James King Band coming to Arthur, Illinois on March 15th

Press Release -

Arthur, Illinois - James King Band, an award winning bluegrass band, is coming to Arthur, Illinois at the Gunny Sack Revue Building, Yoder Center, on Thursday, March 15th, 2012.

James King Band, an IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) and SPGMA (Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America) award winning band, will be in concert at the Gunny Sack Revue Building, 1061 Yoder Center (on Rt. 133, on the west side of the Yoder Center, behind the La Cascada mexican restaurant), on Thursday, March 15th at 7:00 pm.  Tickets are general admission at the door, $12.50 for adults and $5.00 for ages 12 and under.  Mackville, a local bluegrass/gospel band, will provide entertainment from 6:30 until the start of the show. Concessions will also be available.

The James King Band were awarded Emerging Artists of the Year by IBMA in 1997. 1998's Bed by the Window was the recording debut of the James King Band, and its gripping, bittersweet title track -- about a man in a nursing home with a vivid imagination -- was nominated for IBMA's 1999 song of the year award. King is also a member of the bluegrass supergroup Longview, along with Dudley Connell, Don Rigsby, Joe Mullins, Glen Duncan and Marshall Wilborn. Their self-titled 1997 debut was named recorded event of the year by the IBMA. The second Longview album, High Lonesome, arrived in 1999, followed by Lessons in Stone in 2002. King released 30 Years of Farming in 2002. The album featured the James King Band as the supporting instrumentalists, with a potent blend of classic bluegrass, hard core country and contemporary song craft. Including the country classics "Saginaw, Michigan" and "Carroll Country Accident," King released The Bluegrass Storyteller in 2005.  James King has also been the recipient of the Male Vocalist of the Year by SPGMA for the last eight years.  Current members of the band include James King, Donald Dowdy, Clay Lillard, and Eddie Biggerstaff.

The concert is hosted by The Gunny Sack Revue, a group of musicians who get together every Wednesday evening and play a variety of music from bluegrass, folk, gospel and country.  The Gunny Sack Revue is open to everyone to come and play and listen.  The group has been together for six years and are self supported by donations each week.  They recently hosted The Bankesters concert and hope to hold more music concerts in the future.  The Gunny Sack Revue Building also serves as a church, where the Middle Cross Cowboy Church holds their weekly church service there each Sunday morning at 10:00 am.