Fiddle Hell will be held Nov. 2-4, 2012.

We'll again be at the Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, Concord, MA.

Check out the Fiddle Hell (2011) schedule, common tune list, and jamming guidelines.

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

Here's a video of a huge Irish jam at Fiddle Hell 2010 in Groton, MA.

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 (2011), we had 200+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the seventh Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 13 states and 3 foreign countries! This amazing gathering starts at noon on Friday and goes until 6PM on Sunday.

There will be lots of different fiddle 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, Scottish, Southern, bluegrass, swing, Texas, Scandinavian, blues, 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 play the common tunes together.

Fiddle Hell is loosely sponsored by the Fiddle and Alternative Strings Forum and the Fiddle Hangout. At these websites, you'll find discussions, event listings, and other resources; you can join for free and read about past and future Fiddle Hell meetings.

Some of the information below is from 2011, and will be updated for 2012.  There are no Pre-Fiddle-Hell Workshops in 2012, so Fiddle Hell will just start earlier on Friday and the fees will be simplified.

2012 Fiddle Hell fees (cash or check) TBD:
Adult: $xx
Kid 18 or under: $xx  [4 fiddle scholarships available to Rhode Island kids from Old Fiddlers Club of RI]
Senior 65 or older: $xx
Parent or other adult accompanying a kid: $xx

You will receive a stylish wristband when you pay the fee; please wear it throughout the weekend. Note that Fiddle Hell pays a substantial amount to rent the Colonial Inn (and the Masonic Lodge across the street) for the weekend. We also pay the workshop leaders for their time, donate to the online forums, and have to cover PA systems, xeroxing, publicity, and more.

There is no advance registration process for Fiddle Hell itself -- fiddlers can just show up when they like. 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 6 tunes, say) through intermediates and advanced players. If you're not sure about your level, contact Dave to ask. We have limited space for non-fiddlers; please contact Dave first.

Friday night from 7:30-9:30 PM in the Masonic Lodge we'll have a Fiddle Concert (performers TBD) for 2012 [free if you’ve paid for Fiddle Hell; walk-ins are $10].

You can order an instructional 2-CD set of all 52 of the Fiddle Hell common tunes, played both up-to-tempo and slowly by the Reiner Family Band. This is just $15 postpaid (within the US) in our Store.

Where & when: The Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, in Concord, Massachusetts, 01742 (phone 978-369-9200), a beautiful old New England inn built in 1716, about a half hour west of Boston. Fiddle Hell will be Friday (Nov. 2) from noon to midnight or later, Saturday(Nov. 3) from 9AM to midnight or later, and Sunday (Nov. 4) 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 Concord area.

Parking: There is free parking behind the Colonial Inn and a lot of spaces behind the Masonic Lodge (across the street at 58 Monument Square - take the driveway to the right of the building to the parking lot). There is also on street parking, although some spaces are restricted to two hours.

Lodging: The Colonial Inn has great rooms if you'd like to stay over. Prices are reduced for Fiddle Hell attendees, of course. Single or double rooms in the Prescott Wing are $115/night plus tax. The Inn also has "Historic Rooms" at $145/night plus tax. All rooms include continental breakfast. To make reservations for 2012, call 978-369-9200 or 800-370-9200 and ask for the Fiddle Hell discount. Book your room now to be sure! There's lots of free parking at the Inn and nearby.

Food: For Fiddle Hell attendees, there will likely be discounts available at the Colonial Inn.  The Inn has two fine restaurants, one casual and one traditional, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  There are also several restaurants within walking distance in downtown Concord.

Activities: The Inn has large and medium sized meeting rooms with comfortable chairs, and we'll also be using some of the rooms across the street at the Masonic Lodge for the largest gatherings and workshops. During the weekend, we'll be able to split out into many simultaneous jams in smaller rooms and hallways throughout the Inn and in the bar (which has a piano). We already have several very interesting workshops planned, on bowing shuffles, playing backup on fiddle,  chop bowing, free improvisation, left hand technique, hot licks, bluegrass fiddling, oldtime fiddling, Swedish fiddling, contradance fiddling, learning tune TBD, and fiddling for kids. We've also set up  jams in particular styles, like Oldtime Southern, Irish, Cape Breton / Scottish, Cajun, Scandinavian, Klezmer, 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 and excellent choices of craft beers on tap. Under-age fiddlers may attend Fiddle Hell, but obviously can't drink alcohol. We will be inviting selected local players (fiddlers and otherwise) to join in the jams. [2011 vendors] Vermont Violins, K. C. Fiddles & Frets, Stamell Stringed Instruments, Johnson String Instrument, Randy Miller books and prints, Campanella Strings and Shannon Strings will have their wares on display - try them out! And we'll have bow rehairing, minor fiddle repairs and tweaking on the spot. Free giveaways worth more than $1000 on Saturday night and Sunday at 12:50PM from [2011] D'Addario, CodaBow, FiddlePics (great vintage photos of fiddlers!), Stamell Stringed Instruments, Vermont Violins,  and more.

Many thanks to the Old Fiddlers Club of Rhode Island for offering four FH scholarships for young RI fiddlers!

Getting there: Here are directions if you're local. The nearest airports are Boston, MA and Manchester, NH. There are several trains and buses to Concord.  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 Dave or call him at (781)-863-0140, or post to the FH threads on Fiddle Forum or Fiddle Hangout with any questions.

If you're on Facebook, look for Fiddle Hell to see who's coming.   Follow FiddleHell on Twitter.

Look here for the Fiddle Hell schedule, common tunes list, and jamming guidelines

To improve Fiddle Hell, please answer 10 survey questions afterwards!

Dave Reiner and Andy Reiner, Fiddle Hell Music Directors

P.S. (from Dave) The Old Groton Inn, which had hosted Fiddle Hell Massachusetts since its inception in 2005, burned down on August 2nd, 2011, fortunately with no injuries to guests or staff. The Inn was built around the year 1678. Dark but lively, full of character and history - in many ways that quintessential New England setting was just like the old traditional tunes that we played there.  George (the owner) loved music, cooked with pride, and was always telling me - "We'll take care of you, buddy!"  And Vicki (the manager) worked very hard, against a variety of obstacles, to make every Fiddle Hell as smooth as possible for her guests.  I am very sorry for their personal loss and the historic one as well, and offer my heartfelt thanks for our years of partnership.