Summer Art Series!

Written by Administrator Monday, 11 June 2012 09:47

 PRESS RELEASE: SUMMER ART SERIES!   

For Information Contact:

Dave Biddison or Trish Keegan             610-935-3075              This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kimberton Community Block Party

To Feature Free Live Music, Dancing, Food and Fun

Kimberton, Pa. – The quiet atmosphere of rural downtown Kimberton, Pa., will change dramatically on July 7, as live bands, including the Llama Dalis, Tin Bird Choir and Mostly Maybe, take the stage during the first annual Kimberton Community Block Party.  The free event will also include a beginner’s square dance called by WXPN Radio Host Keith Brand, food, beer and beverages for sale, and children’s activities. The event will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. across from Kimberton Whole Foods at 2140 Kimberton Rd., Kimberton, PA 19442.

Presented by the Kimberton Village Business Association (KVBA), sponsored by Kimberton Whole Foods, and produced by Seven Stars Music and Arts, the block party is the kickoff event of the new Kimberton Summer Arts Series, which will feature live theater and music events throughout the summer.

According to KVBA member and Seven Stars Music and Arts Producer Dave Biddison, “The immediate goal of the block party is to bring fun and energy into the heart of Kimberton, and to showcase the town’s unique character.”  Ultimately, KVBA’s vision is the creation of “Walkable Kimberton,” a community with pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, connections to the regional bike/walk trail system, and an active cultural scene. The group is working towards creating a sustainable community by promoting heritage and arts tourism, and the adaptive reuse and preservation of Kimberton’s historic resources.  “We also just enjoy presenting cool events that showcase Kimberton’s  unique vibe and fun quotient,” says  Biddison.

Local Event. Local Roots.

Promoting local artists, farmers and culture was a core objective in developing the event. Terry Brett, owner of Kimberton Whole Foods, noted that, “We have such a wealth of talent in this area and wanted people to see that diversity and depth of capability,” he said.  All three bands are from the area, and food offered for sale is grown and raised primarily on local farms.  Additionally, WXPN host and square dance caller Keith Brand, is a local Phoenixville native, who’s mom owned Kimberton’s downtown hair salon for many years. 

In another nod to local culture, the live music focus of the Kimberton Community Block Party is a natural outgrowth of the highly popular music festivals produced by Seven Stars Music and Arts and held in Kimberton in the early 2000s. Dave Biddison was the organizer of the Seven Stars Music Festivals along with his wife, Trish Keegan, and a group of like-minded volunteers.  “When the block party idea was raised, we were asked to take charge of creating an event with the same energy that made the Seven Stars events so memorable,” said Biddison.  “Our original festival team is back – and we’ve added many other willing volunteers. We expect the block party to be a great time for the bands and audience members alike.”

Unique Sounds

Bands selected for the block party stage include a mix of musical styles with a common theme of originality, high energy and great songwriting.  Headliners, the Llama Dalis, will set the mood for the party with their soulful and energetic music often described as danceable rock-folk. The band has a large and loyal following resulting from their many performances throughout the region, and from the individual band members’ roots in many well-known Philadelphia area bands.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , an alt-folk, barn rock band from Chester County, Pa., has a distinctive sound that is becoming well-known across the county.  The band’s first album, Barn Rock, debuted at #9 on the roots music chart, and has been prominently featured on Philadelphia radio station WXPN.

With a sound described as “antique, yet modern,” Mostly Maybe is a harmony-heavy, folk-rock band, consisting of Kimberton-area musicians Elliot Wilson, Emily Neblock and Pelle Gunther.  The band’s sound has been likened to The Shins, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Iron & Wine, and The Civil Wars

Information

For additional information about the Kimberton Community Block Party, www.walkablekimberton.org

Band Bios

The Llama Dalis

www.llamadalis.com

Since 1975 the Biddison brothers have played with such notorious bands as Neo Pseudo, Space Goop, The Shaggy Dogs, and Ticapoo Brain. Their taste for soulful and energetic original music, peppered with twisted cover tunes, has led them to play an interesting array of venues, from the clubs of Philadelphia (Grape Street Pub, North Star Bar, the Tin Angel, the Cabarets), festivals, art galleries, yoga and dance studios, coffee houses, sculpture gardens, old parish halls, barns, VFWs, even Mexican food restaurants.

The Llama Dalis full band includes brothers Mike and Dave Biddison; the unassuming but monstrous guitarist Steve Wheelock (who’s been playing with the brothers since 1994) and the solid state, never-to-be-thrown-for-a-loop big Bass player Bob Taylor who holds things down and gives the hearty rhythm section a solid danceable groove. And of course there’s the brother harmonies and eclectic mix of song making influences that are rooted in that soulful stuff of the 1960’s but feel like they belong in any age. It all just feels good.

Tin Bird Choir

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tin Bird Choir is an alt-folk barn rock band from Chester County Pennsylvania. Their unique sound has spread through radio stations across the country, earning their first record, Barn Rock, a debut spot at #9 on the roots music chart. Their music has been featured prominently on Philadelphia radio station WXPN and they’ve graced some of the region’s most celebrated stages, such as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the World Cafe Live, Johnny Brenda’s, and the Kimmel Center, as well as The Bitter End in New York City.

Mostly Maybe

http://www.reverbnation.com/mostlymaybe

Mostly Maybe is a newly-established, harmony-heavy, folk rock band from the Phoenixville area. Working together, Elliot Wilson, Emily Neblock and Pelle Gunther have harnessed a diverse, antique-yet-modern sound and have been steadily out to top themselves. Pelle noodles around on the classical six stringer sound stick while yodeling with Emily's caterwauling, with Elliot laying down the knocks and cracks on all things percussive.  The band’s sound has been likened to The Shins, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Iron & Wine and  The Civil Wars.

Organizers, Sponsors, Producers

Seven Stars Music and Arts

Seven Stars Music and Arts creates events that showcase a diverse range of local and regional musicians and artists.  Led by Kimberton, Pa., residents Dave Biddison and Trish Keegan, along with WXPN radio host Keith Brand, the organization has presented four annual Seven Stars Music and Arts Festivals in Kimberton, Pa., that drew upward of 1000 people each year and benefitted local entities including Green Valleys Association and Camphill Village Kimberton Hills.  Seven Stars has also produced a series of art shows and concerts  in the village of Kimberton, Pa.

The Kimberton Village Business Association

http://www.walkablekimberton.org/

Info: Doug Fitzsimmons (610)-427-9471

The Kimberton Village Business Association is a business league that exists to promote the interests of the merchants and landowners of Kimberton Village. KVBA is striving to make Kimberton Village into a more sustainable community by implementing Walkable Kimberton, its pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and trails project and by actively promoting heritage and arts tourism and the adaptive reuse and preservation of Kimberton's historic resources.  Current KVBA members include: Kimberton Whole Foods, The Kimberton Inn, Kimberton Wellness Connection, C. Raymond Davis, Earthspeak and Kimberton Auto.

Kimberton Summer Arts Series

Sponsored by the Kimberton Village Business Association, the Kimberton Summer Arts Series presents arts, performance and cultural events in downtown Kimberton, Pa.  Events planned for the 2012 season include a Love’s Labour Lost, a Shakespeare-in-the-Park live performance to be presented outdoors at the Kimberton Community Park on July 19.  Other events include chamber music at the Kimberton Inn on August 2 and August 23.   

Kimberton Whole Foods

http://www.kimbertonwholefoods.com/

Kimberton Whole Foods is a retail enterprise that strives to be a dynamically supportive marketplace for organic farmers and their products.  The store sells exclusively organic produce and use organic farms whenever possible, offering local yogurt produced by Kimberton’s Seven Stars Farm, and fresh bread, cookies and raw milk from Kimberton Hills Bakery.  Kimberton Whole Foods supports local body care companies and provides many local producers with a fair platform for offering their products.  Kimberton Whole Foods operates through locations in Kimberton, Downingtown, Douglasville, Ottsville, Pa.  The Kimberton store is the company’s original location.