KPR plans concert for 20th anniversary of 'Trail Mix'


LAWRENCE – To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and 20 years of folk music on KPR’s "Trail Mix," you’re invited to a special double-bill concert featuring singer-songwriter Ashley Davis and fiddler Liz Carroll.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Liberty Hall.

For the last 20 years, "Trail Mix" has brought listeners the best music from yesterday’s and today’s singer-songwriters, spiced with Americana, alternative country, folk-rock, bluegrass, traditional folk and Celtic music. From Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to Doc Watson and Alison Krauss, it’s all on "Trail Mix."

“It’s been a fantastic 20 years on 'Trail Mix,'” McWilliams said. “Over that time we’ve been able to play music from unknown artists like Dar Williams and Gillian Welch, who have become icons in the singer-songwriter community. We’ve also been able to play traditional bluegrass and the new artists who are keeping that tradition alive and even expanding it.

“The Ashley Davis-Liz Carroll concert will give 'Trail Mix' fans an opportunity to see live two of the great artists I’ve featured on the show for years. It’ll be a great evening of folk and Celtic music just in time for St. Patrick’s Day,” he said.

McWilliams, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in history at the University of Kansas and his J.D. from Harvard, far prefers radio to law. He has hosted jazz programs on KANU and KPR since 1983, and he became jazz director and "Jazz in the Night" host in 1996. He also did graduate work in jazz history with the late Dick Wright.

He co-hosted the Flint Hills Special for many years, and he has produced and hosted "Trail Mix," blending “contemporary and traditional Celtic, folk, bluegrass and beyond,” as McWilliams calls it, since 1994. He also founded the West Side Folk concert series in Lawrence and was awarded the 2014 Spirit of Folk for his lifelong professional commitment to folk music, given by Folk Alliance International at its February convention in Kansas City.

Tickets are available at the Liberty Hall box office and through Ticketmaster. General admission seating in the balcony is $25. Seating downstairs is available at four-seat tables for $125. Service fees may apply. The concert is co-presented by West Side Folk.

Tue, 03/04/2014

author

Phil Wilke

Media Contacts

Phil Wilke

Kansas Public Radio

785-864-5016