Mary is a 7^th generation West Virginian, born and raised in Paw Paw.  Like many West Virginians, she credits her earliest musical experience in the church – in her case, singing in the children’s choir of the Paw Paw Methodist Church. Now an accomplished songwriter and performer, she has shared the stage with The J. Geils Band, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Asleep at the Wheel, and many others. While living in NYC and Boston she was a sought-after studio singer and studied vocal jazz with Bobby McFerrin. Mary has performed her original music on NPR Music’s “Mountain Stage” radio show and with a jazz big band on The White House lawn. She has recorded two albums of original music, with 2021’s “Devil in the Hills” garnering international attention for its portrayal of stories from The Mountain State, which the Associated Press called “grim history beautifully told.” You can find more at:  www.maryhott.com.

The Carpenter Ants hail from the state capitol city of Charleston, WV.  Thanks to a unique and timeless blend of Appalachian “chicken-fried gospel soul” with lots of feel-good harmonies and a solid groove, the band is fondly considered West Virginia’s ambassadors of roots music. They have toured across the U.S. and eastern Europe and appeared on NPR’s “Mountain Stage” and “Whad’Ya Know?”  The Ants have opened for or joined onstage with the likes of Tyler Childers, Amanda Shires, Margo Price, The Holmes Brothers, Paul Thorn, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Gov’t Mule, NRBQ, George Thorogood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Nighthawks, and Delbert McClinton. Their six studio albums include guest artists Bill Kirchen, Jerry Douglas, Shemekia Copeland, and Paul Thorn.  The Ants are: Michael Lipton (guitar/vocals), Ted Harrison (bass, vocals) Jupie Little (drums, vocals), and Mark Bates (vocals, keyboards).

Hailing from Paw Paw, WV since 1975, Critton Hollow has brought traditional American music to audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Ireland, and Scotland. With fiddle, hammer dulcimer, banjo, and guitar, the band tends a stable of songs from the first settlements of Appalachia to the best of contemporary American folk music. Songs that express a range of experience that can make you laugh or make you cry and occasionally do both at the same time; ballads that tell stories of bad men and disappointed lovers; instrumentals that will make you want to get up and dance or sit back and listen. The three members of the band – Joe Herrmann, Sam Herrmann, and Joe Fallon – combine precise instrumentation, melodic interplay, and three-part harmony to create a warm and engaging sound. Critton Hollow has played at numerous folk music venues, festivals, and concerts including the Birchmere Music Club, the Kennedy Center, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Carter Family Fold, the Vancouver Folk Festival, Clearwater’s Hudson River Revival, and the Upper Potomac Dulcimer Festival. They have appeared on radio shows such as Mountain Stage, Voices from the Mountains, and Live at the Birchmere, and on television shows such as Live at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Music from Home, and the Today Show. The band has recorded seven albums.  More information can be found at:  www.crittonhollow.com

Born and raised in Romney, West Virginia, multi-instrumentalist Ben Townsend has extensively studied Appalachian and old-time traditional banjo and fiddle music, ranging from the archaic, haunting fiddle of his home to the Round Peak music of North Carolina and Virginia to the Bluegrass styles of East Kentucky and Ohio.   As a member of The Fox Hunt, Old Sledge, The Iron Leg Boys, The Hackensaw Boys, The Hillbilly Gypsies,  and now as a solo performer, Ben has traveled across the country and around the world sharing his unique take on West Virginia and regional old-time music. He has shared the stage with acts ranging from Ralph Stanley of Clinch Mountain, VA to the Henry Girls of County Donegal, Ireland to the Taiko drummers of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, and the rowdy Aussies at the Yarra Junction Fiddler’s Convention in Victoria, Australia.

Ben is also a devoted teacher of the music of his region.  He has taught at  the Augusta Heritage Festival (Elkins, WV), The Allegheny Echoes Festival (Marlinton, WV), Common Ground on the Hill (McDaniel College), and The Upper Potomac Fiddle Festival (Harpers Ferry, WV).  His online lesson series can be found at: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11054137.  Ben’s newest projects combine tradition and technology to challenge the boundaries of performance art and music.  Under the name Tabernacle, he combines synthesis and found materials with traditional instrumentation to create performances of evolving ambient music.  He also plays fiddle in a 4-piece instrumental ensemble called Ice Mountain that blurs the lines between Appalachian history and contemporary jazz and heavy metal.  His most recent works can be found on Questionable Records a small label he curates at: https://questionablerecords.bandcamp.com/

The Paw Paw Area Community Choir  was formed in February 2023 to create local musical opportunities for those who enjoy group singing. A major driving interest of the choir is community service. To date, the Choir has sung at local nursing homes, assisted with National Day of Prayer services and has sung the National Anthem at Paw Paw’s Memorial Day parade for the last two years. They have also joined the local music lineup at the Bethel United Methodist Church’s 4th of July picnic and organized a night of Christmas caroling. 

Members from more than 7 community churches were represented in the choir at their Christmas concert in December 2023 and plans are in the works for providing special music for Christmas 2024. The choir takes great pride in their efforts to serve our local community. In 2023, they raised funds for the Paw Paw Schools Band. This year, in 2024, their benefactor is Starting Points, a local family resource center.

The choir is under the direction of Diane Burkhart, and coordinated and accompanied by Kim Hook. They always welcome additional members and hope to have more voices join them in continuing their community service efforts.

Paw Paw Area Community Choir on Facebook