Learn to play Red Fox Waltz with Patt & Possum

This set of videos will teach you to play a basic and then a fancier version of Red Fox Waltz. This was one of the first tunes I learned from Taylor McBaine when I started playing. In keeping with that, I've also included a video of Taylor playing this classic waltz.

Prairie Hill Contra Dance with Patt & Possum - March 3, 2016

Highlights from the Prairie Hill Contra dance at Pewaukee, Wisconsin, on March 3, 2016. Music by Charlie Walden - fiddle & Patt Plunkett - piano with Roger Diggle calling.

KDHX Folk School Fiddle Workshop - April 2016 with Patt & Possum

Highlights of a fiddle workshop given by Charlie Walden at the KDHX St. Louis Folk School on April 9, 2016. The taught included Red Fox Waltz, Kentucky Waltz and Valse Gisele. Go get the sheet music for these tunes at http://www.charliewalden.com/Dots.htm.

April 2016 Childgrove Contra Dance

Highlights of the April 10, 2016, Childgrove Contra Dance with Charlie Walden on fiddle and Patt Plunkett on piano. Ted Steels calling the figures.

Bethel Missouri 1989 Main Stage Performances (audio only)

Performances of traditional Midwestern fiddling and other music recorded on the main stage at the 1989 Mid-America Old Time Fiddlers Convention. June 8-11, 1989. At Bethel, Shelby County, Missouri.

Vesta Johnson - Missouri Fiddler

Video clips of veteran Missouri fiddler Vesta Johnson.

Chirps Smith Fiddle & Mandolin

Various clips of Chirps Smith playing at Bethel, MO in the 1980s and 90s.

1997 - Charlie Walden Raw Fiddle Cuts

Clips from a videotape I made for a friend in the late 90s. Just some old-time reels and hoe-downs.

1997 Bethel Fiddle Youth Fiddle Camp and Contest

Highlights of the annual Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp held in June each year in Bethel, Shelby County, MO.

Gryphon Strings - Palo Alto Fiddle Workshop 2015 with Patt & Possum

Excerpts from a Missouri-Style fiddle workshop held in Palo Alto, CA, on January 31, 2015, at Gryphon Strings. Tunes incles Norma Lou's Waltz, Lamplighter's Hornpipe, Harrington Valley Two-Step (by Calvin Vollrath), and Casey's Hornpipe. Presented by Charlie Walden - fiddle and Patt Plunkett - piano.

Valentine's Day Dance 2015 with Patt & Possum

Here's a little excerpt from the Valentine's Day Dance 2015 at Fizz in Chicago. The event was the brainchild of Old Lazarus Harp - Folk Collective.

University of Chicago Folk Festival 2015 with Patt & Possum

From the Sunday afternoon square dance at the 55th Annual University of Chicago Folk Festival. February 15, 2015. Music by Charlie Walden - fiddle & Patt Plunkett - piano (aka Patt & Possum) with calling by Bill Sudkamp. Here renditions of Buck Fever Rag, Lucky Trapper, Jimmy Walker Two-Step and Forked Deer. PnP are joined on Forked Deer by a whole gaggle on fine Midwestern fiddlers - Genevieve Koester, Cliff Harrison, Megan Greene and the inimitable Chirps Smith.

San Diego Contra Dance 2015 with Patt & Possum

At the San Diego Contra Dance on January 24, 2015. Charlie Walden - fiddle and Patt Plunkett - piano. The tunes are Sherbrook Reel and St. Anne's Reel. Martha Wild calling.

San Diego Fiddle Workshop 2015 with Patt & Possum

Excerpts from a fiddle workshop held in San Diego, CA on January 24, 2015. Charlie Walden - fiddle & Patt Plunkett - piano. Several tunes were chawed on including Bear Creek Hop, Polk County Breakdown and Walking in My Sleep. A demonstration of "fancy" bowing tricks was also provided.

San Francisco Workshop - 2015 with Charlie Walden & Patt Plunkett

Video excerpts from a workshop in San Francisco on January 30, 2015. We ran through four good ol' tunes including: Old Ladies Pickin' Chickens from Dwight Lamb, Pike's Peak, which originated with Sharp, Hinman &Sharp, Shoal Creek Breakdown from Casey Jones and Turkey in the Pea Patch from the repertoire of Buddy Thomas of Kentucky via Bob Holt of Ava in the Missouri Ozarks.

Palo Alto Contra Dance 2015 with Patt & Possum

Patt & Possum play the Palo Alto Contra Dance, January 31, 2015. With our pal Barb Rosner on bass.

Patt's Piano Workshop

Examples of piano accompaniment for Midwestern and Canadian fiddle tunes by Patt Plunkett.

September 2014 Child Grove Dance

Great fun at this Child Grove dance at the Monday Club on Sunday (Sept.28th, 2014) in St. Louis, MO. With Tres Buckhannonos (Emily, Dennis & Cuzzin Curt - piano, guitar and mandolin) and Andy Gribble on bass.

St. Louis Folk School Fiddle Workshop (October 31, 2015)

From a workshop presented at the KDHX St. Louis Folk School on October 31, 2015. With Patt & Possum - Charlie Walden (fiddle) and Patt Plunkett (piano). The workshop focused on tunes that can be attributed to African American fiddle players of the early 20th Century from Callaway and surrounding Central Missouri counties.

Callaway County in Mid-Missouri, in addition to once being a hotbed of Civil War secessionists, is known for its many great old-time fiddlers.  Among these was legendary African-American Bill Katon of Tebbetts, the namesake of Katon’s Hornpipe. While I never knew Katon, as he passed away in 1934, I heard many stories about him and a lot of the old-timers could play his tunes or tunes referenced to other Black musicians in Callaway County. So we’ll explore this tradition with tunes I derived from Jake Hockemeyer, Taylor McBaine and Keith Orchard.

2014 St. Louis Folk & Roots Festival Square Dance

Square Dance in conjunction with the KDHX St. Louis Folk & Roots Festival held at the Stage at KDHX on September 26, 2014. With Charlie Walden - fiddle, Emily Buckhannon - piano and Dennis Buckhannon - guitar. Patt Plunkett calling.  Tunes in the list include Old Fort Smith, Jeff City, My Little Home in West Virginia and Country Waltz.