Seattle, WA -- It's a big city, so we get all the expected cultural/ethnic diversity. Lots of folk music of all types: Irish, blues, Balkan, bluegrass, old-time, French, Cajun, Indian, Native American, you name it. One of the jokes is that you can't throw a microbrew across the room without hitting a singer-songwriter. Several pubs have folk music on the weekends. There are lots of bookstores and cafes that have music on a regular basis. The Folklore Society puts on concerts once or twice a week. It is possible to go to some kind of folk dance several nights a week -- contras, squares, French, English Country, Balkan, etc. There is a real folk community here, or perhaps I should say several communities that intersect in various and interesting ways.

I'm fortunate enough to work at Dusty Strings, a company that builds folk harps and hammered dulcimers and operates the region's largest acoustic music store, so I am immersed in musical things most of the time. Most of the musicians in the city wander in from time to time, and many of those who are in town for a concert drop by. I'd love to meet any Mudcatters who visit Seattle (or live here!). Drop by the store and ask for me and tell whoever you talk to that you are from Mudcat.

John Peekstok