Taborgrass Fall Workshops - Registration is OPEN!
We've been hard at work planning a day filled with music education, jamming, and a place to build community for you! We're even hosting a good ol' fashioned band scramble with band coaching too!
When: Saturday, October 4th, 2025
Where: Artichoke Music at 2007 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97202
Cost: $30-$50 sliding scale for all day pass, $5 for admission for band scramble performance
Register today and reserve a seat at the workshops you're interested in --- space is limited!
Workshop Descriptions:
Jamming Fundamentals with Kaden Hurst: Wondering how to participate in a bluegrass jam, what the etiquette is, and how to communicate with fellow jammers? This is the place for you.
Jamming Beyond the Basics with Joe Suskind and Lillian Sawyer: If you’re feeling cozy and comfortable with the basics of bluegrass jamming and want to make things a little more interesting, this is the place for you. Topics may include: fills, split breaks, songs with lots of chords, and how to make a jam gel together.
Jam! Come and join an open jam! Some jams will have hosts, some are not, all are open to you. There will also be a Feather Jam for those just trying out jamming, who want to play slow or who want some hands-on guidance. Jam hosts through-out the day includes: Lillian Sawyer, Mitch Cline and Donna Dunaif.
Bluegrass, Rhythm and You with Kaden Hurst: Bluegrass is a beautiful clockwork of each instrument rhythmically interlocking with the others. How can we understand that clockwork better? What can the rhythmic roles of the other instruments teach you about yours? How does a rhythm section really groove? Come on by and we’ll try to find out together.
Harmony Singing with Crystal Lariza: A dive into bluegrass harmony! We’ll work on blending, finding notes, identifying lead, tenor, and baritone parts, and spend a lot of time singing with each other.
All About Fiddle Backup with Lillian Sawyer: Just because we don't play a traditional rhythm instrument doesn't mean we can't play backup! It can be really fun to back up our guitar and mandolin player friends and especially our other fiddle playing friends! In this workshop we'll figure out some basic chord shapes and rhythmic patterns, and maybe we'll even get into the CHOP!
Mando Multi-vitamin: Come learn all the things Kaden thinks you should practice! This workshops covers a broad swath of ways to get more grounded on your instrument. Right hand technique, left hand technique, fretboard knowledge, string crossings, getting through tunes, fiddle tune stamina, playing ALL the notes, and more.
Techniques for Back-Up Banjo: Once you’ve kicked off the song or finished your break and the spotlight is on someone else, there’s still a lot for you to play (and not play) behind your fellow bandmates to enhance the sound of the group or the jam. In this “all picks on” workshop, we’ll work on skills to get you moving up and down the neck “riding the rails” between movable chord shapes and leading tones. Situational awareness and what to do and play behind the other instruments in the group during a song. Developing a rock solid “Choonk.” Scruggs backup licks and fills. Proper right hand positioning.
Guitar Workshop with Joe Suskind: Unlock ideas, identify resistance in your playing and remove blocks through exploration of right hand techniques. By combining rhythm techniques, cross picking and single note lines, we’ll bridge the gap between rhythm and lead playing. Learn the basics of bluegrass backup rhythm, G-runs, and begin to explore alternate picking.
Vintage Instrument Hang with Joe Suskind: A chance to hear and play some treasured vintage instruments! Do YOU have a vintage instrument? Bring it along!
Intro to Old Time + Jam with Kaden Hurst and Lillian Sawyer: Many a bluegrass musician has asked “so…what’s the deal with old time?” Come get oriented to one of bluegrass music’s parent genres! Lillian and Kaden will give an overview of how an old time jam works, what each instrument might do differently between bluegrass and old time, and demonstrate some of their favorite old time tunes. Then, we’ll all have an old time jam!
Musician Ergonomics: Setting Up a Balanced Foundation with Zoe Schlussel: This workshop will be an introduction to musician ergonomics. Playing-related tension, pain, or injury come from prolonged, unaddressed imbalance, both in the body and mind. We will learn how to find balance in our bodies, both standing and sitting, and how to apply this to playing and performing. If you have ever had tension or pain while playing, deal with stress or anxiety around practice or performance, want to learn how to prevent future injuries, or are just curious to learn about musician health, join us!
Band Scramble with Crystal Lariza and Joe Suskind: A good old fashioned band scramble! Sign up on the sheet in the lobby to get paired with other attendees to form a band, rehearse some songs, and perform at the end of the day on the main stage! Joe Suskind and Crystal Lariza will be on deck for coaching, advice, and stage fright pep talks.
Register today and reserve a seat at the workshops you're interested in --- space is limited! Click here to register!
