directed camp operations and funding for a decade.  He is currently a staff instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music teaching Western Swing Instrumentals.

Major concert, contest and festival appearances include: Missouri State Fair, Illinois State Fair, Smithsonian Festival of Folklife, Masters of the Folk Violin Tour, National Folk Festivals (Lowell, MA, Johnstown, PA, Bangor, ME), Frontier Folklife Festival (St. Louis), University of Chicago Folk Festival, Cuyahoga Valley Folk Festival (Akron, OH), Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop, WV), Galax Old-Time Music Festival (Galax, VA), Mother's Day Festival (Gays Mills, WI), Ozark Mountain Festival (Mountain View, AR), Michigan Fiddlers Association North Central Region Fiddlers Convention, and  Wheatland Music Festival (Remus, MI), St. Louis Irish Fest. 

Charlie has recorded numerous fiddlers in Missouri in an attempt to preserve the traditional playing and repertoire of the Show-Me State and is an avid collector of fiddle music.  On one such recording, "Now That's A Good Tune" (issued by the University of Missouri Extension Division), Charlie shared a Grammy Nomination for "Best Album Notes" with his collaborators.  The overall project, on which he is a featured performer, was nominated as "Best Folk Recording".   In addition, he has written numerous articles on Missouri fiddle and dance traditions and maintains a web site dedicated to Missouri fiddling.

While widely recognized as a traditional player, Charlie is also an avid performer of traditional Bluegrass and other Hillbilly fiddle styles.  He also plays guitar and mandolin.

 Patt Plunkett

Patt Plunkett first heard traditional fiddle music as played by her grandfather Carl Voorhees.  Now a professional music educator, Patt spends her leisure hours playing piano accompaniment for the best old-time and Celtic musicians in the Midwest.  Her piano style projects the high energy necessary for accompanying dance music.

Patt has been dancing, calling and teaching social dancing to others for many years and is an accomplished clogger and step-dancer.  She is particularly interested in traditional square dancing, especially Western and Appalachian-type square formations.  She once called the figures for the "World's Largest Square Dance" held in Chicago's Grant Park in conjunction with the WFMT Chicago Folk Festival.

Patt has taught traditional music or dance at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend Washington, Augusta Heritage Workshops, Allegheny Echoes Music Workshops and the Montana Fiddle Camp.  Her many concert performances include the University of Chicago Folk Festival, Cuyahoga Valley Folk Festival (Akron, OH), Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop, WV), Michigan Fiddlers Association North Central Region Fiddlers Convention, Milwaukee Irish Fest and Cleveland Irish Fest.