Music & Dance at Ashokan: From Listening to Living It
At the Ashokan Center, music and dance aren’t just performances—they’re ways we gather, connect, and build community.
Rooted in our mission to inspire learning and bring people together through shared experiences in nature, history, music, and art, every concert and dance is an invitation. An invitation to listen, to move, to feel, and to be part of something larger than ourselves.
This spring, that spirit was on full display.
In April, we welcomed audiences into the Performance Hall for an afternoon with Laurel Massé and The Professors, celebrating the release of their new album Intersections. It was a performance grounded in decades of musical collaboration and friendship—one of those afternoons where the music feels both deeply personal and widely shared.
Just days later, the energy shifted as Breabach took the stage, bringing the vibrant sound of Scotland to Ashokan. With driving rhythms, soaring fiddle, and the unmistakable power of bagpipes, the room came alive. It was the kind of night where you don’t just hear the music—you feel it move through you.
Two very different concerts. One shared experience: connection through music.
That same thread carries into May, with a lineup that reflects the full range of what music and dance look like at Ashokan.
We begin the month with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, two renowned musicians whose fiddle and cello playing has helped redefine Scottish traditional music for audiences around the world. Their upcoming performance also marks their final appearance together at Ashokan—making it a meaningful and memorable moment for our community.
Later in the month, the tone shifts once again with our Ukulele Revue, a joyful, high-energy evening showcasing the talented instructors of our Ukulele Weekend. It’s fun, playful, and full of the kind of music that invites you to smile, sing along, and not take yourself too seriously.
And to close out the month, we move from listening to dancing.
Our Square Dance at the Rollick brings the community together on the dance floor—no experience needed. With live music, shared steps, and plenty of laughter, it’s a reminder that music at Ashokan isn’t just something you watch. It’s something you join.
From Scottish strings to ukulele jams to a full dance floor, this is what music and dance look like here: diverse, welcoming, and deeply rooted in community.
We hope you’ll join us.