Common Ground on the Hill

09/13/2024

🪕Who is ready for a mind-blowing bluegrass CONCERT?
Common Ground Downtown Series Presents:

FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN

Presented with Common Ground on the Hill
Season Sponsor: McDaniel College

Saturday, October 5 @ 7:30 pm

Known for their meaty pile-driving rhythms and Frank’s dynamic and bold vocals, the band’s last two albums have both received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. FS&DK’s respect and deep understanding of the bluegrass tradition collides, live on stage, with rock-tinged fiery virtuosity that pushes the boundaries of the genre. Other influences include country, jazz, blues, southern rock, and soul.

🎟
$28 Adults
$25 ages 60 and up & ages 25 and under
CCAC members get 10% off

Carroll Arts Center: Your home for art & entertainment!

09/10/2024

It's concert season! Start it right with bluegrass and Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen on Oct. 5 at the Carroll Arts Center.

08/30/2024

2024-25 Program Season begins!

08/30/2024

What a great Traditions Week! See student work from Traditions Week 2024. Want to share your photos? See details inside!

08/20/2024

Calling artists - it's time to register to be a vendor at the Carroll Arts Center's Gallery of Gifts this winter! The Gallery of Gifts is a great way to support independent artisans and our good friends at the Carroll Arts Center. Get the information here:

91 West Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157 410-848-7272 [email protected] Box Office Hours: 10 am – 4 pm • Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 12 pm – 7 pm • Tuesday & Thursday Please call for hours during Special Events, Concerts, Movies,

08/19/2024

It's time for the Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest, presented by our good friends at the DC Bluegrass Union! Find out all the details here.

Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest Entries Must Be Entered Between August 18, 2024 and October 14, 2024. The Mike

07/11/2024

Come on out this weekend - the Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival is a Top Event this weekend of the Community Media Center of Carroll County!

Our Top 5 list has grown to 10 this weekend! https://www.carrollmediacenter.org/top-5-things-july-10-14 Don't miss the Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Department Carnival, running through Saturday. The Historical Society of Carroll County presents: History: Shaken & Stirred – Untold Stories of New Windsor and it's All Aboard Rails & Tales at Taneytown History Museum. Head over to Town of Mount Airy for their July Block Party filled with great music & shopping! Small Town Stars Theatre Company presents:Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. at Carroll Community College and Don't miss Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival at McDaniel College! The 6th Annual Westminster Pride Festival is happening on Saturday and swing by Carroll County Ag Center for Blueberry Day at the Carroll County Farmers Market. There'll be Music in the Park at The Hampstead Train Station and don't forget about the Sykesville Farmers Market! Lots do do, right here in Carroll so get out there and enjoy!

06/29/2024

Only 1 week until the 🦅🪕 DC Bluegrass Union's Bluegrass & Old-Time Camp 🎻🎼 at Common Ground on the Hill's Traditions Week, July 7-12 at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD AND the July 13 Roots Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival! Week-long workshops in bluegrass & old-time instruments, song & dance. Tuition starts at $121 for a WEEK! Housing & meals available.

Festival includes performances by bluegrass & old-time staff including Kristen Grainger & True North, Chris Luquette, Bryan McDowell, Randy Barrett, Carter Giegerich, Ken Kolodner, Mary Lynn Michal, Ben Wetherbee, Wayne Fugate, Jonah Giuliano, Ted Klein, Sam Hatch, and Marsha Searle, with a special performance by the The Dirty Grass Players!

See classes at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/dcbu-camp/dcbu-camp

06/29/2024

On YouTube now!

Walt Michael hosts.Featuring staff from Traditions Week 1, 2024 (June 24-28)Performers (in order of appearance):Amy FerebeeRod MacDonaldBob Rychlik (with Rad...

06/28/2024

Rounding up Traditions Week 1! Images are starting to come in for the online Student Show, so keep an eye out for the announcement when this week's student work is ready to view! Thank you to all the instructors, students and volunteers who helped this week run smoothly. Celebrate this wonderful week with the Virtual Week 1 Concert, which premieres on the Common Ground on the Hill Official YouTube Channel at 8 PM at: https://www.youtube.com/

Featuring Amy Ferebee, Rod MacDonald, Bob Rychlík and Wayne Fugate.

NOTE: There's still time to register for the in-person Traditions Week 2 (July 7-12) and the July 13 Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival! Info at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/

06/26/2024

Join our featured band Kristen Grainger & True North in concert at the Carroll Arts Center on July 6, at the in-person DCBU Bluegrass & Old-Time Camp at Traditions Weeks July 7-12 and the July 13 Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival, all in Westminster, MD! Workshops include Rise Up Singing, Songwriting, Harmony Singing, and the Bluegrass Jam. Week-long workshops only $121!

Concert info & tickets: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/concerts/all-concerts

Traditions Weeks info: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/instructors/true-north

Roots Music & Arts Festival info:
https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/festival/common-ground-on-the-hill-roots-music-arts-festival

McDaniel College DC Bluegrass Union

https://youtu.be/Y2R-pqE5kuI

Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel are teaching Rise Up Singing, Songwriting: Origins of a Song and Harmony Singing during the in-person Traditions Week July 7-...

06/25/2024

Sreaming now: Keynote lecture - A Passion for Oysters

06/24/2024

Join us tonight for our Keynote at 8 PM on our YouTube channel! We will screen the film A Passion for Oysters, accompanied by a brief discussion with Bill Troxler, who was involved in the production. Then join us tomorrow at 4 PM EDT for the Search for Common Ground, which will include a more in-depth look at the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay - the challenges and the work on this complicated issue.

Streaming live tonight at 8 PM: https://www.youtube.com/

06/24/2024

🍺 Learn the history and how-tos of Beer during the in-person Traditions Week 2 (July 7-12) on the campus of McDaniel College. Human Arts workshops including Beer, Wine Appreciation, Bonsai, Acupressure, Open Hearth Cooking, and Golf.🧘‍♀️ Tuition starts at only $121 for a week-long course!

Complete list of Human Arts workshops: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/human-arts

Find out more: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/traditions-weeks/what-are-traditions-weeks

06/24/2024

Spend a week with 2019 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Rich Smoker! Rich is a renowned woodcarver specializing in carving hunting decoys and other birds, with awards from the Smithsonian Institute's Folklife Festival and many others, and will be teaching at our in-person Traditions Week (July 7-12) teaching "Carve a Pair of Courting Rails".

Join Rich and many other visual arts instructors for week-long courses on the campus of McDaniel College! Tuition begins at $121 for a week; tuition for Rich's class is $363 for the week.

See the complete list of available workshops at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/visual-arts .

Learn all about Traditions Week at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/traditions-weeks/what-are-traditions-weeks

Ward Foundation Inc

Traditions Weeks are three individual weeks of classes, concerts, dances and other activities in the traditional roots-based arts, held on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

06/18/2024

We're excited to welcome Prince George's Poet Laureate Khadijah Ali-Coleman to the virtual Traditions Week 1 (June 24-28)! Her plays have appeared on stages including Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Baltimore Theatre Project, Anacostia Playhouse and Theatre Alliance. Khadijah is teaching Impact Storytelling: Crafting Short Plays for the Stage and Impact Storytelling: Crafting a Short Screenplay.

There's still time to register! See details our Literary, Performing Arts and Film workshops at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/literary-performing-arts-film

Find out more about Khadijah and her workshops at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/instructors/ali-coleman-khadijah



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtdFNUa9fo

Prince George's County Poet Laureate Khadijah Ali-Coleman is teaching Impact Storytelling: Crafting Short Plays for the Stage and Impact Storytelling: Crafti...

06/18/2024

Banjo enthusiasts - catch this Picky Fingers Banjo podcast featuring Randy Barrett, a singer, songwriter, educator, and author as well as a terrific 3-finger & clawhammer banjo player. Randy is a key part of the DCBU Bluegrass & Old-Time Camp at Common Ground on the Hill, which is part of the in-person Traditions Week 2 (July 7-12) on the campus of McDaniel College. He is teaching Beginning and Intermediate level Bluegrass Banjo workshops, as well as performing at the July 13 Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival.

DC Bluegrass Union's Bluegrass & Old-Time Camp Info: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/dcbu-camp/dcbu-camp

Festival info: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/festivals/overview

Podcast: https://www.banjopodcast.com/145-randy-barrett/

www.patreon.com/banjopodcast Randy Barrett is a great banjoist in both 3-finger & clawhammer styles, a singer, songwriter, educator, and author. He is best known for his three solo recordings, and his performances with Big Howdy, a Washington, D.C.-based bluegrass band, and as President of Bluegrass...

06/17/2024

Welcome Kristen Grainger and True North, this year's featured band. Kristen is an award-winning songwriter who was named, alongside Brandi Carlile and Dolly Parton, one of the Women Who Wrote Our 2020 Soundtrack by The Bluegrass Situation. About the band: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/instructors/true-north

Catch Kristen Grainger & True North at these events:

July 6 Concert at 8 PM at the Carroll Arts Center. Details at https://carrollcountyartscouncil.org/event/true-north/

July 7-12 Traditions Weeks as part of the DC Bluegrass Union's Bluegrass & Old-Time Camp on the campus of McDaniel College. Details at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/dcbu-camp/dcbu-camp

July 13: Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival details at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/festival/common-ground-on-the-hill-roots-music-arts-festival

Kristen Grainger & True North McDaniel College

https://youtube.com/shorts/4Ru_rc7OCgM?si=r77p8jgj6gsp8Uww

Kristen Grainger & True North are the band in residents for this year's Common Ground on the Hill Traditions Week 2, July 7-12. The band also performs at the...

06/17/2024

Join the last regular Wednesday jam of the spring! We'll pick back up on September.

06/17/2024

Did you know that the harp is big not only in Celtic music, but also in the Latin music tradition? Join Paraguayan harpist Nicolas Carter and Celtic harpists Kelly Stewart and Jo Morrison at the in-person Traditions Week 2 (July 7-12) AND at the July 13 Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival! Spend a week learning all aspects of the harp, with concerts and jams in the evening.

Courses and info: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/harp

McDaniel College

Find the right class(es) for you with a targeted category search. Harp classes are held throughout Traditions Weeks, so take a look at what's available.

06/15/2024

Dive into Literary and Performing Arts at this year's Traditions Weeks! 🎞🖊🎭🎬 If you are an aspiring writer, poet, playwright, or filmmaker, this is your year. Week-long VIRTUAL (June 24-28) and IN-PERSON (July 7-12) workshops with Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, MD, Khadijah Ali-Coleman, writers Barbara Morrison and Madeleine Mysko, storyteller Sheila Arnold, poet Martial Davis, filmmaker Dan Collins, playwright Eve Blackwater, drama teacher Roberta Gore and more!

See a complete list of workshops at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/literary-performing-arts-film

Find out more about Traditions Weeks at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/traditions-weeks/what-are-traditions-weeks

McDaniel College

Traditions Weeks are three individual weeks of classes, concerts, dances and other activities in the traditional roots-based arts, held on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

06/15/2024

Welcome SWING to the in-person Traditions Weeks, July 7-12! Week-long Swing workshops in guitar, fiddle, mandolin, ukulele, piano, plus a swing jam with Paul Anastasio, Tom Mindte, Marvin Reitz, Kathy Reitz, Brennen Ernst, Dave Robinson, Ralph Gordon, Steve Bloom and Amy Ferebee. Fill your whole day with music, plus concerts, jams and dances all night!

See courses at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/swing

Traditions Week info: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/traditions-weeks/what-are-traditions-weeks

McDaniel College

Traditions Weeks are three individual weeks of classes, concerts, dances and other activities in the traditional roots-based arts, held on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

06/14/2024

No matter your home genre or musical style, there's room for everyone. Explore Traditions Weeks and see the wide range of music, art, dance, film, writing and more that we offer. Come on in - the pickings fine! https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/programs-and-workshops/traditions-weeks/what-are-traditions-weeks

06/14/2024

We are so proud of Eve Blackwater, who grew up at Common Ground on the Hill's Traditions Weeks and is now an instructor and award-winning playwright! Eve is just one of the many wonderful Literary and Performing Arts and Film staff joining us this year for both the VIRTUAL and the IN-PERSON Traditions Weeks, including Khadijah Ali-Coleman, Barbara Morrison, Martial Davis, Dan Collins, Madeleine Mysko, Sheila Arnold, Roberta Gore and more. See the complete list of workshops at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/literary-performing-arts-film

Eve Blackwater is teaching Crafting Comedy with a Purpose during Traditions Week 2, July 7-12. She is also teaching From Stage Fright to Spotlight, along wit...

06/13/2024

Join James Sparky Rucker at Traditions Week 2, July 7-12, AND at the Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival on July 13! Sparky and Rhonda will also be teaching Roots Music Songs of Revolution and Murder, Mayhem, Legends and Lies that week. So many choices!!

Sparky Rucker is teaching Beginning Blues Guitar during Traditions Week 2, July 7-12. Sparky is also teaching Murder, Mayhem, Legends and Lies and Roots Musi...

06/13/2024

Experience Indigenous Arts at Common Ground on the Hill's Traditions Weeks this year, July 7-12 in person on the campus of McDaniel College! Including culture bearers from the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as Cherokee pottery and Diné weaving. Learn more at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/indigenous

Find the right class(es) for you with a targeted category search. Indigenous & Nature Arts classes are held throughout Traditions Weeks, so take a look at what's available.

06/09/2024

Did you know that you can Traditions Weeks include isual arts in addition to music workshops? Here's just one of MANY offerings: I Didn't Know My iPhone Could Do That with Cary Wolfson. Find out more about Cary's class and the other wonderful visual arts workshops available this summer: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/class-category/visual-arts

Cary Wolfson will be teaching I Didn't Know My iPhone Could Do That during the in-person Traditions Week 2, July 7-12, 2024.Find out more about Cary and this...