Berea College presents the 52nd annual Celebration of Traditional Music from October 9–October 12, 2025, celebrating home-made music as passed on from person to person in the Appalachian Region and the musicians who play it. Performers include:
The Ebony Hillbillies, masters of black stringband music and blues, who will perform at the Thursday night Stephenson Memorial concert, Phelps-Stokes Chapel, 8 PM and Saturday night at 6:30, Gray Auditorium.
Other performers for CTM include:
Sue Massek, old-time, bluegrass, originals, Lifetime Achievement Award winner
Lorinda Jones, dulcimer, L. Allen Smith performer
The Branchwater Belles, old-time and originals
Colleen Cleveland, ballads from the Northern Appalachians
Tammy Clemons, Local Hero Award
Richard Underwood, symposium speaker at Dinner on the Grounds on Saturday; lecture on his book “CrimeSong,” with ballads performed by Liza DiSavino.
Illegal Contraband with caller Darlene Underwood
Lilli Shelton, KIDZONE
Donna and Lewis Lamb, Sam Gleaves, jam sessions
Deborah Thompson, Gospel sing
Berea College student ensembles.

Events take place across the campus and include dancing, jams, workshops, lectures, dinner-on-the-grounds, and a Saturday morning Kidzone at Woods Penn Commons with Lilli Shelton. All events are free to students. Daytime events are free to all. Saturday evening concert in Grey Auditorium is $10; the Saturday evening dance at Woods Penn Commons is $8. CTM is sponsored by the L. Allen Smith Memorial Fund, directed by Elizabeth DiSavino, and is planned and presented by the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, the CTM Committee, the Berea College Music Department, and the students of the Berea College Folk-Roots Ensemble.

Virtual viewing will be available for events Saturday night and Sunday afternoon via the Berea College Music Department Livestream https://vimeo.com/bereacollegemusic . For more details go to our facebook page, "Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music" or our website, https://tinyurl.com/LJAC-CTM