Town Hall Concerts's blog

Bluffton Town Hall Concert Series

Monthly concerts on the third floor of the Town Hall (handicap accessible). We take donations for the musician at the door.

Performers

Mennofolk is coming back to the Great Lakes region- another soul-warming, toe-tapping event July 6-8, 2012. The festival will be on the Bluffton University Campus, and it will feature three stages of excellent performers from Mennonite backgrounds- Singer Songwriters, Roots Music, and Hymns. As always, Mennofolk Bluffton is not going to be just for Mennonites, but from Mennonites, a tapestry of songs to be offered to the wider world, which come out of our collective experience of faith, music, and Anabaptist values. Performers include: Strange Light, Sour Cherry Pie, andi and i, Brad Yoder, Heather Kropf, Cottonwood Jam String Band, Andru Bemis, Matthew Keeler, Five Times Harder, Jesse Henry, Sacred Harp or Hymn Sing, Columbus menno drum circle, The Revalators, Boondogglers Unplugged, Dave and Joanna Woodsmall.

Tickets will be $15 for a weekend pass, children 12 and under free.

Tickets, Food and Lodging

It is time for Mennofolk, a very special festival that is coming back to Bluffton after 12 years! You can buy tickets at the door for $15, but if you want to order food or lodging, register here

More on Cottonwood Jam String Band, our contra dance experts for May 20

Cottonwood Jam String Band: Marty Clayton, Cole Christiansen, Spencer Cunningham, Renata Burgett, Tahree Lane

Marty Clayton teaches special needs pre-schoolers in Grand Rapids, OH. She always wanted to be in a band, and even hired the Bluegrass band 'Special Consensus' to play at one of her birthday parties. She Plays rhythm guitar and sings. Her Bassett hounds often 'critique' our practices. She is secy. for the Northwest Ohio Traditional Music and Dance Association, which holds monthly contra/square dances during the school year. 

Cole Christensen works in the health care field, creating ways for people to be healthier. His company is in Nashville, where he occasionally gets to go to the Station Inn to hear session musicians and musical legends perform. He hosts a weekly radio program of traditional string music on WBGU on the campus of Bowling Green State University, and hosts an acoustic stage for music groups playing at the Black Swamp Arts (and amazing music) Festival in Bowling Green, OH. Cole plays mandolin, banjo, harmonica, as well as vocals. 

Spencer Cunningham teaches digital Photography at the University of Findlay and the Toledo Museum of Art. He is carrying on his father's tradition, who sang on the radio as a young man.
He plays banjo, guitar, vocals, and writes the occasional song. Peter Paul and Mary, the New Lost City Ramblers and gospel songs at his grandfather's Methodist churches were early and lasting influences on his musical tastes. 

Renata Burgett is an information technology professional at Owens Corning in Toledo. She has studied fiddle with teachers at the Oberlin Conservtory of Music, Mark O'Conner's fiddle camp, lessions in Ireland, and almost accepted an invitation to join Lord of the Dance. She has a very keen ear, and tries her best to keep the banjo players in tune. She was recently elected vice-president of public relations for Buckeye Toastmasters in Toledo.

Tahree Lane writes for the Toledo Blade where she often covers one or all of the senses, with reporting on arts, music, food, literature, well-being, etc. She learned to play the bass at the Swannanoa Gathering In Ashville, NC and started a not-to-be-missed annual music jam at her home with so many musical friends we have made through the years. Tahree is a knowledgable gardner and farmer's market friend, where we often play. 

Cottonwood Jam String Band plays a blend of traditional Old Time Appalachian, Folk, and Dance music for concerts, parties, contra/square dances, weddings, and just about anything else! 

They can be contacted through their web site: cottonwood.jam.string.band@googlepages.com where you can see videos, and photos of them performing.

Contra Dance with Cottonwood Jam String Band, May 20

Contra Dancing

“A contra dance is like an amusement park ride we make for ourselves.” –Unknown

May 20 is our yearly Contra Dance at the Town Hall! Don’t know how to dance? No problem. We’ll have a caller there to teach you all the moves. Come for a night of great exercise. No partner necessary.

April 21 David Leavitt on the Didgeridoo

David Leavitt of Ann Arbor continues the world music theme with his set on the didgeridoo (also known as didjeridu or Yidaki), a wind instrument developed by Aboriginal people of Australia around 1,500 years ago. Since learning to play in Australia in 1990, David has been developing his own style of improvised didgeridoo playing that incorporates elements from modern electronic music and beat-boxing. He plays with respect for the Aboriginal Australians and their ongoing struggle in our modern world. David will open for the Bluffton Town Hall Concert Series with a 20 minute set at 7pm.

April 21: Bell Acoustic

Musician and artist Greg Bell of Bell Acoustic is a natural partner for this Earth Day program. For one, Bell helps the earth through recycling: many of the instruments he plays were built by himself, using parts from old pianos. Both Greg and his band mate Scott Brown are fascinated with ways to mix music and photography. Bell Acoustic’s original compositions sound “natural” accompanying the images of Earth—with their lilting melodies and pastoral string sounds. Greg Bell, co-founder of Bell Acoustic, based in Bucyrus, Ohio, has been performing professionally for 23 years. He has produced nine albums featuring original compositions. Brown, a Lexington, Ohio, resident, has performed with Bell Acoustic for two years. His set will be part of the Bluffton Town Hall Concert Series April 21 starting at 7pm.

April 21 Photography Exhibit: Carole Elchert

In 1981, Carole Elchert traveled for the first time to Nepal and the Himalayas.  Elchert returned to the Himalayan regions--including India, Nepal, Ladakh, and Tibet--every year or two for ongoing study of these cultures.  Since 1993, she has organized over 17 eco-cultural tours for adults and students.  Elchert’s photographic images from these trips have appeared in exhibits in New York, Los Angeles, London, Melbourne as well as art galleries and universities throughout Ohio and the Midwest.  Some of her images of Tibet--featured at the 1989 Kalachakra Ceremony conducted by the Dalai Lama--are in the permanent collection of Chicago's Field Museum.  On April 21, 7pm at the Bluffton Town Hall Elchert will be showing her work via a projector and screen set to the music of Bell Acoustic.

April 21 Earth Day Concert features Indigenous Music, Art and Culture

7pm, Third Floor of the Town Hall (handicap accessible), Main Street, Bluffton

The Village of Bluffton continues their Town Hall Concert Series in the historically restored venue with a mulit-media trio of Bell Acoustic of Bucyrus, Findlay Artist/Photographer Carole Elchert, and Didgeridoo player David Leavitt from Ann Arbor, MI.