The 2026 Joe Val All-Stars will be teaching separate paid Master Classes on Thursday of Joe Val from 1 until 5 pm (with a half-hour break at 3). The Joe Val All-Star classes will be geared towards High Intermediate and Advanced musicians.
The cost of these three-and-a-half-hour classes is $50 ($55 for non-members), and all of the proceeds go directly to the teachers (the BBU doesn’t take a cut). You don’t need a ticket to Joe Val to join us. Class size is limited to 17, so we encourage you to register as soon as possible.
To register for one of the Master Classes, all you need to do is email your teacher directly with the subject line “Joe Val Master Class Registration”:
Alison Brown (Banjo) – [email protected]
Stuart Duncan (Fiddle) – [email protected]
Missy Raines (Bass) – [email protected]
Matt Flinner (Mandolin) – [email protected]
Michael Daves (Lead & harmony singing) – [email protected]
Chris Luquette – (Guitar) – [email protected]
Roger Williams – (Dobro) – [email protected]
Class Descriptions and Artist Biographies
Hi Banjo Pals! In this workshop we’ll work on the basics of Scruggs technique to help you develop a solid foundation for tone, technique and time as well as strategies for getting comfortable with chord shapes up and down the neck. We’ll also dip our toes into melodic style and chord melodies. You’ll come away energized with new tunes to work on and new banjo pals to pick with!
Alison Brown is one of roots music’s most celebrated hyphenates. She is a GRAMMY and EMMY-winning musician, producer, composer, and co-founder of the Nashville-based Compass Records Group. She has received the USA Artists Fellowship in Music, The International Bluegrass Music Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award and is a member of American Banjo Hall of Fame. Alison is also a frequent collaborator with actor/comedian/banjoist Steve Martin; their new Safe, Sensible and Sane was released in Fall 2025. Alison enjoys playing her passion for the banjo forward through her ArtistWorks banjo school and as a host of “Pick Like a Girl” on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction channel.
Contact: [email protected]
The fiddle class will be a mixture of discussion,showing by example, and overall musical sensibilities and approaches. Emphasis will be put on improvisational skills, how to develop them and when to and not to use them. Referencing recordings of fiddle masters and discussing styles and influence. Hopefully we will choose a tune everyone likes and work on it together. Studio skills vs. live performance will be touched on, along with instrument set up and listening skills. A minimal toolbox will be brought to help with set up needs.
Whether folks know him by name or not, Stuart Duncan could easily be called America’s favorite fiddler. His tasteful touch has been enjoyed by millions of Country, Americana and Bluegrass music fans for over 40 years via the recording studio and on tour. Stuart has won the IBMA Fiddler of the Year eight times and has been playing with the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985. His fiddle is on hundreds of recordings with the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Marty Stewart, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Patty Loveless and TBone Burnett, making him one of the most in-demand fiddlers of his generation.
Contact: [email protected]
Join me, Missy Raines, for an intensive day-long bluegrass bass workshop. Whether you are a beginner wondering where to start, a seasoned player looking to brush up on your technique, or maybe you’re just looking for some inspiration to move the needle a bit, this is the perfect antidote. I have lots of experience combining skill levels so there will be something for everyone. What makes a GOOD bluegrass bass player? Well, it’s a combination of several skills and we’ll explore as many of them as we can. We’ll cover things like technique, timing, and being an active listener.
GRAMMY nominated and 10 time International Bluegrass Music Association’s Bass Player of the Year, Missy Raines, is the first woman to win this award and has received that honor more than any other bass player in the history of the organization. She is a songwriter, singer, band leader, and educator. Missy tours with her bluegrass band, Allegheny, featuring a cast of young rising stars whose love and knowledge of traditional bluegrass aligns completely with Missy’s vision. Missy Raines & Allegheny have released two critically acclaimed albums for Compass Records, both produced by Alison Brown, (Highlander 2024) and (Love & Trouble 2025).
Missy recently received IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award (2025) and heads the online ArtistWorks School of Bluegrass Bass. She is also the 2025-26 Artist in Residence at East Tennessee State University.
Contact: [email protected]
In this workshop, we’ll look at a bluegrass standard song and a standard fiddle tune and talk about various approaches to creating solos. Along the way, we’ll look at ideas from the playing of various masters: Bill Monroe, Bobby Osborne, David Grisman, Sam Bush and others. Licks and musical concepts from these great players will be moved around to various standard keys so that students can try them out our two tunes as well as songs that they may already know. We’ll also spend some time on approaches to rhythm playing, double stops in lead and rhythm, and using licks as fills. The hope is to expand melodic possibilities for students and to help them have more fun playing music with others.
Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing bluegrass and American roots music in new ways. Hailed by Downbeat Magazine as “one of the best mandolin players ever,” Flinner has established a reputation as one of the most respected composers and innovators in modern American acoustic music. His projects and collaborations range from bluegrass to jazz to classical to New Acoustic music, all with the common thread of American roots music with a creative edge.
Contact: [email protected]
Harmony Singing. In this workshop we’ll start by looking at the underpinnings of trio harmony from an ear training point of view and do some group exercises to help participants experience the different ways vocal parts can fit together. Then we’ll learn classic trios (i.e. Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe) and sing them together in various configurations, including some smaller group work. We will explore the world of bluegrass vocal phrasing, ornamentation, and rhythm, and interested students will have the opportunity to sing solo parts in the context of song arrangements. We’ll also learn some warmup exercises, breathing techniques, and work on opening up vowel resonances. Harmony singing experience is not required but participants should be comfortable “carrying a tune” and learning melodies by ear.
Michael Daves is a devoted teacher with thirty years of experience whose instructional style is aimed at helping students develop their own natural musical sensibilities while exploring the wealth of American roots traditions, particularly bluegrass. He has made a name for himself as a performer through his work with Tony Trischka, Steve Martin, Bruce Molsky, Mike Compton, Andy Statman, Peter Rowan, Jacob Jolliff and others. He is perhaps best known for his collaboration with Chris Thile, with whom he shares a Grammy nomination for their 2011 duo album Sleep With One Eye Open. Michael brings his broad musical experience to bear on helping students around the world deepen their skills and knowledge. He is at this point one of the most experienced teachers in bluegrass, having taught over 30,000 private lessons, over 100 group classes, workshops at prominent festivals and camps, and been a presenter through various Carnegie Hall programs. In 2016 he launched the online school of bluegrass vocals on ArtistWorks.
Contact: [email protected]
Guitar class description coming soon!
Chris Luquette is a 2 time Grammy nominated guitarist from Seattle Washington. He spent 11 years touring with renowned progressive bluegrass combo Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen.
Since 2017 Chris has been based in Brooklyn NY, and has continued to tour the mid Atlantic, east and west coasts profusely. While having a combined gig totally of nearly 175 dates in 2022.
An accomplished teacher, along with teaching private lessons for nearly 15 years, he’s been invited to teach at prestigious music and guitar camps such as Delfest Academy, RockyGrass Academy, California Coast Music Camp, Northwest Flatpicking Camp, Augusta Heritage Bluegrass Week, La Roche Bluegrass Camp(France) American and Midwest Banjo camps and more.
Contact: [email protected]
A review of the fundamentals of playing the dobro, including: Right and left hand techniques, Roll patterns, Hammer-ons and pull-offs, Various ways of practicing scales (i.e., G scale from the 5th fret, etc.), practicing techniques, working thru harmonies using rolls, patterns, and slants, soloing.
We’ll take a look at some classic bluegrass tunes such as “Foggy Mountain Rock” and “Home Sweet Home” (tablature provided).
The second half of the workshop will be geared toward answering questions and/or requests sent to me via e-mail prior to the day of the class.
Roger started playing the resophonic, Dobro style guitar in 1963, when he was just a young teenager. Within the first year, he had already debuted with The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover
at the Hillbilly Ranch in Boston where they had performed for nearly two decades. Since then he has gone on to perform and/or record with many well-respected bluegrass and folk acts on the national and international circuit such as White Mountain Bluegrass, Joe Val, Don Stover, and Hazel Dickens to name just a few. Career highlights include thirteen overseas tours with various artists, including a performance at the
acclaimed Dobrofest in Slovakia, and teaching workshops at Resosummit, as well as during Bluegrass Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV. He currently does extensive
studio work, gives private lessons, and performs with Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters.
Contact: [email protected]