Fiddle Hell Massachusetts will be held Nov. 8-10, 2013 in Concord, MA.

Fiddle Hell will be at the Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, Concord, Massachusetts.  We'll also be using the nearby Concord Scout House for the Saturday night concert and dance, and for a few workshops.  There will be more than 100 scheduled workshops and jams in 2013.

Click to see the 2013 schedule (still being put together).  Click to see the 2012 schedule from last year.

If you attended in 2012 but didn't yet take our 10-question survey to improve Fiddle Hell, please click here.  We need more comments to help shape the 2013 schedule.

Our 2013 Workshop and Jam Leaders will include an incredible range of wonderful fiddlers and accompanists, covering Bluegrass, Cajun, Cape Breton, French Canadian, Gypsy, Irish, Klezmer, New England, Oldtime Southern, Scottish, Swedish, Swing, Texas, and Western Swing styles.  You can see their classes (coming soon) on the 2013 schedule and can look at their websites by clicking on their names.  More fiddlers to be added shortly!

Our Saturday night concert, 7:00-9:00PM on Nov. 9, 2013, will feature an amazing lineup at the Concord Scout House about a six minute walk from the Colonial Inn: fiddlers TBD. The concert is free if you’ve paid for Saturday or the Fiddle Hell weekend.  The concert will be followed from 9:15-10:45PM with a Contra Dance - you can dance or sit in with the band.  Walk-ins are $15 for the concert (includes dance) or $8 for just the dance.

Check out the Fiddle Hell schedule, common tune list, and jamming guidelines. There will be more than 100 scheduled workshops and jams at Fiddle Hell 2013.

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 (of course, most jams are much smaller).

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 (2012), we had 180+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the eighth Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 14 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.

There will be two sessions where we'll play through 52 common tunes together. We used to include a quick solo tune by each fiddler, but it got to be too long. In 2013, we have a longer break between sessions, giving you a chance to play tunes for and with your friends.

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.

Fiddle Hell is loosely sponsored online 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.

2013 Fiddle Hell fees (same as 2012):

Discounted prepayment will be available shortly on this page. It will also be possible to make a financial contribution as a "Friend of Fiddle Hell."  The event is amazing but we have run in the red the past several years.

Fiddlers can just show up when they like during the weekend and register on site.  There is no requirement to pre-register or prepay. You can pay your fee by cash or check at the Registration Desk when you arrive at Fiddle Hell.

The Saturday night concert and contra dance are included if you've paid for Saturday or the weekend.

You will receive a stylish wristband when you register; please wear it throughout the weekend. Note that Fiddle Hell pays a substantial amount to rent the Colonial Inn (and the Concord Scout House) for the weekend. We also pay the workshop and jam leaders for their time and expertise, donate to the online forums, and have to cover PA systems, event insurance, xeroxing, publicity, and more.

There are 3 fiddle scholarships available to RI, CT, or MA kids (18 or under) from Old Fiddlers Club of RI. The deadline to apply is September 15th.

Levels: 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), advancing beginners (12 tunes, say), intermediates (25 tunes, say) and advanced players.

Workshop and jam levels are generally shown in the schedule. These levels are approximations that you can use as guidelines to pick your workshops and jams. However, if you find a session to be too difficult or are not enjoying it, please head off to a different one. 

If you're not sure about your level, contact Dave to ask, or just find the sessions where you're comfortable once you're at Fiddle Hell. There are some very helpful workshops on Friday afternoon if you've had little experience learning by ear, or would like to understand chords better.

Fiddle Hell has very limited space for musicians other than fiddlers; please contact Dave first to ask.

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. On Saturday, we'll also be using the Concord Scout House, about a six minute walk away from the Inn. Fiddle Hell will be Friday (Nov. 8) from noon to midnight or later, Saturday(Nov. 9) from 9AM to midnight or later, and Sunday (Nov. 10) 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: You have at least four options. (1) There is free parking behind the Colonial Inn; but this will fill up first.  (2) There are many free spaces in the parking lot behind the Masonic Lodge (across the street at 58 Monument Square - take the driveway to the right of the Masonic Lodge to the parking lot). However, this lot does not allow trucks, and is reserved Sunday morning until noon for the First Church of Christ, Scientist.  (3) There is a large, free municipal lot on Keyes Road, near Main Street (from the Inn, go right on Lowell Rd, left on Keyes Rd, lot is on left just before Main St.; after you park, look for the footpath that will take you past the Masonic Lodge driveway and over to the Colonial Inn in just two minutes). (4) There is also metered on street parking. It's free on Saturday and Sunday, although some spaces are restricted to one or two hours.  Information will be added later on parking near the Concord Scout House.

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 $120/night plus tax. The Inn also has "Historic Rooms" at $150/night plus tax.  To make reservations for 2013, call 978-369-9200 or 800-370-9200 and ask for the Fiddle Hell discount.

Food: There will be reduced-price specials at the Colonial Inn restaurants and taverns if you have a Fiddle Hell wristband - ask for the "Fast Fiddle Hell menu."  The Inn has two fine restaurants, one casual and one traditional, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as several tavern areas.  There are also other 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 the Concord Scout House for a few workshops on Saturday. During the weekend, we'll be able to split out into many simultaneous jams in smaller rooms and hallways throughout the Inn, in the cottage out back, and in the bar (which has a piano). Workshops cover many different styles, and also include hands-on learning about bowing shuffles, playing backup on fiddle,  chop bowing, free improvisation, left hand technique, hot licks, bluegrass fiddling, oldtime fiddling, Swedish fiddling, contradance fiddling, learning tunes, and fiddling for kids. We've also set up  jams in particular styles, like Oldtime Southern, Irish, Scottish, Bluegrass, Cajun, Swedish, Klezmer, and Western Swing. There will be half-speed tune workshops to prepare for the common tune sessions.

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. Several vendors will have their wares on display, and we'll have free giveaways from various sponsors, such as D'Addario, CodaBow, Vermont Violins,  K. C. Fiddles & Frets and more.

Getting there: Here are local directions. The nearest airports are Boston, MA and Manchester, NH. There are commuter rail trains from Boston to Concord, MA.  For example, on Saturday, Nov 9th, you could leave North Station in the morning and be in Concord a little after 9AM.  The last train back to Boston leaves around 10:30PM.  For up to date schedules, click here and look at the Fitchburg Line.  It's roughly a 20 minute walk from the station to Fiddle Hell (0.7 miles).

As an alternative, you may also be able to share a ride with other Fiddle Hell attendees.  We don't arrange carpooling, but one possibility is for you to contact other fiddlers through a posting to Fiddle Hangout.

Accessibility: The Colonial Inn is a very, very old building without elevators or ramps. Rooms on the main floor are accessible from the street at the left-most entrance, but not the Heritage Room below (requires stairs).  The Concord Scout House is ramp-accessible in the front.

Questions: Email Dave or call him at (781)-863-0140, or post to the FH threads on Fiddle Hangout or Fiddle Forum with any questions.

If you're on Facebook, look for Fiddle Hell 2012 to see who's coming (we'll create Fiddle Hell 2013 shortly).   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! We read every response, and really appreciate your feedback.

The Music You're Hearing: is Beaumont Rag in the key of D, played and recorded live by Dave Reiner (fiddle), Eric Eid-Reiner (keyboard) and Paul Harty (guitar and harmonica) at Buell's Orchard in Connecticut.

- Dave Reiner, Andy Reiner, and Eric Eid-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.