The Talent

Bands

Riptide (Maine)

Riptide plays traditional music for contra dances. They are one of the most energetic contra dance bands on the scene today. They love the tunes they play, and their repertoire contains literally hundreds of tunes from New England, Quebec, Ireland, Appalachia, and a few other places.

The Fiddle Hellions (Portland, OR)

George Penk (fiddle), Betsy Branch (fiddle), Sue Songer (piano, fiddle)

Callers

Frannie Marr (Southern CA)

Six years of calling have made Frannie a popular West Coast caller, calling regular dances from Southern California to the Bay Area, and special events/weekends throughout the Pacific Northwest and Southwest.

Julian Blechner (Massachusetts)

Ron T Blechner, Contra Caller and Dance Writer Ron has been calling contra dances since August of 2011.

Sound

Alan Roberts (Seattle, WA)

Alan is a fiddle player (plays with Southwest Passage) and dancer in addition to being an excellent sound man. He is aware of the nuances that make us all happy, and is able to provide a great experience for the callers, band members and dancers.