Tara Linhardt & Mike Hansen

Tara Linhardt, an award winning mandolin player and Mike Hansen, a well seasoned traditional style vocalist and guitar player combine their skills to create an exciting mix of bluegrass-based music. Their material will combine instrumentals and vocal numbers, some of which have been entertaining music fans for hundreds of years and some may be from a more recent birth, but still coming out of the rich tradition of American string music. A show not to be missed.

 Mike Hansen has been playing traditional folk music for over 30 years.  Originally trained as a formal musician in classical guitar and saxophone, his discovery of the rich traditions in folk music led him to pursue interests in performing as a folk artist.  He has performed at festivals such as the Waterford Fair and Bluemont Fair in Virginia, weddings, nightclubs, contra dances, folk festivals and a wide variety of special events and private parties.

Tara Linhardt has won many awards for her skill on the mandolin such as first place at the Maury River Fiddler’s Convention, The Watermelon Park Music Festival, Mt. Airy fiddler’s Convention, and the Carroll County Fiddler’s Convention. Based in Western Loudoun County, Virginia, she has been performing and teaching traditional music styles for years. She has taught music at Traditions Week of the Common Ground on the Hill program at McDaniel College. Coming from a background of bluegrass, she is also versed in Celtic and Swing styles as is displayed on her CD “The Bond Street Sessions.”  She is also a founding member of the Mountain Music Project, a non-profit organization interested in the preservation and sharing between traditional music cultures, particularly those of Appalachia and the Himalaya.