Named "Americana Instrumental Group of the Year" at the 2013 Appalachian Cultural Music Association Awards!
Just finished playing Merlefest 26!
*And will be at Winfield, Kansas Walnut Valley Festival 2013!
*Heirlooms CD Review from Dulcimer Players News!(click here)
"The soul of mountain music and the gentle grace of mountain air." - Ohio Magazine "Absolutely magical..." - Dirty Linen Folk and World Music Magazine
Appalachian Americana Music
with Celtic Roots A unique musical experience!
Steve and Ruth Smith
from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
play a unique blend of Appalachian Americana music featuring hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, guitar, and old-time banjo. Steve and Ruth play and sing the music reminiscent of the old homeplace where family, love, faith, and sense of place are the foundations of heritage and traditions.
Steve and Ruth, both of Scots-Irish heritage, have
been performing together for over 35 years across the United States and around the world.
Dirty Linen Folk & World Music Magazine says “ Ruth Smith's touch on the hammered dulcimer is absolutely magical, with exquisite phrasing, highlighting the range of
the
instrument especially on
her own pieces.”
Steve, an ASCAP award-winning song-writer, adds fingerstyle guitar, old-time banjo, and vocals to the duo. Of Steve’s songwriting, Dulcimer Players News’ Bill Troxler says “He is a master story teller and the perfect vocalist to convey the meaning of the lyrics. His songs stand out for their imagery and melodic strength . . .
on a par with John Denver’s songs.”
Give a Listen - Audio Sample
Steve and Ruth's music is regularly heard on XM & Sirius satellite radio, Pandora, Spotify, Highlander Radio Networks, NPR ,and acoustic music format radio stations around the U.S.
Steve and Ruth have been featured on the PBS TV series "Song of the Mountains", NPR’s All Songs Considered and Thistle & Shamrock, in Ohio Magazine, and Dulcimer Players News. They were named "Americana Instrumental Group of the Year" at the 2013 Appalachian Cultural Music Association Awards! And, were 2009 Roots Music nominees in the JPF International Music Awards, the world's largest awards for independent musicians. They are both nationally known workshop instructors, teaching at festivals and folk schools.
