In the early 1990’s, founder Hilary Dirlam had the vision for a week-long event dedicated purely to old-time music. She created and directed this wonderful program for many years, curating the faculty and staff, as well as coordinating with our home at Mars Hill University. Hilary herself is a legendary musician with a lifetime of contribution to this music, and she thoughtfully hired local talent as well as nationally and internationally known musicians who were passionate about sharing the music we all love!

In 2002, Hilary recruited Amy Buckingham (school teacher and musician) as an assistant. Amy, along with Lewis and Katie Wills, helped with many of the details and activities during BROTMW. Later, in 2009, Hilary invited Ann Whitley (another school teacher and musician) to work with her as a co-director.  Ann continued the tradition of hiring excellent and thoughtful teachers, and together they strived to cultivate a welcoming environment for students to study old-time music. When Hilary stepped down from directing, Ann asked Amy to co-direct with her and they worked together for over a decade planning this magical event in the mountains of North Carolina.  

In 2022, Ann “passed the torch” to Rachel Eddy who is also a teacher and beloved member of the old-time community. Rachel is an internationally known old-time musician and multi-instrumentalist, with a passion for teaching and building community. Since becoming co-director with Amy, Rachel has hired fantastic talent for BROTMW and started a youth scholarship fund with the intention of passing on traditional music to future generations. Together, Amy and Rachel work to coordinate this beautiful week of music, dancing, singing, and friendships that Hilary envisioned over three decades ago!