PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The Arts Council
Contact: Kevin Ledgewood
pr@tuscarts.org
205-758-5195, x6
JOHN WHELAN TRIO TO PERFORM ON BAMA THEATRE’S ACOUSTIC NIGHT
(Tuscaloosa) The John Whelan Trio will be the featured ensemble during Acoustic Night on October 23, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Bama Theatre’s Greensboro Room. The trio features Whelan on accordion, Don Penzien on guitar and Jil Chambless on flute. Chambless and guitarist Dan Vogt and will open the show.
Presented by The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa, Acoustic Night features both established and upcoming musicians from around the country throughout the calendar year in the intimate setting of the Bama Theatre’s Greensboro Room. Cover charge is $10 with a full service bar available.
A seven time All Ireland champion, John Whelan is an instrumentalist, composer, producer and arranger who brings both passion and playfulness to his music while respecting the tradition in which it is rooted. Named Traditionalist of the Year by Irish Echo magazine, John won high praise from Celtic music authority Earle Hitchner. “As an instrumentalist, composer, producer, and arranger who brings both passion and playfulness to his music while respecting the tradition it’s rooted in, John Whelan has richly earned the Irish Echo’s highest honor for traditional music.”
Founding member of the powerhouse Irish traditional band Legacy, Don Penzien has long been a top-flight performer of traditional Irish music. He frequently tours nationally, playing concerts and festivals and providing instructional workshops. Penzien’s dexterous work on dadgad guitar provides not only solid, driving rhythms, but also perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs. When called upon, he also adds whistle, bodhran and vocals to band arrangements. He performs on stage with Legacy, The Mairtin deCogain Project, John Whelan, Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band and he has shared the stage with many other well-known Irish artists. When not on the road, he is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Originally from Montgomery, AL, Jil Chambless now resides in Tuscaloosa and has played an active role in the Celtic music scene for more than 20 years. As singer, flutist and whistle player, she has completed many recording projects and performed at Celtic festivals and concerts across the U.S., Canada, Scotland and Israel with the band Henri’s Notions, guitarist Scooter Muse, Scottish singer Ed Miller, Scottish fiddler John Taylor, the band Vulcan Eejits! and others. Chambless has also completed many recording projects, the most recent a duo CD with guitarist Scooter Muse, The Laverock Sang. In December 2009, she released her first solo CD, The Ladies Go Dancing, which was produced by Brian McNeill. She often performs with her husband, guitarist Dan Vogt, who regularly joins his wife and their children for performances in the Vogt Family Contraband.
The Bama Theatre is located at 600 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information about The Arts Council or Bama Theatre, patrons should LIKE the Facebook page “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” and follow tuscarts on Twitter. Call 205-758-5195 or visit tuscarts.org for further information.
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