4th Annual WFMT Midnight Special Folk Festival

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: 98.7WFMT : 5400 N. St. Louis Ave. : Chicago, IL  60625-4623 : Tel: (773) 279-2000 : www.wfmt.com :   : For Immediate Release                                                        : Attn: Music/Folk & Roots, Arts & Entertainment Editors :        : 4th ANNUAL WFMT MIDNIGHT SPECIAL FOLK FESTIVAL : SLATED FOR SEPTEMBER 20 :   : Four-Hour Concert and Live Broadcast : to Be Staged on North Shore :   : Lineup to Include Special Guest Kathy Mattea, : John McCutcheon, Michael Smith, Claudia Schmidt, : Randall Williams, Haines & Leighton, and the Austin Lounge Lizards :   : Editors: Hi-resolution artist photos are available. E-mail natsilv@aol.com :   : CHICAGO, August 4, 2009 — Grammy Award-winning folk, roots, and country music singer Kathy Mattea will be the special guest at the fourth annual WFMT Midnight Special Folk : Festival on Sunday, September 20, 2009, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., in Skokie, Ill. :   : 98.7WFMT has announced a lineup of seven artists of national and international stature for its four-hour extravaganza to be presented on a single stage at the North Shore : Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard. :   : Rich Warren, producer and host of WFMT’s the “The Midnight Special” program, assembled the festival’s talent roster, which includes Mattea, John McCutcheon, Michael Smith, : Claudia Schmidt, Randall Williams, Haines & Leighton, and the Austin Lounge Lizards. :   : “Our goal was to choose a musically diverse group of artists who are incredibly good at connecting with individual listeners,” Warren says. “All these people have mastered : the craft of entertainment.” :   : Warren describes the festival as “a lively celebration of songs with substance, songs that are touching and topical, sublime and satirical.” :   : A Chicago Tribune article noted that Mattea, who has earned two Grammy Awards and enjoyed great success on the country music charts in the late 1980s and early 90s, “was : always more literate folkie than mainstream country queen.” Her 2008 CD, "Coal" (Captain Potato Records), a heartfelt album of mining and mountain songs, is the West : Virginia-born singer’s tribute to her Appalachian coal mining heritage. "Coal" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Traditional Folk category. A CD review in American : Songwriter said, “Mattea sings like a woman with a true understanding of the words” (http://www.mattea.com). :   : McCutcheon, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, has received praise from folk icon Pete Seeger, to whom he has been compared for his musicianship, stage presence, and commitment : to social and economic justice (http://folkmusic.com/homepage). : An icon of the 70s Chicago folk scene, Smith has written songs recorded by Steve Goodman and other luminaries. Folkwax magazine calls him an artist who “has repeatedly : proved that he is adept at focusing on the ordinary and conjuring the exquisite and extraordinary”  (http://www.artistsofnote.com/michael/index.html). :   : Schmidt is a versatile singer-songwriter whose discography embraces fourteen albums of mostly original songs. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Derk Richardson called her : “contemporary folk music's front-line ambassador of wonder.” A reviewer for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange found “a sense of adventure and integrity in every song she : does. Schmidt’s voice has a strength and soul of its own” (http://claudiaschmidt.homestead.com). :   : Williams, a 30-something performer who trained as a classical singer at a European conservatory, is an audience favorite at folk festivals around the country. Sing Out! : magazine says, “Randall Williams explodes onto the scene like a bolt of lightning. … Combine that voice with highly articulate guitar work and superlative songs for a most : powerful presence” (http://www.whereisrandall.com). :   : The humorous and engaging Canadian duo of Mark Haines and Tom Leighton perform original and traditional songs influenced by their Celtic and North American folk roots. When : these high-energy multi-instrumentalists play multiple instruments at the same time, they sound more like a quartet or even, as the Toronto Sun observed, “a symphony : orchestra” (http://www.haines-leighton.com). :   : The Austin Lounge Lizards, a rollicking quintet of satirical folk, bluegrass, and country gadflies, recently released a single inspired by government bailouts. The song’s : hard-luck narrator asks, “How do I get to be too big to fail?” (A music video is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnE5zvosplc.) The group’s Website is : http://www.austinlizards.com. :   : Tickets are $25 for balcony seats, $55 for main floor seats, and $125 premium main-floor seats with admission to a backstage VIP reception. Tickets are available by phone at : (847) 673-6300 and online at www.northshorecenter.org. Free on-site parking is available behind the theater. Public transportation: El: Yellow to Skokie, then bus: 97 Skokie : (Old Orchard). :   : The all-ages festival will also air live over WFMT 98.7 FM, with a simultaneous live Webcast at www.wfmt.com. :   : The festival takes its name from “The Midnight Special,” the station’s eclectic, long-running Saturday night program of contemporary and traditional folk music, comedy, show : tunes, and more. :   : The WFMT Midnight Special Folk Festival is underwritten by the Maxine Yefsky Family Trust. :   : Festival Schedule :   : The performance schedule for the 2009 WFMT Midnight Special Folk Festival is as follows (all times are approximate): :   : 3:00– 3:02 p.m.: Introduction by Rich Warren of 98.7WFMT :   : 3:02–3:27 p.m.: Randall Williams :   : 3:29–3:54 p.m.: Claudia Schmidt :   : 3:56–4:21 p.m.: Michael Smith :   : 4:25 –4:55 p.m.: The Austin Lounge Lizards :   : 4:55 –5:15 p.m. Intermission :   : 5:15–5:20 p.m.: Song (“Kisses Sweeter Than Wine”) dedicated to longtime WFMT listener and folk music supporter Art Yefsky, whose family trust underwrites the festival. : Artist to be announced. : 5:20–5:45 p.m.: Haines & Leighton :   : 5:47–6:20 p.m.:  Kathy Mattea :   : 6:20¬–6:54 p.m.:  John McCutcheon :   : 6:54–7 p.m.: Grand Finale with all festival artists : # # # # : Press information contact for the : WFMT Midnight Special Folk Festival: : Nat Silverman : Nathan J. Silverman Co. PR : 1830 Sherman Ave., Suite 401 : Evanston, IL 60201-3774 : Tel: (847) 328-4292 : Fax: (847) 328-4317 : E-mail: natsilv@aol.com

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