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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 10/27/08
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- A pair of blues performers, Barrelhouse Bonni and Lady D, present a songwriting seminar at the Ice House in downtown Berkeley Springs on Thursday, November 6 at 7pm. Learning about songwriting is part of the yearlong Back to Our Roots celebration which begins in January. The seminar is produced by the Morgan Arts Council (MAC) with financial assistance from FAST. The blues duo is part of MAC's Adopt-a-School program which has been bringing artists into the Morgan County schools since 1978.
“Barrelhouse Bonni” McKeown, a native of Capon Springs, is a blues piano player and singer-songwriter based in Charleston. She has been a performer and teacher of the blues for decades, and has several CDs. Doris Fields is "Lady D," a noted blues singer from Charleston who also performs Bessie Smith as an actress. She is an award-winning songwriter and longtime promoter of emerging musicians.
McKeown and Fields' Songwriting Seminar and their work in the schools is the second installament in an eight-month long effort to write songs in and about Morgan County. "The songwriting is part of the 2009 Back to Our Roots celebration," said Mary Hott, MAC's Executive Director. She outlined opportunities during 2009 for the songwriters to enter a contest sponsored by FAST, perform their work or have others perform it at Roots events, and record a Morgan County CD. "MAC is also working on a Music Census of Morgan County," she said.
Back to Our Roots is a yearlong celebration of music, dance, folklore and visual art with more than 50 different events and projects during 2009. A joint project of the Morgan County Public Library and Morgan Arts Council, Back to Our Roots is built around the Smithsonian Institution's exhibit " New Harmonies" which will be on display in Berkeley Springs for six weeks opening at the Ice House on Saturday, April 11, 2009. Other performance activities in the winter and spring include a contra dance weekend, gospel workshops and performances featuring Eric Byrd, and several folklore and art presentations including John Henry and Porte Crayon. There is also an exhibit of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in February at the library.
"We have a schedule of the major events through June '09 up on the website. It will be available as a flyer during the next couple weeks," said Hott. "There are already a number of other groups creating projects around this Roots theme," she said. "But we always have room for more."
For more information, to register for the class or to find a way to participate in Back to Our Roots, call 304-258-2300 or check online at www.macicehouse.org. The Ice House is located at Independence and Mercer in downtown Berkeley Springs. FAST is a local forum for supporting arts, science and technology programs.
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