2025 String Band Summit

4th Annual String Band Summit

February 27–March 1, 2025

Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

The String Band Summit gathers musicians, teachers, students, and scholars engaged in string band music to explore traditions, histories, practices, instruments, and pedagogy, seeking to foster collaboration and understanding both within and among different musical cultures, individuals, and institutions. The fourth annual SBS will take place at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee from February 27 to March 1, 2025, hosted by MTSU’s Center for Popular Music.

Registration:

Registration is now open! $150 for regular in-person participation; $40 for virtual participation; student registration is FREE!

In-person registration includes lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday. A wide variety of other dining options is available on and off campus.

The Friday night showcase concert in Hinton Hall is open to the general public FREE for all audience members!

Register here

Schedule:

Thursday February 27, 2025

7:00–9:00 pm

Opening Reception

ETSU Old Time String Band

(MTSU Chris Young Café)

Friday February 28, 2025

8:30 am

Coffee and refreshments

Exhibit: Nashville’s Independent Record Labels of the 1940s and 50s

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg Building, Room140)

9:00–9:50 am

Workshop: Raquel Paraiso and Francisco “Pancho” Lopez

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

10:00–10:30 am

Workshop

Dena Ross Jennings, “Building a String Band Community”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

10:30–11:00 am

Workshop: Esther Morgan-Ellis and UNG students, “College String Band as Creative Skills Lab”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

11:15 am–12:00 pm

Workshop: Son huasteco, Trio Canto a mi Tierra

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

12:15–1:15 pm

Lunch

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

1:30–2:15 pm

Cylinder Recording Demonstration w/Martin Fisher

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

2:30–3:00 pm

Guided Tour of the Center for Popular Music

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

3:15–4:00 pm

Workshop: Holly Riley, “Teaching Square Dance Calling in the String Band Classroom”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

4:15–5:00 pm

Keynote Presentation (FREE and open to the general public; no registration required)

Dr. Dena Ross Jennings, “My Black Old-Time Music”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

6:00–7:15 pm

Dinner

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

7:30 pm

String Band Summit Showcase Concert (FREE and open to the general public; no registration required)

Sotavento (Raquel Paraiso & Francisco “Pancho” Lopez)

Trenton “Tater” Caruthers

Paul Anastasio & Tina Pilione

Trio Canto a Mi Tierra, featuring Don Victor Ramirez

(Hinton Hall, MTSU Wright Music Building)

Saturday March 1, 2025

8:30 am

Coffee and refreshments

Exhibit: Nashville’s Independent Record Labels of the 1940s and 50s

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg Building, Room140)

9:00–9:50 am

Forum: The Jam Project: Documenting Informal Sessions (ETSU)

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

10:00 am–12:00 pm

Paper Session

Ryan Dooley,

Scott Linford, “Jola Ekonting Songs Across the Life Cycle: Courtship, Wrestling, and Funerary Repertoire from Casamance, Senegal”

Evie Andrus, “Cherokee Atliyedi: The Significance and Role of the Fiddle in Cherokee Culture”

Nathaniel Braddock, “Coastal West Africa’s Lost and Found Mandolin Tradition”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

12:00–1:15 pm

Lunch

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

1:30–2:15 pm

Workshop: Paul Anastasio and Tina Pilione

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

2:30–4:30 pm

Paper Session

Lee Bidgood, “Reflections on leading a Global String Band

Emily Williams Roberts, ‘”Should We Go Clockwise?’: Analyzing the Impact of Turn-Taking in the Bluegrass Jam Session”

Heather Grimm, “Negotiating Bluegrass Authenticity at Bean Blossom as Conservative Performance Practice”

Esther Morgan-Ellis, “Commercial Recordings and Participation in the Old-Time String Band Scene”

(Bragg Building, Room 151)

4:45–5:45 pm

Guided Tour of the Center for Chinese Music and Culture

(Bell Street Building, Room 1600)

Transportation departs from Bragg at 4:15

6:00–7:15 pm

Dinner

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

7:30–9:00 pm

Open Jam Session

(Center for Popular Music, Bragg 140)

Venues:

Bragg Media & Entertainment Building

Wright Music Building

Chris Young Café (Woodmore Building)

Bell Street Building

Interactive Campus Map: 

https://w1.mtsu.edu/maps/interactive.php

Parking

Bragg Lot (passes available for Friday daytime in the Center for Popular Music). Visitors can also obtain a permit in advance by registering their vehicle online and paying a small fee ($2 per day).

parking.mtsu.edu/visit

If you have any questions, please contact Greg Reish (Gregory.Reish@mtsu.edu).