Related websites:
Link to Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center
Link to the Deep Polka album
Hailing from Coon Valley, Wisconsin, the Norskedalen Trio got its name by playing old-time Norwegian-American tunes for board meetings at the Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center in the early 1980s. The trio includes Tilford “Tip” Bagstad, a retired farmer, carpenter and heavy machinery operator, his wife Eleanor Bagstad, a retired elementary school teacher, and Beatrice Olson, a retired dairy farmer. Tip sings and plays the fiddle while Eleanor accompanies on piano and Beatrice on the accordion. After playing locally for these meetings, community dances, festivals, and other events, the trio was invited to perform at the 1998 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. and at the Wisconsin Folklife Festival in Madison, WI that same year. The group contributed several tracks to the album Deep Polka: Dance Music from the Midwest, put out by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and produced their own albums, The Norskedalen Trio LP and a CD entitled, The Norskedalen Trio: It’s Time to Celebrate!