After 27 years, the name says it all:

“ Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival ​”

“Keeping Ragtime and early Jazz alive in the Sierra Foothills”
The Musical Legacy Continues

Peaceinpianos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to the 
Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival

It was a wonderful and memorable 27th annual festival in 2025!!
Great Music, Perfect warm weather, top-notch performers and so much fun.
But now it's also time to look towards the future:

Presenting The 2026 Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival​

August 7 - 9, 2026

Yes, after 27 years, the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is indeed “Historic!”
     Many great years of great Ragtime and early Jazz music have pervaded this quaint gold rush town of Sutter Creek, known as the “Jewel of the Motherlode”, and created a unique and special festival touted as the best festival by many of the performers!
Just stepping onto the streets of this charming town, you realize that you are in for a treat. The Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival brings a respite to the sometimes polished and stiff feel of some of the bigger festivals.  Here in Sutter Creek the rush of daily life slows to a crawl.  Friendly merchants and townsfolk all striving to make the visitor feel right at home and forget about your problems back home.  Excellent dining, first rate lodging, ample beer and wine tasting shops and the sounds of Ragtime music will lull you to the days gone by.   
     Our festival creates a relaxed and intimate setting where all can feel as though they are best of friends.  Talk to the performers, buy their drinks and even take them out to lunch or dinner.  A perfect way to get to know your favorite performer. 
     This Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival runs for 3 days, Friday thru Sunday, August 7 - 9.  Festivities start at 4 pm on Friday afternoon and ends Sunday afternoon after the finale concert.  Music is performed at 7 venues along Main Street, which includes 2 special concerts highlighting the performers.   And of course, we will have Silent Movies with piano accompaniment at the Hotel Sutter this year.  There is almost always after-hours jamming at the hotel and other venues as well along with more open piano times.
     An information table will be set up in front of the Auditorium/City Hall, to obtain your event badges, purchase t-shirts, music and the performer's CD's.  Once situated you may now meander through the town and visit the unique friendly shops, antique stores, wine tasting spots and the fine restaurants.  

Information on the different venues, lodging choices and Festival pricing are all within this website at your fingertips! If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to contact the festival at:
[email protected]
or call (209) 304-0835

Thank you and we all look forward to seeing you in our favorite Town.

For more information on Sutter Creek, please go to www.suttercreek.org
or call the Sutter Creek Visitor Center @ (209) 267-1344
or call the Amador County Chamber of Commerce @ (209) 223-0350

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I wanted to thank you for the wonderful time at the festival in August and also for the wonderful reception my music received. I will always have a warm feeling in my heart for 
you and the rest of Sutter Creek.

Gil Lieby - Ragtime Composer, Festival Attendee

Composer

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Attendee

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​For the first time my wife and I attended the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival even though we have known about it for a number of years.  I have been an organizer for many projects and aware of the time and effort it takes and you folks did it in spades or should I say in a perfect syncopated beat! Sutter Creek is the perfect venue for this genre of music and a nice getaway from San Francisco where we live. So thanks again for all of your work for this fun activity
and helping preserve the ragtime music slice of Americana.

​Jackson McElmell - Festival Attendee

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You should know how appreciative Sutter Creek is for the great Ragtime Festival you and your team brought to this town this weekend. The festival was a perfect fit for us. It is a wonderful event that attracts a good number of people over several days and with the performers scheduled at various venues this is an opportunity for the Ragtime Enthusiasts to enjoy Sutter Creek while enjoying the music. All of you did a marvelous job of organizing this year's festival and your pre-planning showed in every aspect of the festival.

 ​Lisa Klosowski - Sutter Creek Business Association

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​What a great time my husband and I had at the Ragtime Festival this past weekend.  The music was terrific! Such wonderful Ragtime musicians providing top notch music in an outstanding setting! It also gave us time to visit, shop and to eat in Sutter Creek for the three days, two nights we were there. It has been some years since our last visit and this was a wonderful opportunity to re-visit a most warm and friendly town. 

​Farris Horak - Festival Attendee

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​We want to express our gratitude for allowing us to be a part of the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival. We had a fabulous time and loved every minute of it, start to finish! We wouldn't change a minute of it. Thank you for giving us this wonderful opportunity to play. We'd do it all over in a heartbeat!

Chris Bradshaw - Musician

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The 27th Annual Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is in the history books!  
      It was a great weekend of music and fun.  The weather cooperated although the music was HOT!
So many great musicians showing off their talent. Wonderful concerts, jam sessions, Three new Venues added for a total of 8 venues offering wonderful musical options for the festival attendees and the genuine love of music permeated the festival. Our popular Youth concert has been renamed the "Chris Bradshaw Youth Showcase", and the younger musicians again proved that the next generation of Ragtime artists are well represented and the future of Ragtime is secure.  The festival was able to award a $1000 scholarship this year to Max Libertor as well as the newly formed "Tom Brier Scholarship", which awarded a $2500 Scholarship to Isaiah Burton. Both Scholarships going to some well deserving youth musicians to help with their higher education.  A review of the festival is on the Past Festival Highlights Page.  
      Stevens and Keith Taylor are the founding members of the Sutter Creek Festival and Keith was here for the 25th festival but was unable to travel from his home in Oregon due to health concerns. We welcomed new performers this year with Richard Dowling and Jeff & Anne Barnhart who brought amazing talent to the festival, and we plan on having them return next year. We also welcomed back the ever-popular Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra to the festival again this year.  What a great addition!! I was honored to be able to sing a couple songs with them!
      ​Thank you to all who attended and made it such a great event.  Much thanks to all of our volunteers and of course to the magnificent musicians who performed like ragtime rockstars!
Keep watching for new updates soon as our 28th Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival is just around the corner. Plan to be a part of this amazing event coming AUGUST  7 - 9, 2026.
2025 was a big hit and well attended and we are excited about our 28th festival. Many of the new entertainers from last year are eager to make the return trip to Sutter Creek. Make your vacation plans now to be in Sutter Creek August 2026 for a relaxing time for music and laughter.

Please fill out the contact page on this site so you can be added to our mailing list.  We will send out periodic emails during the year regarding the festival. 
Thank you,
Stevens Price
​Festival Director

Go to Contact Page