Bluegrass in the Gorge

 Laurie Lewis

is a dedicated teacher, both in one-on-one sessions and in workshop settings. She has taught fiddle, guitar, songwriting, vocal styles, and harmony singing for many years. She organized and ran Bluegrass Week at Augusta Heritage Center at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV, for ten years, and coordinated the very popular Bluegrass at the Beach in Nehalem Bay, OR, for the full fourteen years of its existence. Laurie’s awards include a Grammy for True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe in 1997 and  Female Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Awards in 1992 and 1994. She and Tom Rozum were nominated for a Grammy for their collection of duets, The Oak and the Laurel, in the category of Best Traditional Folk Album of 1995.

Sharon Gilchrist

Sharon Gilchrist has long made her home in the American traditional acoustic music scene. Whether she’s playing mandolin or upright bass, singing a traditional ballad or performing original material, you hear an artist steeped in traditional Appalachian music relaying those sounds through her own diversified musical lens. Sharon has performed with the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet, Scott Nygaard and John Reischman, Darol Anger, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, Uncle Earl, The Kathy Kallick Band, Bill Evans, Scott Law & the Bluegrass Dimension and the Ger Mandolin Orchestra directed by Mike Marshall. She is currently based in Nashville, TN.

As an instructor, Sharon is particularly know for her ability to clearly articulate and break down the physicality of playing mandolin such as posture and technique as well as the more conceptual aspects of playing music such as theory, improvisation and overall musicianship.

Brandon Godman

Hailing from the bluegrass state of Kentucky, Brandon began playing fiddle at the age of 10 in local square dance halls.  He developed his skills by playing in various bluegrass, country, and western swing bands around the region, and by competing in fiddle contests throughout the midwest.  His first bluegrass road gig was with Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain at the age of 17.  Since then he has performed with various bluegrass and country acts including Karl Shiflett, David Peterson, Dale Ann Bradley, Doyle Lawson, The Band Perry and Jon Pardi.  He has been fortunate to grace the stages of The Ryman Auditorium, The Grand Ole’ Opry, Carnegie Hall, The Ellen Show, The Tonight Show, The View and others.  Currently he performs regularly as part of Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands.

Dave Keenan

Dave Keenan is a full-time musician and teacher in his home town of Seattle, Washington.
Dave has been teaching banjo since high school and performing since the age of 11.
He is a member of several bands in Seattle, teaches privately and at the Dusty Strings Music School.
He has been a teacher on banjo, guitar and mandolin at the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop for 15 years, the American Banjo Camp, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, California Coast Music Camp, Shasta Fiddle Camp, Lake Country Fiddle Pal Camp, Swannanoa Old-time Gathering and Steve Kaufman’s Kamp in 2013, ’14 and ’16.
Dave is a member of the bluegrass band “The Downtown Mountain Boys” whose new CD “Hey John” was the featured CD in Bluegrass Unlimited’s June 2018 issue.

Learn more about Dave.

Eli West

is well-known for his work with Norwegian fiddler Olav Mjelva, Cahalen Morrison, Jayme Stone and more. This Seattle-based singer and multi-instrumentalist oozes understated talent. Eli’s playing both grounds and pushes ensembles with his interest in angular phrasing and non-traditional improvisation within the historic precedents of bluegrass and old-time music.
Eli’s recent debut solo album, The Both, sees him taking the lead, on electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, and pedal steel, whilst remaining a thoughtful collaborator – here with some of his close friends and personal heroes, like jazz great Bill Frisell, new Americana discovery Dori Freeman, and Anna & Elizabeth.
The album focuses on the story of his two grandfathers; one a decorated WWII prisoner of war, the other a Brethren preacher and peace advocate. They couldn’t have differed more, but together they shared a family. In this spirit, the theme of the album is duality: the first half showcases carefully built arrangements of six American folk songs, the second revisits these as instrumental passages, revealing new sides to the other.

Eli grew up on the receiving end of music camps in Western Washington state, and so it feels quite right to come full circle to camp again.

‘West is an artist overflowing with ideas and music’ – Green Man Review
‘Eli West is an exceptional singer, guitar player and musician, really deep stuff’ – Martin Simpson