Music fest to include blues, jazz and folk

Songs of Lincoln’s time will be featured

This summer marks the Ninth Annual Gurler Heritage Association Folk Music Fest, which will include live folk, blues, Dixieland jazz and swing music set Saturday on the shady Gurler House lawn in DeKalb.

The event will feature three acts, including Kevin Davis and Jason Lamb, from noon-12:45 p.m., the Barb City Stompers, 1-2:45 p.m., and Chris Vallillo, from 3-4:45 p.m. Those who wish to sit and listen should bring lawn chairs or blankets.

Singer-songwriter Vallillo, according to a news release about the event, is a nationally recognized performer of acoustic finger-picking and bottleneck blues guitar styles, accompanied by harmonica and pocket instruments. From 1990-1998, he served as the performing host and co-producer of the award-winning public radio performance series Rural Route 3. His shows incorporate original and traditional material with the works of other contemporary songwriters to form a musical portrait of the history and lifestyle of the Midwest. Vallillo’s Prairie poet style has been compared to Edgar Lee Masters and Vachel Lindsay. According to Dirty Linen magazine “He brings to his music an eye for detail and sense of history ... Vivid original story songs delivered in his crisp, expressive tenor.”

Other features of the event will be a food tent selling Inboden’s Chicago-style hot dogs, chips, homebaked treats and cold drinks.

This family-friendly open-air event is supported by a grant from the Mary E. Stevens Concert and Lecture Fund and sponsored by WNIJ public radio. It is free and open to the public, although donations to support the historic house will be appreciated. An on-site 50-50 fundraiser raffle and an antique quilt silent auction also are planned.

In the event of rain, the event will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 158 N. Fourth St. in DeKalb.

If you go

What: Ninth Annual Gurler Heritage Association Folk Music Fest 2009

Where: Gurler House, 205 Pine St. in DeKalb

When: Noon-4:45 p.m. Saturday

Contact: 815-758-4897

Online: gurlerhouse.org or www.bios.niu.edu/gurler