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Mabus to perform at the next Second Sunday Folk Dance

JOEL MABUS

CRYSTAL FALLS — The Second Sunday Folk Dance will present a Michigan treasure Sunday: singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joel Mabus. White Water will provide the opening act.

The concert and folk dance will start at 4 p.m. at the Fortune Lake Camp in Crystal Falls. After the concert, the Front Parlor Dance Band and dance caller Steve Kickert will provide dance music and instruction until 7 p.m.

Born in 1953 in the southern Illinois town of Belleville, Mabus is the son of a 1930s old-time fiddle champ and a banjo-pickin’ farm girl.

His performing career began in college during the Vietnam era, where he studied anthropology and literature by day and played coffeehouses by night.

Mabus has put out 20 solo albums of original and traditional music since his recording career started in 1978.

One critic wrote, “Joel Mabus knows his way around the English language and American culture just as well as he knows his way around a fretboard.”

For three years running, Mabus has been in the top 10 most-played artists in the Folk Radio Charts for North America, according to folkradio.org. The only other top 10 artists who share that three-year distinction are Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.

Mabus’ latest CD is 2015’s “A Bird In This World,” a guitar-driven album of original songs exploring the blues.

But Mabus defies any easy pigeon-hole in musical styles. His palette ranges from mountain banjo to jazz guitar — from sensitive introspection to wicked satire. He’s both picker and poet.

Admission is $7 for adults. Children 15 and younger are admitted for free.

Dean and Bette Premo organize and host the Second Sunday concert/dance series. A full season schedule is available at www.secondsundayfolkdance.com.

They already are booking for the 34th season, so mark the calendar for Oct. 14.

Those who would like to sponsor the Second Sunday Folk Dance with a tax-deductible donation can contact Bette Premo at 906-822-7889.

The Fortune Lake Camp is 2 miles west of Crystal Falls on U.S. 2 in Iron County. To get there, turn south on Bible Camp Road and drive for less than a quarter-mile, then turn right on Fortune Lake Camp Road and just drive a short distance.

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