Concert with Lorraine and Bennett Hammond

Sunday, October 1 at 1:00 PM

Join us for an afternoon of songs and stories from and about Cornwall with Lorraine and Bennett Hammond. Both are singers and 5-string banjo players. Bennett is an exceptional guitarist and Lorraine an exceptional Appalachian dulcimer player as well. The concert will include songs and ballads from Oscar Degreenia of West Cornwall.

Oscar Degreenia was born in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom in 1878. He learned many old English language ballads from his mother as a child and sang them throughout his life.  Oscar lived in West Cornwall from 1932, when he and his wife Etta moved there from Vermont, until his death in 1957. Lorraine’s family, the Choinieres, and the Degreenia family were close, and Lorraine learned some of those songs as a child.

Lorraine has helped pass this music on in the Cornwall community and far beyond. Cornwall’s well-known “Still, The Homegrown Band” was inspired by her Cornwall homecoming performances, and her work to encourage the Middlebury College digital release of Oscar’s songs that were collected by folklorist Helen Flanders has led to their being heard and even recorded in new versions by people around the country.

The Hammonds invite everyone to bring instruments and participate in singing and playing after the concert.

This event is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. Registration is appreciated.