Pete Seeger 100th Birthday Party Featuring John McCutcheon

Generally regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, McCutcheon only learned to play the instrument by happenstance. He had a girlfriend back in the early 1970s who went to a summer workshop at a West Virginia college. One of the classes was instrument building. They built a couple of different instruments. A hammered dulcimer was the first one. So on a visit to see her, McCutcheon learned to play it. More than any other instrument he’s ever played, he just took to it. That was a time when you couldn't just sign up for a class or go online and watch a YouTube video that would instruct you how to play an instrument. That kickstarted his career and he's just now issued his 40th album, a tribute to folk singer Pete Seeger. Tonight, McCutcheon will play Seeger songs alongside tracks from his other album. A multi-instrumentalist, he'll jam on guitar, banjo, piano, hammered dulcimer and more. (Niesel)