The Swannanoa Gathering
The Swannanoa
Gathering.
Folk traditions,
passed from hand to hand.
Supporting the passing-on of folk traditions.
Warren Wilson College’s 2024 Swannanoa Gathering programme lists Tommy on its advisory board, alongside other folk musicians and cultural figures. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, the Gathering is a continuing-education programme devoted to preserving and passing on folk traditions.
Passing traditions from person to person
Founded in 1991 at Warren Wilson College, the Swannanoa Gathering centres on teaching and sharing folk traditions. Its programme combines organised classes with informal musical encounters across the campus, from classrooms and performance spaces to gardens, patios and session tents.
Tommy’s advisory role
The 2024 catalogue names Tommy on the advisory board with figures including Tom Paxton, Fiona Ritchie, Dougie MacLean, Si Kahn and John McCutcheon. This is an advisory connection: the listing does not mean that Tommy taught or performed at every year’s Gathering.
A place for singers
Traditional Song Week gives singing its own focus within the Gathering. The 2023 programme describes learning different song traditions with experienced instructors, building confidence and finding opportunities to sing for others. That emphasis on people carrying songs forward provides the setting for Tommy’s association with the Gathering.