Doors | 3.30pm
Music | 4pm

Dinner | 6pm

The fiddle is a cornerstone of rural music traditions. The instrument, no different from a violin, was introduced to the U.S. by European immigrants, but its roots trace back to stringed instruments from the Middle East.

The name fiddle goes back to possible Latin or Germanic words for violin but signifies a break in how the instrument is played. While "violin" is reserved for more classical uses, "fiddle" was used when early adopters talked about new, non-classical music. In America, these new uses started in Appalachia and the South where seemingly disparate music traditions - Native American, African, European - coalesced around the fiddle. The fiddle - and fiddle music, in turn - became synonymous with rural, frontier music and was a regular fixture in small town dancehalls and weddings.

The fiddle tradition included the Flint Hills too. Derrick Doty, local musician and historian, extensively researched the Flint Hills music trends.

Volland will honor the fiddle music that shaped rural life on October 18, 2026.

Betse & Clark

Regular folks, exceptional music: This duo from the heartland (Kansas City, Missouri) has its roots in Ozark old time music, honoring traditional songs and tunes that resonate with human experience.

For each concert setting, Betse & Clarke take an audience on a musical field trip. Betse Ellis plays powerful and beautiful old time fiddle tunes, sings traditional Ozark songs, and shares her own songs with themes relating to human experience. Expect her to tell some stories along the way, featuring personal moments with her fiddle mentor Violet Hensley. Long known for her energetic style in her former band The Wilders, Betse’s earned a level of maturity while maintaining her contagious enthusiasm. Clarke Wyatt is an engaging finger-style banjo player, drawing inspiration from great traditional and inventive banjoists of earlier decades such as Mike Seeger and John Hartford. His guitar style is rooted in old time traditions, with sparks of ingenuity inspired by the likes of Norman Blake. The combination of deep reverence for tradition and commitment to creativity makes this duo a captivating act to witness. They are dedicated instructors as well as performers and enjoy teaching at camps and workshops as well as private instruction. While tradition is important to Betse & Clarke, they are musical innovators and are inspired to make music beyond the old time genre. 

More recently, Clarke has developed a compelling electric guitar technique and is working on a series of recordings with fellow master musicians from the jazz community of Kansas City. Betse is preparing to make an album of her original fiddle tunes, written over the past two decades.

Together since 2014, this musical couple has traveled across the United States, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

The Lost Keys

The Lost Keys are a family string band from Lawrence, KS. Headed by renowned fiddlers, artists, and multi-instrumentalists Tricia Spencer and Howard Rains of the duo Spencer & Rains. They are a blended family that have played music together since Tricia and Howard met in 2012.

The band features Tricia and Howard on fiddle and guitar and vocals and their kids, Isaiah, Orion, and Ru on fiddle and guitar, banjo-uke, and bass respectively. Together, they play a mix of old-time string band music, bluegrass, and hillbilly swing. Both Tricia and Howard’s families have been playing music for many generations and when The Lost Keys play it shows just how deep their traditions go.

Beau, Maya, and Aidan Bledsoe - The Bledsoe Trio

The Bledsoe Trio brings the spirit of the Ozarks to life through old-time fiddle tunes and classic country standards. Featuring Maya Bledsoe (fiddle), Aidan Bledsoe (bass, vocals), and Beau Bledsoe (guitar, vocals), this family ensemble draws from deep American roots traditions shaped by generations of playing together.

Maya is an award-winning fiddler, named Grand Champion at the 5th Annual Ozarks Stringband Championship and Second Place winner at the Kansas State Fiddling & Picking Championships. Aidan, a Silver Medalist at the Missouri State Music Festival, has served as principal bassist at Interlochen Arts Camp. Both Maya and Aidan perform regularly with the Poor Choices at The Ship in Kansas City.

Beau Bledsoe—internationally touring guitarist and Executive/Artistic Director of Ensemble Ibérica—anchors the trio with rich musical experience spanning classical, jazz, and global folk traditions.