Wednesday, October 15 – Sunday, October 19, 2025
Join us for Augusta’s October Old-Time Retreat at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in Cass, WV. The event will take place in this authentic West Virginian timber town which has been turned into a beautiful WV State Park. Stay in renovated company houses that were once homes to the many workers and tradesfolk that lived in this area during its bustling heyday. Classrooms include the company house living rooms, mayor’s office and the company store. Share meals in the old Masonic lodge, dance in the community hall, enjoy the train whistle echoing through the hollers, and jam on the many front porches overlooking the Greenbrier River.
This year’s staff includes Rachel Eddy (also the Artistic Advisor for the week), Benny Bleu, Joe Newberry, Viv Leva, Dakota Karper, Riley Calcagno, Jesse Milnes and Val Mindel. All of the classes for October Old-Time Retreat are geared towards Intermediate and Advanced players.
See more information about the instructors and their classes below; scroll down to the bottom of the page for FAQs and housing information.
Tuition for the event is $515, with options to add housing and meals.
Schedule:
DRAFT of 2025 October Old-Time Retreat Schedule Handout
Wednesday
3 – 6 pm: Student Check-in
6 – 7:00 pm: Dinner
7:15 – 8:30 pm: Orientation and Staff Introductions
8:30 pm – 10 pm: Welcome Dance & Jam
Thursday – Saturday
8 am – 9:15 am: Breakfast
9:30 am – 12 pm: Morning Classes with your main instructor
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Lunch break
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm: Group Sessions (discussions, presentations, et)
3 pm – 4:30 pm: One-shot workshops (three to choose from each day with different instructors)
4:45 pm – 5:45 pm: Augusta Happy Hour (AHH!): Different theme each day– tune jams, song jams, open mics.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Dinner break
7:30 pm – 8:45 pm: Evening Activity (concerts, dances, jams)
8:45 pm – late: Jamming
Sunday
8 am – 9:30 am: Breakfast (final meal)
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Class showcases
10:30 am – 11:30 am: Farewell group sing
11:30 am: Goodbyes
Instructors and Class Information
Rachel Eddy, OOTR Advisor | Guitar (Intermediate/Advanced)
Rachel Eddy is a native of West Virginia who grew up in a musical family steeped in the traditions of Appalachian music and dance. Rachel is known throughout the world as both a dynamic, emotionally powerful performer and an engaging, thoughtful teacher. Rachel’s soulful singing and multi-instrumental finesse—including fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin—may be heard on numerous solo and collaborative recordings as well as at dances and jam sessions, where they are dedicated to fostering community and sharing a love of music with others.
Intermediate/Advanced Guitar: This class will include techniques for backing up fiddle tunes and songs, and how to play a bit of melody while keeping the rhythm going. We will cover a variety of bass lines and runs to use between chord changes, and discuss how to play more than just rhythm. Also I will offer help with technique, playing faster (or slower), solid musicianship and overall confidence about how you contribute to the music you make with others! It is important for this class that you know your basic chords and can move between them with some ease. Bring a capo, a medium to heavy pick, something to record with, and of course your favorite guitar!
Benny Bleu | Banjo (Intermediate) | Sold out!
Benny Bleu Haravitch plays old time banjo in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York – a land defined by deep lake valleys and steep highlands. The topography is reflected in the local fiddle tradition, and Benny’s banjo rolls along having studied and played with regional old-time visionaries Mac Benford, Richie Stearns, Judy Hyman, and Bruce Molsky. As a former geologist, his songwriting is earth-focused and inspired by the natural world. Benny’s performances are soothing journeys through tunes from his homeland, old songs learned by growing up next to a jug-bandleader, and original modern folk contemplations. 2024 is a prolific year as Benny released twin albums Banjo Meditations (featured in Bandcamp Daily’s Best Country Music of June 2024) and Banjo Jubilations (#2 artist and #5 album on FAI Folk Radio Chart June 2024), and embarked on an all-too-uncommon Amtrak tour to the west coast and back, spreading the efforts of sustainability and eco-consciousness in the traveling arts.
His career is dedicated to purveying honest acoustic roots music, not for the sake of revival, but as a living, breathing community experience in the here and now. An award winning banjo player, and a cherished songwriter, Benny Bleu lives up to the truest form of folk music – made by the folks, for the folks. His hypothesis: building connections with nature, each other, and our history through music makes for a richer future. Simple, testable, repeatable.
Intermediate Banjo: Let’s take a look at where you currently are with your playing and focus on how to improve what you’re already doing well. We will hone skills like timing, fluidity, and fretboard knowledge. Then we’ll demonstrate how this leads to enhanced groove, beauty, and harmony in your playing. We’ll also explore what might be lacking and set some goals for the upcoming winter downtime. We’ll learn tunes, we’ll clap and stomp, we’ll move and meditate. No trust falls.
Joe Newberry | Banjo (Advanced)
Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise,” featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.” Joe has taught banjo, guitar, singing, and songwriting at numerous camps and festivals, including Ashokan, Midwest Banjo Camp, American Banjo Camp, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Targhee Music Camp, the Swannanoa Gathering, Centrum Voice Works, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Pinewoods Camp, the Australia National Folk Festival, the Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week, Bluff Country Gathering, and Vocal Week, Bluegrass Week, and Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV.
Advanced Clawhammer Banjo: This class, geared toward advanced players, will share techniques and tips that will allow students to concentrate on nuance and subtleties of the style. Areas of focus will include approaching tunes using open strings and closed notes on the second fret, drop-thumbing, ghost notes, and low drones, along with alternate tunings.
Val Mindel | Singing (Intermediate/Advanced)
Val Mindel is a longtime musician, teacher and workshop leader, known for helping singers achieve the sound they want and have fun doing it. She teaches a wide range of harmony styles from the buzzy sound of American old-time and early country harmony to the weaving harmonies of songs from across the ocean. In the process she addresses such indefinables as tone, ornamentation and lead singing. In addition to being a regular on staff at the Augusta Heritage Center, she has taught at numerous music camps elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad, including SongRoots, Targhee Music Camp, Ashokan Music and Dance Camps, Centrum’s Voice Works, Pinewoods and Sore Fingers. She is a founding member of the California-based Any Old Time string band, and has two CDs with daughter and old-time country musician Emily Miller. Val is also the author of So You Want to Sing Folk Music, and she is in the process of cowriting with Dr. Kathy Bullock a chapter on traditional singing for the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy. She lives in Elkins, West Virginia.
NOTE: Unfortunately, Carol Elizabeth Jones had to cancel due to a medical emergency. We will miss her in Cass! We are grateful to Val Mindel for stepping in and helping to lead the singing class with Viv.
Harmony Singing: The best way to learn to sing harmony is by doing it in real time with good songs, and that’s what we’ll be doing in this class. Participants will learn traditional country songs along with the harmonies to match. We’ll work to recognize the patterns in the melodies and develop our instincts for harmonies that go with each melody–all while having the pleasure of singing together. This will be a comfortable, low-stress class where all are welcome.
Dakota Karper | Fiddle (Intermediate)
Dakota Karper, hailing from rural West Virginia, grew up immersed in the rich traditions of Appalachian Old-time music. From an early age, she embraced folk music, studying under master fiddler Joe Herrmann and honing her craft at the Augusta Heritage Center. Dakota also deepened her skills with classical violin at the Shenandoah Arts Academy in Winchester, VA. After spending seven years in Baltimore, she returned to Capon Bridge, WV, where she now teaches Appalachian fiddle and performs regularly throughout the region.
Her music reflects a profound connection to her roots, blending haunting melodies, energetic bow strokes, and rhythmic grooves. Over the years, Dakota has played with several bands, including the Short Mountain String Band, Hay Fever, Hemlock and Hickory, and most recently, Vandalia. Her discography features projects like “Short Mountain String Band” (2008), “Hay Fever” (2018), “Fiddler Fair” (2020), and “Hemlock & Hickory” (2022).
In 2019, Dakota founded ‘The Cat and The Fiddle,’ a traditional roots music school, and in 2023, she was appointed executive director of the non-profit ‘Cacapon Music & Dance Foundation,’ furthering her commitment to preserving and promoting Appalachian music and culture.
Old-Time Fiddle: From Tune to Groove: Join Dakota Karper for a deep dive into the world of old-time fiddling, where we’ll build a rich repertoire while uncovering the stylistic details that give these tunes their character. We’ll explore regional West Virginia fiddle music—especially from Hampshire and Mineral Counties—digging into its history and the musicians who shaped the sound. Along the way, we’ll develop practical skills for playing in jams, including backup, twin fiddling, and learning by ear.
Each day will balance repertoire with technique: bowing patterns, left-hand ornaments, and the subtle details that turn simple melodies into compelling old-time music. We’ll also peel back the curtain on the theory behind the music—not dry formulas, but living tools to help you understand what you’re playing and why it works.
This class is geared toward advancing beginners and intermediate players. We’ll be learning entirely by ear in the aural tradition—there will be no sheet music handouts, so bringing a recording device is highly encouraged.
Jesse Milnes | Fiddle (Advanced)
Jesse Milnes grew up in the world of West Virginia old-time music (his father is fiddler and folklorist Gerry Milnes). Though he is widely known as a fiddle player, Jesse’s first instrument was a guitar and he has developed a personal style of finger-picking, drawing on influences from blues to bluegrass to country. He has played fiddle and guitar with many country, old-time and bluegrass bands over the years, including the Sweetback Sisters, a country band for which he was also a main songwriter. Jesse has won many local and regional fiddle contests, including the WV State Folk Festival in Glenville, WV, and the Ed Haley Fiddle Contest in Ashland, KY. Jesse and his wife, Emily Miller, recently toured in Australia and California and recorded their first album as a duo. They live in Valley Bend, WV.
Advanced Fiddle: You will come away from this class with a bunch of new tunes, especially some great Melvin Wine tunes, and a better understanding of what makes Central West Virginia’s fiddle tradition so unique. All tunes will be taught by ear. Please bring a recording device!
Riley Calcagno | Rhythm and Repertoire for All Instruments (Int/Adv.)
Riley Calcagno, one of the brightest talents in American roots music today, has been immersed in traditional music from an early age. Originally from Seattle, he grew up at festivals around the Pacific Northwest learning fiddle directly from old masters of the style. He now feels at home on banjo, guitar, mandolin, and voice as well and is a founding member of The Onlies, a band described as “masterful” and “deliciously well-crafted” (Kithfolk) on the forefront of a new generation of traditional acoustic string music. The Onlies were the 2017 winners of the Appalachian Stringband Festival in Clifftop, WV. In 2018, they released a collaborative record with John Herrmann and Meredith McIntosh as the band The Ruglifters. In October of 2020, they released their record THE ONLIES, produced by Caleb Klauder. In addition to The Onlies, Riley performs with Vivian Leva. Together they have toured across Canada, the US, and the UK and performed at festivals such as Pickathon and Wintergrass. Vivian’s record Time Is Everything (feat. Riley Calcagno) has received wide critical praise since its release in early 2018.
As a classical player, Calcagno has performed alongside Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony as Concertmaster and performed in master classes for Joel Krosnick and Richard Aaron. He was a member of Seattle’s new music ensemble Scrape, founded by James Knapp, Eyvind Kang, and Bill Frisell. He is a graduate from Oberlin College & Conservatory. He has also performed with Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky, the Seattle Symphony, Altan, Laurie Lewis, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge, Dirk Powell, and John Herrmann. He was selected to be a participant at the prestigious 2018 Acoustic Music Seminar in Savannah, Georgia run by Mike Marshall. Riley has taught at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Nimblefingers Old time and Bluegrass Workshops, Big Sur Fiddle Camp, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and Colorado Rockies Old-Time Festival (CROMA).
Intermediate/Advanced Rhythm and Repertoire (All Instruments): My favorite thing about playing old time music is playing tunes with others. To do so comfortably (and hopefully transcendentally), it helps to be both deeply attuned to those in your musical midst and to feel confident in your repertoire and style. For those expected to lead tunes, it helps to know some material that you feel excited about. So, I will teach some tunes that I feel excited about. My repertoire draws from many fiddlers and regions so we will have the opportunity to think about how regional styles differ. We will listen closely to original recordings as we go. And then we will try to put these tunes into action and workshop how to contribute to the greater good of an ensemble. The goal will be to leave with a good chunk of juicy material to bring with you as well as the tools to improve and learn at home. We will discuss and work on all instruments. The prerequisite is previous experience learning by ear as there will be no tabs or written material.
FAQs
HOUSING INFORMATION:
A “private room” in one of Augusta’s shared company houses is a room with either a double or two single beds (choose which one you prefer when you register) and a door that closes for privacy. These rooms can be shared by two people. There is a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living area in the company house. Price for a private room: $450
A “hostel bed” in one of Augusta’s shared company houses is a bed in a suite of adjoining rooms that will be shared by several students of the same gender. These suites require pass-through of one room to access the other. There is a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living area. Price for a hostel bed is $250.
PLEASE NOTE: All of the Cass Company Houses have stairs, with the vast majority of the bedrooms being located on the second floor
If you would like to rent a whole Cass company house yourself, please contact Cass State Park directly at (304) 456-4300
MEAL INFORMATION:
Augusta has hired a caterer to provide dinner from Wednesday dinner through Saturday. These meals will be served buffet-style in the Cass Masonic Lodge. To participate in the group meals, you must purchase a meal card. Meals are not available a la carte at this event.
All of the company houses are equipped with shared kitchens if you would prefer to cook for yourself.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Your purchase includes the full program tuition and a $100 non-refundable registration processing fee. Tuition costs (not including the $100 registration processing fee) are 95% refundable up to one month prior to the program. Between one month and one week before the event, tuition costs are 70% refundable. In the week leading up to the event, tuition costs are 45% refundable. Cancellations made after the start of the event, including no-call no-shows, are not eligible for a tuition refund. Purchase is valid for October Old-Time Retreat 2025 only. AHC reserves the right to evaluate all cancellations on an individual basis.