Kansas City Retreat

Drunken Fiddles Presents:

Winter Festival of Strings 2025

Winter Retreat. All-Star Instructors. Feb 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th in Kansas City.

Are you ready to take your fiddle playing to the next level?

Join us for a weekend retreat that will fuel your string playing for the next year. We will spend the weekend together playing music, learning new techniques and having a great time.

We have an amazing lineup of guest teaching artists* who will instruct and inspire you in their areas of expertise covering areas of jazz fiddling, the art of song, vibrato for fiddlers, rhythmic grooves, improv, music theory, and much much more!

*More will be added*

Instructors

Shane Borth

Grammy nominated fiddler Shane Borth is a composer, violist, and performer with Quixotic, Flannigan's Right Hook and Ekho Duo. Borth has toured with the band Shooting Star and is a sought after clinician for his modern string playing skills in improv, composition and music theory.

Sascha Groschang

Sascha Groschang is a progressive cellist and composer who blends styles and genres to meld classical, traditional, contemporary, Baroque and improv to trail-blaze a path all her own. Sascha currently performs with the Grammy-nominated St. Petersburg String Quartet, the Wires String Duo and the modern pop-based Fountain City String Quartet. She is also a member of the New Ear Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.You can read more about Sascha's amazing career at her website here: www.cellolady.com

Adam Gablum

Adam is a violinist from Kansas City, Missouri, mentored by legendary jazz violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams (Count Basie’s original guitarist).

Adam’s current projects include Hot Club KC (gypsy jazz), Shakedown Strings (Grateful Dead) and when possible, Possum Trot String Quartet (alternative/progressive).

In 2014 Adam’s solo album, Down To The Wire - The Stringband Tribute to the Music of John Mayer, showcased his abilities as an arranger and multi-instrumentalist. It features members of Infamous Stringdusters and Punch Brothers’ original lineup.

Catch one of Adam’s public performances here.

Beth Watts Nelson

Beth Watts Nelson can now be found pursuing her muse in various projects throughout the Kansas City area. Her newest group, Little Miss Dynamite, combining the acoustic forces of some of KC’s finest musicians (Betse Ellis, Brandon Day, and Caleb Gardner) released its debut album, “Grow Up” in May 2024. Beth also sings and plays the clawhammer banjo in the fiery old time string band, Catgut, and is a founding member of the Konza Swamp Band, a long-standing pillar of the local Bluegrass scene. Now venturing out as a solo/duo performer, she performs original songs that sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana. With a voice that cuts straight to your soul, and playing a vintage Martin guitar or clawhammer banjo, she will evoke smiles and tears – often at the same time.

Michelle Joy

Originally from Southern California, Michelle Joy began playing the violin at age 7. She opened her first private studio in 1999 and has been teaching ever since. In 2014, she transitioned from private lessons to classroom instruction. She works for the Olathe School District and averages about 125 students per year. A big advocate of equity, Michelle specializes in teaching students with unique needs and learning styles. In addition to playing violin, viola, cello and bass, Michelle also enjoys playing piano, ukulele and guitar. When she's not teaching, you can find Michelle on a hike, reading a book, or spending time with her children and partner. Michelle lives in the Northland with her partner, Norbert, and their blended family of 3 boys and 3 girls. She is happy to be on the Drunken Fiddles team as the instructor of both the Parkville and St. Joe classes.

Laurel Morgan Parks

Laurel is the founder of Drunken Fiddles and has a passion for teaching adults to enjoy playing music together in a relaxed group setting. Laurel is currently a member of the Wires String Duo where she enjoys composing music inspired by different styles and fiddle traditions. She loves playing with rock and folk bands and has enjoyed her performances with the Eagles, Disturbed, Amy Grant, Sarah McLachlan, and Evanescence to name a few. You can listen to her music on all the digital platforms. Just look up Of Tree, The Wires, or In the Pines.

Schedule*

* Classes may shift around a little.
* All times are CST.

Friday February 7th

6:30pm-7:30pm: Welcome with pizza

7:30pm-9:00pm: "Open your unique voice" with Beth Watts Nelson

Saturday February 8th

8:30am-9:20am: "Pain-free playing" Physical therapy for string players.

9:30am-10:30am: "How to pull out a beautiful tone" with Michelle Joy

11:00am-12:00pm: "Introduction to Gypsy Jazz Fiddling" with Adam Gablum

12:15pm-1:00pm: Lunch (included)

1:00pm-2:30pm: "Playing Creatively" with Shane Borth (Part 1)

3:00pm-4:30pm: "Playing Creatively" with Shane Borth (Part 2)

4:30pm-6:30pm: Free

7:00pm-8:00pm: "Learn a hot new fiddle tune"

8:00pm-9:00pm: "Fiddle Circle" with Laurel Parks

Sunday February 9th

9:30am-10:45am: Break out Groups: "Vibrato for Fiddlers" or "Playing with chords"

11:00am -12:30pm: "Get your groove on" with Sascha Groschang

12:00pm: Break for lunch on own

2:00pm-3:30pm: "Fiddle Circle--Play Along" Happy Hour

Get Inspired

Attending a retreat can ignite your playing for the rest of the year! What you gain will keep you going for months beyond.

Meet New People

Our vibe at Drunken Fiddles is welcoming, encouraging and inclusive. We have a folksy, community feel to our classes.

Acquire new skills

Learning from master instructors will round out your musical knowledge to acquire skills that can unlock new potentials in your playing.

Kansas City

The location for the workshop will be in the Kansas City metro area. Exact location TBA.

Participant Requirements

All participants must play either the violin/fiddle, viola or cello and have at least a couple months of playing experience. We will not cover the basics in this retreat so you must know your way around the strings and fingerboard in first position.

If you feel rusty we recommend signing up for a month of Fiddle Life Online School (just $29) where you can get guided lesson content to work on at home on your own.

You do not need to know how to read music. We just want you to know how to hold your instrument and how to play some basic fiddle tunes or music before you sign up.

Enrollment Fee

$400

Holiday Sale Price Dec. 1-4

Get in for $400 Dec. 1-4
Early Bird Rate is $450 Dec 5-31st
Regular Price is $650 Jan 1-Feb 5th