Morris,IL – Award winning singer/songwriter Chris Vallillo will present his Abraham Lincoln in Song program and will be joined by Abraham and Mary Lincoln (Max and Donna Daniels). On Saturday June 28 at 1:30pm on the Courthouse lawn. This is part of a weeklong celebration in historic Morris, IL. 815-941-0245
“On February the 12th, 1809, Abraham Lincoln came into this world in a dirt floored log cabin on the big south fork of Nolan’s Creek in Kentucky” says folk singer Chris Vallillo as he launches into the combination of narrative, storytelling and music that is his one man show Abraham Lincoln in Song. Vallillo created the show using period music Lincoln was directly associated with to tell the story of Lincoln’s life and times.
With Abraham Lincoln in Song, Vallillo combines Lincoln’s own words and stories with contemporary folk music and period folk songs to shed light on one of our nation’s most beloved historical figures — not only as a remarkable leader, but as a man who knew and loved this very music himself.
Extensively researched and historically accurate, both the live show and compact disc recording ofAbraham Lincoln in Songhave been endorsed by the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Commissions of Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. When released last year, the CD of music from the show hit #10 on the Billboard Charts.
Vallillo himself is a performer with an affinity for American roots music and a gift for translating historic topics into modern day understanding without losing the bedrock from which they surface. A former archaeologist turned songwriter and folklorist Chris Vallillo is a skilled six-string and bottleneck slide guitarist whose love of the past evolved into a love for old music.