This page is devoted to listing contra dances in the south central region of the United States along with bands, musicians, callers, and organizations that are based in the region. URLs and e-mail addresses are listed when available. New entries, additional information, and changes in information are always welcome. Links to other pages in the www.contradancelinks.com web site are listed at the bottom of the page.

New links are simply new to me, not necessarily new to the World Wide Web. Change in URL means that a link has changed its WWW address or URL.

Regional

• Bryan Walls provides an overall schedule for Tennessee, Alabama, and several other states. Another page that he is responsible for provides additional information.
• FolkFire, a Folk and Ethnic, Dance and Music Resource for St. Louis and the Central States includes listings for dances in the area and nearby states.
• The Childgrove Country Dancers provide a map and list of contra and square dancing in a wide area around St. Louis.

Alabama

• The Birmingham Friends of Old-Time Music and Dance holds New England contra dances, Western square dances, Appalachian circle dances in Birmingham on the various Saturdays of each month. In addition, they also host The Mentone Old-Time Music and Dance Weekend at Camp Saddlerock in Mentone in mid-August. Facebook page
• North Alabama Country Dance Society holds dances in Huntsville on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Facebook group.
• They are dancing in Montgomery on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month at the Montgomery Area Square Dance Association "MASDA" Building. Dance on hiatus as of May 2019.

Arkansas

• The Fayetteville Traditional Dance Society generally holds dances on the 3rd Saturday of the month. There is the occasional special dance such as the Valentine's Day dance.
• The Arkansas Country Dance Society (ACDS) sponsors contra dances, old time squares, and English country dances in North Little Rock on 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fridays. In addition they sponsor or participate in several special events such as the Mountain View Dance Festival in early-mid September. Facebook page.

Louisiana

• There a Facebook group for the series of contra and square dances in and around Baton Rouge with listings for other dances in Louisiana.
• Louisiana Contras and Squares covers events in Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

Mississippi

• No listings at present.

Missouri

• Martha Edwards and Greg Rohde provide information about the Cape Girardeau dances which are held (generally) on the 1st Saturday and some 3rd Saturdays of the month.
• The Mid-Missouri Traditional Dancers hold contra dances on the 1st and 3rd and 5th Fridays of the month in Columbia, for the most part from mid-September to mid-June. They host the Spring Breakdown in the spring in March and family dances from time to time. Facebook page.
• The CrossCurrents Contra Dance Committee hosts dances in Kansas City on the 4th Saturday of each month. Facebook group.
• The Traditional Dance & Music Society dances continue on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month in Springfield. Facebook group.
• The Folk School of St. Louis holds occasional barn dances in St. Louis as part of their many activities.
• The Childgrove Country Dancers host contra and square dancing in St. Louis on various Saturdays and Sundays each month plus waltzing and English Country sessions and calling parties on many Wednesdays of the month. Martha Edwards and Greg Rohde provide web support. Facebook group. Facebook page.
• They also hold the Meet Me in St. Louis dance weekend each year, in the spring (usually Memorial Day Weekend). It is held at Kirkwood Community Center in Kirkwood.

Tennessee

• The Chattanooga Traditional Dance Society presents contra dancing on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month plus Turkey Quickey and Chattaboogie. Facebook group.
• The Historic Jonesborough Dance Society holds dances on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month. Facebook group. Facebook page.
• The Knoxville Country Dancers sponsor weekly dances on Mondays and host a Knoxville Dance Weekend in mid-February. Facebook group.
• The Memphis Contra Dancers host dances on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Fridays of each month in Memphis and near-by Cordova. Facebook group.
• The Nashville Country Dancers have a contra dance every Friday night except for those preempted by a Saturday dance, a holiday or a special event. There is English Country Dancing available every Monday night. In addition, the group sponsors a Playford Ball in March, and the Fall Dance Weekend in October. Facebook page.
• The Lloyd Shaw Foundation hosts Cumberland Camp in Pleasantville at the NaCoMe Camp and Conference Center in late July which includes contras and a wide variety of other dances. Facebook group.
• The Flat Creek Dancers meet Tuesday nights from 7pm to 9pm for English and American and square dancing at Flat Creek Community Center in Shelbyville.

Texas

• The Traditional Austin Area Dance Association covers contra dancing in Austin including the 3rd Saturday dances along with the Fire Ant Frolic. Change in information and URL (December 7, 2019)
• The Austin Barn Dancers host dances on Wednesday nights at the Hancock Recreation Center.
• On 1st Saturdays, there is a dance in Bryan/College Station. Facebook group.
• The North Texas Traditional Dance Society promotes contra dancing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and hosts dances, mostly contra, with a healthy smattering of English Country, Square, and folkmixers thrown in. They dance almost every Saturday of the month. They also hold a festival called When In Doubt, Swing in early April and a weekend at the end of the year called Fiddler's Dream. Facebook group.
• The Houston Traditional Dance Society hosts contra dances on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. In addition, they sponsor the Bayou Bedlam in mid-February.
• Hub City Contra in Lubbock hosts dances one Saturday of each month.
• The folks in San Antonio dance on the 2nd Saturday of the month at the International Folk Culture Center. Facebook page.
• Dances occur in San Marcos on the afternoon of the 4th Sunday of the month.

Bands and Musicians

 
• Ed Baggot is a fiddler in Huntsville, Alabama.
• Boogertown Gap plays Old-Time Appalachian String Music and Celtic Music throughout East Tennessee and the local "Great Smokies" area at a variety of events and functions. Facebook.
• Cactus Canyon is San Antonio's local long-standing contra band, formed in 1985. They've played mostly for contra dances, but have also played for the annual Victorian Gala (and other Fiesta events), the San Antonio Folklife Festival, and for various other public events as well as for the occasional wedding.
• The Cantrells feature Al and Emily Cantrell and play bluegrass, western, western swing, Irish fiddle tunes, original contradance tunes, jazz standards, and even an occasional Broadway "hit." They are based in Tennessee.
• Matt Combs plays fiddle and mandolin with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, groups such as Sub-ID and has taught at the Blair School of Music and Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp. He is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Flying Jenny, from Birmingham, Alabama includes Jim & Joyce Cauthen and Duncan Blair and plays old-time string band music. The site is maintained by Jim and Joyce Cauthen.
• Leela and Ellie Grace play mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and banjo and have taught percussive dance styles that include Appalachian clogging, Irish Step Dancing, and Rhythm Tap. They occasionally play at a contra dance and are based in Missouri. Facebook page.
• Hazel and the Delta Ramblers play on a regular basis across Louisiana. Facebook page.
• Thom Howard plays guitar with a variety of musicians at dances in Missouri.
• The Ill-Mo Boys, consisting of Geoff Seitz on fiddle, Curtis Buckannon on mandolin, and Jim Nelson on guitar play, as you might guess, in Missouri, Illinois, and nearby venues. Change in URL (December 7, 2019)
• Kaleidoscope is a band based in Huntsville, Alabama, with a fiddle-piano core (Chuck and Katrina Weber). The band name is a nod to the diversity of their music and musicians, since they're often joined on the spot by various other musicians. They play for contradances (and other events), mainly in the southeastern US.
• The Kaubells (pronounced "Cowbells") are a 2-person husband and wife (Matt Kaufmann plays the piano, and Holly Bell plays the fiddle) band playing a mix of original and traditional tunes.
• Missouri fiddle player Dave Landreth has a page about old-time tunes, his CD and his other endeavors.
• The Kim and Jim Lansford includes information about both musicians (Jim passed away in 2012). They (and Kim continues to) play old-time music, including music for dances and are based in the Ozarks of Missouri. The Old-Time Herald has a lengthy article about and their careers and music.
• The Laughing Lizards Old Time String Band hails from Houston, Texas and features old-time fiddle and banjo tunes, Appalachian mountain music, early swing and ragtime, "roots" Louisiana Cajun music, American ballads, and old Gospel songs. Facebook page.
• Pippa Letsky has been playing bluegrass music on the guitar (mandolin, bass, or fiddle) since she was 12 and is in bands such as Three Around Three. She is based in Missouri.
• As Locust Honey, Chloe Edmonstone and Meredith Watson bring their experience in Old-Time, Bluegrass, and Pre-War Blues to both their original material and the traditional songs and tunes of the American Southeast. The band is from Nashville, Tennessee. Facebook page.
• The Lost & Nameless Orchestra is based in Austin, Texas. Facebook page.
• Based in Huntsville, Alabama, the Maple Hill Band has been playing Celtic and old-time music since 2003. Change of URL (December 8, 2019)
• Missouri Compromise is a 6 piece band focusing on Civil War Era appropriate music, ready, willing and able to perform in period dress, (or at least an increasingly reasonable facsimile thereof). It is available for Civil War Reenactment Balls, and other events reflecting that period, as well as Contra Dances. From North East Missouri /West Central Illinois. Contact Dale or Sarah McUmber-House at 573-985-4141. See our 'alter-ego', Ralugerri.
• The Mound City Slickers are an old-time string band based in St. Louis who play for dances throughout the Missouri and Illinois areas and are looking to expand to other midwest states.
• The Mumbillies play at dances in and around Tennessee. (e-mail only)
• New Bad Habits with Dave Landreth, Chirps Smith, Tim Foss, Andrew Gribble and Dot Kent, play old-time, the music that combines the traditions of immigrants bringing their music to America for more than two centuries; music intended to accompany ethnic as well as uniquely American dances. The members hail from Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri.
• The Old 78's are Curly Miller and Carole Anne Rose who play an unusual style of Old Time fiddle and clawhammer banjo, Hillbilly Fiddle Rags, Classic Banjo duets, Irish, Scottish, Celtic, World and historic music. The group is based in Arkansas.
• Oui Bis is a band that provides popular music reflecting the populus. Oui Bis focuses on nostalgic styles from American culture, from modern days reaching back as far as the Civil War. They are based in Texas. Facebook page.
• Dave Para played with his wife for many years before her passing in 2019. He continues to play a range of music from the lively dance tunes that they collected in their home region to old ballads to new songs. He is based in Missouri.
• Perfect 5th features Willie Simmons on guitar, bass, and piano; Keith Holmes on piano, accordion, and clarinet; Gail Huggett on hammered dulcimer and piano; Cheryl Cleary on whistle, flute, recorder, and percussion and Teresa Henrichs on fiddle and viola and is based in Houston, Texas.
• Permanent Wave is a contra dance band located in the Houston, Texas area.
• Elsie Peterson is a musician in Alabama (e-mail only).
• Ralugerri is a 6 piece band focusing on Irish Traditional and Celtic music. It is available for Contra Dances and other events from North East Missouri/West Central Illinois. Contact Dale or Sarah McUmber-House at 573-985-4141. See our 'alter-ego', Missouri Compromise.
• Bart Ramsey & Neti Vann play a great collection of contra-versial jigs, reels and waltzes. Bart's contra-puntal piano rhythm will add bounce to your dance steps, and Neti's violin keeps the energy going in the New Orleans, Louisiana area.
• Red Mountain Yellow Hammers plays traditional string band music in Alabama. The site is maintained by Jim and Joyce Cauthen.
• The Reel McCoy, featuring Joel Kaserman, Ritchie Schuman, Bethann Miller, Harry Johnson, Cheryl Parker and Julia Wallis, frequently plays at the dances in Memphis, Tennessee. Changes in URLs (January 24, 2020)
• Reel Women are basically dance musicians, and have considered refusing to play when people won't get up and dance, and are comprised of Martha Edwards and Kristin Graham and are based in Missouri.
• The River Ridge String Band plays a mix of traditional, old-time, celtic, folk and bluegrass. Instrumentation includes hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo, mandolin and bodhran and other folk percussion and is based in Jefferson City, Missouri.
• Geoffrey J. Seitz is a violinmaker and fiddle player in Missouri.
• The Shortleaf Band began in about 1995 in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and finds its foundation in the driving, energetic music required for dancing. Facebook page.
• The Skirtlifters authentically recreate the music of the 19th century riverboat, stage and parlor, enlivened by period humor, skits, songs and percussive dance. Their repertoire includes jigs, reels, rags, galops, marches and waltzes. The band is based in Arkansas.
• Squirrelheads in Gravy plays delicious old-time music in Texas with Jack Izen, Ray Quigley, Neia Lively Izen, Greg Breiland and Joe Izen stirring the pot.
• Martha Edwards provides information about Stringdancer, a band based in Missouri.
• Dance music from the Upper South (Knoxville, Tennessee), with fiddle, banjo, guitar, and percussion is the basis of the duo Turnip the Beet. Facebook page.
• Vulcan's Britches, from Birmingham, Alabama, plays what they call old-time music, meaning the traditional music style of the southern Appalachians, first recorded in the late 1920's and early '30's. They feature Kurt Kinbacher (guitar and banjo), Allen Peterson (fiddle), Terry McGinn (fiddle), Bobby Weathers (upright bass), and Carter Laney (banjo and guitar).
• Fiddler Charlie Walden is from Missouri and plays at contra dances, festivals and music weeks. Facebook page.

Callers

• Marc Airhart has called at various dances in Texas since 1998. Check with Austin dancers for more info. (e-mail only)
• Dan Wally Baker calls square dances and teaches dance in New Orleans, Louisiana. Facebook page.
• Joe Barziza calls at the dance in Dallas, Texas and other locales. (e-mail only (take out the (at)))
• Lissa Bengston started calling in Tulsa in the early 1990's and is now based in San Antonio, Texas. (e-mail only)
• Chrissy Davis-Camp calls teaches and calls dances all around the southeast U.S.; English Country Dance, Contra Dance, Community Dance for all ages. She is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Change from e-mail to URL (April 9, 2011).
• Jane Ewing is from the Huntsville, Alabama, area and calls there and in other locales across the South and sometimes in other parts of the United States. (e-mail only)
• Grant Goodyear calls in Walhalla, South Carolina and in Texas on a regular basis.
• Jerome Grisanti moved to Marhyville, Missouri in 2006 and has been calling in the Kansas City and Lawrence area dances and before that in the Louisville region, including Lexington and Cincinnati, and has ventured as far as Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina to call dances since 2002.
• Jim Hawkins calls in Springfield and around the Missouri area. (e-mail only)
• Vicki Herndon calls on a regular basis at the dances in Tennessee and throughout the southeastern United States.
• Jef Hodge calls in Alabama. (e-mail only)
• Susan Kevra is contra, square and English dance caller, musician and singer currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Tim Klein is a caller from Knoxville, Tennessee. (e-mail only).
• Paula McFarling calls on a regular basis in Columbia, Missouri along with calling in St. Louis and Kansas City. (e-mail only)
• Mac McKeever calls at the St. Louis, Missouri dance and at other venues. (e-mail only)
• Linda Mrosko has been calling contra dances all over Texas (and Oklahoma) for over 15 years.
• Martha Quigley is caller from the Dallas, Texas area. (e-mail only (take out the (at)))
• Dale Rempert calls in Texas including Austin and Houston. (e-mail for the caller)
• Chuck Roth calls in Austin, Texas, San Antonio and other locations. (e-mail only)
• Barb Smith is a contra dance and vintage dance caller in Houston, Texas. (e-mail only)
• Ted Steele calls on a regular basis in St. Louis, Missouri and other locales. (e-mail only)
• T-Claw calls for beginners and well seasoned dancers. T-Claw Calling strives to keep the moves accessible for a mixed crowd, and entertains with ferocious fervor. He is based in Tennessee. T-Claw focuses on traditional mountain styles but has many other tricks to employ. Change in URL (January 24, 2020)
• Keith Tuxhorn calls in the Austin, Texas area. (e-mail only)

Organizations

• FolkFire, a Folk and Ethnic, Dance and Music Resource for St. Louis and the Central States includes listings for dances in the area and nearby states.
• Jubilee Community Arts is a regional, community cultural center, dedicated to preserving and nurturing the evolving traditional arts and cultural communities of the Southern Appalachian region near Knoxville.
• CrossCurrents is a non-profit corporation in Kansas City, Missouri which is dedicated to people creating their own culture, even if it means preferring crude vigor to polished banality. They produce concerts, plays, and community events.
• The Austin Friends of Traditional Music is dedicated to encouraging the performance, appreciation, preservation, and sharing of all genres of traditional / folk / ethnic / international music and dance. From Old-Time, Celtic, Bluegrass, and traditional Jazz to Latin American, Zydeco, Cajun, and Gospel, AFTM has provides the Austin community with a sampling of musical and dance expressions from folk cultures the world over.

This page is part of the Contrdancelinks.com web site. For more information about contra dancing, visit these other site pages:

*The Colorado link will bring you to Dancing on the Web. The Maine link will bring you to the Downeast Friends of the Folk Arts. The New Mexico link will bring you to the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society. The Utah link will bring you to Utah Contradance Information. These fine organizations and individuals already have complete listings for these states and there is no reason for me to duplicate their efforts.

**As far as I know, there are no regular dances or events in Mississippi, South Dakota or Wyoming, but I have created pages if something changes in the future.

http://www.contradancelinks.com/south.html
Produced by Charlie Seelig
Last updated on January 24, 2020