Roger the Jester keeps pretty mum on stage, but here are some words of his. “My work is constantly changing; every venue will elicit new material. Every performance is a debut, since my work is so improvisational…There are many events where I create something special just for that event… I recently was commissioned to perform at […]
Sally Rogers and Claudia Schmidt have been weaving their voices, dulcimers, and guitars together for decades, creating an atmosphere of joy and musical lushness that audiences find irresistible. Their soaring harmonies (“blood harmony” was how one fan described it), their fascinating double dulcimer work, and their mix of six- and twelve-string guitars, blend with a […]
John Kirk & Trish Miller present fiery fiddle tunes, folksongs, and fancy footwork to audiences of all ages. John’s lyric voice, good sense of humor, and versatile instrumental skills—fiddle, mandolin, and several other instruments—have earned him widespread recognition in folk and traditional music circles. Trish is best known for her clogging, guitar, and banjo. Both of […]
Steeped in traditional music from both sides of the color line, Scott Ainslie is a renowned acoustic blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, with expertise in Piedmont and Delta Blues as well as Southern Appalachian fiddle and banjo traditions. Armed with a variety of instruments—vintage guitars; a fretless gourd banjo; a one-string diddley bow (aka cigar […]
Forty-eight years ago, Alhaji Bai Konte brought the music of the kora (Mandinka harp) from Gambia to the U.S. This year, his grandsons (the word is used a little more loosely than usual) Great Gambian Griots, continue to carry on that tradition. Jali Bakary Konteh is an imaginative improviser who can support the tradition or […]
An Appalachian barber, musician, storyteller, presenter, music teacher, banjo historian, and radio host, Jim Lloyd has musical roots that extend through at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers, and singers from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia While accomplished on many instruments, he is known especially for his skills on guitar (finger-picking […]
Donna Ray Norton Melanie Rice Penland A seventh-generation ballad singer, storyteller, and claw-hammer banjo player, Sheila Kay Adams was born and raised in the Sodom Laurel community of Madison County, North Carolina, where she learned to sing from her great aunt and other notable singers. Her devotion to preserving and perpetuating her heritage is both […]
For over forty years, Joe Bruchac has been creating literature and music that reflect his indigenous heritage and traditions. He is a proud Nulhegan Abenaki citizen and respected elder among his people. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the […]
John Roberts has been singing English folk songs since the early 1960s, when he joined a local folk club in his native Worcestershire. In America since 1968, he joined with Tony Barrand to form a duo which has lasted ever since. Singing in unaccompanied harmony, or with concertina or banjo, their entertaining style has delighted […]
Simon Hamer Simon Harmer has been teaching and performing a range of step-dance styles for over 30 years. Starting with English clog steps, he has over the years expanded his repertoire to include steps and styles from Appalachian clogging; from Quebec, Ontario, and particularly Cape Breton Island; from southern England, particularly Sussex and Hampshire, including […]
Frank Lee and Allie Burbrink are a vocal-driven old-time duo from western North Carolina. They showcase Frank's signature clawhammer-banjo sound on steel-string and nylon-string banjos. Or some slide guitar and harmonica blues pieces. Then there’s Maybelle Carter-inspired country guitar, or cross-tuned old-time fiddling à la Fiddlin' John Carson. And Frank & Allie's voices in harmony tying it all […]