Wake the Parson's music is perfect for a social, business or holiday event needing a touch a classy fun. Audiences are drawn to our unique instrumentation, which works equally well as background or on the main stage. Our repertoire varies from soothing to toe-tapping.

Take your event in a fresh direction. It's time to Wake the Parson! 

The band is based in Winston-Salem, NC.

Rebecca Lowry (hammered dulcimer) and Bill Lowry (guitar, mandolin, banjo) both grew up with a musical heritage and met in college while studying and performing classical choral music. They began playing traditional tunes together while taking a course in Appalachian folk music. It must've sounded pretty good because they've been married 50 years! Originally trained on piano, Rebecca subsequently fell in love with the hammered dulcimer and has focused on it exclusively in recent years. Bill and Rebecca played  locally in the contra dance band The Ones Improper. They continue to share their love of music in their local church community and shaped note singing group. 

Tracey Maxwell (cello) started cello at the age of seven. She pulls from her classical background, her years in the local Celtic band Belles on Strings, a fun stint in local rock band Mystic Chicken, and her latest love—the wonderfully quirky traditional dance music of Scandinavia. For the past decade she has studied, through workshops and lessons, with nationally celebrated cellists who have pioneered the revival of the cello's historical role in Scottish traditional music and also the development of a modern role for cello in many other genres. As the (perhaps little known) saying goes, "There's always room for cello!"

John Calhoun (fiddle) discovered his love of fiddle in his 20's and has been 'following the fiddle' ever since. He's explored and been influenced by a variety of traditions, including Appalachian/Old-Time, Scottish/Celtic, French Canadian and English, and the local contra dance community continues to inspire him. Years in local sessions and the bands South Surry Serenaders, Reel Shady, and The Ones Improper have colored his musical journey, as has his time performing Shaped Note singing. John's love of American/Old Time shines through in the band's repertoire.