Library concert, lecture by Chris Vallillo explores the roots of rural music

Musician Chris Vallillo, a Midwestern boy who makes the people and places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song, returns to theh Ann Arbor District Library Thursday to perform and discuss roots music and its impact on our lives.

Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars and harmonica, he draws on his experience as a music collector and performer of the songs of rural America, from the first pioneers through the era of steamboats, trains and early radio. He will also perform on a collection of vintage instruments.

From 1990 through 1998, Vallillo served as the performing host and co-producer of the public radio series “Rural Route 3.” His one-man show “Abraham Lincoln in Song” received the endorsement of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and the accompanying CD of music reached No. 10 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album Chart in March 2008.

His latest album, “The Last Day of Winter,” was released this past January, which seems a little premature given the title, not that it matters. It’s the music that counts - especially here in the Midwest.

Chris Vallillo appears at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. Admission is free. Details at www.aadl.org or 734-327-4200.