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Live Music This Saturday – Frances Luke Accord – Modern Folk, Americana and More

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picture of the musicians of the Frances Luke Accord
Frances Luke Accord – Modern Folk & More – 2016

The First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon, Iowa is pleased to announce that Frances Luke Accord will perform again at the Uptown Theater on Saturday, September 24th. Doors open for seating at 7pm with the show starting at 7:30pm.

This Chicago-based duo will be joined by Ann Arbor folk/singer-songwriter Chris Dupont.

These dynamic performers will be presenting a family friendly “all ages” show.

Tickets: $10 advance/$13 at the door.
You can purchase tickets in advance online here.
You can also purchase tickets by contacting Mike Smith at Bauman’s or Trude Elliott at the First Street Community Center.

Artist websites:
Frances Luke Accord: http://franceslukeaccord.com
Chris Dupont: http://www.chrisdupontmusic.com

Here are two YouTube videos with these talented performers:


About The Artists:
Frances Luke Accord is an independent Chicago-based duo hailing originally from South Bend, Indiana. Both dedicated multi-instrumentalists and attentive songwriters, Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers distinguish their music with genre fluidity, organic acoustics and buttery harmonies. Although prevailingly a modern folk band, FLA sips copious inspiration from Americana, jazz, soul and rock.

Since forming during their senior year at the University of Notre Dame, Frances Luke Accord’s multifaceted, genre-bending approach to music has marked a boundless evolution. In December of 2012 the duo released their first record, Kandote, a not-for-profit, intercultural collaboration with the Barefoot Truth Children’s Choir of Kkindu, Uganda; an endeavor that continues to support the primary education and musical aspirations of the choir. Bringing their newfound appreciation for world/folk music to the bustling urban epicenter of Chicago in the summer of 2013, the duo has quickly garnered increasing local and regional attention for their captivating live performances and stunning self-produced releases, including the Queen for Me EP (April 2014), Veronica (October 2014), and Live @ Strobe (April 2015).

Frances Luke Accord’s music can be described as dreamlike and philosophical, haunting and whimsical. Their melodies evoke a noir film, a Spanish folktale, an enigmatic egoeye. However you pin it, something in the music is turning heads. Whether evidenced by their artist endorsement with Godin Guitars or recent $16,294 Kickstarter campaign to fund their debut full length album, Fluke (due out May 20th, 2016), Gunty and Powers’ compositions take the listener by the ear, pull the rug from beneath her feet, and leave her deliciously airborne. Listen.

What The Critics Are Saying:

‘While Simon & Garfunkel may be no longer touring, Powers and Gunty are more than talented enough to take their place.’
– Quinn Delaney, PlaylistHQ

Frances Luke Accord gave a stunning show. They are consummate musicians, with an endearingly charismatic stage presence. Their songwriting ranges from ethereal soundscapes to engaging pop folk, all performed with unerring, sensitive and expressive vocals. One never looks at the clock during their performance. In fact, time seemed to speed by with our audience crying out for not one but two encores! Like fine wine, this duo is only going to improve with age. Dont miss the chance to catch them on their rise up.
– Sandra Thompson & Sam Tuthill, Acorn Theater


About Chris Dupont:
A letter arrives in a handmade envelope…

I’ve been to hell and back again, it says. Thank you for inspiring me, and helping me achieve a sense of peace that years ago I thought would never happen.

Letters like these tend to find Ann Arbor-based singer/songwriter Chris DuPont. His ruminations on inner peace and personal growth infuse his newest album, Outlier.  Faced with the new challenge of becoming a father, DuPont bares his own difficulties with family and his own sense of belonging.

Full of his trademark vulnerability and candor, Outlier is a confession and an absolution in one.

With influences ranging from classic American songwriters like James Taylor and Tom Waits, to artists like Tycho and Philip Glass, DuPont’s sophomore effort has its roots in folk music, and its branches spreading wide across conventional genre divides. In Outlier, the classic eloquence of the 70s collides with a present-day catharsis; classic Americana themes become married to contemporary notions of self-care, and speaking your own truth. Throughout the whole work, DuPont’s focused baritone remains a constant, bringing a steadiness and reassuring cohesion in the midst of the albums at-times heavy themes.

Outlier wades deep into DuPont’s head. It is simultaneously loud, soft, angry, forgiving, danceable and upbeat, cinematic, sweeping, and immersive. His inimitable guitar style incorporates techniques from a wide array of disciplines, including body percussion, harmonics, and looping.

Chris is endorsed by Godin guitars.

Chris was a finalist at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in 2013, and has shared stages with a host of Midwest acts, as well as national acts Edwin McCain, Brendan James, Needtobreathe, and Lucius.


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Learn to Dance at the First Street Community Center

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sillhouettes of various dancing figures
Cornell College’s Slick Shoes (a student run dance group) is offering discounted three-week sessions of professionally led ballroom and Latin dance lessons for residents of Mount Vernon and the surrounding areas. 
 
When: 7:30 – 8:30 on Mondays
Cost: $5.00 per session or $12.00 for three sessions. 
Where: Located in the gym at the First Street Community Center.
 
Contact: [email protected] with questions.
 
Dances Offered (All classes are on Mondays): 
  • Waltz – Sept. 19, November 28, December 5, 12
  • Tango –  October 3, 10, 17 and February 13, 20, 27
  • Merengue – October 30 and November 7, 15
  • Foxtrot – January 16, 23 and February 3 and April 17, 24 and May 1
  • Salsa – March 20, 27 and April 3
Don’t miss this opportunity!!!

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Second Annual Evening Gala: Celebrating the Arts in Mount Vernon

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The First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon Iowa is proud to announce its 2nd Annual “Evening Gala Celebrating the Arts in Mount Vernon, Iowa”.

Put this date on your calendar: Saturday, September 17, 2016. The gala will start at with a Social Hour from 7:00 – 8:00 pm with wine, non-alcoholic beverages and hors d’Oeuvres, and Program at 8.

This event will be held in the Uptown Theatre and will honor Jay Gunn, Don & Judy Stine, Laura Werkman, Dick (Pete) Peters and Hugh Lifson.

Tickets for this wonderful event are $20 and can be reserved at 319-535-2030.

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Live Music – Lucie Thorne and The Yearlings – LilFest Fall Music Series

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Lucie Thorne and The Yearlings

AWARD-WINNING AUSTRALIAN SINGER/SONGWRITERS Lucie Thorne & The Yearlings PERFORMING at LILFEST FALL SERIES IN MOUNT VERNON, IOWA on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 at 7:30 PM

WORLD ALT-COUNTRY MUSIC OPENS THE 2016-7 LILFEST CONCERT SERIES IN MOUNT VERNON. Lucie Thorne,  lauded for writing “some of the most simple and beautiful songs you will hear” (-The Age),  has earned her place as one of Australia’s most striking contemporary songsmiths. With eleven releases to her name – including her latest LP Everything Sings Tonight – and a prodigious touring schedule, Lucie continues to carve out an extraordinary creative career. After being awarded Best Roots Album of 2009 by the Sydney Morning Herald; and having a song selected for inclusion on a Universal Records international compilation alongside Leonard Cohen and Radiohead, her album LOVE OVER GOLD, with Pieta Brown, brought more world attention to the Iowa music community.

A lot can happen in twelve years. Some relationships grow weary and worn, but for the Adelaide, Australia duo The Yearlings (Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson), passing time has only distilled their unique brand of Australian alt. country, steeped in Americana traditions.  After spending the past four years sharing their brooding ballads, rolling roots and haunting harmonies with local and international audiences, The Yearlings have returned to the US with their fifth studio album, ALL THE WANDERING, a ten-song collection which showcases their quiet evolution.  Dark and sparse, yet full to the brim with imagery and atmosphere, the CD was recorded to 2-inch tape on a vintage Studer 24-track tape machine; its soul every bit as old as the machinery on which it was captured. Evocative stories of country, travel, love and longing are cradled by the subtle, yet substantial grooves of bassist Harry Brus (Renee Geyer, Jimmy Barnes) and drummer BJ Barker (Kasey Chambers). There is more diesel in the tank, but The Yearlings’ trademark fragility and spaciousness remains, masterfully captured by iconic Mick Wordley.

The LilFest Series at Uptown Theatre in the First Street Community Center brings worldwide quality performances to an intimate concert setting.  These artists follow in the footsteps of performers like Nathan Bell, Chad Elliott, Phil Heywood, Radoslav Lorković, Guy Mendilow, Claudia Nygaard, James Lee Stanley, Eric Taylor, & The Sweet Potatoes.  Deeply rooted songs and stories of passion and power for our modern lives.

WHY:            Lucie Thorne – “exquisitely impressionistic… poetry in motion” –Rolling Stone

“There is a quiet, contemplative beauty to Thorne’s music. Strong, precise visual images… her rich but never overworked lyrics crackle with poetic intensity. With simplicity and clarity Thorne’s music and words cut through [and] she hits that sweet spot” – Courier Mail

The Yearlings – “One of the best roots rock records I’ve heard from Australia, or anywhere, this year.” –Noel Mengel, Courier Mail

“Brooding, country folk. Chalklen’s voice can haunt you for days.”- The Sydney Morning Herald

“The Yearlings express the lyrical truth of storylines about real life that poetically tug at the heartstrings.”

                        – Jimmy Little

WHERE:      LilFest Series at the Uptown Theatre in the First Street Community Center

221 First Street NE, Mt. Vernon, IA, 52314. Parking on street and in adjoining lot.

WHEN:         SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 at 7:30 PM  BYOB with purchase of Uptown Theatre Sippy Cup

HOW MUCH:         Suggested contribution for the Opening Concert $20.00.  Subscription Sponsorships for the series, @ $100 each ensure center front section seating if received by September 10.

TICKET/SPONSORSHIP QUESTIONS:  Nancy Emrich Freeman, 847-256-0000


For further information, additional high-res photographs, interview arrangements: http://luciethorne.com & http://www.theyearlings.net or mail to: [email protected]

★Nancy Emrich Freeman★

Board member and President, Friends of the Webster Institute, Adler Planetarium
https://www.facebook.com/webster.Institute/
Conference Co-Director, Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM)
October 27 – 30, 2016 Iowa City, IA  www.FARMfolk.org
www.LilFest.com  https://www.facebook.com/SchmaltzMusic/
847-256-0000

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