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Dave Kerwood

dave kerwood folkcraft playerFolkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
 
Dave: I've been playing string instruments for nearly 30 years, but dulcimer is a recent passion.  I picked up my first cardboard dulcimer on a whim in the summer of 2022 and bought a cheap wooden one about a month later.  I didn't start taking it seriously until April of 2024 when I bought a Folkroots dulcimer from a friend and a proper Folkcraft a month or so after that.  I promised myself that if I was going to spend the money on a nice instrument, I'd have to put in the time to get really good at it.  I promised myself that I would compete in the National Dulcimer Competition at the Walnut Valley Festival.
 
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
 
Dave: I bought a 1985 FolkRoots from a friend in April of 2024, but about a month later, I rescued my 2002 Folkcraft from a guy selling an entire collection of dulcimers. He was a guitarist who bought the entire collection from somebody else, but never learned to play.  I'm very happy to have both a California style and a Kentucky style - they're a great "one-two punch" when it comes to musical style.
 
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
 
Dave: I love playing gigs around town or for my elementary students.  True to my goal, however, I did compete in the National Dulcimer Competition and was humbled to be the fourth-place finalist my first time around.  I'm excited to get out there again in 2025.  I also started posting weekly dulcimer covers to my YouTube channel - I've just hit my 6 month anniversary of doing that.  I enjoy taking songs that you'd never imagine being on dulcimer - by artists like Dua Lipa, Earth Wind and Fire, or Weezer, for example - and doing my best to present a fun version on this traditional instrument.
 
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
 
Dave: I love traveling with my family, seeing theater shows, and touring historic buildings.  I also write and perform original music, both solo and with my band, "Kerwood."  I'm an elementary school music teacher and now use the dulcimer as the standard that I compare and contrast when teaching my classes any string instrument.
 
Thanks for everything you do for the dulcimer community!