Why folk music, a festival, and a mountain dulcimer are bringing me back to Baltimore this weekend

Rediscovering joy, connection, and the music that bridges my past, present, and future

Iconic women in old-time music, photographed in the 1980s: Lily May Ledford, Janette Carter, Ramona Jones, Ola Belle Reed, Rose Maddox, and Elizabeth Cotten (seated). From the Mike Seeger Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill.

Yesterday, Baltimore Magazine published one of my first articles of 2025, and it’s the most m…