| John Lilly
Shepherdstown welcomes our six-time MC John Lilly back for another Appalachian Festival. John Lilly is truly a Renaissance man. He is recognized and respected as a traditional musician, songwriter, folklorist, and as editor of Goldenseal magazine. His interest in old-time and early country music began early on and led him to learn guitar and mandolin. A versatile performer, John sings (and yodels) in the style of Jimmie Rodgers, can play Carter-style with the best of them, and also has a diverse repertoire of traditional tunes that he has learned from old-time musicians across the region. Accomplished on guitar, mandolin, and bass, Lilly is a versatile musician with a fabulous voice that reminds listeners of the great early stars of radio. In addition, he is a great flatfooter who used to tour as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. In 1986, he became a members of Ralph Blizzard’s New Southern Ramblers, cutting two albums with the group. Ralph Blizzard and John Lilly also cut a duo album called Blue Highway. Lilly has been a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and a contributing editor to the Old-Time Herald magazine. He also co-founded Old-Time Music On the Radio to promote the broadcast of traditional music. In 1992, he moved to West Virginia to work for the Augusta Heritage Center. Working for the Division of Culture and History, John has gained tremendous knowledge of the history and context of the traditional culture of West Virginia. After many years of performing with groups across the region, John finally released his long-anticipated debut CD Broken Moon in the fall of 2000. John will serve as a performer/workshop leader/host of the evening concerts at the eighth annual Appalachian Heritage Festival where he will perform solo and with the New Southern Ramblers.
Patty Looman
From Star City, WV, is a master hammered dulcimer player, teacher, and keeper of the flame of Appalachian music. She is known for her lively playing and vast repertoire of West Virginia tunes. Patty gives credit for her skill on the dulcimer to her mentors— Russell Floohardy and Worley Gardner. Both men are now gone but their legacy lives on through Patty. Patty has taught extensively and is a Master Artist in the West Virginia Apprenticeship Program and at the Augusta Heritage Center as well as at workshops and festivals around the region. Few people have contributed as much to old-time music as Patty Looman. Through her mentoring, playing, and teaching, and by setting an example of the spirit of the music and its joys, Patty has influenced the lives of many students within and outside West Virginia. In 2002, her many friends and fans founded the first annual Pattyfest old-time music festival to honor this special 74 year-old artist.
Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz
For the past 10 years, Ginny and Tracy have appeared in concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and England. Each summer they teach southern traditional singing in several adult music camps introducing people to the music they love and represent so well. In the last two years, Ginny and Tracy have been touring with vocalist/guitarist Kari Sickenberger whose voice adds additional depth to the music. Ginny Hawker grew up singing with her father in southern Virginia where the powerful unaccompanied singing of the Primitive Baptist Church was the first music she remembers. Learning to sing the harmonies of Bluegrass added to, but never replaced, that first love of the soulful sound of a human voice moving through a song much older than the singer. The Smithsonian Institution has described Ginny's singing as "seeming to distill the experiences of the southern Appalachians." Ginny is president of the West Virgina State Folk Festival and recently recorded her first solo CD on Rounder. Tracy Schwarz has been teaching, recording and performing traditional music for more than 36 years both as a member of The New Lost City Ramblers, the seminal band responsible for introducing urban audiences to rural southern music in the 60s and 70s, and as a member of several Cajun bands. Tracy's talent in playing fiddle, guitar, and Cajun accordion and his soulful singing has influenced many people worldwide to be drawn to traditional southern music. The Washington Post said you could smell the wood smoke in Tracy's singing. Tracy has been nominated for a Grammy Award three times.
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