Several events are planned throughout the Wood River Valley on Sunday, Sept. 11, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The valley's firefighters will conduct a memorial ceremony for the fallen heroes of 9/11, followed by music by local bands Up a Creek and Triple Nixon on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 5-8 p.m. in Ketchum Town Square. All proceeds from the event will go to the National Fallen Firefighters Association.
The Hailey-based Company of Fools will present "The Guys," a dialogue between a fire captain who has lost most of his men in the collapse of the Twin Towers and an editor who helps him write the eulogies as she herself struggles to come to terms with the events of 9/11. The performance—at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey—begins with inspirational music by A Few Good Men, a recently created a cappella group for male voices. The play reading by Denise Simone and Joel Vilinsky will follow. The special event is free. Doors at the Liberty Theatre, at 110 N. Main St., will open at 1:30 p.m.
The acoustic music scene is thriving these days, fueled by a dedicated group of young, creative, gifted musicians. Seattle's Cahallen Morrison and Eli West, a multi-instrumentalist duo, are an integral part of this new wave, honing their chops on guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin, banjo and vocals, with a busy touring schedule in the States, Europe and Great Britain.
But the pair will stop for a concert at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Hailey on Sunday, Sept. 11, bringing music they believe will uplift spirits with their own brand of Americana, infused with bluegrass, old time, Celtic, gospel and other styles. They focus on quirky harmony vocals, syncopation and sophisticated instrumentation. Most of their set is original, sprinkled with a few chestnuts.
Dirk Powell describes them well in the liner notes for Cahallen and Eli's new CD, "The Holy Coming of the Storm":
"There's a natural language of American music that flows from a place where strength and tenderness meet; a place up on the mountain where the forces of nature are striking, where rock juts up into the open world ... yet where life clings with a reflective vulnerability—like the tiniest seed of pine finding root on that rock—that reveals, perhaps, a greater strength. Cahalen Morrison and Eli West bring us many vivid tales from this place on the "Holy Coming of the Storm." I imagine them inhabiting that windblown but inspiring land and carrying down their discoveries—prayers, love songs, tunes full of quiet joy—by the wagonload."
For information and tickets, call 720-4363. Doors open at 7 p.m., music begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.
Caritas Chorale will hold its annual benefit concert on Sunday, Sept. 11, with a concert at the Valley Club, off Buttercup Road north of Hailey. The theme is "A Night in Old Vienna" and the chorus has been practicing for months.
Caritas Chorale singers volunteer their time but these are not shower singers gone wild. They work with conductor and director Dick Brown and assistant director R.L. Rowsey. Since the choir is intended to be a community chorus, not surprisingly, most of its members have day jobs as teachers, lawyers or ski bums, and a few are retirees.
"We rely on this event to carry us through the year," said first soprano Linda Menser, who has sung with the choir for two years.
Performances, which are peppered throughout the year, are always free, and most members pay their own way.
Tickets for the event are $150 and include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dancing.
For reservations, contact Ann Taylor at 726-5402.
Jay Rath, a singer/songwriter who plays drums, piano and guitar, hails from a musical family in New York and now lives in Shoshone. He is frequently strumming around town, and on Sept. 11 he will play at Lefty's in Ketchum starting around 6 p.m.
Jennifer Liebrum: jliebrum@mtexpress.com
“The Guys,” a dialogue about 9/11, will be read by the Company of Fools in Hailey on Sunday, Sept. 11. Courtesy graphic
