Eleventh Show
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH 8:00 PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH 1:30 PM (KIDS SPECIAL-SOLD OUT)
BILLY JONAS
Billy Jonas has made a career out of playing junk---not in his material, but with respect to his instruments. The Asheville, NC area Jonas' unique sound has come from his recycling instruments and other trash found around his house and pulling very different sounds out of them to compose his music. While this practice isn't unheard of, it's his brand of "junkadelic folk music" that has made critics notice him. Jonas started banging on pots and pans while in high school in Chicago, then took the same idea and honed it into a performance ensemble while enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio. He came to Asheville in 1990 and found a spot on the local folk scene performing in the duo 'The Billys" with Bill Melanson. After the duo ended in 1995, he took some time off and worked on a solo debut, "LIFE SO FAR", a collection of original songs. Keeping with the recycled instruments theme, he is backed by Chris Rosser on glass bowls and cittern and by David Blum on short wave radio. Sound interesting? It is! Dirty Linen Magazine says it is "wild winded word magic...." Sing Out says Billy's is an "Exquisite craft...". Fayetteville Morning News says that Billy "touches the most hardened hearts."....and he does. Jonas' compositions use elements of world music and socially conscious lyrics, but it's the layering of strange sounds that cause his music to come into its own.
Billy has performed with such folkies as Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and Richard Thompson and was featured on CNN'S Living in the 90's.
Reservations for this show can be made August 22nd (Wednesday) at (919) 787-6378 or bett_padgett@mindspring.com. Donations of $10 will be collected at the door. The artists at the Little Lake Hill House Concert Series receive the entire gate minus a few small expenses, making this a very special event.
DON'T LEAVE, THERE'S MORE!!!!
Billy is a GREAT KIDS ENTERTAINER!!!! Much of his work is with children. His "BANGIN' AND SANGIN'" video has received the KIDS FIRST endorsement from the Coalition for Quality Children's media.....a very special endorsement. Live on stage he can handle hundreds of raucous kiddies performing original numbers such as "Old St. Helen" and "Alien in My Lungs" as well as such family favorites as "Lean On Me" and "Michael Finnigan." If you have visited the Festival for the Eno over the last few years you probably stopped when you heard Billy on stage. His sound and music are 'unstompable'! For this reason, we are hosting Billy for a 1:30 show on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH for kids FREE. This will be held outdoors (pray for clear skies) bring blankets, chairs, etc. To be able to accommodate the crowd, it would be good for us to have an idea of the interest in this show. Please contact us at (919)787-6378 or bett_padgett@mindspring.com.
To hear a couple of tunes from Billy's CD LIFE SO FAR click on the links below.