A Kentucky musician has organized a project to share information, educate people and provide resources that deepen the understanding of Kentucky’s music and folk art traditions.
Award-winning musician Brett Ratliff talks about Catfish Alley Folk School.
It’s a rainy Thursday night at an Irish pub in Frankfort. A group of men and women gather in a circle near the pub for an open jam session. Andy Duckworth, his wife Stephanie, and traditional Kentucky musician Brett Ratliff sing a song during the jam session.
Ratliff also serves as the director of the Kentucky Arts Council’s arts organization. And now he has created a new platform called Catfish Alley Folk School.
“It’s a creative platform for the community to engage with folk and traditional arts. And that’s a broad field. We break that down into different instrument classes. I teach both classes and private lessons at Catfish Alley, focusing on traditional music, and mainly Kentucky traditional music and repertoire. We do workshops, we do concerts, we do square dancing,” Ratliff explained.
The musician said the Catfish Alley Folk School is a partnership with the nonprofit Kentucky Old Time Music, Inc., founded in Morehead, KY. He said the platform’s overall mission is implemented through various programs, resource sharing and advocacy.
“Our efforts support a network among artists and provide opportunities to expand community reach and celebrate the complex stories that shape our living traditions, making sure we recognize that these are living traditions and we are not trying to preserve something in the past,” Ratliff said.
During a break in the jam session, Ratliff explained Catfish Alley’s relationship to that evening’s event.
“It’s just a loose group of jam musicians that come together to play Kentucky fiddle tunes. The jam session is hosted by our resident master fiddle player John Harrod. And the relationship with Catfish Alley is kind of a promotional relationship. We help make people aware that it’s happening. But it’s also just about being here and being part of the community and this music,” Ratliff explained.
He credits John Harrod with starting this monthly jam session. Ratliff said he created the Catfish Alley platform in conversation and collaboration with artists like Harrod. Harrod has played fiddle for over 60 years. He has spent decades documenting traditional, old-style music in Kentucky. Ratliff draws inspiration from Harrod’s work.
“John is someone who has a lot of knowledge for those of us who are of a younger generation who want to come in here and learn so much of what John has documented over the years. He’s a mentor, a teacher, a retired high school teacher from here in Frankfort. He’s always been committed to preserving Kentucky fiddle music and is truly a statewide treasure to us,” Ratliff reported.
The Catfish Alley Folk School website lists events and music classes. Ratliff teaches banjo and recently recorded one of his students from Winchester playing after a lesson. Ratliff said he appreciates teaching an instrument like the banjo and its history and traditions.
“Yes, the influences of this music come from everywhere and that’s why it’s important to recognize that playing banjo music, passing on fiddle music, dancing together in communities, telling stories and cooking, passing on recipes, means so much to our cultural identity. Doing all of these things feels incredibly important,” Ratliff said.
A workshop with the Catfish Alley Folk School is planned for October 10th, focusing on the music and work of banjoist Bill Cornett. Ratliff is excited about the workshop, which he says is intended to entertain and educate.
“It’s just important. He was born in the late 1800s and played the banjo when he was young, but then was elected to the Kentucky State Legislature in 1956 to represent Knott and Magoffin counties. He wrote songs about the issues he stood for and sang them on the floor of the legislature. It’s just remarkable. I like that.”
Brett Ratliff said that although the Catfish Alley Folk School is a new project, he hopes it will help shine a spotlight on Kentucky’s stories, traditions, culture and community.
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