35th Annual Music in the Mountains Folk Festival
Join us on September 18th from 5:30 PM – 8 PM at Homeplace Beer Company as we come together to celebrate the 35th annual Music in the Mountains Folk Festival.
Performance Lineup:
- The Owen Family Band
- Honoree Don Pedi
- Bandana Rhythm
This year we’ll honor dulcimer player extraordinaire, Don Pedi, a pioneer in traditional Appalachian music whose contributions over the past 5 decades have helped to make the sound of the dulcimer recognizable and revered.
Since 1985, the Music in the Mountains festival has showcased local and regional traditional music. With your support, we can continue to honor performers and promoters like Don Pedi and past honorees Wayne Ledford, Rhonda Gouge, Bob Lominac, Bobby McMillon, Bruce Greene, Bob “Happy Feet” Aldridge, and Bill and Judy Carson.
Limited-edition 35th Annual Music In the Mountains commemorative t-shirts are available now! This year, our t-shirts are our main fundraiser instead of ticket sales. All proceeds will help to cover the cost of this treasured event.
Don Pedi started playing the dulcimer in 1968. Self-taught, he plays the dulcimer in a unique style he developed through decades of sharing tunes with a vast number of traditional musicians. Most notably, Old-Time fiddle players in Southern Appalachia.
Don plays fiddle tunes up to speed, including all the notes, with a fiddle shuffle feel and the dynamics of the best fiddlers. This musical sensibility carries over into Don’s approach to playing Old-Time songs and traditional mountain ballads.
Don won first place in the first contest he ever entered at the 1974 Fiddler’s Grove Festival in Union Grove, NC. At Fiddler’s Grove, he won with such consistency, that he was declared “Master Dulcimer Player” and removed from future competitions. Before retiring from competitions in 1984, Don had won over forty first-place ribbons, both as a solo performer and as a featured member of a group.
In August of 1989, Don was proud to receive the “Most Outstanding Performer” Award at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville, NC.
Don has released thirteen recordings of his music and has been a guest artist on many others. He’s authored four books of traditional music and released an instruction video on how to play the dulcimer. A prolific artist, Don has dozens of music related art prints and note cards in his catalog. He’s been featured on national television and radio and appears in the motion pictures “The Songcatcher” and “The Journey of August King”. Since 1985, Don has been an on air host on National Public Radio affiliate WCQS in Asheville, NC (Blue Ridge Public Radio). His weekly radio show “Close to Home” features traditional and eclectic music from local hollers and around the world.
At present, Don continues to perform and lead workshops at various festivals and concert venues throughout the country, as well as online.
