Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music

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Victor Brandenberger

The Brandenberger Family will perform at this year's Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music

Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music

The 53rd annual Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music (CTM) will take place on Friday, October 9–Sunday, October 11, 2026, celebrating home-made music as passed on from person to person in the Appalachian Region and the musicians who play it.

All events are free to students.

Performers for CTM include:

• The Brandenberger Family, a family group rooted in the American heartland and bound together by faith, harmony, and the timeless sounds of gospel and bluegrass. Victor leads the way, with wife Nancy keeping things running behind the camera, joined by daughters Angela, Bethany, and Melanie, son Alex, and extended family member Swoop Wagler — weaving close harmonies with guitar, violin, mandolin, banjo, bass, and resonator guitar.

• Stephen Seifert, our L. Allen Smith and Lifetime Performance Award recipient. Stephen is a master performer and teacher of the dulcimer. Over his career, he has expanded the range of styles and techniques associated with the instrument.

• Elizabeth LaPrelle and Brian Dolphin will share their repertoire of traditional and old time material as well as Elizabeth’s solo ballads & banjo pieces. Elizabeth has sung and led workshops on ballad singing across the country and was featured in the film “Mountain Minor.”

• Elizabeth McCorvey was a finalist in the Earl Scruggs Music Fest in 2025 and writes songs that skillfully blend old-time, folk, country and blues. She is a part-time psychotherapist, full-time musician and full-time delight who writes original americana/folk/"bluesgrass" music about people and places that didn't ask for her feedback. Career highlights include appearing at the Black Mountain Blues Festival, on Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, and playing a showcase at the Woody Guthrie Center. Elizabeth is a a multi-instrumentalist and a feisty storyteller with powerhouse vocals. She released her first album, "Songs I Sent You" in 2025.

• The Resonant Rogues are rooted in the mountains of Western North Carolina and are fronted by songwriting duo Sparrow and Keith Josiah Smith, and Lindsay Emmons. The Resonant Rogues’ self-titled fourth album contains the sounds of Appalachian old-time, classic country, and vintage soul.

The Saturday Dinner-on-the-Grounds symposium speaker will be Fred Bartesntein, whose book Industrial Strength Bluegrass: southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy explores how Appalachian migrants brought bluegrass north to cities like Dayton, Cincinnati, and Middletown, turning the region into a major capitol for the genre.

Saturday night’s dance will feature the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble and caller Frank Jenkins. Frank is known throughout Kentucky for his large repertoire of dances and his gentle and patient demeanor. The Bluegrass Ensemble has long been one of the jewels of Berea College and has performed in Japan, Denmark, and Ireland.

Events take place across the campus and include dancing, jams, workshops, lectures, dinner-on-the-grounds, and a Saturday morning Kidzone at the Berea Public Library with Stephen Seifert and Sophie Delaney. All events are free to students. Daytime events are free to all. Evening concerts are $10; the Saturday evening dance is $8. CTM is sponsored by the L. Allen Smith Memorial Fund, directed by Elizabeth DiSavino, and is planned and presented by the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, the CTM Committee, the Berea College Music Department, and the students of the Berea College Folk-Roots Ensemble.

Virtual viewing will be available for events Saturday night and Sunday afternoon via the Berea College Music Department Livestream https://vimeo.com/bereacollegemusic.

For more details go to our facebook page, "Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music" or call 8599853472 or visit our website, tinyurl.com/LJAC-CTM