Prairie Grapevine Folklore Society -- 2007-08 Season

The Prairie Grapevine 2007-08 season ranges from spooky stories to hot Creole music.

We also have some special events coming up. On May 17 & 18 Dan Levenson will host workshops for clawhammer banjo and old-time fiddle at the Illinois State Museum, in Springfield, in association with his concert on the evening of the 17th.

Also, we will have a dance on April 26 at the Rochester Community Center, in Rochester, IL.

Our next concert is on Saturday, May 17, 2008

Have an Old-Time Good Time with Dan Levenson

Saturday, May 17, 2008, 7:30 PM
Illinois State Museum
502 South Spring Street, Springfield, IL

Prairie Grapevine will host renowned fiddler and banjoist Dan Levenson for an evening of music and stories. This concert is sponsored in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

On Saturday and Sunday during the day, Dan will also host two workshops on banjo and fiddle.  For more information click here. 

Donation: $10 for adults, $9 for seniors & juniors, $8 for members

Dan is a modern day troubadour in the truest sense of the word. A full time musician, Dan travels the country with banjo, fiddle and guitar singing songs and telling stories while clogging to the rhythms of his Southern Appalachian roots. Dan is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native who now makes his home with his wife Jennifer in Galia County in the Appalachian region of Southern Ohio. Dan's parents were Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania natives as well and they raised him with the music he has come to perform. His father, Fred, called dances and his mother, Naomi, played piano, guitar, and sang in several musical groups in the Pittsburgh area. They even met at a square dance! He has been touring inter-nationally some 16 years now. In that time he has become a well known artist of the Appalachian style fiddle and old time clawhammer banjo.

His stage show, An Evening with Dan Levenson, combines old time fiddle, Appalachian banjo, guitar, dance and song in a storytelling format to tell the story of life in rural Appalachia and life on the roads of America via the music of our country. He is an accomplished and dynamic fiddler who has taught himself to fiddle and clog at the same time--a real treat to see! Audience participation and occasional guest performers figure strongly in his shows and children won't let themselves be left out of the fun!

Dan is a native southern Appalachian style fiddler. A part of his show is telling the story of each of his fiddles and their respective tunings. Double stops, special effects, and exquisite bowing round out his style and make him an exciting visual as well as listening experience. In 2001, Dan went contesting a little in his home state of Ohio and won the Old Time Fiddle contest in Coshocton and took second place at the Caesar's Creek Old Time Music Festival. He teaches pre-beginner to performance level fiddlers at workshops, festivals, and camps, and has students all across the country as well as around the world.

You can find out more about Dan Levenson at the website http://www.oldtimemusic.us/.