Bluff Country Gathering
May 14 – 17, 2026

MICK & EVAN KINNEY, father and son from Georgia, are devoted to the preservation and performance of Georgia old time tunes and songs. Since 1976 Mick has accompanied various old time Georgia fiddlers , as well as 1920s recording artist Stranger Malone, and continues playing for dances, festivals, teaching fiddle, banjo and guitar at camps and residencies. Evan, growing up in a family of old time music and learning from his father from an early age, has honed his skills by studying the music of early string band players like Earl Johnson, Seven Foot Dilly and the Skillet Lickers. Also a multi-instrumentalist, Evan is also an experienced teacher of traditional music.

ALI KAFKA cut her teeth living as an itinerant street musician, largely anchored in New Orleans, Louisiana but bouncing around the south supporting herself through music as she went. She now lives in East Tennessee with her fiddle-playing beau Henry and their  dogs, where she works full-time as a mental health therapist and social worker. Her musical focus has always been finger-style guitar, but as time passed, her love for early blues and hillbilly guitar styles brought her into the world of old time music, where the vibrant community and the connections she made through it led her to become quite passionate as an old time musician as well. Ali is a self-taught folk musician through and through, learning by ear and feel, and that is the perspective from which she teaches. She is often recognized for her unique and driving sound, creative bass lines and syncopation, influenced by the early recording era of acoustic roots music.

LARRY EDELMAN has called dances and played music for about 50 years. He is a square dance caller who delights both novice and veteran dancers with his humor, enthusiasm, skillful teaching, knowledge of dance history, and colorful calling. Larry has traveled widely, calling and playing for dances throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe and has taught hundreds of workshops at camps and festivals, including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Ashokan, Augusta, Pinewoods and Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp. He has served as the coordinator of the Augusta Heritage Arts Workshop’s Dance Week and the Country Dance and Song Society’s American Dance Week at Pinewoods. As a musician, Larry plays old-time music on the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and has performed and recorded with numerous bands. Also a filmmaker, his movies include "Dance to the Music and Listen to the Calls", "The Canote Twins", and "Dance All night--The Highwoods Stringband Story". He lives in Denver, CO.

COOL MULE consists of fiddler Genevieve Koester, guitarist Jesse Woolen-Danner, banjo player Sam Bartlett and bassist Abby Ladin. Genevieve and Jesse grew up watching their dads Garry Harrison and Dave Danner play with the legendary Indian Creek Delta Boys, an exciting Midwestern band whose tune and song collecting and playing greatly enriched the music scene. When Garry moved from Illinois to Bloomington, Sam and Abby joined him for his acclaimed recording "Red Prairie Dawn". Decades later CoolMule carries on that family legacy, exploring the traditional music of downstate Illinois. They call Bloomington, IN home.

GORDY HINNERS, known for his driving fretless banjo style and his masterful, rhythmic flatfooting, has been performing traditional Appalachian music and dance for over 50 years. He spent many years touring with the well-known and influential dance company, the Green Grass Cloggers, and for over 20 years with the New Southern Ramblers with master fiddler Ralph Blizard, a National Heritage Fellow. Gordy has won top prizes in banjo and dance at fiddlers conventions throughout the South and has taught banjo and flatfoot dance at many workshops throughout the country and around the world, including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (WA), Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Workshops (NY), the Swannanoa Gathering (NC), Augusta (WV), and Gainsborough, UK. He has performed at many venues large and small in the US and abroad, from the Kennedy Center to the Carter Family Fold.  Gordy lives with his wife Rebecca in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Born and raised in Saint Albans, WV, TESSA MCCOY is a 7-time West Virginia State fiddle champion. Known for her hard-driving and intricate style, she's learned from and played extensively with WV fiddle masters Bobby Taylor, Jake Krack and Dave Bing and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, showcasing her fiddling as Traditional Grand Master Fiddle Champion. A passionate educator, she has taught at music camps such as the Augusta Heritage Center, Swannanoa Gathering and Allegheny Echoes. She is also the 2024 winner of the prestigious fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop, WV.