Meadow, you are probably thinking of Dean Shostak out of Williamsburg VA. He plays the armonica and his is rare in that it uses the old style foot-treadle on the wheel instead of a modern ee-lektrik motor. There is also a blind lady (I can't recall her name) who occasionally plays one around the historic district in Philadelphia. His original is in the Franklin Institute there.

Not my favorite sound... at first you go " wow what an unusual sound";
after five minutes you think " hmm sounds a bit the same ..." after twenty minutes it's " oh God please kill me.."

Well that's my take on them anyhoo.

Robert Mouland
www.wireharp.com