Wild Steps launches a season of concerts, storytelling, dancing, seasonal celebrations, and musical adventures for all generations
SEDONA, Ariz. — Fiddles, guitars, dancing, musical storytelling, seasonal celebrations, family programs, concerts, and some wonderfully foolish adventures are coming to Sedona and the Verde Valley as Wild Steps expands its participatory arts and humanities programming for 2026–27.
With continued and expanded support from the City of Sedona, Wild Steps is building upon its previous Sedona programming with activities reaching people across generations and in the places where they already gather: schools, parks, libraries, senior communities, farms, and the concert stage.
The expanded season includes programs for older adults at Sedona Community Center; musical storytelling with Community Library Sedona; an ongoing program for grades 3–5 at West Sedona School; seasonal music and nature gatherings in the Verde Valley; a new eight-concert Wild Sedona Concert Series at Mary D. Fisher Theatre; and the Wild Sedona Music Festival on May 29, 2027.
At the heart of the project are traditional Irish fiddler, researcher, and storyteller Dr. Kate Rose and multi-genre guitarist Armand Ramirez, who perform together as Wild World Irish Fiddle. Their work combines professional musicianship with cultural research, storytelling, movement, improvisation, and audience participation, exploring the ways musical traditions carry history while continuing to change in the hands of the people who play, hear, and dance to them.
“We play tunes and talk about their history and our stories here in Arizona, but then everyone becomes part of what happens,” said Rose, Executive Director of Wild Steps. “Someone may dance, someone else picks up a tambourine, a child discovers a rhythm, or a tune brings back a memory. We play with people and move them…together.”
Building on the Wild West Fiddle Project
The expansion grows directly from Wild Steps’ previous work in Sedona. During the last City of Sedona grant cycle, Rose and Ramirez presented the Wild West Fiddle Project through Community Library Sedona, along with community dances in the historic Apple Shed at Sedona Heritage Museum.
Drawing on research into Arizona’s multicultural musical past, the project recreates tunes, dances, stories, musicians, and cultural encounters that helped shape the region. Programs combined interactive concerts with hands-on music workshops and community dance, inviting audiences not only to hear about musical heritage but to experience it.
That work also helped Wild Steps identify where it wanted to go next. Families with very young children participated less frequently than they have in Wild Steps programs elsewhere in Arizona, while older adults and people facing mobility or cognitive challenges could encounter barriers to attending public events. The next phase therefore brings more programming directly into places where people already gather, can get to, and feel at home.
From Storytime to the Concert Stage
The expanded programming reaches across generations and settings. At West Sedona School, children explore rhythm, movement, improvisation, dance, and musical heritage; at Sedona Community Center, older adults participate in adaptable live music, movement, rhythm, and dance; and Community Library Sedona hosts participatory musical storytelling for young children and families.
The new Wild Sedona Concert Series at Mary D. Fisher Theatre brings that same spirit to the concert stage with eight musical adventures from November through May. Four feature Rose and Ramirez with acclaimed master violinist Arvel Bird, known for his distinctive “Celtic Indian” music drawing upon his Native American and Scottish heritage. The season follows the turning year through Día de los Muertos and Samhain, winter solstice, Imbolc, St. Patrick’s season, April Fools’ Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Mother’s Day.
Programming also reaches into the Verde Valley through seasonal gatherings at Wild Heart Flower Farm in Rimrock, exploring music, dance, cultural memory, the seasons, and relationships with the land. The season builds toward the Wild Sedona Music Festival on May 29, 2027, an all-day gathering of culturally rooted and innovative musicians with performances, workshops, jams, dance, storytelling, and participation.
Public Events Coming Up in 2026
Oct. 18, 2–4 PM — Wild Heart Flower Farm, Rimrock, AZ
Harvest Home: Music, Land & the Turning Year
Oct. 21, 9 AM — Storytime in the Park, Sedona, AZ
Fiddle Tales: Stories You Can Step Into
Nov. 1, 4–6 PM — Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Sedona, AZ
Día de los Muertos & Samhain: Music Across the Veil — Arvel Bird, Kate Rose & Armand Ramirez
Nov. 8, 4–6 PM — Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Sedona, AZ
Fiddle Tales: Stories Between Worlds — Kate Rose & Armand Ramirez
Nov. 18, 10 AM — Storytime in the Park, Sedona, AZ
Fiddle Tales: Stories You Can Step Into
Dec. 16, 10 AM — Storytime in the Park, Sedona, AZ
Fiddle Tales: Stories You Can Step Into
Dec. 20, 4–6 PM — Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Sedona, AZ
The Longest Night: Music at the Turning Year — Arvel Bird, Kate Rose & Armand Ramirez
Many more programs are ahead in 2027, including musical storytelling, concerts, intergenerational programs, seasonal celebrations, and the Wild Sedona Music Festival on May 29.
For the latest dates, times, locations, tickets, newly announced programs, the Wild Steps email list, and the performer application for musicians and culturally rooted ensembles interested in performing with Wild Steps,
