"We have had many different kinds of music here in our past few years, but the audience was the most attentive that I have ever seen. Other than the music, you could have heard a pin drop and it stayed that way for the entirety of Steve and Ruth’s musical journey with us. The music was so magical everyone was completely mesmerized . . . some humorous stories, a lot of fantastic music, and some wonderful warmth and fellowship with these two. It was a sweet ride, perhaps one of the sweetest ever offered here at South by Southeast. Our audience was completely in awe. I would love to see these guys back again, anytime!"
David Catton Johnson
South by Southeast Music Fest
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
"Your music is so original, yet so traditional to the mountains and its Celtic roots. I can't say when we've had so many wonderful comments from the audience. The harmony in your music and your lives is so evident in your performance and exhibits what's best in our home spun 'mountain' music - peace, tranquility, and a real connection to our roots and our community."
John Buchanan, Park Director
Valle Crucis Community Park
Valle Crucis, North Carolina
Steve & Ruth named 2013 "Americana Instrumental Group of the Year"
by the Appalachian Cultural Music Association
at their Blue Ridge Acoustic Uprising Awards.
Steve & Ruth Smith Americana concerts in the musical heritage and tradition of the Appalachian mountains.
Steve and Ruth share where the music of the Appalachian Mountains came from, and how it lives on in modern times. Both of Scots-Irish heritage, they take the audience from the traditional Celtic music of Scotland and Ireland that migrated with the Scots-Irish into the Appalachian Mountains, through the early music of the Southern Highlands, and on to Steve & Ruth's new original music about mountain life and rural Appalachian values.
Ruth plays the hammered and Appalachian mountain dulcimers, with Steve on fingerstyle guitar, clawhammer banjo, and vocals. Steve has a Master’s degree in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University with a major emphasis in Appalachian music and folk life. In the 1990s, Steve created, produced, wrote and hosted the weekly multi-state syndicated radio program “The Appalachian Way,” a program about the music and folk life of Appalachia.
With Steve and Ruth's warm, friendly rapport with audiences, concert goers feel like they are just part of the family, becoming loyal, long-term friends and fans of their music.
Sample Performances:
MerleFest
PBS's Song of the Mountains
Kentucky Music Week, KY
Walnut Valley Festival, KS
Ozark Folk Center, AR
Cranberry Dulcimer and Autoharp Gathering, NY
the Swannanoa Gathering, NC
Indiana Dulcimer Festival, IN
Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, OH
Gebhard Woods Dulcimer & Traditional Music Festival, IL
Blue Ridge Acoustic Uprising, VA
Appalachian Cultural Music Association, TN
Central Florida Dulcimer and Autoharp Fest , FL
South-by-Southeast Music Fest, SC
For an entertaining and informative experience for groups of all ages, backgrounds, and interests,
Steve & Ruth Smith:
The Musical Heritage of Appalachia is the concert you will be proud to present to your audiences.
