After a four-year stint in the U.S. Coast Guard, he took his one-of-a-kind Cirelli Accordion (140 bass buttons, 43 piano keys, roughly 2,000 parts, wooden guts, plastic shell, steel and aluminum ...

Many accordion players in OC are invested in seeing the instrument continue to survive, bringing the instrument into the 21st century through a variety of genres, from polka to punk.

Conjunto has a thumping backbeat, plaintive vocals and shimmering accordion riffs. This century-old music has been growing among a new generation of young musicians.

Specific histories and cultural contexts discussed include the accordion in Brazil, Argentine tango, accordion traditions in Colombia, cross-border accordion culture between Mexico and Texas, Cajun ...

But even back in the 1960s, when people heard the word "accordion," they envisioned polka music and lederhosen. "It became a little bit of a joke that I was playing the accordion," Pasquali said.

Garrett Tatano, 24, of Canonsburg was born and raised on polka music, with Polish and Italian parents who both played accordion as he was growing up. "My grandfather used to run polka dances on ...

Surely a petition to have polka restored can't be far behind. "In mainstream music in the last 40 or 50 years, [polka has] been the music that's the butt of the joke," says Finch.

Everything old is new again, and the accordion – that fantastical hand-piano that merrily belts melodies and harmonies all at once – is making a comeback, led by artists globally and musicians locally ...

The family travels throughout the area on weekends looking for polka music. She always has her accordion, just in case. “ ‘Never leave home without it,’ she says,” Heather said.

Vincent Cirelli, the 80-year-old son of Italian immigrants, still works part time in his Brisbane workshop amid small tools, dusty sheet music, pots of wax and dozens of accordions in various ...