Blues Week 2026

Justin Golden, Advisor

Blues Guitar

With roots in the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, and the Piedmont of Virginia, Richmond-based guitarist and songwriter Justin Golden’s origins are deeply vested in the blues. First picking up the guitar at age 19, Golden did what came naturally and let the music flow through him. With an extremely diverse musical palette, Golden aims to bring some new ideas to traditional blues forms. In addition to his work as a recording and performing artist, Golden maintains a busy teaching schedule and works with the non-profit The Rhapsody Project to provide community enrichment through anti-racist cultural heritage programs.

Sunpie Barnes

Blues Harmonica

Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is a musician, writer, naturalist, park ranger, ethnographic photographer, and actor from Saline County. He also played for National Football League (NFL) for a time. Along with his band, the Louisiana Sunspots, Barnes pioneered a unique mixture of zydeco (a créole musical style originating in Louisiana), blues, gospel, jazz, and African and Afro-Caribbean music into a musical gumbo that he dubbed “Afro-Louisiana” music. Barnes plays accordion, harmonica, piano, trombone, rub board, and various other instruments.

Joan Fenton

Blues Guitar

Folklorist and performer Joan Fenton earned her Master’s degree in folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. She hosted traditional music radio shows in NC and WV,  from 1974- 1989 and did field work and recorded  southern roots artists from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Louisiana.  Her collection is housed in the library at the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC- Chapel Hill.   Her mentors and teachers were Jerry Ricks and Reverend Gary Davis. In 1983 she founded Blues Week at  Augusta and for this work is a recipient of the “ WC Handy award for  “Keeping the Blues Alive in Education”. She has been an instructor at Augusta for over 40 years. 

Joe Filisko

Blues Harmonica

Joe is arguably the worlds’ foremost authority on nearly all aspects of the diatonic harmonica, and he is one of its most respected players and teachers. He IS the world’s most respected diatonic harp technician and customizer with his work directly affecting countless players and all harmonica manufacturers. His client list includes most of the players from the who’s who list of the harmonica elite. His harps are in the hands of notables from blues, country, rock, film, and even a former President.
Joe has taught and performed on 5 continents. He was awarded the “Harmonica Player of the Year in 2001 by the SPAH organization. Joe performed at the 2006 Country Music Hall of Fame, Medallion Ceremony for the induction of DeFord Bailey.
Documentaries that featured Mr. Filisko include: “Harmonica Summit,” Imagination is Limitless,”  “In the Reeds,” “Tin Sandwich” and “Pocketful of Soul.”

Described as the Johnny Appleseed of the harmonica, Joe has had a tremendous influence on the culture of the harmonica world over the last 25 years. 

Hubby Jenkins

Blues Guitar

Hubby Jenkins is a talented multi-instrumentalist who endeavors to share his love and knowledge of old-time American music. Born and raised in Brooklyn he delved into his southern roots, following the thread of African American history that wove itself through America’s traditional music forms. As an integral member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and later Rhiannon Giddens band, Hubby has performed at festivals and venues around the world, earning himself both Grammy and Americana award nominations. Today he spreads his knowledge and love of old-time American music through his dynamic solo performances and engaging workshops.

Eric Noden

Blues Guitar

Eric Noden is an award-winning acoustic blues and roots musician based in Chicago who has recorded and toured extensively as a solo performer and as part of his long-running duo with harmonica master Joe Filisko. He produced and played guitar on Billy Arnold’s 2011 acoustic album Billy Boy Sings Big Bill Broonzy and has led guitar workshops and courses for the Augusta Heritage Center, the Old Town School of Folk Music, and the Chicago Blues Festival. His most recent album with Joe Filisko, Let’s Go, was released in 2024

Joe Seamons

Blues Guitar

Joe is a musician and teacher who co-founded tRp with Ben Hunter in 2013. Through exploring his local heritage of Pacific Northwest folk music and lore, and the troubled history of prejudice therein, Joe’s work as a songster and teacher fused with his commitment to agitate for social justice. A descendant of the Aurora Colony in Oregon, Joe continues to explore the ways in which his personal heritage connects him to the legacy of that region. In shedding light on the songs and stories that have been preserved, as well as those that have been forgotten or suppressed, Joe works with his partners in the Rhapsody Project to harness the power of roots music to create empathy and equity. When he’s not performing with Ben Hunter, Joe plays with his Portland-based band Timberbound.

Briar

Blues Vocals

Briar is a singer of vintage jazz, blues and original music. By blending a powerful voice with stories about the history and origins of her music, she shines a light on singers and tales that have been forgotten by the country that created them. Raised in the small community of Chimacum, Washington, Briar uses her music to help explore her unique background as a black woman from the rural Pacific Northwest.  Whether belting Bessie Smith numbers or crooning original songs about Sherlock Holmes, her performances are defined by her combination of grace and playfulness, elegance crossed with down-home bravado.In addition to her regular engagements as a singer and ukulele player, Briar teaches music for Seattle JazzEd, is a leader of the Rhapsody Project,  and is currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Science from Olympic University.

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Bob Thompson

Blues Piano

Internationally known jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Bob Thompson is the house pianist and a featured performer on National Public Radio’s syndicated Mountain Stage program, which is broadcast live from the West Virginia Culture Center Theater in Charleston.Thompson grew up in New York City, but came to West Virginia in the 1960s to study music at West Virginia State College (now University), and thereafter decided to stay.Since the 1970s, Thompson and his bands have recorded and released multiple CDs, and toured nationally and internationally, performing gigs in Europe, Africa and South America. Throughout the 1980s Thompson released a series of widely acclaimed solo albums, first through his own label, Rainbow Records, and later on Capitol’s Intima jazz label. His most recent release is on Blue Canoe Records.Thompson is co-producer and host of the annual “Joy to The World” holiday jazz show that airs on public radio stations across the nation, and is heard internationally on Voice of America. When not performing on Mountain Stage, touring, or educating, Thompson continues to perform in Charleston and the tri-state area.

Folk Arts for Kids with The Old Brick Playhouse

FAFK runs from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The Old Brick Playhouse opened November of 1992 and, for the past thirty-three years, has offered Educational Arts programming locally, throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and overseas.  The Old Brick Playhouse offers regular afterschool programs that provide a safe and positive environment for elementary and secondary school students to explore the arts.  Programs serve 150 secondary students and 80 elementary school students boasting an alumni roster of over 2,540 students.  Over the past 30 years, our performances have entertained over 2.5 million children and have been merited at the National Theatre in Washington, DC, the Edinburg Festival Fringe, and thousands of Elementary Schools in the Mid-Atlantic region and overseas.  In 2009, The Old Brick Playhouse received the Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Science presented at the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama.  

Mixed Media Gourds with Susan Nonn

Spend a week exploring a variety of techniques and materials to create functional or whimsical pieces of art. The goal of this workshop is to encourage participants to step out of their comfort zone and experiment with new techniques. The workshop leader will tailor the program to meet the participants’ needs.

There will be a $50 materials fee for this class.

Susan (Suzi) Nonn, artisan and author, loves gourds—their shapes, their mold patterns, even their defects. She has worked with gourds for more than twenty-five years and, through her classes and coaching, encourages others to try gourd crafting. She teaches gourd workshops at gourd festivals across the United States. (To see her current teaching schedule go to www.naturallyyoursgourds.com) Nonn is also the author of Cut-out Gourd Techniques, a book written to help gourd artists to improve their skills with the mini-saw. She also wrote Gourd Lights, How to make 9 Beautiful Lamp and Lantern Projects. When not teaching, she can be found in her studio/garage enhancing gourds.

Block Printing with Woody Woodcock

Kevin M. Woodcock was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City. After high school he traveled to West Virginia to visit a friend and was attracted to the mountainous beauty of the state. Kevin moved to Morgantown where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from West Virginia University. He met his wife, Mel, in Elkins through mutual friends. Kevin and Mel moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking and Painting at Louisiana State University. They moved back to West Virginia in 1989 and currently live in Elkins. Kevin creates his visual artworks at his home studio and at Davis & Elkins College where he is an Assistant Professor of Art and the Chair of the Creative Art Department. Kevin teaches Beginning Painting, 2D Design, Color Theory, Screen Printing, Intro to Printmaking, Senior Seminar, Senior Studio, Advanced Drawing and Advanced Painting. Kevin also is involved with the ArtsBank program where he is a board member.

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