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Good Music Close to Home: 53rd Celebration of Traditional Music Comes to Berea October 9-11 🎻

Written by

Chad Hembree

If you stand near Presser Hall on a fall afternoon and hear a fiddle tuning through an open door, you know it is Celebration weekend in Berea. That sound has been part of October here for more than fifty years, and it is worth marking on your calendar.

The 53rd Annual Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College runs Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, 2026. Opening jams begin Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Boone Tavern, and the festival runs the full weekend.

You will find events in two familiar places. One is Gray Auditorium in Presser Hall, home of the Berea College Music Department, on the Berea College campus on Chestnut Street in Berea. The other is Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant at 100 Main Street in Berea. Both are a short walk from each other and right in the heart of town.

This festival started in 1974 and is part of the Appalachian Center’s mission. Berea College describes it as a festival of roots music and dancing celebrating home-made music as passed on from person to person in the Appalachian Region and the musicians who play it. I keep that idea in mind when I go, because it explains why this weekend feels different from a regular concert series.

The work behind it is steady and local, and that is why it has lasted. CTM is sponsored by the L. Allen Smith Memorial Fund, directed by Elizabeth DiSavino, and planned and presented by the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, the CTM Committee, the Berea College Music Department, and the students of the Berea College Folk-Roots Ensemble. A fund provides stability, a center provides context, a department and a committee provide the musicians and scholars, and students provide the next generation who will carry the tunes forward.

Across the weekend you can expect concerts, jams, a Gospel sing, dance, workshops, and a symposium. Concerts are the listening part, where you hear the tunes played well. Jams are the learning part, where players of different levels sit in a circle and work out a tune together. Dance brings in a caller who teaches the steps as you go, so you do not need to know them coming in. Workshops and the symposium add the history and the why, with past symposium topics including shape note music, Kentucky fiddlers, and the stories of influential musicians.

I value this festival because it keeps traditional music within reach. You do not have to drive to a big city or buy an expensive ticket to hear old-time and roots music played by people who learned it directly from other players. When a festival is free and held on campus, a kid in a school strings program can walk over and see how a tune is taught by ear, a neighbor who sings in church can take part in a Gospel sing, and a Berea College student can learn alongside the people they have studied. In a town known as the folk arts and crafts capital of Kentucky, that practical access matters.

If you have never been, here is how the weekend usually flows. Friday starts with those opening jams at Boone Tavern in the afternoon and moves into evening music. Saturday is typically the fullest day, with daytime workshops and concerts on campus, plus programming for children and families across the weekend. Sunday often includes the Gospel sing and closing concerts. You can come for an hour between errands or make a full weekend of it and hear old-time, bluegrass, Black music traditions, and more under one roof.

A few neighborly notes that help. Park on campus and walk between Presser Hall and Boone Tavern. Bring a notebook, because in workshops folks will name tunings, sources, and local players you will want to remember. If you play, bring your instrument to the jams. The rooms are acoustic listening rooms, welcoming and focused, and the players are used to answering questions. You do not need to know the music coming in, you just need to be willing to listen to how a tune gets passed along.

The festival is free. Some evening concerts and the Saturday dance have historically carried a small admission, so check the official Berea College CTM page for the final word on this year. For set times, performers, and any updates, the college points everyone to the official CTM page and the Celebration’s Facebook page. Those are the two places that will have the complete schedule.

In a town that makes things with its hands, keeping this music close is useful work. It gives our kids a place to hear it, our neighbors a place to play it, and all of us a reason to gather in the same rooms on Chestnut and Main. I hope to see you there that Friday through Sunday weekend at Boone Tavern and Presser Hall.

Upcoming Community and Theater Events 🎭

Tickets and info for all shows: thespotlightplayhouse.com

Sources 📚

About the Author ✍

Chad Hembree serves as the Executive Director of Spotlight Acting School, The Spotlight Playhouse, and Spotlight Performing Arts. A resident of Berea, Kentucky, and a former member of the Berea Council, he has spent decades working in community theater, arts education, and local journalism. Since 1995, he has operated BereaOnline.com, focusing on local news, civic issues, and stories that highlight community collaboration and grassroots efforts across Madison County.

This article originally appeared on BereaOnline.com.

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