Hotpoint Stringband is Mark Burhans (fiddle), Hilarie Burhans (clawhammer banjo), Mark Hellenberg (percussion, banjo uke), Marlene Shostak (piano), and Nick Weiland (bass).

Surely you already know them? Sizzling hot contra dance tunes, high-energy squares, and hopping string swing. This band gives so much more than a steady beat you can dance to! Hotpoint gives you that, too, with the swinging playfulness that harkens back to the jazz bands in dance halls of an earlier time. Bring your best dancing shoes and plenty of energy because you will have to dance!

Joseph Pimentel is a New England native who has recently moved to Houston, Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas so they had to have Joseph! His skillful mix of clear teaching and discriminating taste with wide-open happiness and high-energy, puts us all in a dancing mood. How he does it is magic, but the dancers reap the benefits! Joseph’s calling is popular around the country. He is truly a man with panache!

Atlanta’s Cis Hinkle calls dynamic contras and fast moving squares with zest and simplicity. Her enthusiastic calling is appreciated at dances across the U.S., England and Scandinavia. We welcome her back to Once in a Blue Moon!

Ed Baggott & Elsie Peterson are a Huntsville duo on fiddle and piano that have been playing dances across the country for well over a decade. They combine music from both traditional and contemporary sources and bring a unique, rich, and unusually diverse repertoire of tunes to the dance floor.