If you can carry a tune and would like to learn Southern harmony singing, this beginning harmony class is for you. No knowledge of music theory is needed. We’ll discuss how basic harmony works and guide you in learning, by ear, how to sing two-part harmony. We’ll be finding the close harmonies of great early country duets, creating the sound that touches our hearts and souls.
**Mini-classes are held Monday through Friday the week of programming. They may be taken in addition to daytime classes or on their own. Cost is $75.**
Instructor Bio
Michelle Hannan was born in Ranson, West Virginia, and raised in Brunswick, Maryland. The granddaughter of local Brunswick musician Ronnie “Doc” Daugherty, she was exposed to roots music at an early age, learning to sing harmonies by listening to artists ranging from the Everly Brothers to the Dixie Chicks. Cheater’s Waltz, Michelle’s critically-acclaimed 2021 concept album with her husband, Jason Hannan, received significant radio airplay, reaching number 51 on the FAI Top Albums Chart. Michelle is a sought-after studio vocalist. Her lead and harmony vocals have been featured on recent country albums by Arty Hill and Domenic Cicala, and on bluegrass band Shannon Bielski & Moonlight Drive’s debut album for Patuxent Records.
“One of the best country singers going right now is not from Texas or from Tennessee — he’s from Baltimore and his name is Arty Hill. He’s also is a first-class songwriter…” San Antonio Express. Arty Hill has been a bandleader since he was 13 years old, and currently leads top notch honky tonk band The Long Gone Daddys. He recorded 8 cds in the last 15 years (his latest, “A Thousand Smoky Nights,” was released in June 2021); his songs have been in television shows and movies; and he is a co-founder and instructor at the Hank Williams Songwriting Workshop at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, AL. Arty is the Augusta Classic Country Jam Leader and co-teaches Beginning Country Harmony with Michelle Hannan. He calls his style of running a jam session “Pot Luck Jamming”: everyone participates, bring good things to the table, and makes a real pretty sound. Arty knows hundreds of classic country songs by heart, and his enthusiasm for the music will make you glad you came to Augusta!
Check out Arty at Augusta 2021: