Modestly, De Florio said, “I get a few tunes out of the small button accordion.” He might not be the accomplished accordionist his father was, but it’s clear that De Florio has a passion for not only ...

The button accordion, which is “really a harmonica of the hands,” notes Russel, is not cheap, though. When O’Brien’s opened in 1939, a new box cost $24.50; today a Hohner one-row button ...

Jamie Warren, 22, came with several friends, and had never played an accordion until he heard of plans to set a world record. "I picked it up about a week ago, just for this," he says.

In 2012, he had the opportunity to play the accordion for the first time, and that's when he knew he had to learn how to play the instrument. He went to his local Co-op and found an accordion on ...