Bluegrass and folk band, The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, perform during Tahlsound’s John Hartford Experience at the Oleika Great Lawn in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Photo by Peyton Tindall/The Watchdog

Editors’ note: Opinion articles published by The Watchdog provide perspectives of the writer separate from general Watchdog reporting.

For over 10 years, residents of Lexington have gathered near Southland Drive, tucked away from the lights and noises of the city, for a monthly concert called Tahlsound.

Every month, the concert features artists from Kentucky and one of its neighboring states. No two events are the same.

Tahlsound’s most recent concert was on Thursday, May 24, 2026- the John Hartford Jamboree, in honor of the folk legend.

“He was a real innovator in folk music,” mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist said of Hartford. “He gave people a lot of license to take creative license within bluegrass.”

Gilchrist is one half of the John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project who kicked off the night’s performances. Alongside her counterpart Ella Korth, a banjo and guitar player, the two performed songs that Hartford hadn’t released before his death in 2001.

The duo’s act served as a terrific way to set the evening’s tone. Despite the humidity that clung to the air, the people of Tahlsound were enthused to hear some good folk music.

Gilchrist and Korth delivered on that. Their performance was easy on the ears. The steady sound of bluegrass instrumentals buzzed through the crowd as the John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project finished their set.

Up next was Cincinnati-based folk band The Tillers, who have been making music for nearly 19 years.

The band’s experience showed once they took the stage. As much as I enjoyed the opener and closer of the night, The Tillers were the highlight of the John Hartford Jamboree.

Vocalists Sean Geil and Mike Oberst meld together incredibly. The band’s setlist was a mix of covers of Hartford’s songs and their own music. The Tillers’ sound is based on their folk vocals and melodic banjo. Their work is clearly and unapologetically folk music.

It was hard to discern the difference between The Tillers’ original music and their covers at times. Though the band’s lyrical style is quite different from Hartford’s, the covers contained the trademark melodic banjo and vocal harmonies of the band’s original songs. The Tillers left their fingerprint on every song they touched.

That sound, so quintessentially southern folk, was more intoxicating than any drink at the event. Geil and Oberst’s voices melt into each other. They sing as if they were born to perform together.

The Tillers’ music can only be described as musical honey. Their set alone made the John Hartford Jamboree worth attending.

Bluegrass and folk band, The Tillers, perform during Tahlsound’s John Hartford Experience at the Oleika Great Lawn in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Photo by Peyton Tindall/The Watchdog

Although I enjoyed The Tillers more, that isn’t to diminish Hancock & Shouse, who closed the concert. Their performance was beautifully folky and served as a great way to end the night.

Throughout the performances of The Tillers and Hancock & Shouse, several people danced in front of the stage. In spite of the humidity that made the air feel thick. That made the experience all the more enjoyable.

Much can be said about the artists who performed, but the people at Tahlsound made it so distinct from any concert I’ve ever been to before.

With mud on their shoes and the sweet sounds of Americana in their ears, the people at Tahlsound celebrated the life of a folk legend the only way they knew how to: dancing.