Evie Andrus – Fiddle Instructor – Knoxville, Tennessee
Evie Andrus has been performing since she was 6 years old. Her family band, Family Ties, toured around ND and Canada throughout her high school years. Andrus is a graduate of the East TN State University Bluegrass, Old Time and County Music Program. After college she worked as a performer at the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud. Andrus released an album of original tunes in May 2022, Evie’s Great Adventure.
Caitlin Baker – Fiddle Instructor – Brandon, Manitoba
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Manitoba, Caitlin Baker began playing the fiddle at the age of four. With her love for a wide variety of musical genres, Caitlin is known to play everything from Old Time fiddle tunes, to Classical music, to Rock. With a great interest in such a variety of music, she enjoys immersing herself in styles new to her, most recently having joined a Flamenco troupe in Brandon, Manitoba! In addition to the fiddle, Caitlin also enjoys singing and plays an assortment of other stringed instruments, including guitar, mandolin, and banjo.
As an educator, Caitlin enjoys teaching her private students in Brandon, Manitoba, where she is entering her final year of her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance with a minor in Gender & Women’s Studies. In addition to teaching privately, Caitlin also teaches a variety of music workshops and camps throughout the year, including at Fiddle Jamborees held by the Frontier School Division, and at summer camps like Western Canada’s Clear Lake Fiddle Camp. When she isn’t making music, you can probably find Caitlin reading new books or camping!
Shelby Huston – Fiddle Instructor – West Fargo, North Dakota
Shelby Huston has been an active fiddle player for over 12 years. She started her musical journey under the direction of accomplished fiddler and educator, Jim Tengesdal. Through his instruction, Shelby gained a passion for performing and educating. She is an orchestra teacher in West Fargo, ND enjoying her first year of teaching after graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Concordia College, Moorhead MN. She is an active member of the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra and teaches violin students in her spare time.
Shelby is a competitive old-time fiddle player with many accomplishments. From winning the International Music Camp’s Old-Time Fiddle Contest Championship three times to winning the Minnesota State Old-Time Fiddle Championship and several championships at contests in between, Shelby has proven herself as a fiddler. She has performed her fiddle music at the Norsk Hostfest for five years, one of which including a performance alongside the musicians and comedians, Williams and Ree. She performs her fiddle music at banquets, events, weddings, and on live television. Shelby volunteers playing music for her church and playing fiddle music, including country/bluegrass as well as old-time fiddling, at nursing homes in North Dakota.
Dr. John Andrus – Banjo Instructor
Dr. John Andrus is an educator and banjo player from Valley City, ND. In 1988 he was one of the founding members of the Western North Dakota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association, an organization that has evolved into the Bluegrass Association of North Dakota (B.A.N.D.). John currently serves as President of B.A.N.D. which is dedicated to preserving and promoting bluegrass music in the region. John managed the Missouri River Bluegrass Festival for several years and continues to participate as a volunteer. In 2007 John was recognized by his peers as The Father of Bluegrass Music in North Dakota.
John has performed with several bluegrass and bluegrass-gospel bands over the years. His current band is the Monroe Doctrine Bluegrass Band, which performs regularly at the Vault Coffee Shop and Arts Center in Valley City with regional all-stars traveling from two hours east and two hours west to make music together.
John’s approach to teaching 5-string banjo has changed recently to include more emphasis on learning back-up skills early, allowing the students to participate in jam sessions ASAP. He has put together a nine-session Introduction to Bluegrass Music class which recently ran for two-hours each month prior to the B.A.N.D. monthly jam session in Valley City and John has added highlights from that instruction to his banjo lessons.
Michael Prewitt – Mandolin & Guitar Instructor
International Bluegrass Music Association award nominee Michael Prewitt was born and raised in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in rural Whitley County, Kentucky, outside of the town of Williamsburg. It was there he learned to play bluegrass music, first on the fiddle and then on what would quickly become his life’s musical love, the mandolin. Throughout middle school and high school he played in his school district’s after-school bluegrass band, Colonel Strings, and after graduating he played with the Eastern Kentucky bluegrass band Mountain Drive. Michael then took a hiatus from playing music to attend college at the University of the Cumberlands. He moved to North Dakota after graduating to begin graduate school in English literature, and while there began playing mandolin and banjo with the North Dakota-based Flatt Mountain Bluegrass Boys. After a few years of teaching English at the University of North Dakota, he decided to focus his attention on his musical career by relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he co-founded the neo-traditional bluegrass band Back Up & Push. The band released a regionally well-received album with Michael playing guitar, singing lead vocals and contributing multiple original compositions. In 2021 he joined the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band Special Consensus, where he currently plays the mandolin and sings lead and harmony vocals. He also teaches at camps and privately, in-person and over the internet.
TBA – Bass Instructor
Mat Reimer – Contest Accompanist
Photo & Bio Coming Soon!
