73 photos

NOT A
DULL
SUMMER

Music, miles, old friends, and new friends.

Glacier and mountain scenery from the Alaska cruiseALASKA · AUGUST 2026 · TAP TO VIEW LARGE
MURFREESBORO→BRASSTOWN→BARDSTOWN→OREGON→MICHIGAN→VANCOUVER + ALASKA→ST. LOUIS→HOME

A note from the road

Summer 2026

I stayed pretty busy this summer.

In June, I worked on the QuaranTUNE Summer Fest, taught at the John C. Campbell Folk School, returned to Kentucky Music Week, and traveled to Oregon for Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas. In July, I taught a three-day workshop in Michigan and stayed for the Evart Funfest.

In August, I taught on the Dulcimer Adventures cruise to Alaska with Thomasina Levy and Rob Brereton. We had classes, jams, and concerts on the ship, along with plenty of time to visit and play music together.

Heather was there for almost all of this with a broken foot. She’s a real trooper and a great partner.

I got home from the cruise on August 9 and left two days later for the SPAH harmonica convention in St. Louis, where I performed with Madcat. It was a full summer, and I’m thankful I got to spend so much of it teaching, playing, traveling, and catching up with friends.

Stephen Seifert

The first miles

Online, then straight out the door.

I started June helping with the QuaranTUNE Summer Fest from home in Tennessee. Then Heather and I headed to the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. From there, the road kept going.

01June 4–7

QuaranTUNE Summer Fest

Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Online

02June 7–13

John C. Campbell Folk School

Brasstown, North Carolina

STOP 03BARDSTOWN, KYJUNE 21–26

Kentucky Music Week

A big room full of people who love making music.

I returned to Kentucky Music Week to teach, play, and catch up with people I don’t get to see nearly enough.

Teaching at Kentucky Music Week.
A very full house at Kentucky Music Week.

COMING FROM Brasstown, NC → HEADED NEXT Wallowa Lake, OR

STOP 04WALLOWA LAKE, ORJUNE 28–JULY 4

Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas

Music in the mountains.

We flew into Portland and explored a little, then followed the Columbia River for part of the drive east before making our way to Wallowa Lake. On the way back, we stopped at Pebble Beach, then flew home. Heather did all of this with a broken foot. She’s a real trooper and a great partner.

A pizza stop on the way west.
Heather and me, properly supplied for the road.
Heather kept moving, broken foot and all.
The road into Wallowa Lake country.
The view above Wallowa Lake.
Out on Wallowa Lake.
The Oregon coast.

COMING FROM Bardstown, KY → HEADED NEXT Evart, MI

STOP 05EVART, MIJULY 13–19

Three-Day Workshop + Evart Funfest

One workshop rolled right into the next festival.

I taught a three-day intensive in Evart, then stayed for Funfest. There were plenty of dulcimers, plenty of tents, and a few good roadside finds.

Dulcimers out at Evart.
Music under the tents at Evart Funfest.
Heather and me at Sweetwater.
I can’t believe they remade the boombox!

COMING FROM Oregon → HEADED NEXT Vancouver, BC

STOP 06VANCOUVER → ALASKAJULY 28–AUGUST 9

Dulcimer Adventures

We traded road miles for sea miles.

Heather and I started with four nights in Vancouver, then we sailed the Inside Passage aboard Holland America’s Koningsdam. I taught with Thomasina Levy and Rob Brereton, with Christina Wong helping make the whole adventure happen. Friends and family came along, too. We had classes, jams, concerts, good visits, and views that kept getting bigger. After the cruise, Heather and I stayed one more night in Vancouver before flying home.

Vancouver→Inside Passage→Tracy Arm + Juneau→Skagway→Glacier Bay→Ketchikan→Vancouver
Starting in Vancouver.
Vancouver at sunset.
On deck with Heather.
Northbound.
A rainbow over the dock as the sun went down.
Glacier country.
The glacier, August 5.
Our Alaska crew.
Shipboard jam.
Cruise friends, dressed up for dinner.
Back in Vancouver at Granville Island.

Visit Dulcimer Adventures ↗

COMING FROM Michigan + Tennessee → HEADED NEXT St. Louis, MO

Stephen and Heather together on the Alaska cruise

The best part

“It was a full summer, and I’m thankful I got to spend so much of it teaching, playing, traveling, and catching up with friends.”
NEXT STOP

White Springs, Florida · November 12–14, 2026

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Stephen Foster.

The Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat is at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Workshops are Friday and Saturday, with a Sunday jam and optional workshops on November 15. You choose workshops when you arrive. The organizers have not posted the exact 2026 workshop times yet.

01

Experienced Beginner

Learn Like Grandpa Did

We’ll use a few simple tunes to work on steady strumming, clean fretting, playing by ear, simple tab reading, and making music without overthinking every note.

02

Intermediate

Stephen Foster Chord-Melody

We’ll combine melody and chords in a clean, useful way, with practical ideas for fingering, strumming, drones, and adding just enough harmony.

03

Intermediate

Flatpicking Dulcimer Jam Standards

We’ll use favorite jam tunes to work on flatpicking across all three strings, adding strums, timing, pick direction, melody placement, and simple chord choices.

04

Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate

Make Tunes You Already Know More Interesting

We’ll add variety to familiar melodies with different octaves, simple fills, tasteful chords, little licks, intros, endings, and practical arranging choices.

05

Upper-Intermediate and Up

Blues Backup and Soloing

Using the twelve-bar blues, we’ll work on backup, strumming, picking, muting, chords, and blues licks on one string and across all three.

06

All Levels · Jam Workshop

Join the Jam Without Panic

We’ll cover simple backup ideas, common jam habits, finding the beat, using chords, catching pieces of the melody, and knowing when less is more.

Visit the retreat website ↗Official workshop list ↗Registration information ↗