This unique group of instrumentalists and vocalists has been delighting Washington area audiences for 30 years with its humorous, lighthearted, and reverent performances. Recent WAMMIE nominees for best acoustic group, the band renders a unique collection of sentimental old-time string band and Appalachian folk music that conveys a simpler time of long ago. Anyone with a wistful appreciation for the past will enjoy this American traditional blend of memorable selections, diverse instrumentation, and haunting vocal harmonies.
This group of flatlanders hails from Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland, and Fredericksburg, Virginia. They got their start at the Colvin Run Mill and have been performing there on a regular basis for the entire 30 years they’ve been together. Their performance combines traditional tunes with Carter family songs and old-timey tunes written by a selection of contemporary folk artists.
Keith Young, Kit Putnam, Kathleen Gotzmer and Judy Larrabee make up the present band. Former band members are Woody Padgett, Robin Gaiser, Terry Houff and Neal Walters (now of Doofus fame).
The album features a full 78 minutes of music, 23 songs in all, likened to a double album. Most of the songs combine the band’s unique harmony vocals with the sweet distinctive sound of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer or the Galax dulcimer.
The dulcimer is a stringed instrument played on the lap that originated in the Appalachian mountains in the early middle or early 1700s. Forget your troubles, sit back and enjoy a relaxing musical journey back in time with the Mill Run Dulcimer Band.
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