The Community Concert Hall welcomes Bill Harley, the “Mark Twain” of children’s music, Oct. 21

 

Master storyteller, singer/songwriter and two-time Grammy award-winning artist Bill Harley takes the stage at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010, 7 p.m.

Called the Mark Twain of contemporary children’s music by Entertainment Weekly, Bill Harley celebrates commonality and humanity through comic narrative songs and the spoken word. Harley’s songs and stories (including “Monsters in the Bathroom,” “50 Ways to Fool your Mother” and “Dad Threw the TV Out the Window”) paint a vibrant and amusing picture of growing up, as well as school and family life.

On Oct. 18, just prior to his appearance in Durango, Harley is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Noted Harley upon hearing the news, “I was surprised and delighted, and explained that I live a mile from Rhode Island, and didn’t know I was old enough to get a lifetime achievement award. They said they didn’t care. I truly am honored – I’ve always had a hard time deciding where I fit, and being an artist getting an award from the humanities feels pretty good.”

            A graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, with a religious studies degree, Harley found his calling in community service instead of the seminary, leading a program in conflict resolution for families and educators, and co-founding a community-based adult education platform. Intrigued by folk artist/activist Pete Seeger’s use of music as an expression of community, Harley and his wife/professional partner Debbie Block helped launch Stone Soup Coffee House, today nearing 30 years as a performance venue.

            Harley “has an instinctive thing that artists have, a unique individuality that transcends any particular box or genre he performs in,” said Oskar Eustis, artistic director of New York’s Public Theatre. Harley’s work resonates, according to Eustis, because he is simultaneously son, father, husband, child and a grown-up, and he remains true to all those facets of his life.

            In September, Harley released his latest CD, The Best Candy in the Whole World. Learn more, view videos and preview songs at www.billharley.com.

            Writes Penguin Books, “Bill Harley has the uncanny ability to reaffirm life for listeners, be they five or fifty. Humor, empathy, intelligence and reality all radiate from his work and from him.”

Tickets for Bill Harley – $15 for Balcony and Orchestra ($13.50 for children 12 and under), and $25 for Plaza ($22.50 for children 12 and under) – are available at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or visit the ticket office at 7^th and Main Ave. in Downtown Durango.

 Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the arts complex of Fort Lewis College.  It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.