Oh, Freedom: Songs of the Civil Rights Movement
Presented in partnership with the Illinois Humanities Council Road Scholars Speakers Bureau
This event is located outdoors at the William J. Mueller Gazebo.
Please BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR and register using the link below.
Tickets are free - reservations are required - donations gratefully accepted.
Tickets include hot cider and a chocolate and caramel dipped pretzel rod. Yum!
Chris Vallillo
In a show created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement, award winning folksinger Chris Vallillo performs pivotal songs from the music that inspired and sustained this landmark movement.
The story of the Civil Rights Movement has been described as one of the greatest singing movements that this country has ever experienced. From the Freedom Riders to the the jails of Montgomery, Alabama, to Parchman Prison and all the way to Washington DC, both old and new “Freedom Songs” would become the backbone of the nonviolent civil movement.
In 2015, award winning roots musician and folklorist Chris Vallillo created the show Oh Freedom! featuring 11 of the pivotal songs that inspired and sustained this landmark movement.
Vallillo’s multi-instrumentalist talents are at the heart of the recording; acoustic and electric guitars, slide guitars, mandolin and bass beautifully performed on his extensive collection of vintage instruments.
About the Presenter
Chris Vallillo is a singer/songwriter and folklorist with a natural affinity for American roots music. A master of bottleneck slide guitar, he weaves original, contemporary, and traditional songs and narratives into a compelling and entertaining portrait of the history and lifestyle of the Midwest. His 2016 project, Oh Freedom! Songs of the Civil Rights Movement was released on Martin Luther King Day and charted at # 6 of the National Folk charts. His one man show Abraham Lincoln in Song, received the endorsement of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the CD of reached #10 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album Chart.
This program is presented in partnership with the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.
This event is located outdoors at the William J. Mueller Gazebo.
Please BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR and register using the link below.
Tickets are free - reservations are required - donations gratefully accepted.
Tickets include hot cider and a chocolate and caramel dipped pretzel rod. Yum!
