Whitetop Mountain Band

The Whitetop Mountain Band is a family-based band from the highest mountains of Virginia. Whitetop, Virginia is an area rich in the old time music tradition; this band has deep roots in mountain music. The group was originally formed by fiddler and luthier, Albert Hash. The members have done much to preserve the Whitetop region’s style of old time fiddling and banjo picking and are legendary musicians and teachers of the style. The band is currently led by Emily Spencer, who was a founding member of the group in the 1970s.

Sarah Kate Morgan

Inspired by a dulcimer built by her grandfather, Tennessee-born Sarah Kate Morgan has been playing dulcimer since she was 7 years old. She went on to place 1st at the 2012 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships at Winfield, Kansas at the age of 18. Morgan is also a talented singer and songwriter whose style reflects and honors life in southern Appalachia. She has performed and/or recorded with roots music giants such as Tyler Childress, Alice Gerrard, and Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones. Having achieved degrees in Traditional Music, Appalachian Studies, and Arts Administration from Morehead State University, her work centers on a lived belief that art and tradition are living, breathing tools that foster hope, build community, and create change.

John Haywood

John Haywood grew up in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. A multi-instrumentalist, John spent many years learning banjo from Kentucky legend, the late Lee Sexton. He performs regularly and his projects have included performances with Lee Sexton, Rich and the Po’ Folks, as well as appearing with Tyler Childress. When John isn’t picking banjo, he can be found at his tattoo shop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Mountain Music School encourages business and private sponsorship to help fund activities related to our mission. Email mountainmusicschool@mecc.edu or call 276-523-9124 to inquire about possible sponsorship opportunities.

Tyler Hughes

Award winning old time musician and Big Stone Gap native, Tyler Hughes has been performing and preserving the musical traditions of central Appalachia since his teenage years. His banjo tunes and songs have been heard on stages close to home and internationally. He has appeared on Jazz at the Lincoln Center, the historic Carter Family Fold, and WSM's Grand Ole Opry. His latest recording, "When the Light Shines Again" paints a musical timeline of coal mining's history in the surrounding mountains. When he's not performing or teaching, Tyler can be found calling square dances at music camps, country stores, and community gatherings.

Jamie Collins

Born and raised encircled by the rich history of mountain music traditions of The Blue Ridge mountains in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, Jamie Collins carries tradition forward with her fresh take on bluegrass, old-time, country music, and dance. “I grew up in a musical family and early memories include spending time with my family and enjoying music." Jamie teaches guitar, bass, and fiddle with Junior Appalachian Musicians and The Handmade Music School. Since graduating from East Tennessee State University in 2012; receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Education, and a minor from the Bluegrass Old Time and Country Music Studies Program, Jamie has toured internationally with several groups, while releasing her debut album featuring originals, traditionals, and prestigious Appalachian Musicians, "Enjoy Life" in 2022.  

Madison Denhardt

Madison Denhardt started her musical journey at a young age, growing up with a few private guitar lessons and attending Mountain Music School. She has been playing guitar since she was six years old, and teaching music since age fourteen. She holds an Old-Time Music certification and associate's degree in general education. Through her musical and teaching journey, she has several years of experience working with children and adults alike. Some honorable mentions of her work include teaching with JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) camp days in Galax, VA and also in Mars Hill, NC; Mountain Music School in BSG, VA; JAM programs in Wise County + Virtual; teaching privately for the past few years; and is current adjunct faculty with MECC music classes. She is also the owner and private instructor at her music shop, Mac Music. 

Madison also holds some musical competition accomplishments in songwriting, mandolin, and guitar. Currently, she is the leader of her family band, The Childress Sisters, and is half of her duo band, Honeysuckle Dream. 

Danny Brassfield

Danny Brassfield is a musician, singer and dancer who loves to perform, play the dobro and share his passion for music. He has been playing since 1984, is self-taught and enjoys putting his own "spin" on songs. Danny has played with several local groups,as well as groups from Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina and enjoys participating in local jams. He has performed at several venues like WDVX Blue Plate Special, Renfro Valley, Ralph Stanley Bluegrass Festival, TV and radio. Danny wanted to expand his musical interests and enrolled in beginning mandolin at MECC.  He is pleased to be able to pass his knowledge of the dobro on, especially to young people, and encourage their passion for this unique instrument.

Martha Spencer

Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog. She performs and has recorded with various groups and has been involved with several roots music projects. She has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK, Canada, and Europe. Martha’s first solo album 2018 and latest release “Wonderland” in 2022 have been featured in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Holler, Wide Open Country, Bluegrass Situation, Americana Highways, PopMatters and more.

Todd Meade

Todd Meade is an old time and bluegrass fiddler, carrying on the musical heritage of the Big Moccasin area of Scott Co. Virginia.  He is the Great Grandson of fiddler Uncle Charlie Osborne.  Todd has played fiddle and upright bass for a number of bands, the Twin Springs Bluegrass Band,  Dr. Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys, ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band, and the Carolina Road Bluegrass Band.  In 2008 at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music, America's 25th Annual National Convention, he was nominated for Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year.  He has performed abroad, in almost every state, and on many major stages like, Mountain Stage and the Grand Ole' Opry.  He has appeared on several recordings including the Grammy nominated "Ralph Stanley - A Distant Land To Roam, a Tribute to the Carter Family." Todd's true passion is teaching and passing along our region's Appalachian musical traditions.  In 2002 Todd's mentor, Sue Ella Boatwrite-Wells, saw this passion and invited him to  serve as an adjunct music instructor at Mountain Empire Community College where he has taught traditional music classes for 20 plus years.  In 2005 he helped start the Mountain Music School at the college that is still going strong today.

Cori James

Cori James is the owner of Mountain Melody School of Music, a private music school in Kingsport, Tennessee dedicated to teaching old time, bluegrass, and classical music lessons. She attended East Tennessee State University for music education and has been teaching private lessons for fifteen plus years. Growing up around old time Appalachian music, she was inspired to start taking fiddle lessons at the age of eight. Her great grandfather, Joe Good, gave her one of her first fiddles from his collection. While studying under teacher Scott Gould, she decided to take her lessons further and joined her school orchestra. Classical music and her time in orchestra fueled her desire to teach. Cori began teaching fiddle at Mountain Music School in 2010. She has taught beginner, intermediate, and advanced fiddle as well as teaching numerous workshops over the years.

Alyssa Shell

Alyssa Shell is the choir director/music teacher at L.F.Addington Middle School and Central High School in Wise, Virginia. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and will have her M.Ed by August. Alyssa has been singing since she was young and has performed in various choral events as well as solo performances; the most memorable being singing at Carnegie Hall in NYC. This is her 4th year teaching at Mountain Music School. Alyssa loves getting to share her passion for music and work with new singers.

Anne Lough

Anne Lough is an internationally known traditional musician, highly acclaimed for her excellence as a performer and educator. Anne has a Music Education Degree from Murray State University, Murray, Ky and a Master of Music Education Degree from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC and has taught at major dulcimer festivals and workshops  throughout the country, in Ireland, the British Isles and Belgium. Dedicated to the preservation of traditional music, dance, stories and folklore, she now devotes her time to festivals, Road Scholar classes, workshops, performances and school residencies. Her skill on the autoharp, mountain and hammered dulcimers as well as her love of the music bring a rare and unique quality to every performance.

Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips has been pleasing audiences for years with acoustic blues and original music. His original music ranges from crowd pleasers such as “Back When I Was Cool” and “Pizza Time on the Ponderosa” to love songs and exploring the foibles of the human condition. He has recorded ten studio CDs, nine of which feature his original songs. His latest recording is “Some Place to Fall.” He has performed at Natural Tunnel’s Lighting of the Tunnel and its Candlelight Series as well as the Southwest Virginia’s Lunch on the Lawn. He has played at Homecraft Days for the past 30 years.  He has played in Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and continues to perform regularly at various events, venues, and festivals in Virginia and surrounding states and continues to perform regularly with his bands “Richard Phillips and Friends” and “The Timeless Strings Band.”

Richard also teaches intermediate/advanced guitar and blues workshops each summer at the Mountain Music School hosted by Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. You can read more and listen to his music at his web site: RichardPhillipsMusic.Com. 

Roger Bullock

Roger Bullock plays guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin.  He performs and records with Appalachian singer-songwriter Richard Phillips and Friends and with Timeless Strings from southwest Virginia and performs with the Jefferson Street String Band in the DC area.  Roger teaches guitar annually at Mountain Empire Community College’s Mountain Music School in Big Stone Gap, VA.  Guitar World magazine noted his 1960’s band Velvet Haze was significant to the heavy metal genre.  For 15 years starting in 1999, Roger was rhythm guitarist and later bassist for Northern Virginia based The Sock Monkeys.   Roger is a retired program manager executive from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Jeff Dickenson

Jeff Dickenson is a 2016 Mountain Empire Community College graduate with a Career Studies Certificate in Old Time Music.  He has served as a teaching assistant and beginning mandolin instructor at Mountain Music School for several years. He is currently an Adjunct Faculty member at Mountain Empire Community College, teaching beginning rhythm guitar, beginning mandolin and intermediate mandolin. 

Joey O'Quinn

Joey O’Quinn has been teaching guitar with the Junior Appalachian Music program and the MECC Mountain Music School for more than ten years and enjoys sharing his love of mountain music with friends and students. He performs regularly with a local string band, the Hillbilly Hippies, and is a member of the house band each summer at The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama in Big Stone Gap.

Julie Shepherd-Powell

Julie Shepherd-Powell is an assistant professor of Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. She is an accomplished traditional Appalachian musician and dancer, winning numerous awards for her flatfoot dancing and performing and teaching across the globe. Julie plays clawhammer banjo with the Kraut Creek Ramblers, the premier string band of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State. 

Heather Pace

Heather Pace, is a singer songwriter & multi-instrumentalist, from Southwest Virginia. Her love of old time music began as a child when she accompanied her grandparents to the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, every Saturday night. When she was 18, she made her singing debut at the 18th Annual Carter Family Fold Memorial Festival, singing “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” & received a standing ovation. This gave her the confidence to finally pursue performing in public. Life happened & between her banking career & raising 3 kids, Heather wrote music & performed locally whenever she could. When her youngest started school, Heather returned to college at East Tennessee State University & became the 37th student in the nation to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Old Time, Bluegrass & Country Music Studies from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. She also holds a Minor in Appalachian Studies. What started as an Old Time band class at ETSU, blossomed into a group called, The Poor Valley Girls, who toured together for over a decade. They played many fine venues such as the Down Home, several Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunions, The Paramount Bristol, The Station, Ozark Highlands Folk Center & at IBMA. Their album titled, “Times Are Not What They Used to Be,” was recorded at ETSU and is available on all music streaming platforms. Heather pursued a solo career & recorded an album titled, “This Has Been Coming,” at the Grammy Nominated Hat Creek Recording Studio in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It features 12 original songs, a slew of talented musicians & will be released later this year.

Claire Childress

Immersed in music since an early age, Claire Childress is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Big Stone Gap, Virginia. She performs in her family band, The Childress Sisters, and as a solo artist. Alongside her performances, she teaches music. Claire has accomplished titles such as Winner of the 2019 Scott Street Banjo Competition, 2025 Tennessee Songwriters Week Winner (One of 7), and several more throughout the years. She enjoys different genres of music, but her roots in old time remain an important part of her musical identity.

Mountain Music School is dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Appalachian music and culture. To carry out our mission, we strive to ensure this unique educational opportunity is affordable and attainable for all students. You can help by providing “loaner” instruments for students to play during school, or donating an instrument to a student who demonstrates special talent and promise. Please call us today at 276-523-9124 or email mountainmusicschool@mecc.edu to learn how you can help continue the legacy of our region’s rich musical heritage.

All participants are scheduled to be on campus at 8 a.m. on the morning of festival, July 24 and check in at Goodloe Center in Phillips Taylor Hall.

Lodging

• Comfort Inn
• Country Inn & RV Park:  (276) 523-0374

 RV/Camping

• Jessie Lea RV Park
• Natural Tunnel State Park

Home Craft Days

For more than 40 years, MECC’s Home Craft Days has featured musicians and artisans from throughout Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky. Demonstrations of weaving, pottery making, grist milling, wood crafting, basket weaving, broom making, quilting, tatting and much more are offered, along with musical performances throughout the three-day event.

Clinch Mountain Fest

An old-time Mountain Music Festival held at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia every June featuring America’s favorite music.

Bristol Rhythm and Roots

Established in 2001, the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival celebrates Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia’s music heritage as the birthplace of country music. Showcasing the very best in Appalachian roots music and beyond, the event honors the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and their far-reaching influence on the soundtrack of today.

The Crooked Road

The Crooked Road was designated as Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail by the Virginia Assembly in 2004. This 333-mile-long driving trail connects 10 major venues and over 50 affiliate venues that preserve and promote traditional Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. So, grab your dancing shoes or throw your guitar in the car for a musical adventure of a lifetime and plan your trip today!

All volunteers must have a background check if not currently employed with Mountain Empire Community College. Mountain Music School relies on volunteers to assist with daily operations. Email us if you would like to serve as one of our valued volunteers!

2025 Workshop Schedule (TBA)