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USA, resident in Germany

Kent Gustavson, PhD, is the author of ‘Blind but Now I See’, the award-winning biography of Doc Watson, as well as the composer of ‘Mountain Vespers’, a bluegrass liturgy in constant use at Holden Village for over 20 years to thousands of worshippers, and ‘Light into the World’, a bluegrass liturgy that was commissioned by Nadia Bolz-Weber and supported by the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship (Lilly Foundation), which is in active rotation within hundreds of congregations around the world. 

He has released a long list of recordings, including Stolen Shack, his trio that combines bluegrass with Baroque music, and was featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered. He is currently dusting off his bass, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and sometimes piano on several recording projects, and is a member of various ensembles across genres. 

Kent is the founder of several companies, and has served on multiple boards of directors. His PhD and MA are from Stony Brook University in New York, in Classical Composition, and he has taught at several universities in the Music, Writing, Language, and Business faculties. 

Kent says: “When I spoke with Pete Seeger before his passing, he spoke with me about how his own mentor, Carl Sandburg, told him about how Swedes were treated in Chicago, and called “dirty Swedes”; I am descended from those “dirty Swedes”, at once American and also European, scrabbling at existence, whether in the famined potato fields, the New World’s railroads, in the factories, or tuck-pointing on the sides of Chicago’s skyscrapers. Like Pete, the son of an academic, I was the son of a physician and a poet, yet I hungered for the beautiful whine and whirr of the bluer side; that’s what I found in bluegrass, after a childhood of classical, jazz and folk.”

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Netherlands

Owen Schinkel is a bluegrass musician from the Netherlands, a friend of his father introduced him to bluegrass music and he never let go of it after that. Shortly after the exposure to bluegrass music he decided to pick up an instrument, his ax of choice became the squareneck resonator guitar. This instrument is also known as the Dobro™. After a few years of practice and running into the boundaries of the bluegrass scene in the Netherlands Owen decided to move to the United States to pursue a study in bluegrass, old time & county music studies at the East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. East Tennessee is an area which is known for its high concentration of bluegrass music and musicians. In 2016 Owen became a recipient of the so-called Creative Arts scholarship from the East Tennessee State University. After two and a half years living in East Tennessee Owen and his wife Kylie moved to Cork, Ireland to learn, experience bluegrass music abroad, and to become inspired by new music genres. This is when they started the Long Way Home duo. Now also known as Long Way Home Bluegrass Band. After remaining 3 years in Cork, Owen and Kylie moved to the Netherlands to continue their journey. The Long Way Home duo project is the result of the inspiration and experiences gained while traveling the world together. 

Owen says: “Bluegrass to me, besides the description of a genre of music which I play, means a great deal to me personally. Bluegrass comes with a great (international) community which shaped a big part of my life and deserves more European attention.”

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Switzerland

Angelika is a seasoned musician and administrative professional whose journey in music began at the age of 10 with the classical violin. Expanding her repertoire to include Scottish folk music in 1988 and diving into bluegrass from 1992 onwards, she has dedicated over half of her life to the bluegrass music industry. Together with an enthusiastic team, she has been instrumental in shaping the Swiss and European Bluegrass Music Associations since 1994. Her roles included serving as a founding member and treasurer for SBMA (1994-1999) and EBMA (2001-2009), as well as chairperson for SBMA (1999-2004) and EBMA (2009-2015). Angelika has also been active as a concert promoter and tour organizer since 1999, and as a Wernick Method Bluegrass Jamming teacher – on and off – since 2014.

With a diverse skill set that includes a PR degree, a Master’s in culture management, and fundraising expertise, Angelika currently serves as Executive Assistant/Accountant for a Swiss foundation. In her role as EBMA treasurer, she is committed to ensuring financial stability and driving progress within the organization. With her experience, the future of bluegrass music in Europe is in capable hands.

Angelika says: “‘Come for the music, stay for the community’ has always been my motto and my lived experience with bluegrass music. I’ve dedicated nearly 30 years to nurturing and building communities in Switzerland, Europe, and beyond, feeling an integral part of a global family.”

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France / UK

Christopher is the founder, chair and talent buyer of Bluegrass in La Roche (since 2006).

He is a part time musician with his new, old band poniXpress 2.0 (formerly Pony Express, 1982-94).

He has previously been vice chair of EBMA (2009-2013) and chair of FBMA (2002-2010).

He is currently serving his second (of two) terms on the IBMA board representing the International Community, where he was behind the launch of the annual International Band Performance Grant (2022) and the International Booth and Stage at World of Bluegrass (2023).

He is semi retired after a career working as a manager, consultant and business school professor in the field of international management and communications.

Christopher says: “Bluegrass is, above all else, a “community” to me, where there is no star system and generosity is a fundamental value. I love the music and I love the community. Where else but in Bluegrass will the leader of the band give equal measure to every member? This is what I see for the EBMA.”

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Belgium

Charlotte is completely hooked on Bluegrass since the moment she discovered it. To her own frustration this was only later in life when she was 24 years old and was invited to play fiddle in a starting band. She was classically trained and learned how to improvise and find a new sound. She went to the Tughill Bluegrass festival in upstate New York and earned her first dollars on stage being invited to join some of the bands. She got to jam with the Gibson brothers, Becky Buller, Mike Marshall, Molly Tuttle and dropped by Big Bob’s BG jam in Manhattan. She bought herself a fiddle in California (lower bridge, more nasal and crunchy sound) and has been playing in several Belgium based BG bands at multiple BG and non-BG festivals. She joins EWOB every year with her 2 sons (4 and 7 years old), she co-hosted the Foxbarn BG festival, went to Sorefingers UK and contributed to the recording of André Dal’s Beyond the Tagus river album. Finishing 5 years of classical conservatoire she is still active as a freelance classical violinist and completed the Master after Master in culture management at the University of Antwerp. She is now employed by the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp managing international relations and projects representing the school within European network organisations.

Charlotte says: “Bluegrass is my passion, a way of life, a unique tradition of storytelling that runs deep in the veins of every person in the global Bluegrass family. Jams, festivals and concerts are magical family reunions with music as common language to share our stories.”

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Netherlands

Guido is the director of the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival since 2009, where he is responsible for the Programming/line up, Finances and organisation. Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival attracts 12000 visitors in a weekend and has become one of Europe’s leading festival with a truly international flavour.

Guido says: “Bluegrass means a lot of things to me: exuberation when hearing great music; it is a social genre; connection of a lot of different people with each other; and it has given me work and in that way it gives”

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France

Ti’ Pierre has been working for 40 years as a professional musician and artist, mostly in traditional music (French, Irish, Cajun, Québec…), kids entertainment, as a songwriter, and for the theater. He has also been teaching music most of the time.
In love with Bluegrass music since 2012, he quickly got involved as a volunteer for France Bluegrass Musique and was the co-founder of the Jam Hal association in 2021, organizing many workshops, Bluegrass camps, online open mics, and meetings. He also runs The Kids On Bluegrass Europe August workshop with the help of the Bluegrass In La Roche festival.

Now, Ti’ Pierre runs his music school, is a Wernick Method teacher, and plays with the Froggy Hill band. 

Ti’Pierre says: “I played many music styles. But if I like the sound of Bluegrass music, I also love the way people share and spread it. On my first Bluegrass jams, I was kindly helped by perfect strangers, and this happens all the time with newcomers. There is always someone glad to help, this is the only kind of music where it seems “written in the genes”.

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USA living in Ireland

Kathleen got her first mandolin at the age of 8 and hasn’t put it down since. She also plays the fiddle, guitar, and bass. She has played bluegrass from an early age and toured professionally for several years in the early 2000s. This included playing at the White House, taping televised performances for the Bluegrass Express program on ETV, residencies performing at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and IBMA showcases. She continues to play informally and takes great joy in the long-lasting and meaningful friendships that she has formed through bluegrass. Kathleen holds two Bachelors of Music degrees in Music Theory and Classical Guitar Performance, and a Masters of Music in Music Theory. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Musicology. Her doctoral research focuses on exploring improvisation in the international bluegrass community. She currently teaches English as a second language in Ireland in conjunction with completing her PhD. Outside of bluegrass and academia, Kathleen has held several high-level positions in industrial and strategic project management. She has extensive experience drafting and enacting strategic plans related to organizational restructuring and process improvement. Being responsible for the growth, development and success of her work-related teams has provided the platform for Kathleen to showcase her skills that will be put to work supporting the mission of the EBMA.

Kathleen says: “Bluegrass is an important source of musical and personal fulfillment for me. Both jamming and talking with folks from around the world about this music has given me some of my most treasured memories, and I know there are more to come.”

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Ireland

Ronnie Norton is an amalgam of a folkie from the ballad boom of Dublin’s folk clubs in the 60’s and a commercial photographer still operating in the commercial advertising area since the 70’s.The 60’s in Ireland spawned some of the finest talents in International Roots music so he built up lifelong friendships with the like of Donal Lunny, Paul Brady, Christy Moore and scores of others. That has followed through to now and the current batch of Irish talent like We Banjo 3, JigJam and I Draw Slow. And of course full credit goes to the man who kick started the Bluegrass movement in Ireland the legend that is Niall Toner.

A chance chat with Lee Williams of CMR Nashville Radio station led to a sideline career in Bluegrass and Beyond radio shows which is now in its 18th year and covers 5 hrs of Bluegrass Radio each week. 1 hour of which is the EuroBluegrass Radio Roundup, the flagship radio show of the EBMA.

In addition with his long time sidekick Steve Averill they formed the fanzine Lonesome Highway to cover all the visiting Roots artists that visited Ireland and that has now become Europe’s top Roots website www.lonesomehighway.com.

Having drifted from the Clancy Brothers through Peter Paul and Mary and John Denver to The Dillards and The Rowans to finally rest with Del McCoury and Rhonda Vincent and all the superstars of the Bluegrass world, Ronnie is now a fully fledged Grasser and dedicated to the furtherance of Bluegrass Music and all it’s side shoots. Through his involvement as resident photographer with all the major Bluegrass Festivals in Ireland for the past 20 years he has built up personal relationships with just about everybody in the International Bluegrass world.

Ronnie is available through the EBMA to promote any Artist or Band that will benefit from additional exposure on the Air Waves. So keep the new music heading his way and let’s spread the good word to the world at large.

Ronnie says: “I’ve been a Bluegrass radio host for over 20 years so I can’t imagine my life without some involvement with the Bluegrass community.”

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Switzerland

Piero has been listening to and playing bluegrass (5-string) for over 35 years, teaching the instrument in his spare time. He has played in his own bluegrass band “Lounge Pickers” for over 10 years and supports the local and international bluegrass scene, so is well connected. For 5 years he has been an active member of the extended board of the “Bluegrass Openair Festival” in Urnäsch (Switzerland) and thus maintains good contacts with European bluegrass bands. He has also been a member of the EBMA board for about 5 years. 

Through his work as a software engineer and process manager, his strengths lie in pragmatic solutions in the field of IT and related systems – especially web development. This also includes knowledge of social media and general communication on the Internet.

Piero says: “Bluegrass has become my second family. I meet up regularly with like-minded friends, play the music and have a lot of fun doing it. I simply couldn’t imagine my life without bluegrass.”

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USA residing in Germany

Heidi Jamila is an amateur fiddle player residing in a small town south of Hamburg, Germany.  The first bluegrass music festival she attended over 20 years ago at Florida’s Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park began a life-long passion for Bluegrass. One rare opportunity Heidi had there was to shake the hand of Vassar Clemens, as a young classical viola player expressing interest in learning Bluegrass. Seeing Vassar’s large gnarled fingers engulf her small hand as he told her to keep playing, left her honoured and inspired. She discovered that these jam circles welcome all ages, stages and proficiencies: everybody gets a chance for a solo! This welcoming Bluegrass atmosphere is a trait that Heidi would like to feature and promote in the EBMA community.

Heidi has played professionally in bands in the northwest of Florida from 2006 to 2013 in a variety of genres, has dabbled in guitar and songwriting, and enjoyed festival volunteer work in Florida and USA’s west coast.  Later picking up careers in aviation and maritime industries, Heidi continued playing occasional gigs in south Florida and northern England. Each new area brings a refreshed challenge in finding a fitting music scene. Her wish as a part of the EBMA is to represent and help other lonely players to seek out new jams and festivals throughout Europe. 

Heidi says: “It is the greatest time to be a Bluegrass fan! There are so many superb interpretations and evolutions happening today. That is why I think that background, age, instrumentation, or other music genre interests should never hinder someone from joining a Bluegrass community. These amazing instruments and jams are to be shared and enjoyed by everyone.”

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