There are singing parties I can think of in Virginia, Connecticut, New York, and Maine, which I'll leave anonymous because they're gatherings by invitation. One in Maine is a weekend of ballads and chocolate; people sit around room, sing chocolate and eat ballads, or vice versa. The others are heavily infested with ballads. Every fall, the FSGW Getaway devotes several sessions to ballad circles.

Kathy--I didn't mention Lisa Null above because I didn't mention anybody, for fear of leaving someone out. Lots of folks noted above, but no one has yet mentioned Sue Matthieu (of Ruckersville, Va.), Bill Day (of Wheaton, Md.), Mark Gilston (of Cedar Park, Tex. of late), Susan Friedman (from near Trenton, N.J.), Ed O'Reilly (of Silver Spring, Md.), Andy Wallace (of Largo, Md.), Mary LaMarca and George Stephens (of Silver Spring, Md.), or me (of Silver Spring, Md.), for that matter. And I'm leaving out others, including near neighbors, but I'm at work and don't have time to compile a complete list.

Outside the people I sing with regularly, there's Custer LaRue (VA), Melissa Weaver Dunning (VA), Chris Noyes (MD), Molly Andrews (VA), Carol Ponder (of NC/TN)...


--Charlie Baum