06/24/2026
Our 2026 festival is now in the books, and we’ve had a couple of weeks to recover and reflect. The Board wants to thank everyone who attended, either in person or virtually. It was truly an occasion to reconnect with music, remember those we’ve lost, and make new friends and memories.
I, for one, was struck by the sheer variety of autoharp styles and repertoire among our featured performers. There could not have been a wider range of playing on stage and screen, from Evo Bluestein, Jo Ann Smith, Mike Herr & Spinning Lily, Joel Mabus, Doug Pratt, and Eileen Kozloff. It really illustrated what can be done with our “little box of strings” in so many ways.
More congratulations are due to Kyle Burke, who won our 2026 MLAG Championship! If you haven’t yet ordered the Contest CD, there is still a bit of time to do. It’s available in the MLAG store. We’re hoping to fulfill orders for the CD earlier than in past years, but we won’t order too many extras so, if you want one, you need to act now.
If you attended MLAG in person, you will soon receive an email with a link to our 2026 evaluation form. We take all your ratings and opinions to heart, and endeavor to make each year’s festival better than the last.
Speaking of that, 2027 will be our 35th in-person MLAG!! We have lined up a slate of performers who, coincidentally and happily, make up a veritable timeline of our history. Ivan Stiles was one of the planners of the very first public MLAG; Bryan Bowers was one of the featured performers at the second festival; Lucille Reilly came on the scene in the ‘90s and is our only three-time champion; Cindy Harris joined our MLAG family and became a champ herself; Wayne and Arthetta Long joined friends here and have become a favorite duo; and of course Kyle Burke, our newest (and youngest) champion, will round out our MLAG “circle of life.”
THANK YOU once again for all your support and for helping us to achieve those successful years, and we look forward to our next reunion!
Yours in music,
Kathie Hollandsworth, MLAG Director
and our Board Members:
Jim Adams, Gregg Averett, Frank Baker, Pete Daigle, Maggie Dodd, Erina Fitzgerald, Rick Fitzgerald, Niels Jonker, Michael Poole, Deb Schreiber, Greg Schreiber, Coleen Walters, and Neal Walters
Mary Lou Orthey Scholarship Donation From: $1.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page 2022 MLAG Contest CD Set $10.00 – $20.00Price range: $10.00 through $20.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen ...
