Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth Friendly Living

10/21/2025

Hey Whippoorwill friends! Was great to see some of you this Spring past in Carlisle and would LOVE to see you again this fall; Nov 7-9 at Terrapin Hill Farm hosted by FieldSpeak - same structure: camping, meals by kaleb, fires, workshops, good company http://heritagefoodfest.org get tix

10/02/2025

Appalshop's June Appal Recordings is proud to share the release of Featherbed, the debut album from Sarah Kate Morgan and Leo Shannon, on October 24, 2025. The first single, “Belle of Lexington”, is available for streaming now via all traditional streaming services, as well as June Appal’s Bandcamp page.

The seven-song album is the first collaborative release from two musicians well-known to bluegrass and old-time music fans. Fiddler Leo Shannon plays with a number of bands and musicians, including The Onlies, John Haywood, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Sarah Kate Morgan is an esteemed dulcimer player, whose 2023 album Old Tunes & Sad Songs had her named as “One to Watch” by The Bluegrass Situation, which wrote that Morgan’s music “breathes new life into the histories of Appalachian music.” The pair also oversee Pick & Bow, a traditional music education program that provides free traditional music lessons to students of all ages in Letcher County and Knott County, Kentucky.

Featherbed is a collection of songs recorded across Appalachia, including live concert recordings from Charlottesville, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; the Cowan Community Center in Whitesburg, Kentucky; and Leo Shannon’s home. The album is named after the John Salyer fiddle tune (track 4) and “If I Were a Featherbed,” (track 3) written and originally performed by legendary folk musician John McCutcheon.

“Featherbed was born of our mutual love of playing and teaching traditional music in our communities,” says the duo. “Both of us received the gift of music as children; Leo was learning traditional old-time and Irish fiddling in Seattle while Sarah Kate was being introduced to the dulcimer in East Tennessee. Our paths converged in Eastern Kentucky, where we both relocated to pursue work as music teachers at non-profits. A dear friendship quickly blossomed and our musical collaboration soon followed. We hope our friendship and our devotion and love for teaching traditional music in our communities comes across in our music.”

Featherbed will be released on CD and digital via Bandcamp on October 24, 2025. To view the full tracklist and preorder the album, visit June Appal's Bandcamp page.

7 track album

09/21/2025

Whippoorwill Friends,

Here is an upcoming event you may be interested in:
Greenwood Wrights Festival Brings Traditional Skills, Crafts & Community to Pittsboro NC Oct 17-19
(Pittsboro is near Chapel Hill NC)

whttps://greenwoodwrightsfest.com

PITTSBORO, NC — Now in its fourth year, the Greenwood Wrights Festival (GWWF) has found a new home at The Plant in Pittsboro, celebrating the art of traditional, all-analog skills with some of the region’s most talented instructors. Founded to reconnect people with hands-on learning and heritage techniques, the festival offers workshops, demonstrations, and skill-sharing in a wide range of time-honored crafts.

This year’s highlights include live demonstrations from Roy Underhill, the beloved presenter of The Woodwright’s Shop, the long-running national PBS series that inspired generations of woodworkers. Visitors will also experience local artisans demonstrating white oak basket making, a traditional pine tar distillation from longleaf pine trees, hands-on instruction in spring pole lathe construction, spoon carving, bowl carving, and chair making, and a blacksmithing demonstration by master smith Peter Ross.

The Greenwood Wrights Festival is part of a growing network of skill-building events, sharing common roots and complementary connections with the Whippoorwill Festival. Both festivals celebrate community, sustainability, and the passing down of traditional knowledge — creating opportunities for people to learn, share, and carry these crafts forward.

In addition to hands-on instruction, GWWF features on-site camping, local food, and live music, making it not just a festival but a full community experience. The Plant itself is a thriving hub of sustainability, home to local breweries, food producers, and entertainment venues, offering festivalgoers a rich and vibrant setting to enjoy when stepping away from the workshops.

Festivalgoers will find accommodations easy to arrange, with additional options nearby at local hotels, camping at Jordan Lake, or Air B&Bs throughout the area. The town of Pittsboro, right in the midst of the festival, offers plenty of food and dining choices for visitors to enjoy before and after workshops.

Oct 17-19 2025

📍 Location: The Plant, Pittsboro, NC

🌐 More info & registration: [whttps://greenwoodwrightsfest.com

greenwoodwrightsfest.com

08/22/2025

08/22/2025

Upcoming Events for Whippoorwill Fans:

Sept 28 - Goldenrod Gathering, Holler Home Flower Farm, Irvine KY https://share.google/Rb3hA36wqz0CDAsxn

Oct 3-5 Heartwood Reunion, Lazy Black Bear nr Paoli IN
www.heartwood.org

Oct 11-12 Southeastern Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, Sewanee TN https://www.spielconference.net/

Nov 7-9 Heritage Food Festival, Terrapin Hill Farm, Harrodsburg KY
https://www.heritagefoodfest.org/

SPIEL 2025  returns this fall to the  scenic Cumberland Plateau and and idyllic campus of the University of the South at Sewanee. This event will include a roster of presentations, workshops, roundtables, and entertainment that will provide an ideal forum for learning, networking, cross-pollinatin...