Check out the Fiddle Hell schedule, common tune list, and jamming guidelines.

Photos from 2008 and previous Fiddle Hells are here! And here, too.

The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany. The term "Fiddle Hell" refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play tunes together. Last year (2009), we had 180+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the fifth Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 13 states and 4 foreign countries! The gathering starts at 6PM on Friday and goes until 6PM on Sunday.

There is no registration process -- fiddlers can just show up when they like. We have very limited space for non-fiddlers; please contact me first. We do need to pay the Inn for the space and the workshop leaders for their time, so we'd appreciate a donation of $40 per adult ($30 for kids 18 or under; $30 for seniors 65 or older) when you're there, if you can afford it. Please understand that Fiddle Hell is not for novices who can't play any tunes yet; it is intended for beginners (who know at least 8 tunes, say) through intermediates and advanced players. If you're not sure about your level, contact me to ask.

There will be lots of different styles represented at Fiddle Hell, by fiddlers with a variety of experience, which makes it all the more interesting. Last year, we played and heard New England, Irish, bluegrass, swing, Texas. Scottish, Southern, Scandinavian, and French-Canadian styles. The only "optional but encouraged" requirements are: (1) to play a tune of your choice for the group on Saturday night; and (2) to play along with the group (on the tunes you know) when we all play the same tunes together. Fiddle Hell is loosely sponsored by the Fiddle and Alternative Strings Forum and is also discussed at Fiddle Hangout. At this website, you'll find discussions, event listings, and other resources; you can join for free and read about past and future Fiddle Hell meetings.

Pre-Fiddle-Hell Workshops are a relaxed and informative introduction to Fiddle Hell, taught by several experienced and friendly fiddle teachers (10AM - 5PM, Friday, Nov 13).

Where & when: The Stagecoach Inn, 128 Main Street, Route 119, in Groton, Massachusetts, 01450 (877-782-4346), a beautiful old country inn about an hour west of Boston. Pre-Fiddle-Hell Workshops will be Friday, 10AM-5PM. Fiddle Hell itself will be Friday (Nov. 13) from 6PM to midnight, Saturday(Nov. 14) from 9AM to midnight, and Sunday (Nov. 15) from 9AM to 6PM. Come join us for a single day or the whole weekend. If you're coming from far, come early or stay on -- there's lots to do and see in the area.

Lodging: The Stagecoach Inn has great rooms if you'd like to stay over. Single or double rooms are about $95/night plus tax. The Inn has 17 rooms - let's fill them all! For the Boston area, this price is quite reasonable. Book your room now to be sure -- ask for Vicki at 877-782-4346 and tell her you're coming to Fiddle Hell.

Alternate lodging: Once the Stagecoach Inn is full: Westford Regency Inn, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, MA, 01886, (800-543-7801). This is about a 15-minute drive away from Fiddle Hell; tell them you're attending Fiddle Hell to get the $105 rate for single or double room.

Food: The Stagecoach Inn has a good restaurant for dinner. Lunch and dinner buffets will be available there on Saturday, and brunch and lunch on Sunday morning, or you can forage elsewhere.

Activities: The Inn has several big rooms, and we'll be headquartered in the Grandma Moses room near the restaurant. For 2010, we'll also have the Carriage House out back, which will accommodate the largest workshops and the Saturday night event. During the weekend, we'll be able to split out into 3 or 4 simultaneous jams in smaller rooms around the bar and porch. We already have several very interesting workshops planned, on bowing shuffles, playing backup on fiddle, chunky chop bowing, improvisation, rags, bluegrass fiddling, and fiddling for kids. We've also set up some loose jams in particular styles, like Irish, Scottish, Cajun, Scandinavian, and Western Swing. There will be half-speed tune workshops Friday night and early Saturday to prepare for the common tunes on Saturday night.

The Inn's bar has a nice ambiance, with a couple of adjacent rooms with tables; this is where the Boston Bluegrass Union has monthly jam sessions. So the Inn is used to dealing with musicians and jam sessions. Usually we get at least 3 jams going on simultaneously with the BBU. Under-age fiddlers may attend this event, but obviously can't drink alcohol. We will be inviting a selected local players (fiddlers and otherwise) to join in the jams. There will be several fiddle vendors with their wares on display - try them out! And we'll have Bill to do minor fiddle repairs and tweaking on the spot. Free giveaways worth more than $2000 on Saturday night and Sunday at 1PM (see schedule below for specifics and links to our sponsors)!

Getting there: Here are directions if you're local. The nearest airports are Boston, MA and Manchester, NH. Cabs are available, but there are various sharing and pickup options available. Perhaps someone local will offer to help with an airport pickup, or give a ride from the Boston T (subway) stop at Alewife in Cambridge.

Questions: Email me or call me at (781)-863-0140, or post to the FH threads on Fiddle Forum with any questions. Follow FiddleHell on Twitter.

Look here for schedule, common tunes list, and jamming guidelines

Dave Reiner