Children of well-known musicologist Charles Seeger and composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, Mike and Peggy Seeger were surrounded by traditional music and mastered a variety of instruments at an early age, playing with local square dance bands. Mike Seeger formed the New Lost City Ramblers in 1958 with John Cohen and Tom Paley, recording several albums for the Folkways Records label. He was involved with the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, and was a director of the Smithsonian Folklife Company from 1970. Seeger also recorded numerous albums as a solo artist and with Peggy, and performed at festivals throughout the world.