And, what is more, YOUR CHANCE, to start or develop your performance skills!

Many of the LilFest "Us" have taken classes at the Old Town School and love to pluck, strum, plunk and harmonize ourselves. When Mark Dvorak asked me if I thought a LilFest Harmony Workshop with Mark would work, I said "Yes!." Mark is a loving, inclusive, effective teacher and his classes and playing groups thrive. Reserve a spot on a Sunday afternoon to sing along. The parking should be easy, the experience casual, bring light refreshments if you wish, but this is not a meal.

I want to highlight Bill's Blues (1029 Davis, Evanston) show tonight - at 7PM the John Elder & Jim Gary Double Bill. While the names aren't household words, they are talents with histories and interest from Champaign Urbana and Michigan/Chicago. If you like the known names, do me a favor and trust me on the lesser known names too!

John Elder has been singing and playing fingerstyle blues, roots and traditional music since 1962, when he fell under the spell of the early folk revival. His playing style is reminiscent of Brownie McGhee, Doc Watson, and Jorma Kaukonen. In the 60's his folk song club at Indiana University brought him into close contact with Doc, Reverend Gary Davis, the New Lost City Ramblers, Jesse Fuller, and other folk artists in that exciting time. His playing and singing has grown and matured over the decades. John has been playing in clubs in central Illinois near Champaign for the past few years, and Bill's is his first Chicago area performance.

Jim Gary has been delighting audiences with his charming wit, "very solid" songwriting (Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews) and "one of the warmest and richest voices on the local scene" (Maple Street Chapel Concert Series from the Kerrville Folk Festival "New Folk" stage to Nashville's Bluebird Café's Sunday Writers' Night. Jim grew up is southeastern Michigan listening to the sounds of the '60s - Motown, Beatles and all those great Jimmy Webb songs. Picking up a guitar at age 14, he started learning chords and moved on to fingerpicking the songs of John Denver, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. During this time (as well as through high school), Jim was writing songs - dozens of them with some "keepers" showing up along the way. Working his way west, Jim eventually wound up in Chicago - the stomping grounds of Steve Goodman, John Prine, Bob Gibson and Michael Smith. Honing his songwriting craft at the Old Town School of Folk Music with Gibson and Smith (Goodman had left for L.A. and Prine for Nashville), Jim also fell in with the likes of Frank Tedesso, Dan Bern, Al Day, Brian Anderson and Jim McCandless. Indeed, Bob Gibson introduced Jim to the Kerrville Folk Festival where he was a "New Folk" finalist. (www.billsbluesbar.com)

With great appreciation for you all,

Nancy Jones Emrich