Common Ground on the Hill returns to McDaniel’s campus
Since 1995, Common Ground on the Hill has hosted its Traditions Weeks of classes in the traditional arts, evening concerts, lectures, and art talks on campus at McDaniel College. Now, after a two-year hiatus, McDaniel is also the location for the 23rd annual Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival being held Saturday, July 16.
Since 1995, Common Ground on the Hill has hosted its Traditions Weeks of classes in the traditional arts, evening concerts, lectures, and art talks on campus at McDaniel College. Now, after a two-year hiatus, McDaniel is also the location for the 23rd annual Common Ground on the Hill Roots Music & Arts Festival being held Saturday, July 16.
Common Ground kicks off its Traditions Weeks Monday, June 27, with two weeks of virtual sessions (June 27-July 1 and July 4-8) prior to an in-person week held on campus at McDaniel College (July 10-15). Traditions Weeks offer over 200 classes and other activities taught by more than 140 nationally and internationally recognized musicians, dancers, visual artists, thinkers, and creators.
Students also have the option each year to earn academic credit from McDaniel by participating in the Traditions Weeks program. Undergraduate students can earn credit as part of McDaniel’s Summer Session, while graduate students can earn three or six credits by participating in one, two, or all three weeks. Note: deadline to register to receive academic credit for the 2022 Traditions Weeks has ended.
To mark the culmination of the Traditions Weeks programming is Common Ground on the Hill’s all-day Roots Music & Arts Festival. This annual summer highlight features traditional arts, crafts, music, and dance, plus kid-friendly activities, food vendors, and a wine and beer garden, and is taking place in a new location at McDaniel College.
The day begins with the Deer Creek Fiddlers’ Convention, celebrating its 51st season, with band and individual instrumentalists and vocal competitions in genres including bluegrass, old-time and Celtic music, as well as the Eileen Carson Schatz Memorial Appalachian Dance contest.
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Headliners for the festival are virtuoso mandolin duo Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg, who will receive the Robert H. Chambers Award for Excellence in the Traditional Arts. Other acts include blues Hall of Fame band Professor Louie & the Crowmatix, Grammy-nominated newgrass band Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, old-time band Boojum, among others.
Festival ticket prices are $50 for adults, $45 for those 65 and older, $20 for college students (up to age 22 with ID) and teenagers (13-18), $10 for children (6-12), and free for children under 5 with a ticketed adult. Deer Creek competitor tickets are available at a discounted rate. Purchase tickets online.
