live

“Matthew provides perhaps the most striking contribution to the band’s sound with his mesmerizing percussion, which he provides with the cajon and bodhran (drums from Cuba and Ireland, respectively), hamboning, clogging, flatfooting and dancing.”

-Dave Higgs, Bluegrass Now

Come see a show or take a class…

6.8.12 Hamner Theatre, Afton, VA 8pm (Beat Retreat Show)

6.9.12 Hamner Theatre, Afton, VA 8pm (Beat Retreat Show)

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6.9.112 RVCC, Beat Retreat Master Classes with Special Guest Artist Teachers:

Flatfooting- Becky Hill 12-1pm
Irish Step Dance- Kate Spanos 1-2pm
Dance the Tune- Nic Gariess 2-3pm

All master classes $10, open to dancers of any experience level, & will be held at:

RVCC 190 Rockfish School Ln. Afton, VA

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6.11.12-6.15.12 Smiling Mountain Dance Intensive, Afton, VA

Click here for: Smiling Mountain Class Info/Registration

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6.30.12 Vaudevival, 8pm Dance Place, DC (with special guests Baakari Wilder and Capitol Tap)

7.1.12 Vaudevival, 8pm Dance Place, DC (with special guests Baakari Wilder and Capitol Tap)

7.15.12-7.21.12 Swannanoa Celtic Week NC (Matt teaching Bodhran)

7.22.12-7.29.12 Boxwood Canada NS (Matt teaching percussive dance)

8.5.12-8.11.12 Augusta Dance Week

9.7.12-9.9.12 Wheatland Music Festival Remus MI (Good Foot Presents: The Beat Retreat)

Past performance highlights include:

• Aulnay All Blues Festival, Aulnay-sois-Bois, France
• Tanglewood
• Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, Cleveland OH
• The School at Jacob’s Pillow
• Eileen Iver’s Beyond the Bog Road
• Memory House/Desire House, in conjunction with The Kronos Quartet’s Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home, University of MD
• Performatica, Puebla Mexico
• Song of the Mountains for PBS
• Carter Fold, VA
• Paramount Theater, Charlottesville VA
• The Chieftains
• Kennedy Center, Washington DC
• The Generation Game BBC, London
• Washington DC Irish Folk Festival, VA
• Smithsonian Institute 150th Anniversary Celebration, Washington, DC
• Riverdance, London England

So, come on out and witness the awesomeness for yourself. You never know, you might catch our hero in a get-up like this:

Matthew Olwell in wood sprite get-up at the Live Arts Gala, 2006