Danish-American Folk Music by Lamb, Jensen & Bugge

Lively Danish-American folk music will take the stage at the Betty Strong Encounter with “Lamb, Jensen and Bugge” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14. Admission will be free.

The Valentine’s Day program will treat the audience to lively tunes Danish immigrants brought to Western Iowa and eastern Nebraska more than a century ago. The music is “still very much alive throughout the country today,” according to Dwight Lamb, an award-winning button accordion and fiddle player from Onawa, Iowa.

Kristian Bugge, on fiddle, and Mette Kathrine Jensen, on accordion, are residents of Denmark. The musicians recorded “Dwight Lamb, Jensen & Bugge – Live in Denmark 2010,” a CD for the Go Danish Folk Music label.

Lamb is known for his “Missouri Valley” fiddling style - picked up from radio, records and fiddler Bob Walters, of Decatur, Neb. The Missouri Valley style has a distinctive repertoire and the fiddler puts a unique accent on the bow.

Lamb also plays the Danish button accordion. He learned the instrument from his maternal grandfather, Chris Jerup, who sold his farm in Denmark and came to live with Lamb’s parents in Western Iowa. When Lamb was older, he played for Danish and old-time dances in Western Iowa and Nebraska.

Lamb is particularly fond of fiddle tunes passed down through generations. Some date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, such as “Bells of America,” “The Prodigal Son” and “The Dark Haired Girl.”

Lamb recorded “Accordion Tunes: Dwight Lamb, Danish & American Melodies.” The CD showcases recordings of his grandfather as well as some of his own recordings of “Dane tunes” he learned as a boy.

He was featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s 1996 Festival of American Folklife and the Sesquicentennial Festival of Iowa Folklife.

Click on the following link to watch a video clip of Lamb, Jensen & Bugge performing at the Betty Strong Encounter Center:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkZ63DT0ZH8