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Join Cliff Perry & Tom Petersen for a Wintergrass all ages music workshop, concert, and jam session! 

Cliff and Tom will recreate the participatory workshop that they teach every year at the Wintergrass Music Festival. First, enjoy a 30 minute concert by the Cliff Perry Band. Then, use that inspiration to join in on a 45 minute open-to-all “hosted jam” in which Cliff teaches, leads and instructs. There will even be a musical “petting zoo” where kids of all ages can try out various instruments. Be sure to bring an instrument if you plan to jam!

Cliff Perry, from Seattle, WA, is an experienced and respected singer, guitar player, and teacher throughout the Pacific Northwest. A founding member and lead singer from 1971 to 1990 for local legend, Southfork, he is known for his love of singing traditional old-time and bluegrass music. He has performed with Josh Graves and Kenny Baker, and, with Southfork, opened for Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs. Cliff frequently performs in a duet with Laurel Bliss. Their first CD, Old Pal, was awarded “Best Old-Time Recording” in 1994. Cliff and Laurel had the pleasure of opening for Emmylou Harris in Port Townsend, WA, and the thrill of singing before Joe and Janette Carter at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, VA. Cliff enjoys teaching locally at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and at Wintergrass. He conducted a Bluegrass Band class at Shoreline Community College for 20 years, where he coached people in making music together. He now appears with the “Cliff Perry Band” at select events, including Northwest Folklife. Cliff recently moved to Everett with his wife Mary, and their two happy cats.

Tom Petersen is a public-school teacher from Richmond Beach, Washington. Tom enlivens his teaching by leading sing-alongs and performing the important and illustrative folk music pieces from history. He is the “Education Concierge” for the Wintergrass Music Festival, helping organize and lead the many educational programs for young and young-at-heart, teaching workshops, and giving history lectures. He has done presentations and workshops nationally promoting the inclusion of folk, bluegrass, and fiddle music in school music programs. Tom is also an impresario and gadfly of the music scene in and around Shoreline, staging and MCing concerts in the parks in Richmond Beach and consulting with cities, local arts councils, and the public libraries.