Earlville Opera House is presenting music by Vance Gilbert at 7 p.m. Friday, March 11. (Submitted photo)

EARLVILLE – “If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might have been something close to the great Vance Gilbert.” As the above quote from Richmond magazine suggests, Vance Gilbert defies stereotypes.

It’s little wonder then that he also exceeds expectations. In this case, those two qualities go hand in hand. “I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” Gilbert insists. That may be a broad statement, but it rings with truth.

The show will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 11.

The Earlville Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street in the charming Village of Earlville, NY and is handicap accessible. Vaccine proof required at door, masks worn inside. Please check our website for the latest updates and for further information on our programs and services, and like us on Facebook.

 

Events are made possible, in part, with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor of New York and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

 

What Vance Gilbert does do is make memorable music, as evidenced by the 13 albums he’s released so far, as well as the mark he’s made on the folk and acoustic music scenes in general.

Over the course of a prolific career that extends back to the early ’90s, he’s recorded with his good friend Ellis Paul and shared stages worldwide with Aretha Franklin, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, the Milk Carton Kids, George Carlin (150+ shows), Anita Baker, the Subdudes, Paul Reiser and any number of others.

 

Vance has also made a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival and Mullum Music Festival. “There was also that one nude festival in Maryland,” Gilbert recalls. “I don’t recall the name of that one, but I have to admit that the name wasn’t the first thing I would remember.”

 

Tickets are $25 general admission, $22 for members (become a member!), $10 for youth 17 and under, with college students half off general admission. Tickets are available at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com or by calling (315) 691-3550.

 

Thank you to our sponsors: Community Foundation for South Central New York; Live Music Society; NBT Bank; Preferred Mutual Insurance Company; sfcu; and Bruce Ward, Architect. Special thanks to our hospitality sponsors Fred’s Inn of Norwich and the Poolville Country Store and B&B.

 

– From the EOH