World Class Syncopation at 2026 Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival

“Eureka!” the thundering cry of the Gold Rush! In 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter’s Mill in Coloma located on the outskirts of Sacramento. Searching for this precious metal, thousands of wannabe prospectors flooded into the region, basically forcing Sutter off of his own property. Sutter went about 30 miles to the south in search of gold. Eureka! He found it again in a creek that now bears his name, “Sutter Creek.” A town soon formed and the flavor and spirit of that humble settlement is preserved to this day, as if frozen in time. Tucked away in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, this quaint location is the site of the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival. “From the Beautiful and historic location, to the relaxed and inviting atmosphere of the venues, to the wealth of great performers … I will absolutely come back next year,” shared Eve Elliot, world champion pianist.

The Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is virtually on the cutting edge of Ragtime today. “It truly is the little festival with the big heart,” says internationally renowned performers, Jeff and Anne Barnhart. This fun and friendly Friday through Sunday festival hosts over 30 featured musicians, seven concurrent venues, a new rag competition, the Tom Brier Scholarship competition, a youth scholarship award, silent movies featuring Frederick Hodges and Squeek Steele, concert review shows, after hours jam sessions, and even a ragtime bingo game giving attendees an opportunity to engage directly with the performers to get their bingo cards signed.

The first-place winner of the new rag competition (where the composition must be written around a Sutter Creek theme) was won by David Cavalari from Eden Prairie, MN. He was awarded a cash prize of $250 for his “Skunxedo Stroll” winning composition. We were fortunate to have David, the current 2026 world champion from the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, as one of our featured musicians.

The Tom Brier Scholarship competition, a forum for up-and-coming youth performers, awards a $2,500 first prize to the winning pianist. Each contestant is to perform a Tom Brier Rag, a rag or early standard of their choosing to showcase their piano playing prowess, and sight read an obscure rag (which Tom Brier would often do). This year’s winner was Michael Flores of San Juan Capistrano, CA. Michael, who was also one of our featured youth performers, is a third-year music education student at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS.

The $1,000 youth scholarship prize was awarded to John Beggs of Madison, FL. John is a second-year classical piano performance major at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. This dynamic artist is a youth champion from past years at the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, and has taken second place in the regular division the past two years. The Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is proud to feature a good number of youth performers and to encourage them in their musical development. Isaiah Burton emceed the memorable youth showcase concert, that featured Tadao Tomokiyo, Lily Tao, Max Libertor, John Beggs, Michael Flores, Chris Palmese, John Patrick Hutchinson, Jared Szabo and Isaiah Burton.

For the past 28 years, scores of ragtime musicians and enthusiasts have strolled along the sidewalks of Sutter Creek. Stevens Price, the co-founder and current festival director, recalls the humble origins of the festival: “In the early 1980s, I [Stevens] was finishing my musical college education in Southern California as a piano major, where I met my future wife and we would frequent the Maple Leaf Club in Downtown LA. I remember listening to wonderful performers and even bought a few LPs. We moved to the Gold Country of the Northern California Sierra Nevada foothills in 1986.

“In 1996, we bought an Ice Cream Store in Sutter Creek, and I found an old player piano in a Thrift store, bought it and moved it into the Ice cream store and I began playing for the customers on a daily basis. One day in the summer of 1997, a gentleman came in and asked whether he could play the piano. I said, ‘of course!’ He proceeded to play great Ragtime! We talked and he said he would be back tomorrow. I went home and it dawned on me that I knew who he was. I found his LP I had bought years ago in LA and showed him the next day. Keith Taylor was his name, and we decided right then and there to start a ragtime festival in Sutter Creek, beginning with a two-day Festival starting August of 1998.

“Twenty-eight years later we are still going strong! We even had a one-day festival during the [2020] Covid year, and I believe we were the only live Ragtime festival to take place in the whole country that year. We are already planning our 30-year festival celebration!”

This year, the festival kicked off on Friday afternoon with some very talented newcomers that fit right in with the seasoned performers who included Carl “Sonny” Leyland, Richard Dowling, Matt Tolentino, Paul Orsi, Vincent Johnson, Michael Chisholm, Kevin Gunia, Anthony Sarginson, and Frederick Hodges, to name just a few. Frederick shares, “The Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is a rare and joyful treasure for anyone who loves classic American music. … What makes the festival truly exceptional is the warm, welcoming community of artists and enthusiasts who mingle freely, united by pure musical camaraderie. It is an unforgettable weekend of brilliant musicianship, infectious energy, and timeless nostalgia.” Two of the venues went until 11:00 PM with youth inspired jam sessions, comprised of two pianos and a variety of talented instrumentalists.

Saturday dawned early with the strains of ragtime music at the Sutter Creek Farmer’s Market. The shoppers enjoyed three hours of choice musical selections of the ragtime craze, and all seven venues were now in full swing. So much great music all day long. Saturday events included: silent movies with both Squeek Steele and Frederick Hodges, the Chris Bradshaw Youth Showcase concert, a new rag competition, a concert of Sutter Creek inspired rags, the Tom Brier Scholarship competition, and the Saturday Evening Review Concert. Again, two venues went well into the night with memorable fun and fantastic, improvised syncopated selections.

Beginning in the Hotel Sutter at 9:00 AM, Sunday morning started off with the lively Gospel Hymn Sing led by Squeek Steele, and Jeff and Anne Barnhart. (One has not experienced hymns to their fullest potential, until heard with inspired ragtime syncopation). What an up-beat, lovely time of singing the hymns and songs of faith. Earlier that morning, a TV news crew from Sacramento’s Channel 40 came down to interview Stevens with live coverage of the festival. All venues were striding forward by 10:00 AM, featuring top-notch ensemble groups such as Virginia Tichenor’s Key System Rhythm Ramblers, Charlie Judkins & Miss Maybell, and the multi-talented Don Neely with his singing saw. After yet another day of happy ragtime music, it was time for the famous 2:00 Sunday Afternoon Review Concert, where the performer plays a number and then invites another artist to accompany them with the second selection. This Sutter Creek traditional performance pattern was repeated for the entire two-hour concert. The pianistic and instrumental combinations were amazing.

Using technology to help bring ragtime music into the 21st century, the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is truly on the cutting edge of ragtime. This past spring, we redesigned our website (www.historicsuttercreekragtimefestival.com) with a fresh new look. During the festival, our guests also enjoyed using our mobile app where they could create their own custom schedules, see when musicians were performing, and learn fun facts and nostalgic history about the town. Additionally, the festival now has an official YouTube channel (@suttercreekragtime) which was used not only to promote events leading up to the festival, but also to livestream concerts during the weekend, sharing the syncopated action with people who could not attend in-person this year. More videos and festival memories will be posted.

Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi will be featured in next year’s festival. Mark your calendars for the 29th annual Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, August 13-15, 2027. It is sure to be a weekend of great music, friends, and all-out fun amidst the charming setting of the Sierra Foothills. Other notable festival veterans already in the 2027 line-up include Frederick Hodges, Carl “Sonny” Leyland, Eve Elliot, and Ivory&Gold®, the dynamic husband-wife team of Jeff and Anne Barnhart.

The Barnharts encourage us all with this closing thought, “We are honored to have been part of this wonderful festival for the past two years, and we’re already eagerly looking forward to returning. Come join us. Come join the fun. Come join the family.”

Jared Z. Szabo, a Southern California native, is a relative newcomer to piano playing and composing. Jared is honored to have been selected as the 2025 Ragtime Kid for the Scott Joplin Ragtime Foundation in Sedalia, MO. Visit him online at jzsragtime.com.

Paul Orsi is an award-winning ragtime pianist known for his lively, crowd-pleasing performances. A three-time World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest winner and former Disneyland Coke Corner pianist, he brings classic ragtime music to life with energy and style.