Andy May’s Acoustic Kids Showcases: Supporting Young Musicians at the
Walnut Valley Festival for Three Decades
Young musicians: Register
online now to perform at the 51st Walnut Valley Festival in Acoustic Kids.
For over 30 years, Andy May’s Acoustic Kids
Showcases have
provided fun, festival-based, non-competitive performance opportunities for
young musicians and singers of any skill level. The program’s debut at the
Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, was in 1991. Since then, the
program has become part of the fabric of the festival that’s affectionately
known as “Picker’s Paradise.” Last year, Acoustic Kids celebrated its 30th
anniversary along with the festival’s own 50th.
This unique program welcomes all young musicians,
beginner through pro, recognizing and honoring their achievements to date.
Drawing on 55 years of his own performance experience and a background in Arts
Education, May designed the program to provide a positive performance
experience for youngsters. Through on-stage dialogue in the role of MC, mentor,
and educator, he sets the young performers at ease and gives the audience
practical information about what it takes to fit music into busy lives.
Through the years, hundreds of
talented youngsters have appeared in Acoustic Kids Showcases at festivals
around the U.S. Past-participants-turned-professionals
include Nickel Creek (see 1995 video), Evan Ogborn (Pretend Friend), The Vogts
Sisters, Erin Mae Lewis (Scenic Roots), Ethan Setiawan, Tray Wellington, Sadie
Gustafson-Zook, Presley Barker, Liam Purcell, Cheyenne Dalton and Mason Ruble (That Dalton Gang), Jacob Metz, Kyle O’Brien, Myles Thompson, Julian Davis, Maria McArthur, and Kitty Amaral, among others. Many, many others who play just for fun and don’t
aspire to make career of it have delighted audiences alongside them. Acoustic
Kids gives them all the chance to share their music from a festival stage for
an appreciative audience.
As a show, Acoustic Kids is for all
ages: It is an opportunity for music lovers to see and applaud the next
generation of musicians. The festival setting ensures an interested, supportive
audience. In turn, the audience is treated to an Opry-style stream of
entertainers, each performer doing 1-3 numbers. Acoustic Kids’ audiences have proven very loyal, turning out in all kinds of
weather to support the kids. Many kids come back year after year, too,
developing a following among the audience, who enjoy watching them grow as
individuals and musicians.
For more information about the
program, its history, philosophy, and future, visit acoustickids.com. Acoustic Kids also has a FaceBook page, playlists on
YouTube, and photo galleries
on Flickr.
Since 1972, the Walnut Valley Festival traditionally
is held the 3rd weekend of September in Winfield, KS, and draws a crowd of
10,000-15,000 people to celebrate a blend of all kinds of acoustic music,
including bluegrass, folk, Americana, a little bit of cowboy, some Celtic,
blues, jazz and swing, and more. For more information, and to purchase tickets,
visit www.wvfest.com. 