Local duo bring eclectic tunes to Parkfest Tuesday

Monday, June 19, 2006

The Parkfest summer concert series continues Tuesday evening in Greencastle. A free concert, by the folk duo of Mike VanRensselaer and Steve Terry starts at 7 p.m. in the Robe-Ann Park bandshell.

VanRensselaer and Terry have participated in the Parkfest since it began in 1994. This year's concert will feature an eclectic set of songs using banjo, guitar and mandolin picking combined with harmony vocals.

The stepfather and stepson share a long-term musical relationship that goes back to the mid-1980s. Over the years they have served up their brand of folk music at coffeehouses, schools, farmers markets, pubs, and parks.

This year's offerings will once again run the gamut from being centuries old (the Robert Burns classic Auld Lang Syne) to being just a few years young (Terry's very own dust bowl ballad Great Depression).

VanRensselaer will deliver his version of the jazzy Willie Nelson standard Crazy while also adding an original song of his own with a familiar title: Putnam County.

Throw in the Simon and Garfunkel hit Homeward Bound, the nonsensically foolish "A Horse Named Bill," the Peter Rowan penned "Midnight Moonlight" and the old Appalachian ballad "Peggy-O." Sprinkle in a few more songs about such things as trains, love lost, Yankees, murder and groundhogs.

The free concert is co-sponsored by the Greencastle Civic League and Park and Recreation Department. Bring lawn chairs and/or blankets for comfortable seating. Parents are reminded that a playground is nearby, so bring the whole family and enjoy what is certain to be a family friendly hour of entertainment.

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