Sam Leslie will substitute for Ethan Ballinger.
Friday April 10, 2026 7-9 pm
Vienna, VA
Address will be provided upon purchase of ticket(s).
Food & soft drinks will be sold as a fundraiser for DCBU. BYOB
When John Cowan & Luke Bulla perform together, their shows reflect 25 years of shared history, musical trust, and genuine friendship. Blending New Grass Revival (and more) favorites with old and new originals, they pair masterful picking, rich harmony, and stories that are heartfelt, funny, and hard-earned.
The Hazel Dickens Song Contest 2026 winners have been announced!
The Hazel Dickens Song Contest celebrates the life one of the Baltimore/Washington region music’s most beloved bluegrass songwriters.
The Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest honors the life and musicianship of one of America’s greatest bluegrass players.
2025 Winners Announced!
2026 Orrin Star Scholar Rita Perloff!
Congratulations goes to Rita Perloff who is the recipient of the 2026 Orrin Star Music Scholarship. Rita is a 14 year old from Oxford, Pennsylvania. Rita has been playing guitar in the band, Full Steam. Rita attends many festivals and Kids Academies. You can often see Rita and her fellow students busking around the festival grounds. With only 2 1/2 years of lessons, Rita is already playing solos! With her scholarship, Rita will attend the DelFest Music Academy.
The Orrin Star Scholarship honors the memory and generosity of a remarkable man, who lived in the DC area for most of his career and who was a friend to many in the bluegrass community. Orrin gained notoriety as a champion flat-picker and went on to enrich many of our lives with the warmth and humor of his performing and teaching.
Applications for the $500 award are accepted every year, beginning in the fall. Look for the announcement on the home page. Meanwhile, the program description is at https://dcbu.org/the-orrin-star-scholarship-program/
One important aspect of DCBU’s mission is to promote music education. We offer an instructor directory so students can locate teachers in their local area for in-person instruction. Additionally, since so many great musicians teach online classes, we’re now posting information for instructors wherever they are located. To sign-up as an instructor fill out the form by selecting the link below. Your submission will be reviewed and added to our directory within a few days.
7:00 pm - 9:15 pm
Lucketts Community Center, Leesburg VA
Darin and Brooke Aldridge have spent over a decade pleasing fans, reaping awards, and becoming Grand Ole Opry favorites. Brooke is a four-time winner of the IBMA “Female Vocalist of the Year.” Darin was a former member of the legendary The Country Gentlemen and is a gifted singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Gate opens 6:00 PM. Show 7:00 PM. Adults $25. Youth 5-17 $5. Advance tickets are recommended for this show.
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Sykesville Gatehouse Museum, Sykesville MD
Every Sunday, 2-4 pm
Sykesville Gatehouse Museum
7282 Cooper Dr
Sykesville, MD 21784
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Floris United Methodist Church, Herndon VA
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Mullin’s 1847 Restaurant, Moorefield West Virginia
7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Carroll Arts Center, Westminster MD
American string band music spanning generations. For 50 years, Critton Hollow (Joe Herrmann – fiddle & banjo, Sam Herrmann – hammered dulcimer & guitar, and Joe Fallon – guitar and bass) has delighted audiences with traditional American string band music. Acoustic duo Dakota Karper (fiddle) and Benny Bleu Haravitch (banjo) present a fresh perspective with music grounded in Appalachian old-time and New York’s Finger Lakes banjo tradition.
Tickets $28 / $25 at https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/experience/concerts/all-concerts.
Presented by Common Ground on the Hill, a partnership of Common Ground on the Hill and the Carroll Arts Center.
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