Party of Three consists of three musicians from the East Lansing area who specialize in the traditional music of England, Ireland, Scotland and French Canada. They are Marty Sundberg (fiddle), John Babula (singer, flute, mandolin, and concertina),…

Patrick Donohue (born April 28, 1953) is an American fingerstyle guitarist born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a Grammy nominated, National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion songwriter. Donohue has several albums to his credit and his songs have been…

Peaceful Women was a quartet from northern Wisconsin. Their music often reflected a strong commitment to women, social justice, freedom and the environment. The songs varied from ballads to bluesy numbers. The band consisted of Madeline Hart, Gwen…

Peter Otroushko, who was born in 1953, is a violinist and mandolinist who grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has released many albums, won an Emmy for his soundtrack for the PBS series Minnesota: A History of the Land, performed regularly on A…

Rarely Herd was a band consisting of bassist Jeff Weaver, singer and guitarist Jim Stack, fiddler Alan Stack, and banjo player Calvin Laport. They were voted "Entertaining Bluegrass Band of the Year" at the national awards ceremony in…

According to the 1987 Festival program guide, Robert Lucas' "singing and guitar style are reminiscent of other greats of the 20’s and 30’s, but he keeps his own identity when playing solo on his vintage National Steel Guitar. His singing…

From the festival program: The daughter of a Greenwich Village sandal maker and influential country fiddle player, Block is a blues guitarist who spent her childhood surrounded by the likes of John Sebastian, John Hammond and Maria Muldaur who…

According to the festival program, Roy Book Binder has been rambling around the world for the past 45 years. He gave up his Greenwich Village "pad" in the early 1970s and lived in his "Tour Bus" for the next 15 years…

Sabia was a Los Angeles-based band who performed Latin American protest songs. The members of the band at the time of their performance at the Hiawatha Music Festival were Libby Harding, Ericka Verba, Mari Riddle, Reyes Rodriguez, and Cesar Torres.…

Sally Rogers and Claudia Schmidt were solo performers who decided to tour together starting in 1987. According to the 1988 festival program, "Those experiencing these two luscious ladies for the first time are due to get their ear hairs…

Performers at the Sentimental Songs Workshop included Twin Cities multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Peter Otroushko, Chicago song-stylist Ann Hills, and the downstate Michigan band Dr. Goodhart's Home Remedy, which consisted of Jim Gillespie…

This recording is from the Songwriters' Workshop at the 1987 Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival. Performers include Mark Mitchell, Peter Otroushko and Dean McGraw, Clay Riness, Lou and Peter Berryman, Derrell Syria, Anne Hills, and Ralph…

This recording is from the Songwriters' Workshop at the 1987 Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival. Performers include Mark Mitchell, Peter Otroushko and Dean McGraw, Clay Riness, Lou and Peter Berryman, Derrell Syria, Anne Hills, and Ralph…

"Spider" John Koerner, born in 1938 in Rochester, NY, has described himself as a "traditional American folk and country blues musician, rhythmic guitarist, song-crafter, singer, and humorist." While attending the University of…

The Thimbleberry Highlighters were a Copper Country band that played traditional Finnish folk music. The band consisted of Oren Tikkanen, Toni Tikkanen (guitar, vocals), Ken Salo (accordion), Helmer Toyras (fiddle), John Perona (bones, spoons,…

From the 1986 Festival program: "His instrumentation is somewhat on the sparse side: just a little guitar, dulcimer or jaw harp (which he's just as likely to lay aside altogether for a few acapella numbers). But few performers can play an…

White Water was a folk duo consisting of Dean and Bette Premo. They lived in Amasa, Michigan at the time of the performance. This recording is of the 7th Annual White Pine Jamboree in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin River Bluegrass Band was a hard-playing bluegrass band from Madison, Wisconsin. They consisted of Art Stevenson on guitar, Art Lies on mandolin or guitar, Bill Anderson on banjo, and Dave (Hagar) Nelson on bass.