World-class guitarist and Mount Vernon native Phil Heywood will perform at 7 pm, Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Lisbon Library Heritage Hall. The concert, sponsored by the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council (MVAAC), is free and open to the public.
Heywood has been a fixture in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since the mid-1980s, when he moved to the Cities on the heels of a tour with internationally renowned guitarist Leo Kottke. His lucid playing expresses a natural affinity for the down-home grooves of a Mississippi John Hurt, the melodic flair of contemporary fingerstyle pioneers such as Kottke, and the nuanced right hand attack of a classical player. Lyrical, soul-satisfying guitar instrumentals are his stock-in-trade, yet he draws listeners in with his voice as well, singing in a warm, plainspoken baritone that blends seamlessly with his rock-solid guitar work.
Over the years Phil has garnered a National Fingerpicking Championship and the top prize at the American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival. He shared the stage with guitar legend Chet Atkins on A Prairie Home Companion and has opened shows for many well-known artists including Iowan Greg Brown.
Phil has released six solo CDs, reaching fans across the U.S. and abroad. With his original pieces and choice of covers, Heywood takes his audience on a musical pilgrimage through a rich landscape that is both personal and linked to tradition. His rootsy sources bubble to the surface in a way that is thoroughly organic, eminently accessible, and, as one fan put it, bound to “make your ears smile.”
Founded in 2004, the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the appreciation and practice of the arts in the Mount Vernon-Lisbon area. For more information go to www.mvaac.org.