Society Hall is excited to announce the return of live shows at the Hall with the return of Valley favorite and regional icon Bill Hearne! Bill will be accompanied by Alamosa musician and producer Don Richmond. A limited live audience will be allowed (and invited) to attend, up to 50% capacity. Masks and social distancing are encouraged. The concert will also stream live on Society Hall's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/societyhall.
Bill will be celebrating the release of his latest CD "A Very Short Time", released in 2020 on Howlin' Dog Records and recorded during the quarantine time. The album features Bill's folk roots with his inimitable renditions of great selections from classic folk icons like Gordon Lightfoot and Jesse Winchester, as well as tracks from many of Bill's personal friends like Jerry Jeff Walker (also featured in a guest vocal) and Keith Sykes.
Bill is no stranger to the San Luis Valley, having performed in the area many times over the years, from way back at the Sunshine Festival in the 1970s as well as numerous shows in area clubs and concert stages.
Bill began performing in Austin, Texas in the late 1960s, where he met his wife Bonnie and began performing as Bill and Bonnie Hearne, achieving national recognition as well as a near legendary reputation among fellow musicians such as Nancy Griffith, Lyle Lovett, and Jerry Jeff Walker, all of whom have appeared on Bill's recordings. Bonnie retired from active performing in 2003 due to health issues, and passed away in 2017, but Bill has continued to perform solo, with his trio, and in other band configurations.
Bill is widely known for his amazing flat-picking acoustic guitar style, using a cross-picking technique that combines accompaniment chords, rhythm, and lead runs simultaneously, all with one single pick, as well as his husky baritone and his gift of song interpretation. Richmond also credits Hearne as being a profound influence on his own music, saying, "Back in the 70's I used to watch Bill and Bonnie play in Red River, New Mexico, at their house gig at the Alpine, whenever I was in the area, and I never left there feeling anything but good. I really feel like they taught me what live music was supposed to do, and how it was supposed to make you feel."
The Society Hall board, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a place for community celebrations of all kinds, invites everyone to join them for a wonderful night of country-folk-Americana music with Bill Hearne special guest Don Richmond at the corner of 4th Street and Ross Avenue in Alamosa, Saturday, May 1st at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $20 in advance, from the website at www.societyhall.org or at the Green Spot in Alamosa, or $25 at the door. The concert will also stream on Society Hall's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/societyhall.
