Featured Performers in 2020

We have lined up a stellar cast of featured performers to lead our workshops and concerts. These include:

  • A National Mountain Dulcimer champion,
  • Two National Hammered Dulcimer champions,
  • A National Autoharp champion — a two-time winner,
  • Fiddle and Guitar festival champions.

These musicians bring a wide range of music styles, from old-time fiddle to traditional folk and contemporary music. Many of our featured performers play multiple instruments from dulcimer to banjo, guitar, autoharp and penny whistle which attests to their talent. This will be an outstanding festival in terms of workshops and performances, make plans now to come. These performers include:

  • Steve Eulberg – mountain dulcimer instructor from San Mateo, California. Although teaching mountain dulcimer, Steve has won the coveted Walnut National Championships playing both mountain and hammered dulcimers.
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  • Lorinda Jones – from Rineyville, Kentucky, plays both mountain dulcimer and Celtic harp. Her passion is music therapy and she will lead an extended workshop on Thursday afternoon on this topic.

  • Carl Jones and Erynn Marshall are an award-winning couple and hail from Galax, Virginia. Erynn is an old-time fiddler and Carl is a respected guitar player. They are new to our festival and we are looking forward to what their traditional styles of playing will bring to our festival.

  • Doug Pratt, is from the Raleigh, North Carolina, area and formerly lived in Baton Rouge where he was encouraged to pursue autoharp at one of our early our festivals. Doug will be our autoharp instructor this year. In addition to winning the Walnut Valley National Autoharp Championship twice, Doug is an accomplished ornithologist, illustrator, author, musician, birding tour leader, and expert on the avifauna of the Pacific islands and plays a variety of musical instruments.

  • Willie Sager will be the Master of Ceremonies for our fête. Returning by popular demand, Willie lives in Port Allen just down the road on the Mississippi levee from the fête. Willie is a bluegrass musician playing upright bass and he is the driving force in several local bands including the Cane Grinders. He is a welcome addition at Lagniappe activities and we enjoy his humor.

  • Susan Trump, from Schenectady, NY, plays mountain dulcimer and other acoustic instruments. She is a well-known dulcimer workshop leader and her “magic stems from her ability to link the pastoral, tranquil images of traditional rural America to our contemporary life. Her songs touch the heart, recall the past, and inspire the times ahead.”

  • Mark Alan Wade is a freelance musician based out of North-Eastern Ohio. He will lead our intermediate all-instrument orchestra extended workshop on Thursday afternoon and will teach hammered dulcimer classes as well as a penny whistle class. An orchestral trumpeter by trade, Mark has a doctorate in Trumpet Performance from The Ohio State University and has played in a dozen orchestras in the US and in Europe. Mark is also a National Hammered Dulcimer champion and performs hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, trumpet, piano, guitar, and penny whistles. We are looking forward to Mark’s first visit to a Louisiana festival.

  • Margaret Wright is from Kennard, a charming town in East Texas, and returns to our festival by popular demand. Margaret purchased her first mountain dulcimer in 1994 in Mountain View, Arkansas, and discovered Old Time Music at the college in Mars Hill, North Carolina. She hasn’t stopped. Margaret’s easy-to-read tab and wonderful interpretation of fiddle and old time music make her a valuable addition to our festival. Margaret will lead an extended workshop on Thursday afternoon for novice mountain dulcimer players, “Top 10 Jambalaya Jam Tunes and Techniques.”

  • In addition, we welcome Annette and David Lindsey from Benton, Oklahoma, as ancillary instructors. David is a hammered dulcimer luthier and will bring his dulcimers to sell. Annette is a mountain dulcimer player and will lead an extended workshop on Thursday afternoon for beginners and advanced beginning dulcimer players, “Boot Camp for the Mountain Dulcimer for New Players.” Look for both to lead workshops throughout the festival.
  • David Lindsey will lead jam sessions and several hammered dulcimer workshops.

  • Deborah Hamouris (DJ to her friends), from Oakland, California, is the newest addition to our ancillary instructors. She will lead two workshops of repertoire tunes on Saturday. Deborah is a musician, teacher, and community music organizer. She teaches mountain dulcimer classes at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse since 2009, as well as privately. In 2013, she founded the annual Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering, and has taught at Redwood Dulcimer Day (CA), Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas (OR) and Dulcimer U (NC). In 2014, with Steve Eulberg, she co-founded the Berkeley Dulcimer Orchestra. Musically versatile, she performs as a jazz vocalist, as well as a traditionally influenced singer-songwriter, on her dulcimer. DJ has seven recordings. “Indian Summer”, her first book, is being released in 2019, celebrating 40 years as a mountain dulcimer player.

  • Kathryn Carlson, from Baton Rouge, is an accomplished musician and plays guitar, ukelele, electric and upright bass in several bands. Kat will teach our ukulele classes this year. Teaching ukulele with a natural approach to music, Kat has an easygoing manner and remarkable style of instruction and encouragement.  Kat has lead students of all ages to appreciate the joy of making music. She encourages students to lay aside their fears and gain new skills. An accomplished songwriter, she inspires her students to venture into their own creative endeavors. Several local bands have recorded Kat’s songs. Kat is locally known for her skill on the upright bass and performs regularly all across the state of Louisiana with bands such as the Fugitive Poets, Jemini Venture, and others. Kat also plays her electric and upright bass for celebration services for several local churches.

  • Wayne Simm, bowed psaltery luthier from Oklahoma, will lead a workshop and demonstration on how to play the bowed psaltery. Psalterys will also be for sale at Wayne’s booth.

  • Lagniappe members will help out with some of our workshops and jam sessions, too, including Pam and Craig Kaster. Craig will give a knowledgeable and easy touch to beginning autoharp players. Pam will wow you with her playing ability of the penny whistle.
  • Jak Stallings, from our Lagniappe Club, will teach TablEdit classes. This is a computer software notation program that allows a person to write dulcimer tablature.  Jak is a pro at this software — so if you want to get started in writing down your tab on the computer, this is the time to do it. Please bring your laptop computer to these classes.  Jak is also our Jam Mister and coordinates our jam sessions.
  • Maylee Samuels, festival Co-Chairman and Lagniappe member, will facilitate a workshop, “Psaltery Tune Swap,” for bowed psaltery players. Bring your psaltery and a tune to share.
  • Peggy Broussard and Joe Besse, Lagniappe members, will lead a Cajun Dulcimer Jam session and Peggy heads up our closing program on Sunday morning — devotions and gospel sing.