Swannanoa Gathering

Photos by Arlin Geyer

The mountains of Western North Carolina have long been a hotbed for old-time and bluegrass music. Names like Doc Watson or Earl Scruggs come to mind for many, while there have been many more beloved players to emerge in the generations since. Particularly in Asheville, the place where Bill Monroe named his Blue Grass Boys on WWNC radio in 1938, the Swannanoa Gathering is going strong after 31 years.

“The Gathering,” as most who are familiar refer to it by, was started in 1991 (with the first gathering held in summer 1992) by then Warren Wilson College President Douglas M. Orr, Jr., under the direction of Jim Magill, who still heads the gathering today. Held on the campus of Warren Wilson College just outside of Asheville, with seven programs lasting over five weeks each summer, a thousand students and dozens of instructors, the mission of the Swannanoa Gathering boils down to, simply, the transmission of culture. 

While taking some inspiration from other music camps along the way, the Swannanoa Gathering can hardly be compared to other events of its type. From the beginning, Magill, unconditioned by anyone else’s ideas, was not interested in duplicating what another camp might offer. “Having never done a camp before, in the first years I thought that was a disadvantage,” said Magill, “but as time went on and we began to grow, maybe it was an advantage.” Students build their own curriculum and choose several classes per day from the range of offerings each week, while at night there are jams, student showcases, staff concerts in a formal theater setting, dances, song swaps, and more. Rather than be in the same four classes with the same 15 people all week, students are in four classes of their choosing with different groups of people in each one. A student could take a fiddle class during the day, followed by a dance class, and later that night play fiddle tunes in a dance session. The student could then turn around and easily find themselves in a bluegrass, Irish, or swing jam—and that’s just on fiddle week.

Warren Wilson College is located just outside of Asheville, centered within a farm in Swannanoa, NC. The campus is fairly isolated from the towns around it, meaning that students and faculty stay on campus for the duration of each week, resulting in frequent interaction between all parties. Students and faculty alike stay in the campus dorms, eat meals together, and most importantly, make music together. The staff, Magill suggests, is a part of the community just as much as the students are.

According to Magill, there has been a steady rise in the number of attendees since the first year, from 90-odd students the first year to over 1200 in 2019 (the last in-person gathering). For most folks, one week is not nearly enough time to absorb all that is offered. Many students continue to come back each summer, with some attending multiple weeks each year. “Before the workshops begin, the staff are the kings and queens and we treat them like gold,” said Magill. “But when the week starts, that changes and our goal is to treat the students like gold.”

When the Gathering returns to an in-person event this summer, there will be a wide range of courses offered throughout each of the following weeks: Mando & Banjo Week (June 26-July 2), Fiddle Week (June 26-July 2), Traditional Song Week (July 3-9), Celtic Week (July 10-16), Old Time Week (July 17-23), Contemporary Folk Week (July 24-30), and Guitar Week (July 24-30). While many of the students return year after year, the same is true for the instructors. “The faculty get to be in a beautiful place without having to drive every day, or sit in a bus or plane,” said Magill. Players including Darol Anger, Mike Compton, Alice Gerrard, Bobby Hicks, Mike Marshall, Kathy Mattea, Anais Mitchell, Alan Munde, Tim O’Brien, John Reischman, Peggy Seeger, Buddy Spicher, Tony Trischka, and so many more (totalling over 600 artists) have taught multiple years, coming back with each invitation. Students can expect a wide range of topics that cover all skill levels—from complete beginning to challenging enough courses for pros to show up as students. The catalog for each season is published in March.

While there are weekly fees regarding tuition, housing, and meals, the Swannanoa Gathering offers a Youth Scholarship (applications due April 1st) for students under the age of 22. Since their first decade, the gathering has been able to fund 15 or 16 youth scholars each year. One of those youth scholars was IBMA-winning banjo player Tray Wellington, who attended when he was 17, already an intermediate player. Wellington studied banjo that year with Alan Munde and Tony Triscka, two of his heroes. “My experience was great, as there were tons of people my age that I stay in contact with even to this day,” said Wellington. “The jamming is superb, with teachers and students jamming together at night. I distinctly remember two great jams, one with Alex Hargreaves and Tony Trischka and the other with Don Stiernberg.” 

Wellington isn’t the only young musician to come out of the gathering. Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and David Benedict (both formerly of Mile Twelve) attended as teenagers, recently returning as faculty. Jim Magill’s son, Finn Magill, grew up surrounded by the gathering and has taught in recent years. Artists like Rhiannon Giddens, Kaki King, and Haley Richardson all attended in their youth.

For those who have aged out of the youth scholarship, the gathering offers a number of work exchange positions each year. In exchange for donating their time, skills, and muscle, work exchange participants will receive free tuition for the week.

While in 2021 the Swannanoa Gathering facilitated an online camp, SGOnline, Magill insisted that it was not the gathering. After all, how could it be the Swannanoa Gathering while attendees are isolated from one another? The good news is that this year will mark the 30th anniversary for the Swannanoa Gathering, and things will return to the campus of Warren Wilson College. For the first time, a master class focusing on artistry will be offered each of the five weeks, taught by Janis Ian. Fiddle week will include instructors such as Alex Hargreaves, April Verch, and Colin Farrell, while Mando & Banjo week includes Mike Marshall, John Reischman, Tony Trischka, Bill Evans, and more. A full list of the 2022 instructors along with pre-registration and fee information can be found at swangathering.com.

Although the gathering is returning to the ground in 2022, there will be some specific items in place to combat the ongoing pandemic. All attendees—students, staff, and faculty—will be required to provide documentation that they are vaccinated against COVID-19. Additionally, the pandemic has made it impractical to hold dances each evening. These are some big sacrifices to make, but for Magill they are worth it to make the gathering happen again. “You can be online or on land,” he said. “And we will be on land this year.”