I was first aware of Fiddle Hell maybe 10 or 15 years ago when my friend (colleague, mentor) David Kaynor, started showing up at gigs wearing a T-shirt that read “I survived Fiddle Hell.” I remember thinking it was a cool name and I knew it was held at a big hotel in eastern Massachusetts, but that was about as far as it went, I guess. As time went on, however, more friends and fellow musicians were attending or on staff and finally I attended in 2019. Because of my involvement with Maine Fiddle Camp, most of my experience with big musical “teaching” gatherings had mostly been music camps, held outdoors. Well not entirely there were dance weekends and festivals, but these were primarily about dancing. The closest thing to Fiddle Hell that I had attended was the Dance Flurry which was/is held in a hotel/convention center, with lots of concerts and workshops, but it all still revolves around a big “dance space” Fiddle Hell has a small dance element but it is primarily about the music (as you might surmise from the name!). For the last several years, Fiddle Hell has been held at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, MA. a yearly gathering of fiddlers, cellists, mandolin/guitar/banjo players, and singers to meet, jam, learn, listen, and have fun. This year I once again had the honor of being on staff and had such a great time, thought I should say a word or two.

This year the dates were November 2-5. FH pretty much takes over the venue for the weekend. There is a main hall for concerts, smaller lecture rooms for workshops, some of the larger “hotel rooms” are reserved for workshops and there are jam session spaces scattered all over the hotel including in the main lobby.

Fiddle Hell Massachusetts is sort of a family affair, run by Dave Reiner, Cindy Eid-Reiner, their boys Andy and Eric and an extended family. The weekend is extremely well run, has an exquisite staff

Here are a few words about the 2019 Fiddle Hell from Dave:

In 2019, we had 800+ musicians as attendees at the fifteenth Fiddle Hell Massachusetts, held at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, MA. Participants came from as far away as Scotland, Germany, Canada, California, Alabama, Michigan, Texas and Florida, and from as near as Westford, MA, itself. They played and learned in many styles – New England, Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Southern Old-TIme, Bluegrass, French Canadian, Jazz, Swing, Scandinavian, Klezmer, Blues, Electric, World, and more. Many tunes were taught, along with the stylistic details of the different traditions. In-depth workshops on techniques covered jamming, learning by ear, backing up singers, music theory, bowing patterns, improvisation, looping, and much more. Informal hallway jams in 9 “jam spots” were active through most of the day and night. For attendees,  instructors, and staff, 2019 was a Fiddle Hell to remember!

The list of amazing instructors is loooong! I’ll dangle a few names: Bruce Molsky, Judy Hyman, Frank Ferrel, Éric Favreau, Pascal Gemme, Andy Reiner, Becky Tracy, Darryl Anger, Lissa Schneckenburger, Janie Rothfield, Jay Unger and Molly Mason, Susie Burke… Here’s a link to the complete 2023 staff: Instructors – Fiddle Hell

This year there was sort of a “feature band” which I don’t remember being the case in the past. But what a band it was!  Genticorum hails from Quebec featuring Pascal Gemme, Nicholas Williams and Yann Falquet.

The concert they did Friday night was packed and had folks laughing and crying!

Fiddle Hell In-Person will be back in Westford, MA, Nov 7-10, 2024 Read more about Fiddle Hell HERE!!!  ,,

FHO (Fiddle Hell Online) Wait, I’m not done. So when live events got shut down in early 2020, Fiddle Hell, along with a lot of other organizations, started online programming. Fiddle Hell ran the first FHO in April 2020 and through Covid ran one in November and April. FHO #6 is scheduled for April 11-14, 2024. You can read about Fiddle Hell Online on the FH website (same link as above)

OK, so check it out…

That’s it for this month folks. If you have comments or suggestions, you can contact me by email at callbill@hotmail.com

oh yeah and don’t forget to tune in to Pam Weeks’ and my weekly Tuesday night online mini-concert and jam. here’s the info: Tuesday night Online jam session and mini-concert with Pam Weeks and Bill Olson – FolkWorks

Pam and Bill (at Fiddle Hell, of course)

bill