Music in Bass Hall: Dennis Stroughmatt

Tickets $18 / $15 members, seniors, students. Order online below or call 603-924-3235.

In the Heart of North America is a story that remains to be told, the story of the French Creoles who founded the Illinois country over three hundred years ago.  Along the Wabash and Mississippi River corridors, today they remain with their songs, stories and language, and one music group continues to carry the torch of this enduring culture….Dennis Stroughmatt et L’esprit Creole.

Fingers and bow flying, Dennis Stroughmatt takes listeners on a musical odyssey not so different from his own musical journeys into Upper Louisiana Creole Culture. Taught to play fiddle by local Creole fiddlers Roy Boyer and Charlie Pashia in the tradition of their fathers, Dennis gradually became an adopted son of the French Midwest Creoles living along the Mississippi River near St Louis.

A vibrant blend of Celtic, Canadian and Old Time sounds, this music bridges the gap between contemporary Canadian and Louisiana Cajun styles. Preserved by families in the Ozark foothills, the music remains largely intact and true to the traditions that have been passed down for over three centuries.

A medley of music, language, stories, and culture secreted away in the Missouri Ozarks now has a voice in the tapestry of this world. With the blessing of the Creole people of the Midwest, Dennis Stroughmatt et l’Esprit Creole are its passionate ambassadors, expanding interest and excitement in a region that has been, in many ways, ignored by the history books. What many have considered to be long lost is alive and kicking.

It’ll make your soul jump, your head spin, and your heart glad to know that it is still here. As they say in the hills, “On est toujours icitte: We are still here!”

Dennis Stroughmatt was featured on All Things Considered, NPR, on Tuesday, September 23, 2014.

Read and hear him here, talking about the Missouri Creole Paw Paw French music, people, language.

The 2016 Season for Music in Bass Hall is sponsored by Waterhouse Restaurant in Depot Square, Peterborough. Concert goers are encouraged to enjoy dinner before the show (or brunch before our Sunday afternoon shows), or libations and snacks after the concert. For reservations call 603-924-4001

Open Tuesday – Sunday
Lunch/Sunday Brunch 11:30am – 2pm
Dinner starts at 5pm