by Timpanogos | Jul 9, 2019
John found his voice with a cheap mail-order guitar and a used book of chords. Now that same voice has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, John is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, including the rare hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor, including seven Grammy nominations. It’s no wonder that people of every generation and background feel at home when John takes the stage.
by Timpanogos | Jul 9, 2019
Kevin Kling, best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and his storytelling stage shows like Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log, delivers hilarious, often tender stories. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are. Kevin Kling describes his zodiac sign as “Minnesota with Iowa rising…” He grew up in Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove, Minneapolis suburbs, and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater. His storytelling started when a friend from the now defunct Brass Tacks Theatre asked him to perform his stories. Since then, he has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships. The National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation, The Minnesota State Arts Board, The Bush Foundation, The Jerome Foundation and others have recognized Kling’s artistry. Kling was born with a congenital birth defect — his left arm is about three-quarters the size of his right arm, and his left hand has no wrist or thumb. More than five years ago, Kling was in a motorcycle accident. The brachial plexus nerves in his right arm were pulled completely out of their sockets. Currently, he has partial use of his left arm and cannot use his right arm at all. Kevin Kling continues to write plays and stories in a rigorous fashion, and travels around the globe to numerous storytelling festivals, residencies, and has been invited to perform the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN for several years. Kevin has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories, has published three books, “The Dog Says How”, “Holiday Inn” and “Big Little Brother.”
by Timpanogos | Jul 9, 2019
Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host and entertainer, dedicated to performing and preserving traditional American music and stories. Holt plays ten acoustic instruments and has released numerous recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folktales. A native of Garland, Texas, Holt’s family moved to Pacific Palisades, California, while he was in junior high school. He recalls his early musical and storytelling influences: “I grew up in a family of informal storytellers, and there was plenty to tell about our wild and wooly Texas forefathers. Storytelling was just a natural part of family life for me. I never thought about telling stories in public until I began to collect mountain music and came across interesting and unusual anecdotes from mountain folks. I began to use these stories in concerts and realized the power storytelling holds.” As for music, Holt says, “The only homemade music in our house was played by my father on bones and spoons that had been passed down in our family for five generations. In 1968, I sought out Carl Sprague, the first of the recorded singing cowboys. Mr. Sprague taught me to play the harmonica and regaled me with old-time cowboy stories. This experience introduced me to the excitement of learning from the source…. the old timers themselves.” After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara magna cum laude in biology and art, Holt turned toward the southeastern mountains to pursue his growing interest in traditional music and storytelling. He moved to western North Carolina and immersed himself in the vital folk culture there. While collecting the traditional music of the mountains, Holt discovered folktales and true-life stories, which he began integrating into his concerts. He has been exploring and performing this unique form of entertainment ever since, using traditional music and stories in all his performances. Since 1981, Holt has pursued a full-time career in entertainment. Today, he brings to the concert stage the fun and spirit of old-time music and storytelling. An evening with David Holt offers tales, ballads and tunes told, sung and played on the banjo, slide guitar, guitar, harmonica, bones, spoons and jaw harp. His audiences are constantly involved, learning to play the paper bag, applauding the vitality of his clog dancing, listening to the haunting sound of a 122 year old mountain banjo, or being spellbound by a ghost story.
by Timpanogos | Jul 9, 2019
A two-time Grammy award-winning artist, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RI Council for the Humanities, Bill uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of growing up, schooling and family life. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Bill is also a regular commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered” and featured on PBS. He joined the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence in 2001 and tours nationwide as an author, performing artist and keynote speaker.
Bill began singing and storytelling in 1975 while still in college. His work has influenced a generation of children, parents, performing artists and educators. Bill’s songs are joyous, direct and honest, his stories are filled with the details of daily life – all told and sung from his slightly off-center point of view.
“Humor is my weapon,” says Harley of his award-winning recordings. A two-time Grammy winner, Bill’s recordings have also garnered numerous other national awards including Parents’ Choice, NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publication Awards), ALA (American Library Association) and the highest honor from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for his concert DVD, “Yes to Running!” filmed in conjunction with Montana PBS.
Bill’s trademark wit and wisdom can also be found in his picture books and novels for children. His first novel, The Amazing Flight of Darius Frobisher was chosen by Bank Street School of Education as one of the best children’s books of the year and his second novel, Night of the Spadefoot Toads was awarded the Green Earth Book Award as best environmental book of the year in the children’s fiction category. His picture books, based on his songs, stories and poems also stand out as ‘pick of the list’ from ABA and a Storytelling Award Winner. Bill is currently working on a new series about 4th grader Charlie Bumpers, first book due out Fall 2013.
Touring nationally in theaters, schools, libraries, festivals and conferences, as a workshop leader, keynote and inspirational speaker, Bill’s work affirms our commonality and reminds us to laugh out loud. In the car, the classroom, at home or on stage, “no one beats Harley for intelligent, polished children’s entertainment – he’s simply the best.” Mothering Magazine
by Timpanogos | Jul 9, 2019
The first recipient of the John Henry Faulk Award from the Tejas Storytelling Association, Elizabeth has served three terms as its President. She has mentored and coached storytellers in Texas and around the nation for forty years. The National Storytelling Network honored her in 1997 with the Circle of Excellence Award which is “given to those recognized nationally by their peers to be master storytellers”. Elizabeth is the author of From Plot to Narrative, an award=winning hand book for the creation of stronger and more engaging stories, and Every Day a Holiday, a collection of some of her popular personal stories. With Loren Niemi, she co-authored the pioneering book Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories. In 2013 the National Storytelling Network honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. This is “presented to individuals in the storytelling community who have demonstrated meritorious service to the National Storytelling Network and to the storytelling community at large. The individuals who are awarded are those who have expanded public awareness of the art of storytelling by the virtue of their preservation of traditional art forms or the significant originality of their body of work.” Elizabeth is a mother and a grandmother. She lives in Dallas with her dog Woof.
