The Arkansas Acoustic Festival kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28 with a free concert by winners of the June 2003 Acoustic Showdown.
Since bursting onto the Central Arkansas music scene in 2003, Hannah Blaylock and Lost & Found have quickly become one of the premier acoustic bands in the area. Incredibly, they won the 2003 Arkansas Acoustic Festival Showdown in their first public appearance, enabling them to open for the legendary Judy Collins. They have completed work on their first CD entitled ?Cover Me.? Lost & Found will be joined by Garry Bryant, winner of the solo category of the 2003 Acoustic Showdown. Bryant?s music features a percussive guitar style and heartfelt songs. Although he won the Showdown competition as a soloist, he is now re-united with his original band after many years, and they will play as a group Friday night.
Also performing Friday night are four nationally-known singer-songwriters, who will be conducting acoustic music workshops on Saturday afternoon.
Following the singer-songwriter performances, the Festival will present an Open Mic set. Acoustic musicians wishing to perform may sign up at the venue, starting at 6:30 pm.
SATURDAY, JAN. 29 FEATURES AFTERNOON OF FREE WORKSHOPS
The Festival resumes activities Saturday, Jan. 29 at 1 p.m. with a series of free acoustic workshops in UCA?s Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center, next door to Reynolds Performance Hall. Two simultaneous workshops will occur each hour.
From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Jeff Clanton will teach a workshop for beginning students who play the mandolin, while Cary Cooper will discuss ?Songwriting Skill and How to Develop Them.?
From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Tom Prasada-Rao will give a workshop entitled ?How I sold 20,000 CD?s without a record label,? and Jess Westover will teach a beginning guitar workshop, ?Flatpicking and Fingerstyle Guitar for Beginners.?
Danny Santos leads a workshop, starting at 3 p.m., called ?How to become a performing songwriter.? Chanley Painter will teach ?Fiddle Basics? for people who play either the violin or the fiddle, also starting at 3 p.m.
The final workshop at 4 p.m. is titled ?How to sell your music to TV, Movies, and Recording Labels.? Tom Kimmel will lead it.
SATURDAY, JAN. 29 AT 7 PM: THE ACOUSTIC SHOWDOWN BEGINS
The Arkansas Acoustic Showdown, a showcase competition featuring some of the best acoustic musicians in Arkansas begins at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall. Tickets for the Showdown are $10 for adults and $5 for students. They can be purchased online at www.uca.edu/reynolds or by calling toll free 866-810-0012.
In the fall of 2004, acoustic musicians from around the State submitted recordings of two original songs. A committee from the UCA acoustic community selected 13 soloists and 6 bands or duos as Showdown finalists.
Competing for cash prizes and a featured performance on ?AETN Presents??, a statewide broadcast featuring Arkansas artists and culture, are soloists Jovan Arellano, Jeff Clanton, Michael Cooper, Steve Davison, Brian Driscoll (solo winner of the first Acoustic Showdown in 2002), Oscar Gomez, Blake Goodwin, Adam Hambrick, G.D. Melton, John Murphy, Bill Nesbitt, Beau Nixon, and Jim Ranger.
Bands and duos competing for cash prizes and a featured performance on ?AETN Presents?? are Wes Blaylock & Laura Hudson, The Boomers, Cousin Karlin, Mark Ham and Bill Nesbitt, Sara Thomas and Chris Michaels, and Wildwood.
Showdown winners will be judged by a group of music industry professionals, including arts journalists, agents, performers, and producers at acoustic venues in the State. The winners will be chosen and announced at the end of the evening, Saturday night.
Festival schedules and ticket information can be found online at www.uca.edu/arkansasacousticfestival or by calling toll free 1-866-810-0012. All concert activities will be at Reynolds Performance Hall on the UCA Campus.
