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| (Photo submitted) Chad Elliott will perform for the opening of this year's Mainstreet Market on July 16. |
Mainstreet Market is returning to the Clay County courthouse square July 16 for the first of five Thursday evenings of live entertainment, fresh produce, art and food. Chad Elliott will perform on the opening night.
Now in its fifth year, Mainstreet Market takes place Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. On July 23, it will move downtown for Crazy Days, but the following week it will return to the courthouse square, 215 W. 4th St., Spencer.
Elliott needs no introduction to Spencer audiences. Even though he no longer lives here, he still has "favorite son" status. He is a multitalented artist, actor, singer and songwriter. His recent Arts on Grand exhibit Artsong allowed him to show off many of his talents. At the same time, he was reprising his role as Buddy Holly in the SCT production of Buddy, which traveled to Mason City for the 50th anniversary of the "day the music died."
Through the years, Elliott has earned a host of accolades. Most recently, he was named winner of the 2009 Woody Guthrie Festival Songwriting Contest for his song "Same Old Way," which he recently recorded and plans to release on his album Redemption Man this fall.
He traveled to Guthrie's hometown in Oklahoma on July 9 to perform at the festival.
His previous CD, Swiftsure, was released at a Spencer house concert in spring of 2008. That summer, Elliott was recognized as a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Finalist. He was one of 32 finalists, chosen from 800 applicants, who competed during the 2008 Kerrville Folk Festival.
Previous honors include winning FolkAlley.com's Open Mic Finals, with his song "Bluebird Creek," and having his song "How's the Weather?" chosen out of 300,000 folk songs as a nominee for the Top 20 New Folk Songs on Just Plain Folks. As a result of his FolkAlley.com win, he earned a spot on stage with Odetta. Odetta is just one on a long list of illustrious folk artists with whom he has shared the stage, including Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright III, Eric Taylor, Buddy Mondlock, Dan Zanes, R. L. Burnside and Storyhill.
Often compared to James Taylor, Elliott has a similar voice with a relaxed fingerpicked style on the guitar. His many songwriting influences include Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Greg Brown and John Denver. Elliott's songs are interlaced with stories from his life as an artist and musician--stories about living with the homeless, about love, about divorce, about fatherhood, and about inspiration in the modern world.
* Mainstreet Market is a joint venture of the Spencer Main Street Company and the Spencer Alliance for a Creative Economy (SPACE).
Entertainment line-up announced
Chad Elliott will perform on Thursday, July 16, to kick off the Mainstreet Market season, followed on July 23 by Zach in a return appearance at Mainstreet commons downtown. On July 30, Truckstop Souvenir will return to Mainstreet Market. Gabrielle Louise, who appeared with her band at a Spencer house concert in June 2008, will perform with David Rynhart on Aug. 6. Jack Ryan and Friends will play jazz on the last evening, Aug. 13.