STRING BAND, JAM

Caroline grew up in NYC and studied classical piano, composition and theory. She taught herself guitar, bass, mandolin, lead vocals and harmonies by playing music with her family and friends. Since moving to Elkin, North Carolina in 2012 she has taught string band music through Junior Appalachian Musicians, Surry Community College and at workshops at various fiddlers conventions and festivals throughout the region. She plays full time with the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters featuring fiddler Eddie Bond, National Endowment for the Arts recipient 2018. Caroline writes music as well as plays guitar and sings with Sparta, NC based old time band Gap Civil and Athens, Georgia based band Klezmer Local 42.

CHILDREN’S MUSIC, MUSICAL THEATRE, VOICE, PIANO

Christine is a recent transplant to the Yadkin Valley from many parts of the country and is ready to put down some roots! She has over 45 years experience in musical presentations that cover a wide variety of genres. A Music Therapy Major lead to a Theatre experience that turned her looking at performance-based projects. She has been Music Director/ Pianist/ Player for over 80 musical shows, winning numerous awards for her work. She served on the Board of Directors for the La Quinta Playhouse in California and was Music Director and accompanist for the 100+ voice California Desert Chorale. She served as the Director of Celebration Arts at Desert Springs Church and other churches throughout her musical career. Prior to moving to Surry County she served on the Worship team at Eastside Church Charlotte, provided instrumentation on several albums, and has written children's songs and skits. She also teaches vocal and piano privately. Her love of music and delight in working with children of all ages make being in on the ground floor of the Reeves Downtown School of Music very exciting. Her greatest love, however is her husband of 37 years, Joe, their 4 children and 4 granddaughters. They own and operate Kapps Mill Estate in Dobson, NC.

MUSICAL THEATER, YOUTH CLASSES

Kate Carson-Groner grew up in Elkin, NC before leaving to pursue theater and music at the Savannah College of Art & Design, majoring in Performing Arts with a minor in Voice. She then moved to Chicago where she performed professionally as an actor, improviser, and musician for over a decade. She has voiced national commercials for Amazon Music, McDonald’s, & McCafe, as well as numerous regional and digital ads. She has performed at Steppenwolf, Olney Theatre Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Repertory Theatre, The Second City, iO, and regularly improvised full musicals with Baby Wants Candy and Storytown Improv. She currently coaches the improv team The Bunker Dogs in Winston-Salem, is one third of the children’s band The Smelly Belly Buttons, sings regularly with the Reeves House Band, and plays her accordion and ukulele as often as she can. She has taught theater camps and classes with The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, and has directed productions with Peppercorn Theatre and Foothills Arts Council.

Kate has two incredible kids who are growing up too fast and a wonderful husband, Michael.

GUITAR, MUSIC THEORY, IMPROVISATION & SOLOING

Josh is the lead guitarist for the Reeves House Band and has been performing locally, regionally, and nationally for nearly two decades. He is a sought-after musician and guitar teacher living in Boonville.

SONGWRITING

Having started songwriting as a teenager, Tommy has had his songs pass through studios such as Abbey Road Studios in London and Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville. He has been mentored by Darrell Scott (Travis Tritt, The Chicks) and Dan Wilson (Semi-Sonic, Adele) and writes his songs on piano and guitar. He teaches songwriting from a melody foundation (starting with a melody first), as well as from a chord progression and lyrical foundation. You can hear his original music and read his extended bio at: https://jacksoncleary.wixsite.com/tommyjackson

TUESDAY TUNES

Krista Jo is a local native who graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors of Music Education with a focus in vocal music. Her performances in the NC high country in various styles of music span over two decades. She is a regular co-host and performer at the Reeves Theater and Cafe, often leading their Wednesday Open Mic, and loves bringing people together through music.

ELKIN JAM, CLAWHAMMER BANJO, GUITAR, TRADITIONAL MUSIC

ELKIN JAM, TRADITIONAL MUSIC

ELKIN JAM, GUITAR, FOLK & TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Ben Masterson originally hails from northern Wisconsin where he grew up on his great-grandparents remote farmstead surrounded by music and aural history. Around age 12, he was gifted a guitar and first lessons from a musical uncle who has inspired his exploration of traditional music. Ben continued his musical development through school under the mentorship of some wonderful teachers where he was involved in choir, regional honors band, solo/ensemble, and musical theater.

Around this time, Ben and 2 of his best friends formed a band around playing gigs at their local legion halls, fairs, taverns, and school dances. After college, he and one of these friends traveled down the Mississippi and settled in Austin, TX seeking out and soaking up American roots music all along the way. Ben eventually moved to Portland OR where he worked as a manager of the local folk staple Artichoke Music school, theater, and stringed instrument store and began playing old-time banjo and fiddle in earnest at the many local jams and dances.

Before moving to Elkin to restore their antique farmhouse, Ben and his wife Hilary had lived in Winston Salem, NC where Ben worked as a Public History Educator, Music Coordinator, and Manager of Restoration at Old Salem Museum.

Ben continues to study traditional violin building with Elkin’s own seminal luthier and fiddler, Joe Thrift.

VIOLIN, PIANO

Jonathan “Buck” Owens teaches violin and piano. As a child, he was classically trained on both instruments and spent two summers at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro and was a member of the Chapel Hill Youth Symphony, and concert master of the Greensboro Youth Symphony. He also spent his junior and senior years of high school at the University of NC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

Today, Jonathan plays any kind of music he can get his hands on, from Celtic to jazz, bluegrass, country and rock – and anything else that may pop up. He has played in “the pit” for many musicals at the Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance, Foothills Theater of Elkin, & the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy. Jonathan has performed at our own Reeves Theater for the Grand Ole Opry and Outlaw Country House Band shows, and Coddle Stew for St. Patrick’s Day – plus one stint with the incomparable Copper Pennies . Besides playing for his church, various gigs and weddings, he is also a member of the local cover band, Blue Sky.

Since 1994, Jonathan has worked as a project manager for Black Box Network Services and lives right down the road in Boonville - happily married to Jennifer and has two sons, one daughter and two granddaughters – along with two dogs and four cats (at the moment).

Jonathon grew up in Ronda, NC, writing and playing music from an early age. He played drums in the marching band, was a member of some local rock groups, and attended Governor’s School for orchestra. He then enrolled at Appalachian State University where he earned a B.A. in Music Composition and Theory with percussion as a primary instrument. During that time, Jonathon gained tons of experience on a variety of instruments ranging from all over the world, with studies in free improvisation and its philosophies incorporated into each semester. Later in college he began playing bass guitar in the jazz fusion group Unaka Prong, eventually relocating to Chapel Hill where he was known to be in as many as 8 different active bands at once. Jonathon has also worked as the percussion director at East Wilkes High School for 7 seasons and has taught lessons to all ages.

ELKIN JAM, TRADITIONAL MUSIC, CHILDREN’S MUSIC, MOUNTAIN DULCIMER, PIANO

Meredith has been playing and singing for people since she was a small child in Alabama. From singing in church, to being involved in community theatre, to participating in jam sessions with other local musicians, music has always been a central part of her childhood. Classically trained on the piano, Meredith began teaching music at age 16 and thus found a passion that she would pursue for years to come. Meredith would go on to own and operate several successful music programs in Colorado and Haywood County North Carolina, offering Kindermusik classes as well as piano and guitar lessons. She has also written and directed several musicals for churches and schools. She stepped away from teaching to begin a family, and now that her six children are older and learning instruments themselves, she has returned to teaching music with the Downtown School of Music.

Meredith has been married for 22 years. Her husband Jason, is the pastor of The Disciples Fellowship in Jonesville, NC. Meredith and her family currently reside in Lowgap, NC. They have a family bluegrass band called "The Biscuit Eaters" and they enjoy playing fiddlers conventions and other local events. Meredith and Jason homeschool their children and the family also enjoys riding horses, fishing and hiking.