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Presenting fine traditional arts in Central Pennsylvania since 1985

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Sat, May 30 - POSTPONED: Folk Artists Gathering

Folk Artists Gathering Camp Hill
Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict, we must postpone our Folk Artists Gathering until later in the year. Stay tuned for a new date! Originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, May 30 MORE

Fri, June 5 - Stone House Breakdown: Sunset Music

Stone House Breakdown: Sunset Music Harrisburg
As part of Fort Hunter Park’s “Sunset Music and Movies” series, SFMS presents Stone House Breakdown, a local band that revives and celebrates Appalachian music. They perform original songs in the traditional bluegrass style, old timey standards, bluegrass gospel, and contemporary Americana folk. Rain date June 7th. Outdoor concert on Friday, June 5 at Fort Hunter Park.

Sat, June 6 - Spring Coffee House

Spring Coffee House Spring Coffee House Spring Coffee House Harrisburg
Susquehanna Folk Coffeehouses are intimate evenings showcasing Central Pennsylvania’s fine amateur acoustic musicians, who play a wide variety of material for an attentive, music-loving audience. This edition of the coffeehouse features classic folk from Doug Morris, new folk from Barkley Cove, and Americana music from Maximum Buffalo. One more act TBA. FREE Coffeehouse concert Saturday, June 6 at Fort Hunter. MORE

Sun, June 21 - Michael Daves & Jacob Jolliff

Michael Daves & Jacob Jolliff Lancaster
Two of America’s premier bluegrass talents have teamed up as a formidable duo, straddling the line between hard-core traditional bluegrass and experimental forms. Their high lonesome vocal harmony and fiery flat picking honors the classic guitar-mandolin “brother duets” while leaving plenty of room for improvisation and inspired left turns. Concert on Sunday, June 21 at West Art in Lancaster. MORE

Sat, August 8 - Apprenticeship Celebration

Apprenticeship Celebration Camp Hill
Join us for performances, stories and demonstrations from our biggest‑ever cohort of Traditional Arts apprentices and the master artists who mentored them. This event is part of “Bringing It Home,” SFMS’s program featuring local folk artists. Program on Saturday afternoon, August 8 at Fredricksen Library. MORE

Sat, August 22 - Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic Harrisburg
All Susquehanna Folk volunteers, past and future, are invited to a cookout potluck with live musical entertainment by SFMS Board members! A fun event to celebrate our volunteers and welcome new ones. Picnic on Saturday, August 22 at Fort Hunter Park, West Pavilion. MORE
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Susquehanna Folk Arts Center — Folk Artists Gallery

America is a nation of immigrants, all of whom brought along their domestic crafts, foods, social dances, holiday traditions, and ways of life. Perhaps you enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Day parade or Irish music event recently?

SFMS is proud to celebrate the glorious kaleidoscope of cultures here in Central PA, and to bring bits of that kaleidoscope into focus by showcasing local traditional arts masters. Forging connections through the arts makes “WE” more important than “us” and “them.”

Explore our Folk Artists Gallery!

Muskan Balampaki Narda LeCadre, African American quilter Lesl Harker Diana Meng
Muskan Balampaki  
African American Quilters Gathering
Lesl Harker Irish Flute
Diana Meng Chinese Watercolor
Pedro Antonetty Aron Rook Spiritual Messengers Ho-Thanh Nguyen
Pedro Antonetty Puerto Rican drums
Aron Rook Visual Arts
Spiritual Messengers
Ho-Thanh Nguyen Vietnamese Cooking

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Youth are the Future of Culture

In this Folk Artist spotlight, folklorist Amy Skillman is inspired to see young people experiencing and loving traditional music and dance.

Biplab Khatiwada sits cross-legged on the floor behind two drums, playing them with his hands. Each drum is about a foot high, one narrower and higher pitched than the other. Three larger, taller drums are off to the side.

I recently had a day that filled me with hope: seeing two teenagers pouring their hearts into traditional arts. I felt so lucky to be a folklorist working with SFMS! There are many ways for young people to engage with traditional arts in Central Pennsylvania, from Chinese calligraphy to Balkan music to Irish dance.

A young woman performs a classical Indian dance.She is crouching with her arms out in front of her as if she holds a box, and she looks worried. At left are four musicians sitting cross-legged on a low platform. The dancer's dress is magenta and orange, with a pleated skirt, and decorations on her head.

In the top photo, 16-year-old Biplab Khatiwada plays tablas, a pair of hand drums common in Nepali music. In the bottom photo, 14-year-old Nitya Nandakesan performs Bharatanatyam dance at her arangetram (debut recital). At a time of life when there’s strong pressure to conform, these two local teens are fine with being a little different: embracing their cultural heritage and making it part of their identity.

The full article explores other ways creative young people are both preserving and shaping traditional arts.

Continue reading...
See more Folk Artist Spotlights
The board and staff of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society are committed to celebrating and affirming diverse cultures through programming which explores the music, dance, craft and stories of many people. We stand in complete solidarity with the Black community and all marginalized communities to speak out against injustice, bigotry and racial violence.
Three boys gesture dramatically, radiating excited happiness. They have their arms linked, and the boys on the outside are pointing upward with their free arms. They are wearing traditional garments of India: silk tunics and trousers, turbans, and silk slippers. The youngest boy is wearing pale blue, the eldest is wearing dark blue, and the middle boy is wearing bright medium blue. Their skin is light to dark brown.
A head-and-shoulders portrait of Sug Daniels. She is a young black woman with a strong, direct gaze. She has thick arched eyebrows, a broad nose with a stud on one side, very full lips, and medium-brown skin. She is wearing a black hat with a broad brim, tilted up, so all we see is a wide black disc behind her head. The photo is cropped so the edge of the hat almost doesn’t show. She also has a red bandanna wrapped around her head, with an inch or so showing beneath the hat brim.
Two Hispanic men with dark skin pose with large Puerto Rican drums in front of a Puerto Rican flag. They wear white shirts and trousers, and white hats with black bands. They are also holding other percussion instruments, including maracas and a basketball-sized shaker covered with colorful fishnet.
A Black man stands in the corner of a brick-walled room, playing a banjo and gazing down toward his hands.
A Black woman on stage, singing and playing a silver resonator guitar. She has short curly hair and is wearing a red print sundress.
Country Blues guitarist Valerie Turner specializes in the Piedmont style of fingerpicking. following traditional blues greats like Etta Baker and Elizabeth Cotten. She is an inductee into the New York Blues Hall of Fame, and co-president of the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation. Her independently-published book Piedmont Style Country Blues Guitar Basics has been acquired by the Library of Congress. She spent years studying with John Cephas (a world-renowned Country Blues musician in the Piedmont style) and Woody Mann (a Juilliard trained student of Rev. Gary Davis). [2023-2024 Concert Series]