Liz and Lynn Shaw of Shade, OH, have been teaching Appalachian folk music for a combined total of 75 years! Both are champion fiddlers, have taught college courses on Appalachian music, judged elite fiddle competitions, produced and hosted an internationally distributed public television series about American folk music, and received Emmys for a historical documentary soundtrack. Lynn toured Boliva, South America, in a cultural exchange for the US State Department, and Liz has directed numerous folk festivals and served as field producer for documentary filmmakers.

Their music studio, Blue Farmhouse Music, is now online and their reach is international with students signing on from Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, and England, as well as across the continental United States. The Shaws are known for their work with youth, and many of their students have gone on to perform and teach professionally around the world. This year at ALAS, the Shaws are proud to present a showcase of some of their students who not only love performing, but also sharing their Appalachian heritage with audiences around the region and even as far south as North Carolina!

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The Rutland Ramblers
Made up of siblings from the Huggins and Lechler families, the Rutland Ramblers hail from deep in Meigs County and have been delighting audiences in Southeast Ohio and Western North Carolina for four years. The Huggins family includes 20-year-old Vivian, an Ohio University junior majoring in studio art; 13-year-old Laurel, a homeschooled eighth grader interested in dog obedience; and soccer playing 11-year-old Everett, who is also homeschooled and in fifth grade. They all sing and play stringed instruments such as fiddle, guitar, and ukulele. Rounding out the Ramblers are the Lechler siblings: 18-year-old Ruby is an Ohio University freshman with plans to major in hearing, speech, and language sciences; 15-year-old John is a homeschooled high school sophomore who hunts artifacts on creek banks; and 10-year-old Hazel is a fifth-grade homeschooler who loves softball. The Lechler musicians also sing and play fiddle, guitar, and ukulele. The Shaws have been working with the Huggins and Lechler families since 2016 and have watched them grow up to become serious musicians and confident performers. They will perform old time string band music, bluegrass songs, ballads, and maybe even a Carter Family sing-along favorite!

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The Madhatters
Best friends since they were born, ninth grader Acadia Cook and high school junior Adelaide Bashaw started taking fiddle lessons with Liz and Lynn Shaw when they were in second and fourth grades. Since that time, the two have performed individually and as a twin fiddle duo (The Madhatters) in holiday concerts at community centers and churches, at various festivals and St. Patrick’s Day observances, and at folk music celebrations sponsored by Stuart’s Opera House. Acadia has also studied violin and cello at Ohio University and plays piano. Adelaide plays tuba in the Federal Hocking High School marching band, sings folk songs from around the world (sometimes in foreign languages) and plays electric violin in the Stuart’s Opera House AMP rock band Pretty Incident. Acadia hopes to be a veterinarian or doctor who uses music and art as therapy. Adelaide is interested in studying psychology and enjoys researching “random stuff.” When the two break out their instruments with a fiery twin fiddle tune, it’s obvious these two best friends were meant to play music together! Twin fiddle champions themselves, Liz and Lynn like nothing better than passing on winning techniques and tunes to the Madhatters!

 

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Carter Tinkham
13-year-old Carter Tinkam, an eighth grader at Logan Hocking Middle School, is a young man on a mission to play guitar, sing, and write music. He has been studying guitar with Lynn Shaw for four years, and in that short time has performed throughout Southeast Ohio at open mics, festivals, and Stuart’s Opera House. He has had the honor of playing The Star-Spangled Banner at Copperhead baseball games and Ohio University Wrestling matches. Carter plays both acoustic and electric guitar (he built an electric with his father when he was 12), and in addition to playing solo, also performs with the Stuart’s Opera House AMP rock band Sub-Zero. A prolific songwriter with unique stories to tell, Carter has released his first album, Rose in a Thornbush, which can be heard on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Pandora. He studies vocal technique and music theory with Liz Shaw, and his newest project is setting up his own home recording studio. When he doesn’t have a guitar or a pen in his hand, you will find Carter gripping a bat on the baseball field. As far as music is concerned, he’s already knocking it outta the park!