BUCKEYE ROADSHOW – January 2026 Newsletter
MOVING INTO 2026: We are excited about a lot of things coming up for BRS in 2026. Here are some of the things planned.
NEW …
Buckeye RoadShow Website: www.BuckeyeRoadShow.com
On this website, look for everything ‘Buckeye RoadShow’
BRS Zoom Jam details … dates, set lists, music tab, Early Bird information, and Zoom links
BRS Schedule
BRS Activities and workshops
Thanks to Chris Steiner for taking on this project and doing it so beautifully. Just know there is more to come!
Patreon
For the past several months, we have explored the possibility of Buckeye RoadShow becoming a creator on Patreon.
Patreon is a subscription-based way to directly support the music you love; past, present, and what’s still to come. As a Buckeye RoadShow Patreon member, you’ll unlock an ever-growing library of exclusive resources, including tablature, recordings from Zoom jams and concerts, and more. Members also receive priority access to custom, on-demand arrangements tailored specifically for you or your club, with multiple tablature options including harmonies, chords and a variety of instruments.
There will be various tiers of support available to choose from, with their own levels of benefit, as well as individual arrangements available for direct purchase. Please continue to watch the Buckeye RoadShow website for more information.
CONTINUING …
Buckeye RoadShow (Shari, Chris, Joe) remains dedicated to playing acoustic music, helping people to learn to play music, and helping people play music together under any circumstance possible. More than half of the clubs and festivals that were active before the pandemic have ended. Now we see some new clubs organizing and totally support the needs of these new groups with music tablature and workshops.
ZOOM/HYBRID JAMS We will continue to focus on including an ‘onsite’ component to these Zoom jams. We love the energy of playing along with others and the clubs seem to enjoy playing with us and learning more about the Zoom Jam experience. The Early Bird classes take on new life when onsite folks are there to ask questions and respond to our teaching ideas. It is also exciting to see so many folks on Zoom that can no longer leave home to attend live festivals. The Zoom/Hybrid experience allows us to accommodate both live and online attendees. The Buckeye RoadShow Zoom/onsite jams will always be FREE.
Thanks to the following groups that have supported Buckeye RoadShow Zoom Jams: Firelands Dulcimer Club (Milan, OH); Riley Creek Strummers (Bluffton); Bucyrus area musicians including Mansfield, Bucyrus, Sycamore friends; Findlay Dulcimer Gathering, Canton area musicians hosted by Marilyn Garver, Troy area musicians hosted by Nine Mile Creek and Hammer Jammers, and many of our Dayton area friends who joined us for a dinner/zoom jam at Morrie’s Landing at Lake Loramie. We are looking to branch out to other groups.
Would your group or club be interested in hosting a Zoom/Hybrid Jam during 2026?
For the Zoom setup, we would need a good internet connection. A big screen TV with an HDMI input would be very helpful for everyone to see our zoom participants. If your club might be interested in sponsoring a zoom jam, contact Chris Steiner at 419-721-8016 or email cooperrider@yahoo.com
SUPPORTING DULCIMER GROUPS and CLUBS
Buckeye RoadShow would like to become more involved in helping clubs grow and prosper through presentation of workshops that could include instruction on instruments (mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, clawhammer banjo), jamming ideas, arranging ideas, and playlist or program ideas.
DISCOVERY CLASSES
As an effort to reach out to new players, would your dulcimer group like to sponsor a Discovery Class? These classes are designed for folks that are interested in trying out a hammered dulcimer (Chris), clawhammer banjo (Joe), or mountain dulcimer (Shari) for a half day, and then conclude the day with their first jam.
RECAP OF 2025: Thank you to everyone that came along on our journey last year!
DULCIMER PLAYER NEWS The dulcimer world’s quarterly magazine is alive and well. Owner Fiona Potts and her father Bill Wake have breathed new life into the magazine by focusing on the dulcimer of the last 40 or so years, the dulcimer of the present, and glimpses of where the dulcimer might be headed. Buckeye RoadShow has been honored to contribute articles to DPN as well as providing a podcast, “Seven Ways to Strengthen Your Dulcimer Club”. You can see this podcast on a topic that is key to the survival of dulcimer music on YouTube at https://youtu.be/HbG9-x7Pq8w
During 2025, Joe and Chris continued BRS’s relationship with DPN by providing tablature and notation for the Hawaiian song Aloha Oe. For more info on the DPN, go to www.dpnews.com
FESTIVALS AND GATHERINGS In 2025, Shari was under the weather for the first part of the year, but Chris and Joe were ‘on the road.’ Shari was able to return to music at the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival in April.
In February, Chris and Joe traveled to Maria Stein, Ohio for the Dayton Dulcimer Club’s annual ‘retreat’, Dulcimer Doin’s. They conducted workshops and shared a couple tunes on stage.
After attending the May TriState Bluegrass Festival, BRS began preparations for going to Evart, Michigan in July for the Evart Funfest … and fun it was. We presented workshops, vended, performed onstage Thursday night as Buckeye RoadShow, and performed Friday night with Dave Haas. The nightly jamming was superb and renewing treasured friendships was priceless.
August saw us traveling to Fort New Salem in West Virginia for the Fort New Salem Dulcimer Festival where we taught workshops, did a short concert, and met many new musicians from the area.
In October, Joe and Chris once again traveled to New Harmony, IN as headliners for the Dulcimer Chautauqua on the Wabash. They both conducted workshops with Chris on hammered dulcimer and Joe teaching mountain dulcimer and ukulele and concluded each evening with a short concert.
BLUE RIDGE BREAKDOWN Roots music has been one of Joe’s passions since college. In 2025 he continued in his 26th year of broadcasting on University of Findlay radio WLFC. It’s on every Monday night from 8-10 pm on the internet at https://pulse.findlay.edu/listen-live (or if you are local… 88.3 FM on your radio dial). There is always a nice selection of Bluegrass, Old Timey, Celtic, Country Blues, and other ‘roots’ music, including some of your favorite Buckeye instructors.
We are glad you could join Buckeye RoadShow on some of our adventures in the
past and we are looking forward to seeing you “down the road”.
Sincerely,
Buckeye RoadShow … Chris, Joe and Shari