Cedar Run Song Workshops: Instructors

TOM KIMMEL
Tom Kimmel is a unique writer and singer whose heartfelt artistry with both words and music is genre-crossingand timeless. Tom jokes that he is the only singer/songwriter to have written songs for Captain Kangaroo, Miami Vice, and Touched by an Angel. But it's true! Tom's songs have appeared on albums by dozens of artists, including Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman (The Byrds), Levon Helm (The Band), Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Nanci Griffith, Randy Travis, Waylon Jennings, and Shawn Colvin. His songs have also been featured in a number of films (Twins, Runaway Bride, Serendipity) and television shows (As the World Turns, Dawson's Creek, Party of Five). An outstanding performer, recording artist, and songwriting teacher, tom has captivated audiences from Mountain Home, Arkansas to Stockholm, Sweden. He has released seven albums of music, including his latest, "Light of Day," and a book of poetry called "The Sweetest and the Meanest." Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice while opening Nanci Griffith's 1991-92 world tour. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1993, he began performing as a solo act, stressing a lean, acoustic-centered approach to his music and bringing a poignant and humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling. Tom is currently serving as Artist in Residence at Vanderbilt University.

JOE JENCKS
At age 36, Joe Jencks has more than 20 years of professional experience as a vocalist. He is also the youngest of a large musical family and grew up singing harmonies with his siblings at home, in church, and in the community. From Opera and Art Song to Barbershop, Madrigals, Folk, and Jazz, Joe brings a rich and diverse background to the process of helping singers and songwriters of any level find their voices. Joe is a conservatory-trained vocalist, acclaimed songwriter, entertainer, and student of singing practices, who has been touring internationally for nearly a decade. He sings with the passion of an R&B/Gospel singer, the knowledge of a classically trained vocalist, the soul of an Irish tenor, and the conscience of a troubador. And at the center of Joe's music is an abiding love for all humanity, a love that transcends the everyday and borders on the mystical.

KATE CAMPBELL
Since making her recording debut in 1995 with the heart-rending "Songs From the Levee," Kate Campbell has put together an amazing body of work, notable for its consistent excellence, its honesty, and its intimate artfulness. While doing so, she has managed to include the likes of Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Maura O'Connell, Buddy Miller, and the heart of the Muscle Shoals classic soul and R & B hit-making machine as both admirers and collaborators in her distinctly literate musical vision. Kate's eloquent gift for storytelling places her firmly among the best of the Southern writing tradition, drawing comparisons to Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, and William Faulkner. This gift, her clear-water vocal delivery, and her easy command of a full range of American musical styles have combined to earn her recognition as a formidable talent by critics, musicians, and a discerning public. Kate has wowed audiences at England's Cambridge Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Mountain Stage, among others,and she has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The daughter of a Baptist preacher from Sledge, Mississippi, Kate's formative years were spent in the very core of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, and the indelible experiences of those years have shaped her heart, her character, and her convictions ever since. Her musical tastes were forged in the dampered, smoky fires of soul, R&B, Southern rock, country, and folk music. These combined influences continue to spark her vision of the world.

BROOKS WILLIAMS
Brooks Williams is an electrifying guitarist and one of the most entertaining, engaging, and versatile performers on the circuit today. A Statesboro, Georgia native now living in western Massachusetts, Brooks has been called "one of America's musical treasures" by Dirty Linen magazine. With awe-inspiring fingerpicking, mind-blowing originals, and bluesy resonator slide guitar, Brooks was named one of the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists. From major festival stages like Newport, Philly, and Winnipeg to intimate listening rooms, Brooks is a 21-year veteran of the road. He tours throughout the U.S., Canada, and the UK, and in 2008 will perform in Istanbul, Turkey. Brooks has recorded 16 CD's on labels such as Green Linnet, Signature Sounds, and Solid Air, including his 2008 tour-de-force, "The Time I Spend With You." Brooks has appeared on WXPN's World Cafe and BBC-Belfast, and has been hailed by the likes of Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, and Blues Review, to name a few.
Throughout his career, Brooks has found time to maintain a professional teaching schedule. He teaches roots guitar at Western New England College and is a teacher in high demand on the summer guitar camp circuit. He is also a contributing writer for Mel Bay's "Guitar Sessions." This year, Brooks has begun wokring on a book and instuctional DVD of his workshop, "Adventuresome Guitar."

ERIC GARRISON
Cedar Run founder/director Eric Garrison is a singer/songwriter, concert producer (Carriage Barn Concerts in New Canaan, CT and HPFL Concerts in Hyde Park, NY), producer/engineer/studio owner (China Moon Productions), occasional actor, sometime theatrical sound engineer, and teacher. His touring forays around the eastern U.S. and the Upper Midwest have left behind a trail of reviews that speak of drawing from a broad palette of musical traditions and fashioning "folk music the way it's supposed to be" (Stamford Advocate). Eric's music has been hailed for its "expressive melodies, insightful themes,and sensitive, yet bold and direct lyrics" (Taconic Newspapers). As a performer, Eric is known for the warmth of his shows, for his humorous stories and articulate perspectives on the human condition, and for the strong rapport that he develops with his audiences. He has been called the "consummate performer, telling stories and singing as though he was entertaining in his own living room." (Stamford Advocate)
Eric has three solo CD's to his credit. His "Looking for Egypt" project featured supporting performances by Rick Danko and Garth Hudson of The Band, Rex Fowler of Aztec Two Step, John McCutcheon, Bob Franke, John Platania (of Van Morrison's Band), and producer Scott Petito, who has worked with an amazing array of contemporary talents, including James Taylor, The Band, Livingston Taylor, Keith Richards, Dave Brubeck, and The Fugs. Eric has also produced two collaborative CD's, including a children's project with Christina Muir of Hot Soup, and an award-winning CD of family music with Alabama singer/songwriter Mae Robertson, "Sweet Dreams of Home," which Eric produced and for which he wrote the title tune.
Eric's extensive experience with workshop programs, both as a teacher and administrator, includes producing a variety of workshops for his two concert series, as well as a fourteen year association with the Swannanoa Gathering, where he was the founding coordinator and designer of the Contemporary Folk Week program and originator of the Performance Lab Week.

KATHY HUSSEY
Dirty Linen magazine declared Kathy Hussey to be "a songwriter to watch." Other recording artists and peers have agreed. An award-winning songwriter, Kathy has earned top honors in the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Competition (Winner 2003; Finalist 2002), Mountain Stage Newsongs Contest (Top 5 Winner, 2003), Suwanee Springfest Song Competition (2nd Place, 2005), Gum Tree Songwriters' Fest (Grand Prize, 2005), and the Telluride Troubadour Competition (Finalist, 2006). Based in Nashville, she has hosted a legendary writer's night in Music City USA for more than a decade. With three highly acclaimed CD's to her credit, Kathy's music has logged significant airplay on a long list of radio stations across the country, and her tunes have been recorded by a variety of artists. Working live, she has opened for a diverse list of major acts, including Blues Traveler, Phish, Steppenwolf, and 10,000 Maniacs, and she has established a firm reputation as a great songwriting teacher and workshop presenter.

TERRI ALLARD
Terri Allard hs an extraordinary talent for capturing the human spirit in her songs. With power-packed vocals and infectious energy, she has the uncanny ability to move her audiences to pin-drop silence. Based in Virginia, she has taken her rootsy blend of folk, country, and acoustic pop to countless clubs, coffeehouses, and festivals throughout the U.S.
Terri has gotten widespread recognition in the singer/songwriter community over the the years, her accomplishments including being a finalist twice in both the Kerrville New Folk contest andthe Falcon Ridge Fesitval's Emerging Artist Showcase. As well, she has won spots in the Telluride Troubadour Showcase and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Showcase. Terri has also performed at the 1996 Olympic Village Coffeehouse, Nashville's 1997 and 1998 Extravaganza, and at the 1998 AM JAM Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Terri has also played many major festivals, including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, and the Bridgeton Folk Festival. In 1999, Terri was a Main Stage Showcase Artist at the North American Folk and Dance Alliance Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nominated for seven WAMMIES by the Washington Area Music Association, Terri was named best Country Vocalist in 1999.
Over time, Terri's career has expanded to include workshop teaching, and she has been very much in demand, teaching workshops in songwriting, vocal technique, and performance.

JOHNSMITH
Whenever you read or hear about the music of Johnsmith, certain watchwords always come up, regardless of the source, words like uplifting, integrity, heart, and soul. His songs and voice go straight to the heart, because that's where they come from. Over two decades of performing at festivals, concert halls, coffeehouses, colleges, and house concerts - along with a half-dozen critically acclaimed CD's - John has built a solid fan base in the US and abroad.
A past winner of the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Contest, John has also taught songwriting there, as well as at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, the Swannanoa Gathering, and the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, among others. Fellow songwriter Buddy Mondlock says, "...every time one of Johnsmith's songs gets heard, a little healing happens to the world." John's songwriting workshop students know that healing well.