Bill's father was a church choir director and high school band director in Phil Campbell, Alabama. His family was always in church and always singing together. In January of 1996, Laura Boosinger and Tim Abell were in Mobile and Laura taught a three night Christian Harmony class at our church. About ten people attended including a life-long singer, Mr. Bill Green, and he invited everyone to a Sacred Harp convention in Bay Minette, Alabama. Bill attended and was given a book. After attending singings for a few years, Mr. Green and the Mosley family appointed him to be the chairman of the Baldwin County Convention. They relocated to the Montgomery area and now enjoy singing and picking with those at Wetumpka Presbyterian Church and with the people of the community. He works for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Nancy is the office manager at Pediatric Healthcare.

Growing up in rural Alabama, Bob was fascinated with the musical forms he encountered. Hymns in church, sacred harp singing schools, black sharecroppers singing in the fields, Hank Williams at the local school-house, and Grand Ole Opry radios shows, all contributed to his love of music. He taught himself to play keyboard instruments at his grandmother's parlor organ at age twelve, and was playing for church services soon after. When the folk music craze hit in the 1950's, Bob got himself a banjo and never looked back. He "invented" the double-bass dulcimer in 2006, and is now retired from his day job. He spends his time building and playing instruments, and performing.

A native of Loachapoka, Alabama, Deborah is from a musical family. Her father and uncles started a country music band from Loachapoka that became well known in the area. Deborah grew up singing with her family, in church choirs, high school chorus, and later, the Auburn University Choir. She has played the autoharp since elementary school, and plays a little guitar and ukulele. She fell in love with the mountain dulcimer in the early 1990s and that has become her major instrument. She is the founder and leader of the Whistle Stop Pickers, the local dulcimer group of the Lee County Historical Society, and along with her husband teaches children’s dulcimer classes at local schools. She is also an active member of the Montgomery Dulcimer Players and the North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association. Along with her husband Allen, she teaches children’s dulcimer classes at local schools. Professionally, she holds a Master’s Degree in Education and is retired from a 26-year teaching career. Currently, she is an adult Sunday school teacher and education consultant leading professional development classes for teachers.

Born in Auburn, Alabama in the 1930's, Ms. Roninsonwas a military wife, traveling all over the United States and Europe. Music instruction and singing was part of her life as long as she can remember. She was a school choir soloist and church choir soloist from a very young age. She learned the Negro spirituals from school and church as they were passed from generation to generation. In February 1989, she was asked to put together a church program for Black History month. The group she led became the present day Plantation Heirs. From there the Plantation Heirs have been in great demand. The Plantation Heirs are widely travelled and have three CD's. They are annually featured at the Eufaula Pilgrimage, and have performed at the National Baptist Convention USA all over Florida. They have always sung a cappella, to carry on the tradition of the Negro Spirituals. Ms. Ernestine conducts Negro Spiritual workshops in the area.

Jeff started his musical career in Boulder, Colorado, with most of his subsequent work centered out of the Philadelphia, Pennsylania, where he was mentored by jazz legend, Pat Martino. He worked the New York areas with some west coast tours and dates such as the "Midnight Special" television show. Most recently played in support for the "Living Legends of the Blues" television special backing Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King. He has opened for such notables as Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Luther Vandross, and Mason Williams. He is a well experienced sideman most recently working in the southeast college/club circuit. Jeff is a resident of Loachapoka, Alabama, and lives next door to the festival grounds. He is available to instruct local students.