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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dulcimer Dynamo Sam Edelston Announces East Coast Tour,
Promotes Fretted Dulcimer as Rock Instrument
(New York, NY - February 27, 2025) Sam Edelston, a trailblazer in modern dulcimer music, is set to embark on an electrifying tour of the US East Coast this March and April, bringing his revolutionary sound to audiences eager for something fresh and unexpected. The tour will feature songs from his groundbreaking debut album, Making Waves—the first-ever classic rock album to feature the fretted dulcimer front and center in a rock band setting. With this tour, Edelston continues his mission to shatter musical glass ceilings and prove that the three-stringed dulcimer is far more than a simple folk instrument—it’s a powerhouse capable of delivering rock, pop, blues, jazz, and more.
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Edelston’s journey with the dulcimer began 20 years ago, after years of considering it limited and uninteresting, when he began to recognize its boundless potential. Now his primary instrument, the fretted dulcimer (or mountain dulcimer) has taken him across 12 states to perform at concerts, festivals, and workshops. His reach extends even further through his viral YouTube performances, where he has stunned audiences worldwide by reimagining rock anthems, heavy metal hits, and timeless classics on this traditionally humble instrument. His videos have amassed over 1 million views from more than 190 countries, proving the global appeal of his innovative approach.
Released in 2024, Making Waves showcases Edelston’s extraordinary artistry, featuring both acoustic and electric fretted dulcimers across 15 tracks. The album blends two original compositions with daring reinventions of classic songs by legendary artists The Rolling Stones, Queen, The Beatles, Chicago, Blondie, Motörhead, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, and Brandi Carlile.
“Big-name artists such as Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, and Harry Styles have recorded with dulcimers, but you never hear them play anything like this,” Edelston says.
Critics have taken notice. York Calling (UK) praises Making Waves, saying, “There’s a charm that runs through both his original compositions as well as his takes on the classics, with his vocals and the voice of others giving us plenty of charisma on top of the lively string strumming.” Music for All (Brazil) hails the album as “an enjoyable experience that breaks new ground for modern music.” And Ultimate Classic Rock (UK) raves about Edelston’s “frightening amount of rock mojo for a guy who seems fairly quiet and unassuming.”
Making Waves is now available on Spotify, Bandcamp, and all major streaming platforms. For tour dates, music, and the latest updates, visit samthemusicman.com.
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Name Change
I’ve been saying “mountain dulcimer” for many years, and occasionally “Appalachian dulcimer.” But those terms reinforce the historical association with things like backwoods hillbillies. These instruments belong in modern, mainstream music, too.
Beginning with the introduction of this new website in November 2024, I will retrain myself to call them FRETTED dulcimers.
Songwriter Showcase
On December 1, 2024, I’ll be a featured performer at the ISSA Boston/Northeast Songwriter Showcase in Worcester, MA. I’ll perform "in the round" along with fellow songwriters Joanna Katzen, Peter L’Esperance, and Tom Maynard.
This showcase will be held in Worcester, MA, in The Shiproom at the Hotel Vernon – my first time ever performing in Massachusetts. Though I’m best known for my “cover song” arrangements, I’ve also written a ton of songs, and in recent years I’ve started performing some of them on dulcimer. Even my MAKING WAVES album of mostly classic rock and pop hits includes two originals.
21st Annual Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival
On November 8-9, 2024, we had the 21st annual Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival in Milford, CT, which I’m the chair of. Featured artists were recent National Champions Kara Barnard on fretted dulcimer and Nate Pultorak on hammered dulcimer. Special guests, cimbalom masters Daniel Skála and MatÄ›j ÄŒíp (shown), performed also. (The cimbalom is an Eastern European cousin of the hammered dulcimer. It’s a conservatory instrument over there.) There were more than 40 workshops for players, taught by the above artists plus a dozen others, including me. We also had a special guest appearance Saturday by the New York Dulcimer Orchestra – joined by a couple of members of the virtual First National Dulcimer Orchestra. An incredible time was had by all.
Stay tuned for news about 2025.
My first album!
I recently released my first album, MAKING WAVES, by Edelston & Dulcimer, and it’s truly groundbreaking. It’s me on fretted dulcimer, fronting a rock band, playing mostly covers of classic rock and pop songs. The mission of this album is to show the world that dulcimers deserve to be widely used in rock music. We covered the spectrum, from gentle ballads like "Wild Horses" and "She’s Always a Woman," to anthems like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Bohemian Rhapsody," to pedal-to-the-metal takes on "Ace of Spades" and "Born to Run." There’s even Brandi Carlile’s Grammy-nominated “You and Me on the Rock,” which was actually written on a dulcimer. You’ve never heard another album like this, because in my 40+ years on the dulcimer scene, I’ve never heard of a dulcimer album like it.
Dulcimers have occasionally appeared on hit records but, as far as I know, never like this. So I feel like I’m introducing the broader world to a new instrument. For that reason (and because it sounds fantastic!), this is my favorite album of all time.
It's “Edelston & Dulcimer,” rather than my name, because the dulcimer is the star of the album. It even “sings” lead on about half of the songs.
A Day at the Museum
On April 30, 2024, I finally got to visit the renowned Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, which features thousands of instruments of all types, from around the world. I went there to find myself.
At every exhibit, they have a video loop where you can hear examples of the instruments being played, and in their dulcimer exhibit, their video loop includes my video of Neil Diamond's song, "Sweet Caroline." How big is it to have been selected for this? Well, the only other fretted dulcimer artist in the video loop is the legendary Jean Ritchie singing to Pete Seeger. During the pandemic, MIM posted a video about their Zither & Dulcimer exhibit, where a curator mentioned my video and then showed it for half a minute. WATCH HERE
I had contacted the museum in advance, and so was honored and delighted when the curator from the pandemic video, Rich Walter, came out, showed me around the exhibits, and posed with me for photos at the dulcimer display. I was tremendously impressed with the effort and the love that he puts into assembling and updating the collection. Whenever possible, there’s a story behind the instrument and why it’s significant. If you’re going anywhere near Phoenix, check it out! LEARN MORE
