Acoustic music fans looking to road trip Saturday might want to consider sliding across the border and checking out the third annual "Midwest Acoustic Music Festival," at the Lake Street Café (21 S. Lake St.) in Elkhart Lake, Wis..
MAMF is a free, live music event (11 a.m. to midnight) that was established by music fan Shannon Brunet, to bring attention to and foster up-and-coming acoustic artists.
Of the 15 artists selected to perform at this year's MAMF, one-third of them hail from Chicago:
* Vocalist Daphne Willis & Co. (Ryan Kolberg on bass, John Cicora on lead guitar and Bob Bechstein on drums), who recently released debut EP "Matter of Time."
* Acoustic artist MER, who was originally influenced by James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, and other folk music, later incorporated funk/jazz and even a progressive rock feel into his music. MER is currently in the studio working on a new album with drummer Mike Alongi, Mel Washington (guitars), Steve Nixon (keyboards/vocals), and Will Sterling (bass guitar/vocals).
* Singer/songwriter Rachele Eve, who has been performing around the Windy City in support of her first EP "Wishful Thinking."
* American roots musician Martha Berner, whose accomplished vocals, talents on acoustic guitar, cornet, and harmonica have earned her comparisons to Bob Dylan, Natalie Merchant and John Lennon. Berner's new four-song EP, "Ten Tiny Little Pieces" (Machine Records), is the follow-up to her 2006 full-length CD, "This Side of Yesterday."
* Acoustic duo Drops of Blue -- Nathan Bares (vocals) and Shannon Brunet (guitar) -- whose sound falls somewhere between John Mayer and Toad the Wet Sprocket. This spring, the duo recently released its second EP, "Seven Stories Tall."
Music notes ...
* At 9 p.m. Friday, July 20, Chicago's premier cyber radio station Fearless Radio hosts an evening with CBS "Rockstar Supernova" contestant Matt Hoffer, New York singer-songwriter and voice of A&E Joey Degraw, and guitar sensation Justin King at The Elbo Room, 2871 N. Lincoln Ave., in Chicago (www.elboroomchicago.com). Tickets are $7 for this 21-and-over event.
* Chicago rock group 7th Heaven has been out supporting a Who's Who of notable classic rock groups around the Midwest since June including Def Leppard, Styx, Foreigner, Ted Nugent, The Buckinghams and John Waite. They also rock tonight at "West Chicago Summer Daze Fest" with Foghat, before heading over to "Vernon Hills Festival" on Saturday to share the stage with '80s hair-metal band, Quiet Riot.
7th Heaven also provides a custom treatment of "Affair of the Heart" on a new nationally released "Rick Springfield Tribute" CD; while their own original song, "Ordinary World," has been selected to be used in the new movie "Light Years Away," featuring Christopher Knight (Peter Brady on "The Brady Bunch"). Check their Web site (www.7thheavenband.com) under the "video" tab to see a specially produced video clip.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at beatboss@aol.com.
