Ypsilanti District Library Songwriting Festival Returns for the 5th Year

Posted: Oct 7, 2011 at 2:30 PM [Oct 7, 2011]

YPSILANTI, MICH – Saturday, October 8, the award-winning Ypsilanti Songwriting Festival brought to you by the Ypsilanti District Library returns to celebrate songwriters and songwriting again. High-octane rockabilly and country star Rosie Flores headlines this year’s event.  Martin Bandyke will be on hand to interview Flores about her lively career that includes collaborations with Wanda Jackson, Janis Martin, and Jon Langford.  Flores will perform in a free concert at Woodruff’s at 36 Cross Street in historic Depot Town with special guest Paul Burch starting at 9 pm.

 

Rosie’s solo recordings have found homes on both the Billboard and Gavin charts and are featured in seven motion pictures. Her revved-up performances have won legions of fans and earned appearances on Austin City Limits and Late Night with Conan O’Brian. She appears in the documentaries Every Night is Saturday Night: The Story of Wanda Jackson and Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice. In 2008, Flores won the prestigious Peabody Award for her narration of the ten-hour documentary radio show on the history of rockabilly, Whole Lotta Shakin’, produced by Lex Gillespie. “Alternative country meets the rockabilly revival meets California virtuosity in the music of Rosie Flores. Since the late ‘70’s, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Rosie Flores has been an important figure on the alternative country scene… she’s a hardworking, independently minded artist who is well respected for her gritty, energetic vocals and fiery guitar solos.” – All Music Guide

 

Paul Burch returns with loads of charm, talent, and this fall’s release of Words of Love. Featuring guests Will Kimbrough and Kenny Vaughn along with the WPA Ballclub, Words of Love includes 13 Buddy Holly classics, just in time for Buddy’s 75th Birthday.  You’ll also find Paul leading a session at 4 pm to create a great song about Ypsilanti.  Participants will hear their song performed at the end of the session. Want to hear more from Paul? He’ll be talking about his current projects at 6 pm in YDL-Whittaker’s Community Room. Follow him to Woodruff’s to close out this music-filled day!

 

New this year is the Garage Stage. Explore the avant-garde genre of Noise music with John Strucel and Thom Elliott. Each performer will demonstrate his Noise producing techniques and share his philosophies about the genre. At 3 pm, Ypsilanti musician Jim Cherewick and his band will perform and at 4 pm, Leif Erikson and the Real America will play. Come out and support local musicians.

 

Returning features include a session on the basics of home recording, one-on-one sessions with songwriters Sean Rogers and Dan Florida (registration is required; call 482-4110 ext. 1301), and Community Records L3C helping teens express themselves through multi-media. 

 

The day will kick off at 10:30 am with a family music offering: The Kerfuffles, an Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor group that performs music-based storytelling for kids and their grown-ups. This performance will be at YDL-Whittaker Road in the Community Room.

 

We’ve got a fun-filled day of songs and songwriting in store for you, so mark your calendars and be sure to check out the Songwriting Festival link at www.ypsilibrary.org. You can also keep up-to-date by going to www.facebook.com/YpsilantiDistrictLibrary or http://twitter.com/#!/YpsiSongfest.

 

The Ypsilanti District Library’s mission is to enrich life, stimulate intellectual curiosity, foster literacy, and encourage an informed citizenry.

For more information about all events at YDL, call 482-4110 ext. 1303.