About Kendra Ward and Bob Bence

For more than four decades, Kendra Ward and Bob Bence have brought authentic Appalachian music to audiences across North America, the British Isles, and Europe. Their performances have graced concert halls, festivals, colleges, cafes, and everything in between.

Raised in the hills of Appalachia where Kendra's family has lived for generations, both musicians carry forward a living musical tradition. Kendra is one of the few remaining pre-revival mountain dulcimer players still performing and teaching today — a rare link to the style and repertoire that existed before the folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s.

Their music is so deeply rooted in tradition that the late Derek Bell of The Chieftains once remarked, “Your originals are so much ‘a part of the tradition’ that I was surprised to read the liner notes and discover they were originals.” Artists with roots this deep are increasingly rare. Kendra Ward and Bob Bence are among the few who still carry that tradition forward with both authenticity and vitality.

Kendra Ward

Hammered Dulcimer, Mountain Dulcimer, Vocals

Kendra Ward

Hammered Dulcimer, Mountain Dulcimer, Vocals

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Kendra is a musician, teacher, author and composer with deep roots in traditional Appalachian music. One of the few remaining pre-revival mountain dulcimer players, she has played since the age of four, learning from her father, her grandmother, and the fiddlers, banjo players and dancers of the Appalachian foothills she has always called home.

Bob Bence

Guitar, Mountain Dulcimer, Vocals

Bob Bence

Guitar, Mountain Dulcimer, Vocals

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Bob is an award-winning musician known for his bold, powerful guitar style and sharp sense of humor. His career has taken him from festivals and concert halls to comedy clubs and improv stages. Though he no longer works the comedy circuit, audiences still enjoy his spontaneous wit both in concert with Kendra and in the many emcee roles he continues to fill.