Flying Shoes Radio Hour

By Chrissy Fowler

Highlighting the roots and branches of the contra dance music we love here in Belfast, Maine and beyond, the musicians who play it with and for others, and the dancers of all ages that it inspires!

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FAQs about Flying Shoes Radio Hour:

How many episodes does Flying Shoes Radio Hour have?

The podcast currently has 10 episodes available.

Flying Shoes Radio Hour episodes:

July 25, 2026Episode 10 - Cedar Stanistreet & Amy Englesberg
Download or view the full transcript.
Cedar’s website:
cedarstanistreet.com
Amy’s website:
amyenglesberg.com
Two of Amy’s other bands:
wakeuprobin.com

freeraisins.com
Some other topics they mentioned:
David Kaynor - davidkaynor.wordpress.com

Great Bear and the Van Norstrand family - greatbearrecords.bandcamp.com

John Kirk & Trish Miller - johnandtrish.com

The Dance Flurry - flurryfestival.org
Tunes:
The Mountain Ranger (trad) / Dominion Reel (trad)

The Hag with the Money (trad) / The Red Curtain (Cedar Stanistreet)

Cloudshine (Amy Englesberg)

Lucy Farr’s (trad) / Garrett Barry’s (trad)

Twice as Long (Amy Englesberg) / Flannel Dreams (Amy Englesberg)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 11min
June 26, 2026Episode 9 - Rose Jackson, Helen Kuhar, Guillaume Sparrow-Pepin
Download or view the full transcript.
Guillaume Sparrow-Pepin
Contact Guillaume at [email protected]
Guillaume plays in other bands, including:
Nova with Kathleen Fownes and Everest Witman
Helen Kuhar
Contact Helen via website helenkuharmusic.com, IG instagram.com/helengracekuhar/ , and Helen Kuhar - YouTube
Helen plays in other bands, including:
Nobody’s Business with Hayden Stern & Casey Murray

Dearest Dear with Rose Jackson - Instagram @dearestdearduo

Forsyth with Kate Knudsvig, Erin Shea Hogan & Kat Wallace

Good Company with Cecily Mills & Rohan Weeden
Helen also appeared in Ep7 of the Flying Shoes Radio Hour Podcast, with Nobody’s Business - Listen here
Rose Jackson
Contact Rose via website rose-jackson.com and Instagram @fiddler_gal
Rose plays in other bands, including:
Stove Dragon with Oliver Scanlon, Sam Zakon-Anderson & Max Newman

Dearest Dear with Helen Kuhar - Instagram @dearestdearduo

Polaris with Sam Zakon-Anderson, Marta Bartholomew & Jesse Ball
References:
Curious about topics that were referred to in the podcast? Here are some, with links:
The band talked about bal folk or balfolk, specifically Brattleboro Bal Folk with Eloise & Co (Becky Tracy & Rachel Bell), which is a genre of folk music that especially inspires Guillaume & Rose (and they’ve brought Helen into the fold)

David Kaynor was a musician, caller, and organizer who led the monthly open band and open jams which Rose mentioned. (David received the Lifetime Contribution Award from CDSS in 2021. Ep. 28 of From the Mic, another CDSS podcast, features a 2011 interview with David. Many of his papers and recordings are in the David A Kaynor collection in the Special Collections Archives at the University of NH in Durham)

Guilford Community Church choir was led by Tony Barrand, Andy Davis, and Peter Amidon when Guillaume was growing up

Nightingale was the Vermont trio of Becky Tracy, Jeremiah McLane, and Keith Murphy, all of whom influenced Rose, Guillaume & Helen

Northeast Heritage Music Camp is a program in VT’s Green Mountains, where Rose participated and now serves on the board

Pete Sutherland influenced Rose, both for fiddling and singing

Village Harmony and Northern Harmony, the Vermont camp and touring ensembles founded by Larry Gordon, where Guillaume learned from many people, including South African singer, Matlakala Bopape

Young Tradition Vermont (YTV) is the program of Vermont Folklife, which Rose participated in as a touring group member and a mentor

Youth Dance Weekend (YDW) was where Rose, Helen & Guillaume played one of their earliest gigs as a band
Tunes:
Grimstock (trad) / Hen of the Woods (Helen Kuhar)

Prettiest Girl (trad) song/tunes

Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Rose Jackson) – this is the instrumental waltz

Hanter Dros (Guillaume Sparrow-Pepin) - unnamed bc that’s the tradition

Bon County (trad) a waltz but with singing

Coffey’s (trad) / Bea Mae’s (trad)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 21min
May 04, 2026Episode 8 - Carol Bittenson, Cecile Leroy, Daniel Raine
Download the full transcript here
Carol, Cecile, and Raine (Daniel) referred to a dance organization in Cambridge MA, BIDA https://www.bidadance.org/. They each have a variety of musical projects, and we talked about some of them during our conversation.
Carol Bittenson also plays with:
Crossover (with Len Bittenson & Alex Cumming)

Free Association (with Debby Knight & Amy Richardson Larkin)
Daniel Raine (Instagram @raine.maker) also plays with:
Thistlebird (with Emma Sloan) - Instagram @thistlebirdduo, email [email protected]

Paper Plane (with Emma Azelborn, and Rohan Weeden) - Instagram @paperplane.contra, email [email protected]

Chimney Swift (with AZ Madonna, Yaron Shragai & Cecile Leroy) - Instagram @chimneyswiftband, email [email protected]
Album - chimneyswift.bandcamp.com/album/fly-me-home

Website - chimneyswiftband.com/

Cecile Leroy also plays with:
The New Way (with Dave Langford & Jacqueline Schwab)

A duo with Sammy Wetstein & Jacqueline Schwab

Chimney Swift (with AZ Madonna, Yaron Shragai & Daniel Raine) - Instagram @chimneyswiftband, email [email protected]
Album - chimneyswift.bandcamp.com/album/fly-me-home

Website - [chimneyswiftband.com/](https://chimneyswiftband.com/

Tunes:
Owl’s Cowl (Daniel Raine)

Jigs - Ice Cream on the Terrace (Carol Bittenson) / Irishman’s Heart to the Ladies (trad) / Ice Cream on the Terrace (Carol Bittenson)

Waltz - Devon’s (Cecile Leroy)

Telephone Tune (trad) / Fred Letson’s (Cecile Leroy)

Childgrove (trad) / Key to the Cellar (trad)

Well Hall (trad)

Coalminer (trad) / Tam Lin (trad)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 28min
March 27, 2026Episode 7 - Nobody's Business
Full episode transcript
Nobody's Business: nobodysbusiness.band
Individual band members and their other projects:
Hayden Stern
https://haydenstern.com

https://www.youtube.com/@haydensternmusic

https://www.instagram.com/haydensternmusic
Casey Murray
https://caseymurraymusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/casey.murray.7737

https://www.instagram.com/caseymurray97/
Helen Kuhar
https://helenkuharmusic.com

https://www.instagram.com/helengracekuhar/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0OAnQScDhTL-o10NN7Tnh
Tunes
Farewell to Santa Ana (Hayden Stern)

An Dros (trad)

Boat Song (Hayden Stern) song!!
Break
Lady Anne Montgomery (trad)

Heather Lake (Hayden Stern) / Wedding at 11 West (Hayden Stern)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 7min
January 28, 2026Episode 6 - Benjamin Foss & Bennett Konesni
Click here to download transcript
Links:
Benjamin Foss - https://www.benjaminfoss.com/ ~ Benjamin plays with The Pine Tree Flyers, Thunderwing, and a variety of other musicians
Bennett Konesni - www.bennettkonesni.com which will take you here: http://www.duckbackfarm.com/ ~ Bennett plays with Drive Train, the Gawler Family Band, and a variety of other musicians
During our conversation, Bennett & Benjamin referred to various individuals and organizations, including these:
Bagaduce Music - Bennett is executive director of this nonprofit, where both he and Benjamin lead music ensembles and catalyze other music happenings (https://www.bagaducemusic.org/)
Maine Fiddle Camp - Both Bennett & Benjamin teach at this intergenerational music camp (https://www.mainefiddlecamp.org/)
Rehoboth Contra Dance - Benjamin grew up participating in this dance series, and also served on its board (https://rehobothcontradance.com/)
Brooks Contra Dance - Benjamin co-founded this thriving contra dance series at the Marsh River Theater in Brooks (https://www.instagram.com/brookscontradance/)
The Gawler Family (https://www.facebook.com/GawlerFamilyBand/)
Greg Boardman (Maine musician Neil Pearlman featured Greg on his great podcast, Trad Cafe, in 2017 - https://tradcafe.libsyn.com/episode-20-greg-boardman)
Simon St. Pierre, Québécois fiddler who lived in Maine for much of his life - See (a) the NEA National Heritage Fellowship bio page, and (b) the resource page from the Maine Fiddle Camp website (https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/simon-st-pierre) (https://www.mainefiddlecamp.org/tunes/music-of-simon-st-pierre/)
Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published by Elias Howe - Online resource (https://www.braccio.me/session/ryans-mammoth-collection.pdf) and a brief description (https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/ryan1.htm)
Ralph Page’s publication, Northern Junket - See (a) the overview page on the Square Dance History Project site, and (b) the digitized archive at UNH in Durham, NH (https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/1505) (https://scholars.unh.edu/northern_junket/)
The map of historic dance halls in Belfast, which is on display at the Belfast Free Library, was created through the vision of former BFS Board Member and local dancer, Alex Mann (Contra Dancing in Belfast - map.jpeg)
Tunes:
Mackilmoyle’s / Lamplighter’s Hornpipe (both trad)
Shingling the Roof (trad, often attributed to a New Brunswick fiddler)
Country Waltz (trad, from Prince Edward Island, and popularized by Don Messer)
Break
Schottis från Delsbo (trad, from Sweden)
The Journeyman’s Jig, also called Simon’s in D in Maine (June Eikhard) / Jimmy’s Favorite, also called Simon’s in G in Maine - two jigs from the repertoire of Simon St Pierre of Smyrna Mills
The Brazen Mask (trad)
Bonus track after the credits - Maclotte de Houssa, a “Walloon Tune” from Wallonia, a region of Belgium (trad)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 26min
December 23, 2025Episode 5 - Trip to Norwich
Click here to download transcript
Trip to Norwich
Contact Carol Compton for bookings ~ [email protected]
Some people and places mentioned in the conversation:
Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS) - Country Dance & Song Society
Brattleboro Music Center (BMC) - Brattleboro Music Center
David Millstone - David Millstone
Northern Spy, the band from the Norwich VT dance, of which Carol & Thal were both members Northern Spy
SPUDS, a dance band in Philadelphia - SPUDS
John Krumm, musician and dance leader - John Krumm
Star Island, in the Isles of Shoals, where the Star Hampshire Traditional Music & Dance Weekend was held - https://starisland.org/ and https://www.starhampshire.org/index.html
Tunes:
Glise de Sherbrooke (trad) / Flop Eared Mule (trad)
Cliffs of Moher (trad) / Cat Man Dew (Thal Aylward)
Tawyard Hall (Carol Compton)
Eddie’s Reel (trad) / Air du Saguenay (trad) / Joys of Quebec (trad)
Emilio’s Rag (Thal Aylward)
Covid Free (Thal Aylward) / Lady of the Lake (trad) / La Grandeuse (trad)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 5min
November 28, 2025Episode 4 - Genticorum
Click here for the full transcript
Genticorum
website ~ https://www.genticorum.com/
facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/genticorum
Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/genticorum/
YouTube ~ https://www.youtube.com/user/GenticorumTrad
Getting their music ~ https://linktr.ee/genticorum
Some people and places mentioned in the conversation:
Festival Memoire et Racines - https://www.memoireracines.org/fr
Waterville QC community dance - https://www.centrecommunautairewaterville.ca/danse-trad
Festival du Violon de Sutton (Pascal is currently the artistic director) - https://violontraditionnelsutton.com/
The All Comers Band page - https://belfastflyingshoes.org/all-comers-band/ - including a transcription of Galope des montagnards laurentiens - https://belfastflyingshoes.org/all-comers-tunes-for-march-1/
Crowfoot was a band comprised of Nicholas Williams, Jaige Trudel and Adam Broome. They’re no longer playing for contra dances, but toured extensively to broad acclaim.
Tunes:
Galope des montagnards laurentiens (trad)
Quadrille de Montcalm / reel du lièvre / reel de Chicoutimi (trad)
La chaine des dames (André Alain)
Valse Beaulieu (Pascal Gemme)
Hommage à Guy Thomas (Philippe Bruneau)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 17min
July 25, 2025Episode 3 - River Road
Click here to download the full transcript
River Road
website ~ riverroadtrad.com/
facebook ~ facebook.com/riverroadma/
Instagram ~ instagram.com/riverroadtrad/#
Some people and places that River Road referred to during the conversation:
Glen Loper glenloper.com ~ a Maine musician who granted permission for the band to record his tune, Water in the Attic, for this podcast
Country Dance & Song Society summer camps camp.cdss.org
Pinewoods Camp pinewoods.org
Pigtown Fling pigtownfling.com
Youth Dance Weekend youthdanceweekend.org
BIDA bidadance.org
The Valley Flyer amtrak.com/valley-flyer-train
Tunes:
Rolling Waves (trad) / Hole in the Hedge (trad) / Lucy Farr’s Barn Dance (trad)
Point Roberts (Jesse Ball) / Hiccup (Jesse Ball)
The Friendly Clarinetist (Kristen Planeaux)
Break
Water in The Attic (Glen Loper) / Starlit Skies (Jesse Ball)
The Valley Flyer (Jesse Ball)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 5min
May 23, 2025Episode 2 - Wild Asparagus
Full Episode Transcript
Links:
Wild Asparagus (Ann Percival, Becky Tracy, David Cantieni, George Marshall) ~ wildasparagus.com/
George’s dance programs in St. Croix ~ tropicaldancevacation.com
Ann’s projects as a visual artist ~ annpercival.com/
Becky’s other projects, including with her husband Keith Murphy ~ blackislemusic.com/ and facebook.com/beckytracykeithmurphy/
Hear more from the members of Wild Asparagus in another CDSS podcast, Contra Pulse, including these episodes:
David Cantieni: episode-7-david-cantieni-part-1/ and episode-8-david-cantieni-part-2/
Becky Tracy: episode-39-becky-tracy/
George Marshall: episode-13-george-marshall/
During our conversation, the members of Wild Asparagus refer to other artists, including these:
Swallowtail, the influential Pioneer Valley MA contra dance band (George Marshall, David Cantieni, Timm Triplett, Ron Grosslein, and Tim Van Egmond)
John Skelton, a woodwind player in the House Band
“Jamesie” Brewster, a legendary Caribbean musician. Learn more about Jamesie in this St Croix Source article; in this film about his role in “Scratch” and Quelbe music of St Croix and the US Virgin Islands jamesieproject.com/; and in the Columbia College Archives.
Tunes:
Ross’s Reel # 4 / Frenchie’s (both trad)
Dick Gossip (trad)
Stonetown (John Skelton)
Song for Gale (Larry Kaplan; sung by Cindy Kallet and others)
Break
Recreational Doctor (Keith Murphy)
The Lazy B (David Cantieni)
Speed the Plow (trad) / Enjoy Yourself (Carl Sigman & Herb Magidson) from the Wild Asparagus album, “Live at the Guiding Star Grange”, © 2009
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 1min
March 24, 2025Episode 1 - Pine Tree Flyers
Full episode transcript
Musician websites & some topics referenced in the show:
Pine Tree Flyers - pinetreeflyers.com/
Katie McNally - katiemcnally.com
Emily Troll - emilytrollmusic.com
Neil Pearlman - neilpearlman.com/
Owen Marshall - owenmarshallmusic.com/home/
Trad Cafe (Neil’s podcast) - tradcafe.org/
Maine Music Compendium (book referenced by Katie) - brickstoremuseum.org/product/maine-musical-compendium-by-paul-wells/
NH Library of Traditional Music & Dance at UNH (resource referenced by Chrissy) - library.unh.edu/find/special/subject/new-hampshire-library-traditional-music-dance

Tunes:
Lady of the Lake / Lady Walpole / Lady Ann Montgomery (all trad)
Haste to the Wedding / Coleraine (both trad)
Vidita (waltz by Katie McNally)
Break
Petronella / Green Mountain Petronella / Petronella (all trad)
Glise de Sherbrooke (trad)
Hull’s Victory / Douglas’s Favorite / Lamplighter’s Hornpipe (trad / either Jack Douglas or trad / trad)
Check out the Flying Shoes Radio Hour site more information and other great episodes. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about contra and English country dance.

Produced by:
Belfast Flying Shoes belfastflyingshoes.org
Country Dance & Song Society cdss.org
Belfast Community Radio WBFY (where the Flying Shoes Radio Hour airs weekly) wbfy.wpengine.com/show/flying-shoes-radio-hour/
...more
1h 3min

FAQs about Flying Shoes Radio Hour:

How many episodes does Flying Shoes Radio Hour have?

The podcast currently has 10 episodes available.