CD RELEASE CONCERT!

The CD Release Concert was great! It took place at Buvons in Urbana, a wonderful wine & cheese venue. Kevin was joined by Armand Beaudoin on bass, Graham Duncan on vocals, percussion, & baritone guitar, Anna Hochhalter on saxophone, Dorothy Martirano on violin, & Chris Reyman on accordion. The large crowd loved it! Buvons loved it too & invited the group back for another engagement on November 12. Check out the "Sound Gallery" for video shot by Kristen Johns. A nice introduction to the new CD, It's a Circus Here, Dolores!

NEXT UP: FOLK ALLIANCE 2012!

Kevin will be down in Memphis again at Folk Alliance 2012, performing the following private showcases:

Wednesday, February 22:
9:00 PM, Soona Songs, Room 1806
12:00 AM, Moors & McCumber, Room 1714

Thursday, February 23:
12:30 AM, Soona Songs, Room 1806

Friday, February 24:
12:30 AM, Soona Songs, Room 1806

Saturday, February 25:
3:00 PM, Third Coast, Room 1925
1:30 AM, Soona Songs, Room 1806

Nonstop music & fun!

KRANNERT UNCORKED!

In the lobby of the beautiful Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, ON fEBRUARY 16, 2012, with free wine & cheese!

WITH ANGIE HEATON & HAYLEY JANE!

In concert at the Iron Post, ON fEBRUARY 1, 2012, with local favorite Angie Heaton & brilliant 21 year old Detroit singer-songwriter, performance artist ... & burlesque performer, Hayley Jane!

WINE AT THE PINES!

December 11, 2011: Music, wine ... all to benefit Campaign for Better Health Care!

CD RELEASE CONCERT - THE SEQUEL!

A repeat of the CD Release Concert, on November 12, 2011, with Dorothy, Graham, & Anna, once again at Buvons!

WEFT SESSIONS!

LIve on the radio again on WEFT Sessions, hosted by Todd Hunter, on November 7, 2011!

IN CONCERT AT JOE SIPPERS!

A family concert at Joe Sippers in Effingham, IL, on October 29, 2011, featuring talented niece Chelsey Hutmacher & nephew Cordy Horn!

LIVE ON WEFT!

Live tunes on WEFT's "We're Only In It For The Music" hosted by Dave Witzany, on October 14, 2011!

ELLNORA DEBUT!

Kevin got to make his debut at the 2011 Ellnora Guitar Festival, performing on the stage of the Foellinger Great Hall, as part of the guitar health workshop with Dr. Allison Jones. The Ellnora Guitar Festival is an internationally acclaimed gathering of guitarists that occurs every two years at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Illinois campus, in Urbana, IL. This years festival included Vieux Farka Toure, Daniel Lanois, Luther Dickinson, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Chris Thile & Michael Daves, Marc Ribot, Taj Mahal, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dan Zanes, Bill Frisell, Sharon Isbin, Calexico, Rory Block, Cindy Cashdollar, Richard Thompson, Adrian Belew, Kevin Breit, & Robert Randolph ... unbelievable!

Das Cafe!

Kevin performed a solo set at Das Cafe in downtown Urbana, IL, on July 15, 2011.

Opening for the Freak Brothers!

Kevin got to play at the Independent Media Center in downtown Urbana, IL, on May 13, 2011, opening for local legends, the Freak Brothers, including Jay Rosenstein & Bruce Rummenie.

Boneyard Arts Festival!

Kevin participated in the Boneyard Arts Festival, on April 8, 2011, in a benefit for the Campaign for Better Health Care, playing at 32 Main in downtown Champaign, IL.

Folk Alliance 2011!

Kevin played another seven private showcases at Folk Alliance 2011 in Memphis, TN, in February. Four of the showcases took place in the room hosted by his record label, Soona Songs.

Check out the Soona Songs website

Anderson Fair in Houston!

Kevin was honored to play at historic Anderson Fair In Houston, TX last November 11! He got to share the stage with the amazing Pat Wictor, along with the wonderful hosts Ken Gaines & Wayne Wilkerson. It was a great turn-out & a fun road trip.

Check out the Anderson Fair website

At the C-U Folk & Roots Festival

Kevin played & had a great time at the Singer-Songwriter Showcase of the Champaign-Urbana Folk & Roots Festival on Saturday, September 25, at La Gourmandaise Bistro. located at 119 W. Main St. in downtown Urbana. Check out the 2011 Folk & Roots Festival this fall.

Check out the C-U Folk & Roots website

Local & Live

Kevin played & chatted live with Kevin Kelly on his "Local & Live" radio program on WILL-FM radio, 90.9 FM, on September 23.

Check out the WILL-FM website

Aroma Cafe

Kevin played once again at Aroma Cafe in Champaign, on September 16 at 7:00 PM. It was a lovely night & Kevin set up outdoors in the back courtyard, a beautiful place to enjoy music!

Check out the Aroma Cafe website

House Concert with Markley&Balmer

Kevin & Sandra hosted a house concert On Friday, July 30, with music from Kevin, preceding headliners & Soona Songs label-mates Lisa Markley & Bruce Balmer. What a night! Great music, friends, & munchies.

Lisa & Bruce were off the next day for St. Louis, continuing their Amtrak tour.

Check out the Soona Songs website

First CD!

Over the past 30 years or so, Kevin has written numerous songs, written pieces for solo guitar, performed alone and with others, and now has finally released his first CD, You Really Had To Be There.

He is a talented singer and guitarist who composed all of the songs on the album.

Evocative of the work of Paul Simon or Tom Waits, these songs are populated with a variety of endearing, left-of-center characters, who tell their quirky stories in ways both moving and amusing. With rich and colorful language, set to beautiful melodies, these songs will stick with you. And Kevin’s fingerstyle guitar playing carries the songs; it is often elaborate, but never intrusive.

Read what others are saying.

With Jim & Sherry at Aroma Cafe

Kevin will be playing once again with Austin, TX friends Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus at the Aroma Cafe on Friday, November 20, at 7:00 PM ... bound to be a great show & crowd!

Aroma Cafe is located at 118 N. Neil St. in downtown Champaign.

Check out Aroma's website.

With Jim & Sherry at Joe Sippers

Kevin & Jim & Sherry will play again the following night, Saturday, November 21, at 7:00 PM, at Joe Sipper's Cafe in Effingham, IL, if you miss Friday's show. If we're lucky, Larry Passalacqua will join the other three with his amazing lead guitar playing!

Joe Sippers is located at 114 S. 4th St. in Effingham, IL.

Another 500 Mile Bike Ride!

Well, Kevin has had several 500 mile bike rides since the 1200 mile ride to Austin in 2006. Last year he & his wife Sandra rode around Indiana & this spring rode to the Mississippi River & back. But the ride a couple weeks ago turned out to be special!

First Kevin rode up to Traverse City, MI ... about a 5 day trip. Then Sandra met him up there for a great week at Glen Lake ... more biking in the beautiful country, plus kayaking & water skiing, climbing the 450 foot Sleeping Bear Dune, hanging with new friends & munching on delicious local cherries, blueberries & peaches.

To top it off, they were able to catch 3 great concerts:
Claudia Schmidt in Elk Rapids, Daisy May Erlewine & Seth Bernard in Charlevoix & then Tony Furtado in Traverse City.

Kevin even played a little, for friends at the Brook Haven resort.

Then time to come home ... up through the U. P., then a day trip through Wisconsin (alas, too late for the weekend celebration of the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee) ... then zipping through Chicago & back to Urbana!

A great time!!

House Concert Series

Kevin took a break from performing to write new music for his upcoming CD recording session with Soona Songs.

He is now starting to get some of this new stuff out & about!

He is in about the middle of a series of house concerts to introduce the new songs to friends & fans in Champaign-Urbana ... & also support some good causes.

The first of these was held at Sandy & Bill Volk's house in Urbana on Thursday, October 30, at 7:00 PM. This was a great success & raised $800 for the Humane Society ... the bill was shared with Sam the dog, celebrating his 17th birthday!

The second was held at Kip & Janet Pope's house in Champaign on Friday, November 21, at 7:00 PM. This was also a great time & ... with Kip & Janet matching the kitty ... raised $1200 for the Parkland College scholarship fund. Folks appear to be liking the new songs!

The last one was at Mark & Vicki Niswander's house in Mahomet, on January 23, at 7:00 PM, along with Michael Kammin. Another diverse crowd & $700 was raised for WEFT.

AND ... Beth Wood Friday, May 15, 2010!

Contact Sandra for info about hosting a house concert at: sandra.ahten@gmail.com.

With Beth Wood!!

Kevin & Sandra hosted a house concert at their home in Urbana, featuring Kevin along with Beth Wood of Lyons, CO, on Friday, May 15, at 6:30 PM. More new songs AND Beth Wood ... what a treat!

With Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus

Kevin & Sandra also hosted a house featuring Kevin along with Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus of Austin, TX, on Sunday, November 2, at 7:00 PM. Yet another great get-together & lots of fun listening to & catching up with Jim & Sherry!

Joe Sipper's Cafe

Kevin also performed as part of a Writers-in-the-Round at Joe Sipper's Cafe in Effingham, IL, along with Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, accompanied by Larry Passalacqua, on Saturday, November 1, at 8:00 PM. Larry is a tremendous guitarist ... it was certainly a joy to have him sitting in!

Sandra & Kevin's family were also in attendance ... they live just a few miles down the road.

Joe Sipper's Again & Good Shepherd

There were two other recent shows on the calendar. Kevin performed again at Joe Sipper's in Effingham on February 26, from 8 to 10:00 PM, again along with Jim Patton, Sherry Brokus & Larry Passalacqua.

And, Kevin performed solo at the Good Shepherd Coffee House in Champaign on March 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

Look for Kevin, Jim, Sherry & Larry at Joe Sipper's again sometime over the summer ... probably at Aroma, too.

WRFU Benefit

Kevin performed as part of a benefit for low-power FM station WFRU, broadcasting from the IMC in Urbana. The benefit was held at the Cowboy Monkey in Champaign & took place on Saturday, December 6, with Kevin performing at 6:00 PM. It was a GREAT line-up, for a very good cause.

Happy Hour

Kevin performed along with Megan Johns as part of a WEFT 90.1 FM Happy Hour on Friday, June 20, at Mike & Molly's, in downtown Champaign.

Lotus Petal

Kevin performed on Saturday, April 19, at 7:30 PM, at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville, IN, coinciding with the Rural Route Film Festival.

Check out the Lotus Petal.

Red Herring

Kevin performed on Sunday, April 13, at 2:10 PM, as part of the Red Herring Reunion Concert. It was a fun set attended by a nice mix of new & old friends!

The Red Herring celebrated its 40th birthday! It has been the launching pad for many talented musicians over the years, including the late Dan Fogelberg. The concert took place April 11, 12 & 13. Check out the schedule.

A tremendous crowd enjoyed three days of wonderful music, old friendships & good will ... not to mention the Red Herring's delicious vegetarian food!

Aroma Encore

Kevin had a repeat performance at the Aroma Cafe on Thursday, March 13, at 8:00 PM, followed at 9:00 PM by David Howie & Chad Dunn ... a great show & crowd!

Aroma Cafe is located at 118 N. Neil St. in downtown Champaign.

Check out Aroma's website.

A Few Others, of Note:

Folk Alliance 2009

The 2008 International Folk Alliance Conference was held February 18-22 at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Memphis. Kevin was there again, as a musician, DJ & most of all a fan.

Hope you made it …

Kevin's 2009 Private Showcases:

Early Thursday, February 19, 12:30 AM
Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1727

Early Friday, February 20, 1:30 AM
Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1727

Friday, February 20, 3:30 PM
Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1727

Saturday, February 21, 2:00 PM
Third Coast Showcase, Room 1925

Early Sunday, February 22, 1:00 AM
Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1727

Folk Alliance 2008

The 2008 International Folk Alliance Conference was held February 20-24 at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Memphis. It was once AGAIN the best time imaginable! Kevin was there, wearing all of his various musical hats.

Hope you made it too …

Kevin performed at the following Private Showcases:

Wednesday, February 20, 10:20 PM
Charlie Stewart’s Troubador Room First-Timers'
Showcase, Room 1927

Early Thursday, February 21, 12:30 AM
Marilyn Duncan's Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1725

Friday, February 22, 10:30 PM
Mary Battiata’s RedTurningBlue Showcase, Room 1704
(with Krista Detor & Bob Sima)

Early Saturday, February 23, 1:30 AM
Edge City's Third Coast Music Showcase, Room 1925
(with David Stoddard, Matt Harlan & Melissa Greener)

Early Sunday, February 23, 1:00 AM
Marilyn Duncan's Soona Songs Showcase, Room 1725

Soona Songs Recording Contract!

The best news to come out of Folk Alliance is that Kevin will be recording this year with Soona Songs ... very exciting! We'll keep you posted!

Village Liberation

Radio News! ... Kevin's radio show "From the Joshua Tree Inn" made an appearance on satellite radio XM15 The Village: Village Liberation on Tuesday, February 26, 9:00 AM pacific time (noon eastern time) & Friday, February 29, 9:00 PM pacific time (midnight eastern time).

Thanks to Mary Sue Twohy for this great opportunity!

Krannert Center Performance

Kevin performed at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana, IL, on January 17, 2008, as part of the Uncorked wine-tasting series. It was a great turn-out, with lots of old & new friends in attendance. Check out a few photos.

Aroma Cafe Performance

Kevin performed in August 2007 at Aroma Cafe in Champaign, IL along with singer-songwriter & guitarist Michael Kammin. It was a fun time on a beautiful night. Check out some photos.

WEFT Sessions

Kevin performed in October 2007 live on the radio on WEFT 90.1 FM in Champaign, IL, as the featured guest for WEFT Sessions. It was Kevin's pleasure to be accompanied on one tune by the brilliant performance artist Charles Joseph Smith. Check out a few more photos.

CD Release Party, 50th Birthday Party and Celebration of a 1200 Mile Solo Bike Ride!

Kevin gave a live performance of songs from his new CD, You Really Had To Be There, at a CD Release Party at Borders Books and Café in Champaign, IL.

Kevin also celebrated with his family and friends as he relived highlights of his 1200 mile solo bicycle trip to Austin, TX from Urbana, IL (on the heels of his 50th birthday!).