1. copy and post to your Facebook friends, email networks and local media:
The Life and Times of the Great Lead Belly in Rockford February 20
ROCKFORD IL - Rockford actor and singer David Causey and folk artist and writer Mark Dvorak of Riverside IL, will present “The Life and Times of the Great Lead Belly” on Saturday, February 20, at 7:00 pm. The performance will take place at Spring Creek UCC, 4500 Spring Creek Road, Rockford.
“David and Mark presented their Lead Belly show last year in Rockford,” said Concerts on the Creek music director Ron Holm. “It was a hit, and we thought naturally to bring them back for a Black History month presentation.”
“Lead Belly is an essential American artist,” said Steve Jones, president of the Rockford Blues Society, which is sponsoring the show as an arts-in-education presentation in four Rockford public schools. “Our ‘Blues in the Schools’ program has served thousands of students, and our goal is to help reconnect young people with our shared musical heritage.”
The show was adapted from a script developed by Dvorak in the early 1990s after he sought out and found the grave of Huddie Ledbetter, better known as “Lead Belly,” outside the small town of Mooringsport, Louisiana, in the in northwest part of the state.
Dvorak distilled his notes into a script which was produced into an audio documentary by WDCB 90.9 fm, Glen Ellyn IL. The show, “Lead Belly’s Legacy” aired in one hundred sixty cities and in 1993 earned Dvorak a Peter Lisagor for Journalism.
Along with Woody Guthrie, Huddie Ledbetter is regarded as one of the great American folk song composers and performers. Born in the late 1800s, Lead Belly was a song collector, an animated entertainer and a crack musician. Although he never achieved great success as a performer and recording artist in his lifetime, his songs and legend are inherently woven into the fabric of American folklore and folk music.
The evening will conclude with a folk singalong and hootenanny. Admission to the concert is free, but a donation of $10 is suggested. For information on Concerts at the Creek phone 815 979 1949 or visit www.springcreekucc.org. For information on Mark Dvorak visit his home page www.markdvorak.com.
###
2. Add a drag & drop image to your post:
###
3. Download and print a 4-up mini flyer to pass along to your friends and coworkers:
###
4. Get in touch here if you need something or have a good idea: info@markdvorak.com.