The son of folk singers, song collectors and political activists Guy and Candie Carawan, Evan Carawan grew up at the Highlander Research and Education Center, a non-profit labor education center in Tennessee. Inspired by his parents' involvement with traditional folk music, Carawan began playing hammered dulcimer at a very young age. By his tenth birthday, he had become an impressive player. At Highlander's 40th anniversary celebration, in 1972, he taught Malcolm Dalgliesh his first tune on the instrument, "Drunken Sailor." A frequent performer at Renaissance fairs, Carawan recorded a duo album, Appalachian & Irish Tunes on Hammer Dulcimer, with his father in 1988 and, joined by his mother, a Carawan family album, Home Brew, in 1991. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide