By Harmony House Concerts
Jul 5, 2013
"Like a folk Cirque Du Soleil..." - David Wilcox, Singer/Songwriter's quote about Still on the Hill
Liven up your Friday night after a busy work week of doing the same
Make reservations by calling 903/583-2661 and leaving the number of reservations desired and your contact information (unless we already have it). The suggested donation for this incredible display of talent is $15 per person. To prepay, make a check to Still on the Hill and mail to Faye Wedell; P.O. Box 812; Bonham, TX 75418, to be received by July 16th. Refunds will be made to anyone who has to cancel by that same date. Guests may also opt to pay at the door, but if you make a reservation, please "show up" out of courtesy to the performing artists. All proceeds go to the singer/songwriters whom we host.
Harmony House is located at Wildscape Acres, 10 miles north of Bonham. Visit our website, www.wildscapeacres.com, to learn more about us and check out the Harmony House link, which has a schedule of shows booked for 2013 and into 2014. If you need directions, please indicate this when making reservations. Our goal is to bring quality music to northeast Texas "down a country road" and in an intimate indoor environment, so you can really experience the personalities, talents, and energies of the artist "up close."
Still on the Hill is a duo made up of Donna Stjerna and Kelly Mulhollan, who live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Donna and Kelly will perform two 45-minute acts with a 30-minute intermission. We (Faye and Scott) will provide bottomless cups of coffee, tea, and healthy punches along with treats at the break. There will a basket on the breakfast room table for any optional $1 cash donations to help defray our costs...greatly appreciated!
An optional Summer Garden Potluck Buffet will be held at 6:45 pm for those who are interested in attending. Yes....you can bring your favorite summer salad, a summer squash medley, your homegrown tomatoes (or those bought at the supermarket), a blackberry cobbler or whatever dessert tweaks your interest and taste buds! You can show off your culinary skills or just bring something simple...not to worry! Remember, it's Friday night and you want to relax! Just let Faye know when making reservations whether you plan to come for the Potluck and what you'd like to share!
There will be a Song Circle after the concert for those who want to pick and grin....just bring your instrument (whether if be ukulele or banjo), your voice, or your ears (for those who choose to participate by listening to others share their talents. This is all about fun, guys and gals!
About Kelly and Donna...Still on the Hill:
Seemingly oblivious to the limitations of what two musicians can create, Still on the Hill has set new boundaries of originality. This duo uses traditional instruments from their home in the Ozarks (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonica and scrub board) and other oddities such as the musical saw, ukelin and tenor uke to create a kaleidoscope of musical color and texture: "These musicians have grafted the wild climbing vines of bluegrass, folk, classical and mountain music onto the hardiest of Ozark rootstock. The result is a yet-to-be-named hybrid music that simply compels people to stop and listen, to pause in their hectic lives and pay attention to something they've never heard before. It's magic, and there's simply not enough magic in the world today.
Visually, Still on the Hill is full of color and motion; instrumentally, they command their instruments with power and grace, producing a sound that is both fresh and ancient at the same time; lyrically, their original material is packed with new ideas, social awareness and a level of intellect and consciousness that's seldom found in contemporary tunes.
Still on the Hill are the consummate professionals, whether they're performing for an audience of one or for thousands. Their high-energy show seems to emerge from somewhere deep inside their souls. They play music for one reason: it's a spark, or maybe a raging bonfire, inside each of them that has to come out, something that's shared just as easily with a large festival audience as it would be with a quiet Ozark forest."
Julie Koehler, Bluegrass Now
Still on the Hill has proved itself a favorite at many prestigious festivals and venues here and abroad, including the Kerrville Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, The Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas (in 2005, the duo took over the role of organizing and hosting Walnut Valley's NewSongs Showcase, an event that has been popular at the festival for almost two decades) and countless others. Their own region, the Ozarks, has voted them the “Best Folk Band” for several years running, and the mayor of their town, Fayetteville, Arkansas, proclaimed Dec. 20 th Still on the Hill Day for all the work the duo does in community service. They have produced seven widely acclaimed CD's (two as a foursome) and three years ago they signed with Swiss record label Brambus Records for the European release of their CD “Chaos & Calm”.
Kelly and Donna helped form the original quartet version of Still on the Hill to explore their own music. When the group was just a few months old they ventured down to the Kerrville Folk Festival where Donna became a “born again” musician! A floodgate opened and songs began spilling out of her. With over 400 songs to her credit, Donna has become an accomplished and much loved songwriter. She especially likes to write songs in the folk tradition of spurring social change through music. Kelly is a powerful instrumentalist. He has been voted Best Guitarist in Northwest Arkansas several times and has developed a one-of-a-kind style of fingerpicking for the banjo and mandolin. Kelly is also an accomplished studio technician. He has produced and performed on CD's for many other singer/songwriters as well as producing all of Still on the Hill's recordings. He recently released a solo CD of poetry set to his own music which has received rave reviews.
It would be remiss to tell of Kelly's musical endeavors without some mention of his longtime commitment to issues of peace, justice and ecology. It is at the heart of everything he does.
When asked, Kelly doesn't long for the grand commercial success that so many musicians aspire to. He says, “I just want to grow, change, and create something of beauty… always.”
Visit their website, www.stillonthehill.com, for more about Donna & Kelly....watch their music videos on Youtube; hear some of their songs; check out their CDs; and more.
"The creativity and originality of these two blows through the stale air of singer-songwriters like a gale of genius" - Rich Warren, Sing Out! magazine.
For more live music performances visit TexomaConnect Entertainment Page and for local events like "Christmas in July" and the "Small on the Wall" Art exhibits, visit TexomaConnect Events Page. Lake Texoma is more than a great big lake it is home to some of the most talented performing artist, musicians, songwriters and artist.
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