This week, It’s Dulcimer Jamboree! A whole host of mountain & hammered dulcimer national champions recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, interviews with the some of these interesting and eclectic musicians.

For over 35 years, Ozark Folk Center State Park has hosted the annual Dulcimer Jamboree. The annual event takes place in mid-April and features three days of specialized instruction and performances from the country’s top mountain and hammered dulcimer players. The mountain dulcimer remains one of the more popular folk instruments today. Its celebration in the Mountain View, Arkansas area as a core folk instrument has never waned over the years, with an active community of players and instrument makers. With origins dating back to Biblical times, the hammered dulcimer is an unique instrument in the percussion family. Like the mountain dulcimer, it found a home in the Ozark region among folk musicians and instrument makers alike. Music this week includes performances by Ted Yoder, Rick Thum, Bing Futch, Jeff Hames, Tull Glazener, Jess Dickinson, and Judson Steinback.

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers an archival recording of Ozark original dulcimer master craftsman Lynn McSpadden and his wife Catherine performing the traditional tune “Castle Grand,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

Renowned folk musician Aubrey Atwater profiles influential folk music icons Jean Ritchie and the Ritchie Family, exploring the traditional Appalachian music and dance that the Ritchie Family helped to perpetuate into the modern American folk lexicon. This episode focuses on Jean Ritchie’s introduction of the mountain dulcimer to the New York City folk revival of the 1960’s, and features Jean Ritchie performing an haunting version of the traditional song “Pretty Saro.”