Blue Ox is pleased to present its Instrument Workshops. Learn more about Bluegrass, Americana, Roots and traditional string genres of music from excellent instructors. *Workshops will provide a beginner level instruction. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own instrument and chair.

Friday, June 14 –

(Potluck Pickin’ Place, weather dependent)

10:00AM Anthony Ihrig talks about the unique sounds of the Bluegrass Banjo
11:00AM Shauncey Ali demonstrates and discusses the creative beauty of the Fiddle

Saturday, June 15 –

(Potluck Pickin’ Place, weather dependent)

10:00AM Adam Keisling presents the range of prolific sounds of the Traditional American Guitar
11:00AM Max Paley discusses and demonstrates the ingenious and essential Mandolin

Anthony Ihrig on the Bluegrass Banjo
Anthony is a full-time musician and music teacher based in Minneapolis. As banjo player with the High 48s bluegrass band and composer of progressive music, he teaches the entire spectrum of picking styles. He has served as a consultant to Béla Fleck, and taught workshops alongside many banjo luminaries such as Bob Black and Kristen Scott Benson. Anthony has also been an instructor at the Grass Seeds Music Academy (youth bluegrass camp) for eight years.

Shauncey Ali on the Fiddle
Shauncey is an acclaimed performer, educator and composer. Recently featured in Fiddler Magazine, he has performed internationally, blazing a creative trail in the acoustic music world. Co-founder of the award-winning chamber ensemble Graminy, he also tours as violist of the Katie McNally Trio. Shauncey the creator and director of MadFiddle, a premiere youth fiddle program that explores folk music from around the world. In 2016, Shauncy was awarded “Music Teacher of the Year” for his work in and around Madison, Wisconsin.

Adam Kiesling on the Traditional American Guitar
Adam is a steward of the American songbag, easily bridging styles from one canon to another. A multi-instrumentalist and cornerstone to the Minnesota traditional music community, is also a former bassist for Pert Near Sandstone. Adam currently performs solo and with his band Corpse Reviver, which pays tribute to the influential 1952 collection, The Anthology of American Folk Music.

Max Paley on the Mandolin
Hailing from Kansas, Max is first call session instrumentalist in the Denver bluegrass community and a master of bluegrass and new grass mandolin. Max has taught at Swallow Hill Music in Denver and at several prestigious festivals around the country. He has toured extensively with many artists including Oakhurst, The Black Berry Bushes, and That Damn Sasquatch, to name just a few.