It was not the sort of request that I expected to hear from our 13-year-old daughter, Emma, but at least it was one that I could grant. “I want to see someone polka dance,” is what Emma said.

Before he became a household name as the host of his own self-titled television show, Lawrence Welk was a hardworking bandleader shaped by the rural Midwest, European folk traditions, and the rhythms ...

Blame it on Lawrence Welk. If you’re unfamiliar with that name, members of the American Accordionists’ Association will give you an extra-warm welcome to their festival in Baltimore this week.

SHERMAN OAKS – Kenny Kotwitz sipped his drink and slipped back into an accordion memory 50 years in the making. He was just a teenager from Milwaukee, playing squeezebox in a combo and getting work ...

What’s the difference between an accordion player and a terrorist? Terrorists have sympathizers. Yes, that’s a joke, but you can forgive the polka community for not laughing right now. On June 4, the ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- To many Americans, the accordion brings to mind Lawrence Welk, polka music and lederhosen. And the thought of an accordion orchestra, like the one Joan (pronounced Jo-Anne) Sommers ...

For some people, the accordion has long been associated with smiling musicians in suits on Lawrence Welk Show re-runs, or with men in lederhosen and alpine hats. More contemporary performers like the ...