Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival

06/25/2026

Save the date - and don't miss - the 2026 Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival. Fri.-Sat. November 6-7 in Milford, Connecticut. Nearly 50 workshops for all levels of mountain and hammered dulcimer players, two great concerts, open mic, and more. Featured artists will be Karen Mueller (mountain dulcimer), Karen Ashbrook (hammered dulcimer), and Sasha Bogdanowitsch (mountain dulcimer).

04/02/2026

ANNOUNCING:
Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival 2026
Fri-Sat, Nov. 6-7🎵Milford, CT

01/24/2026

I've just learned that Ron Ewing has passed away. I have no details at this time. He was a many-time vendor at Nutmeg, willing to drive more than 600 miles to do it. Here's a favorite Ron Ewing/Nutmeg story.

At the very first Nutmeg in 2004, one of our attendees was a 14-year-old girl. She was new to the mountain dulcimer, but wanted to learn to play. During the lunch break, I noticed her at Ron's booth, with the two of them sitting next to each other playing Liza Jane. Toward the end of lunch hour, I walked past again, and they were still playing the same tune. In between the afternoon workshops, still there, same positions, same tune. Same thing during the dinner break and again during the concert intermission. At first, I was a bit miffed that she was skipping all the workshops I had scheduled, but then I realized that she was doing exactly what she needed. (Wax on, wax off.) And Ron was patiently doing it with her.

I first learned of his passing from a post by Kevin Roth, who pointed out that Ron was the innovator who introduced the 1+ fret and the dulcimer capo. (Last fall, I asked Ron about the 1+ fret, and he told me that he'd subsequently learned that one of the older builders had made some dulcimers with a 1+, but those hadn't caught on.) He also knew a ton of tunes and was a very fine player. The dulcimer community will miss him, Nutmeg will miss him, and I'll miss him personally.

By the way, this photo was shot in Milford, Connecticut when he was up for Nutmeg one year recently. It's his current FB profile picture.

Sam Edelston

09/19/2025

Just 4 weeks until the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival, Fri-Sat, October 17-18. Come see featured artists Aubrey Atwater, Butch Ross, Ken Kolodner & Mary Lynn Michal ... plus a dozen workshop leaders, nearly 50 workshops, two concerts, open mic, and more!

08/19/2025

It's gonna be another INCREDIBLE Nutmeg! We're just putting a few more details about the program. Full details coming in the next few days! You'll want to join us Oct 17-18 in Milford, CT!

02/06/2025