Aaron O'Rourke began teaching and performing on mountain dulcimer at the age of 16. In a short period of time, Aaron became one of the headlining names at dulcimer camps and traditional music events across the US including Steve Kaufman's Acoustic Kamp, WCU's Dulcimer Week, Augusta Heritage Center's Traditional Music Week, Kentucky Music Week, The Florida Folk Festival and more.

In 2010, Aaron won the National Mountain Dulcimer Competition held at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS. Aaron is also a past winner in the Florida Old-time music competition and the Southeastern Regional Dulcimer Contest in Mountain View, AR.

Aaron has written 20 instructional books for the mountain dulcimer, released three solo albums and two albums as frontman of the Aaron O'Rourke Trio. His latest recording, appropriately titled, "Unaccompanied," features all solo tracks on mountain dulcimer, banjammer (a banjo/dulcimer hybrid), and fingerstyle guitar. The album pulls heavily from influences in classical, jazz and traditional fiddle tunes, while at the same time making forays into the raw energy reminiscent of Aaron's early days in a punk band.

Special THURSDAY night concert!

Karen Mueller's exciting and innovative performing style, featuring Appalachian, Celtic and contemporary music, has been applauded by critics and audiences from LA to Boston. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine has said "Karen Mueller's touch, timing and taste make her a true virtuoso. Her talent and clarity ... deserve a wide audience." Karen won the 1986 International Autoharp Championship and was a National Dulcimer finalist in 1985, both at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS. In 2006 she was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame. A native of Winfield, she first attended the festival while in high school and was inspired to learn to play the autoharp and dulcimer by the performers she saw there.

http://www.karenmueller.com

Riley Baugus represents the best of old time American banjo and song. His powerful singing voice and his expert musicianship place him squarely in the next generation of the quality American roots tradition.

Riley first came to music through his family. His father had left his roots in the mountains of North Carolina in the search for work, settling near Winston-Salem and bringing with him a love of old time music and a record collection that included, amongst others, the works of fellow North Carolinian Doc Watson, which touched the young Riley on a molecular level.

One fateful day, Riley got a call from longtime friend and collaborator Dirk Powell. Dirk was involved in the music direction for the Academy Award-winning film "Cold Mountain" and had convinced the producers that they needed Civil War era banjos made in the Carolina hills, specifically Riley’s handmade banjos. They also needed an authentic acapella ballad singer for the voice of Pangle, played by Ethan Suplee. Riley put the hammer down on the anvil and didn’t look back. A whirlwind Hollywood experience ensued, culminating in a place on the star studded "Great High Mountain" tour.

http://www.rileybaugus.com/

Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones are old-time musicians and inspired tunesmiths. They are married – in life and music. When they play, their instruments and voices blend like two forks of the same river. Southern song-duets and soaring fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo tunes comprise their diverse concert sets. They play with ease, spontaneity and vitality. While rooted in the traditional sounds of older players, this duo stays true to their own muse. Carl’s honest songs can make your heart ache. Erynn’s spirited fiddling can enthrall. Together Carl & Erynn’s expressive, musical meanderings can transport the soul.

http://dittyville.com/

Michael Reno Harrell is an award-winning songwriter, as well as a veteran storyteller and entertainer, and he’s from the South… the Southern Appalachian Mountains to hone it a bit finer
Michael's recordings top the Americana Music Association charts year after year. His original songs and stories have been described as “Appalachian grit and wit” but, as his writing shows, Michael’s awareness is much broader than the bounds of his boyhood home or even the Southern Experience. Having toured throughout the British Isles and much of Europe, as well as most of the US, the songs he writes and the stories he creates reflect an insight into people’s experiences that catch the ear like an old friend's voice.
Michael's natural knack for storytelling, in print, song and spoken word has earned him praise from not only the music community but from the literary and storytelling worlds as well, having had the honor of being a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival and to be Teller In Residence at the International Storytelling Center, as well as performing at major music events like MerleFest and the Walnut Valley Festival. Along with his performances, Michael often conducts workshops in songwriting and storytelling as well.
http://www.michaelreno.com/

Don Pedi is a Traditional Mountain Musician who started playing the dulcimer in 1968.
He shares songs, tunes and stories in a warm, often humorous and always entertaining manner.
Don is known for developing a playing style for the fretted mountain dulcimer that can match a fiddle, note for note, while maintaining the rhythms and characteristics of traditional music.
In 1974, he won first place in the first contest he ever entered, at Fiddler’s Grove, in Union Grove, N.C.
In 1979, Don was declared "Master Dulcimer Player" and removed from future competitions at Fiddler's Grove. Before retiring from competition in 1984, Don had amassed over forty first place ribbons in contests throughout the south east, both in solo competitions and as a key band member.
Over the decades, he’s been recognized and honored for collecting, preserving and performing Traditional Appalachian music.
Since 1985 Don has championed folk music as an on air host at NPR affiliate WCQS 88.1 in Asheville, NC. His weekly show “Close to Home” airs on Saturdays, locally from 8:00-10:00pm (Eastern Time) and simultaneously streams on the web.
Don has appeared in the motion pictures “The Song Catcher” and “The Journey of August King”, as well as a number of documentaries and music specials.

Collins and Jordan are classically trained musicians who first toured together as part of five piece band, Over Under Yonder. Collins composed most of the songs that appear on their album, Journey Onward, as she thru-hiked from Maine to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail in 2006.

When Over Under Yonder finished touring in 2010, Collins and Jordan, recognizing an obvious synergy, split off as Tina & Her Pony. The duo spent the next two years writing and performing new music together in Taos, New Mexico, the place where Tina & Her Pony forged their signature sound of delicate, haunting harmony and exposed instrumentation on cello, tenor ukulele, and acoustic guitar.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Collins grew up listening to folk legends like Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, and Nick Drake, as well as Appalachian musicians such as Loretta Lynn, The Carter family, and Doc Watson. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in Tampa FL by her Guatemalan single mother, Jordan spent her young life salsa dancing at family parties and singing hymns in her church choir. She started her classical training at the age of 8 and began writing music at 14 years old, largely influenced by Russian Romantic Composers and artists such as Radiohead, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash.

http://tinaandherpony.com