Singer/songwriter to present program at Chester Library
Chris Vallillo will present a special musical program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2 at the Chester Public Library to complement the Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit.
The contemporary folk songwriter has spent the last 35 years living and working in the small communities of rural Illinois, documenting its music and chronicling its past and ever-changing future in the process. He will present "The Farmer is the Man," in which he performs a hand-picked selection of songs as way to look at the past and the future of the family farm.
The changes in technology, introduction of modern machinery, corporate farms and vast changes in world markets have made farming a constantly shifting playing field. Understanding how farming and agriculture are changing is critical to understanding and directing the future of Illinois and its citizens, both rural and urban.
Vallillo is a singer/songwriter and folk musician who makes the people and places of rural America come to life in song. Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars and vocals, he weaves original, contemporary, and traditional songs and narratives into a compelling and entertaining portrait of the history and lifestyles of the Midwest. His performance takes the audience on a musical journey and makes history come alive by blending music and storytelling.
Vallillo is a recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award for music composition and has been nominated for the Illinois Arts Council's Governor's Award for Individual Artist. Early in his career, he conducted the Schuyler Arts Folk Music Project which documented the last music of the pre-radio generation. This work was later accepted into the American Folklife Collection at the Library of Congress.
"The Farmer is the Man" program is free and open to the public. The program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Chester Public Library.
The Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution and Illinois Humanities and the local companion exhibit, Change Through a Local Lens, will be at the library through Oct. 20. The exhibits may be viewed during regular library hours: Monday - Thursday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-1 p.m. School tours and group tours are welcome. The exhibits will be open following this program.
Contact the Library 826-3711 to schedule a group tour or for more information.