Dulcimer Daze returns to valley

DEERFIELD VALLEY - From Friday, August 12, to Sunday, August 14, Mountain Dulcimer players will be gathering at the Mountaineer Inn for the 31st annual “August Dulcimer Daze.” The event is one of the yearly national dulcimer gatherings and attracts players who are workshop teachers, students, and performers.
The Saturday night concert, sponsored by George and Mary Haggerty, of Folk Craft Music in Jacksonville, will feature traditional folk music from Joe Collins and Butch Ross.
Collins has been a folk musician and mountain dulcimer player since the late ‘70s. He is a songwriter whose performances are a fusion of Burl lves and Gordon Lightfoot with a mountain dulcimer twist. This 2007 National Mountain Dulcimer champion is able to combine mountain dulcimer wizardry with good, solid vocals. His performances are sprinkled with a lot of humor, sure to bring a smile to audiences of all ages. He has produced seven CDs, published 15 books of dulcimer music, and has served as a clinician-performer in festivals and music camps across the country.
Ross has been gleefully smashing disparate genres of music together for over 10 years. Using the mountain dulcimer as a prism, he has the instrument to conquer everything from Bach to the Beatles to Radiohead and everything in between. His restless musical curiosity and virtuosity, coupled with his innate ability to break complex concepts into simple ideas, have made him an in-demand teacher and performer at many folk and dulcimer festivals. He is also a regular contributor to the Dulcimer Players News.
The concert takes place on Saturday, August 13, at 8 pm at Memorial Hall in Wilmington. For more information call Folk Craft Music at (802) 368-7437. General admission is $15. For tickets call (802) 464-8411.