Warner Free Lecture @ TOWN HALL ~ Phil Jamison

Square Dancing at Town Hall
Note that this performance will be in the UPPER TOWN HALL not at the library.

Ever wondered where square dancing came from, and what makes Northern and Southern traditions different?

Phil Jamison will be our featured speaker, banjo player, and square dance caller. He and Jon Anderson, fiddle player, will present and perform tunes from both regions, showing how Southern Appalachian fiddle music often has a driving, modal sound while Northern tunes tend to have a brighter, more major-key, bouncy sound. Mr. Jamison will break down the calling styles: the sometimes singing, rhythmic calls in the South versus the more instructive, straightforward, walk-through approach up North. The program wraps up with a real, live square dance where both artists guide everyone through the dance, letting folks experience these living traditions firsthand—no dance experience required.

Mr. Jamison lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where he taught traditional music and dance at the Warren Wilson College. In 2017 he was inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame. He is the author of Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance. He has consulted for movies such as Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and Sundance Award Winner Songcatcher.

Don’t miss Phil in this rare appearance in New England.