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. Forget ...

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.

Carl Finch is serious about polka. He talks about it with the kind of fervor most people reserve for baseball or Chicago politics. Yet he and his band, Brave Combo, have a hard time getting anyone, ...

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 ...