From Adam Gussow and Jeff Silverman:

Thanks to EVERYBODY who made our 2012 event a success!  More than 125 of you traveled to Foxfire Ranch from all over the country and from a handful of overseas locations.  A fabulous time was had by all!  You can watch videos from the 2012 event by hitting THIS LINK.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:  We will NOT be having a Hill Country Harmonica weekend in May 2013.  After three successful annual springtime events, we have decided to take a short break from the blues production-and-promotion business.  We will return in May 2014 with HCH #4--that's a promise--and we hope to see you there!

Oh, and one more thing:  we both plan to attend the annual SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica) meeting in St. Louis in mid-August 2013, and we plan on creating some sort of HCH reunion activity while we're there, including--with luck--some performances by teacher/performers from the first three HCH events.  

Please visit this page from time to time for information on that event and other future events. 

Thanks for your support, everybody!

--Adam and Jeff

(Legacy information from 2012 is below............)

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When and Where:  Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20, 2012 at Foxfire Ranch, a horse farm 50 miles south of Memphis in Waterford, Mississippi.  (Plus a BBQ and open jam session in Oxford, 20 miles down the pike from Foxfire, on Friday, May 18.)

What:  a two-day intensive for blues harmonica students (all levels) and their friends, featuring lectures, workshops, jam sessions, and concerts with some of the finest harp masters in the world and two living legends of Mississippi blues guitar.  Onsite and offsite camping!  Plenty of home-cooked soul food available.  Registrants will have a chance to jam with the Sons of Blues band from Chicago, Dr. Feelgood Potts' Memphis blues band, AND the Howl-N-Madd Perry band from North Mississippi!  Note:  Mississippi and Memphis metro residents who wish to attend the evening concerts ONLY for a reduced fee should click THIS LINK.

**To download a complete schedule of events, please hit this link:  HCH_2012_schedule.pdf

Who:  a world-class lineup of teacher/performers representing the best in traditional and contemporary blues harmonica.  (Please see photos and videos below, and/or click on artists' names):  

   §BILLY BRANCH and the SONS OF BLUES, the Grammy nominee (and our 2010 HCH headliner) returns to Mississippi with his powerhouse band from Chicago

   §MITCH KASHMAR, Delta Groove recording artist.  (The late William Clarke called this West Coast knockout "my absolute favorite blues harp player of his generation")

   §PHIL WIGGINS, living legend of the Piedmont blues.  ("Arguably America's foremost blues harmonica virtuoso," according to the National Council for the Traditional Arts)  (check out this interview in "Blues Blast" magazine)

   §Dr. ROBERT "FEEL GOOD" POTTS, 2011 Blues Critic Awards nominee from Greenwood, Mississippi.  (Performing his hit single, "My In-Laws (Ain't Nothin' But Outlaws"))

   §ADAM GUSSOW, funky overblow maestro and one-man-band dynamo,"Mr. Satan's Apprentice" from the streets of Harlem and Oxford, Mississippi

   §JIMI LEE, Austin's rack-harp virtuoso...singer/songwriter/guitarist/bluesman, showcasing his "GrooveTrax" with a lecture entitled "Every Groove a Bluesman Needs to Know."

   §TODD PARROTT, dazzling gospel/blues in a country vein, from Charlotte, North Carolina

   §BRANDON BAILEY, Memphis youth phenom with his loop-based "Memphis Grooves"

   §BILL "HOWL-N-MADD" PERRY, Hill Country bluesman extraordinaire!

.....with special added attraction:  ANNIE RAINES, Boston's finest and an international touring pro...............

 ..........plus pro-in-residence, half-valved Nashville swing maestro P. T. Gazell:

Hours:  10 AM - 12 midnight Saturday; 10 AM - 12 midnight Sunday, plus, on Friday, "blues, brews, and BBQ" meetup at The Shak BBQ joint just outside Oxford, MS, featuring the juke-joint duo, Adam Gussow and Shine Turner (4 - 7:30 PM), and the famous HCH jam at Rooster's Blues House on the Square in Oxford, hosted by Deak Harp and his band (9 PM - 1 AM).  NOTE:  Special added RAW BEGINNERS CLASS from 8 to 9 AM on both Saturday and Sunday.  Only blues-harp-stricken newbies need apply!

Cost:  $175.  $50 for a non-playing spouse, partner, or friend.  Kids 12 and under free when accompanied by a full-priced registrant!  [Note:  there's no cover charge for the Friday afternoon/evening musical events, which are free and open to the public, but you pay for whatever beer, booze, BBQ, etc. you choose to drink and eat.]  IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you are a local resident (Mississippi or Memphis metro) and wish to attend the evening concerts ONLY for a modest cover charge, please click THIS LINK for information.

Housing:  In addition to on-site camping ($10/night), cabins and campsites with full hookups are available at Wall Doxey State Park (4 miles away).  Motel rooms are available in Holly Springs (8 miles away) and Oxford (20 miles away).

Extras:  Cold beer and wine for sale all day Saturday/Sunday.....No charge to bring your own coolers!

PLUS special sessions on mics, amps, tabbing, pedals, and more, with Greg Heumann, Randy Landry, and Wayne Snyder,