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Percy Copley - Banjo
Percy Copley started playing the banjo at an early age, having been given a 5 string banjo by mistake. He was very grateful to a friend years later who showed him finger picks. Much less painful.
He played around London and the southeast bluegrass scene and many festivals in the uk.
In 1992 he went to Disney in France to play banjo for a year and ended up staying for 25, playing in the Cowhand Band, The Hillbilly Trio, Buffalo Bills Wild West Show etc.
He frequently returned to play in the UK and played in Europe with the Hillbilly Hiccups (UK), Field and Thompson (US), the Quiet Pie Pickers (FR) amongst others.
He is also currently playing banjo with Francky Gumbo and the Kentuckings (FR), and a new, soon-to-be-announced vintage bluegrass group in France.
His style is straight ahead, traditional, Scruggs style, with a few other things thrown in. Playing lead or as a singer the banjo is a strong back up instrument. This course will look at many aspects of the banjo. Lead, backup etc and exercises to get the roll and drive, along with some classic licks and fills, and how to play and sing at the same time.
He has previously taught at Sorefingers on banjo, mandolin, and ukulele, and is delighted to be returning to teach the 5 string. Website
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Peter Earle - Bass
Peter Earle is a graduate of the Leeds College of Music, where he majored in percussion and piano. After many years playing drums and keyboards in various genres, he discovered bluegrass in 2006 after attending his first Sore Fingers.
After a few years playing banjo, he moved to double bass, which has been his main instrument for the last 15 years. Now resident in Otley, West Yorkshire, he performs as part of an Americana duo, and has also appeared regularly at many of the UK bluegrass festivals, as well as in Ireland and the US.
He is a familiar figure at Sore Fingers, and for the last few years has run the popular Basic Music Theory elective, where he has utilised his training as a teacher to de-mystify the murky world of chords and scales! For 2025, he will be leading the bass class - teaching you technique and everything there is to know about finding a solid groove. |
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Sam Draper - BG Fiddle
Sam Draper is a British violinist and banjo player with a love for American music. Originally from Stroud, he started on the violin but soon picked up other instruments, drawn to the rich sounds of traditional music.
He studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, learning from Gillian Findlay, Gina McCormack, and Boris Brovtsyn, before heading to Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. It was here he immersed himself in a melting pot of musical styles, further refining his technique and expanding his repertoire into the
world of jazz, folk, and roots music. In addition to honing his violin and fiddle skills further, he also studied banjo with Bruce Molsky and guitar with Woody Mann.
Sam’s playing blends classical technique with the raw energy of bluegrass, jazz and old-time music. Whether on stage, teaching, or in the studio, he’s always exploring new sounds and sharing his passion for tradition and storytelling through music. |
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Chris Eaton - Dobro
Chris is a passionate musician and educator, best known for his expertise in Dobro. A seasoned performer, he plays Dobro in the bluegrass band Flint County, bringing authentic tone and expressive slide work to their live shows and recordings.
As a teacher, Chris shares his deep knowledge of steel/slide guitar through workshops, private lessons, and masterclasses, inspiring a new generation of players.
Chris’s writing has been featured in several leading UK guitar magazines. For Acoustic, he penned a regular slide guitar column and interviewed legendary Dobro player Jerry Douglas.For The Guitar Magazine, Chris authored The Beginner's Guide to Slide Guitar and interviewed blues-rock steel guitarist Robert Randolph.
We're delighted to have Chris join us this October, and can't wait to see what knowledge he shares with our cohort of dobro players! Website
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Max Vizard - Guitar
Max has been playing guitar for nearly 15 years, with a deep love for bluegrass and acoustic music. He’s attended SFSS for over 10 years, learning from greats like Critter Eldridge, David Grier, Stash Wyslouch, and Jake Workman.
Currently playing with What Humans Do and Mr Saturday Night, his style blends traditional, hard driving bluegrass rhythm with progressive ideas and a healthy obsession with tone. As a teacher, he’s all about demystifying guitar playing and helping students develop both skill and confidence. |
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Trevor Hyett - Introduction to Music Development
Trevor leads the Music Development course, designed to help players unlock their musicality in a fun, relaxed, and practical way. You'll explore how to safely take breaks over any folk or bluegrass tune, add fresh chords to reshape songs, and build fluidity across the fingerboard with hands-on, creative exercises.
A multi-instrumentalist with a love for the mandola, Trevor brings decades of experience both as a professional performer and a respected teacher. His workshops are known for their warmth, humour, and encouragement—creating a space where players of all levels feel inspired to grow.
Having founded his first band, The Bootles, at age 20, Trevor has gone on to lead multiple groups including Rebels Without Applause (in four incarnations), Left Hand Jive, Acoustic Bridge, String Driven Swing, and Cocktail Swing. Website
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Abbey Thomas - Mandolin
Growing up in the far corner of Cornwall, Abbey Thomas had to travel far and wide to find the music she loved. She soon bought a mandolin and began to focus on American folk genres including bluegrass and old-time music, and now her mandolin playing is confident with a rich tone, and a style heavily inspired by the likes of John Reischman and Joe K Walsh. Mandolin in hand, she performs regularly with multiple bluegrass bands including Flats and Sharps, Old Baby Mackerel, and Blue Lass. Abbey also loves exploring British instrumental folk music, enjoying learning new tunes on the mandolin and melodeon, and learning to sing unaccompanied traditional ballads. Abbey’s performances are dynamic and varied, including a mixture of traditional and contemporary music alongside original pieces inspired by the nature where she grew up.
Abbey is touring UK festivals with Blue Lass during summer 2025.
Abbey also has lots of experience in teaching, from children through to adults, in mandolin and beginner guitar. She has also run workshops at various festivals and events, including one titled ‘Introduction to bluegrass and old-time music’. She also helps to run full day sessions for key stage two with Class Dynamix in several schools, where sessions focus on teaching emotional intelligence through music, as well as having fun! |
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John Moore - Mandolin Masterclass
In addition to being the mandolinist, guitarist and vocalist for the internationally acclaimed band Bluegrass Etc, John Moore is also the mandolinist with the award winning band California, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Instrumental Band of the Year, three years in a row.
John’s musical performances have led him throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan, as well as into the studio doing radio and television commercials, along with movie sound tracks and sessions for other artists.
He has appeared in productions by, and done musical soundtracks for, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and A&E Television Network. He most recently appeared in the HBO Series Deadwood, and has appeared on the cover of Bluegrass Now, Bluegrass Unlimited and Flatpick Guitar magazines.
He is also a sought after teacher, having taught some of today’s hottest young musicians. John has taught, and continues to teach, at numerous music camps, including Wintergrass Academy (WA), Steve Kaufman’s Guitar Camp (TN), Bluegrass On The Beach (OR), Sore Fingers Music Camp (England), Rockygrass Academy (CO), Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Camp (AB, Canada), Levelland College (TX) and Northern Minn. Bluegrass Camp (MN), among many others.
After wowing us all at this year's easter course, we are thrilled to have John back - this time teaching mandolin. This course is aimed at upper intermediate/advanced players - picks at the ready! |
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Dan Stewart - OT Banjo
A respected clawhammer banjo player and guitarist, Dan Stewart has been performing for over 15 years, playing mainly Old Time American and Cajun music.
Dan plays regularly in three bands: Rattle on the Stovepipe (with Dave Arthur and Pete Cooper), The Hotfoot Band (with Chris Murphy and Kirsten Hammond), and Swallowtail, a duo with his sister, fiddler Sarah Tadros, performing Irish, Scottish, Greek and English folk music.
Dan has been teaching music since 1996, both for private students and for workshops at festivals, and is one of the banjo tutors for the Saturday Workshops at London’s Cecil Sharp House.
He currently lives in Bexhill, East Sussex. Website
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Emily Smith - OT Fiddle
Emily Smith’s love for American fiddle styles was ignited 20 years ago by an early Stringbean Akeman recording of Little Maggie with Chubby Wise on fiddle. Since then she has been a regular student and teacher at Sore Fingers, learning from the great American and UK players and sharing her own knowledge at our October weekends.
Emily regularly performs and runs workshops with Andy Quelch (our banjo tutor) in A&E Oldtime String Band and the Ragged Out String Band. Their partnership has led her to explore the endless treasure trove of Old-Time fiddle tunes which she loves to share through teaching and performing.
The course is aimed at players who can already play their fiddle/violin at a basic level. Emily will teach Old-Time American fiddle tunes, breaking down each tune phrase by phrase and focussing on the tunings, bowing patterns and inflections that make the unique sound of Old Time fiddle music. The tunes will be taught by ear so you don’t need to read music. |
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Paul Brewer and Philippa Ogden - Singing
Philippa is a singer and fiddle player based in North East England. She performs as one half of the harmony-led duo Errant Moose, whose debut EP Introducing Errant Moose was released last year. The duo has performed across the UK, most recently as part of the Jumpin’ Hot Club’s revue tour alongside Martin Stephenson (Martin Stephenson and the Dainties), Graham Shipcote (Shipcote and Friends) Rob Heron (Rob Heron and the Teapad Orchestra), and Rupert Hughes (The Often Herd). Errant Moose are currently working toward their first full-length album. She also sings and plays fiddle with the bluegrass band What Humans Do (ft Peter Earle, Max Vizard, and Chris Lord).
Philippa has co-led workshops including a singing retreat in the Alps, and regularly teaches beginner/intermediate fiddle in Newcastle. Her teaching focuses on emotional expression, harmony singing, and helping singers build confidence and connection through their music. At this year's music camp, she’ll be teaching singing alongside guitarist and singer Paul Brewer — an excellent musician and well respected figure in the UK bluegrass scene. Together, they will guide participants through practical techniques and creative approaches to build strong foundations and sing with greater confidence and ease.
Paul has been singing bluegrass since he first discovered the genre during the 1960s folk music boom. For twenty-five years he was the lead singer and guitarist for the New Essex Bluegrass Band which he co-founded in 1994 with tenor harmony singer and mandolin player Terry Hymas. The band appeared at all the major bluegrass festivals in the UK and across Europe, performing several times in Holland, Germany, Lithuania, Ireland and also France, where they were winners in the "Best Bluegrass Band of 2009" competition. Since the group disbanded in 2019 Paul and Terry have continued performing as a duo.
Harmony singing has been the major attraction of bluegrass to Paul and he is delighted to be sharing the singing class tutor duties this autumn with Philippa Ogden, whom he believes to be the best new female voice to have emerged in the UK in recent years.
Together they hope to help the class to develop their singing in the bluegrass style and how to create the harmonies which make singing together such a pleasure. |
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