‘Iowa Best’ Chad Elliott to sing at Warren Center

GREENFIELD - Award-winning Iowa folk singer/songwriter Chad Elliott will bring his musical storytelling to the Warren Cultural Center (WCC) at 7 p.m. Aug. 15. His performance is part of the WCC’s “Best of Iowa” series, featuring some of the top artistic talent in the state on the stage of the restored Warren Opera House.

Tickets are $15 for all seats, available in advance at Ed & Eva’s, 154 Public Square, Greenfield, 641-743-2566, or online at warrenculturalcenter.com. The WCC’s Norman Lear Theater will be set up club style (tables and chairs), with wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks available that evening. The show is supported in part by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.

Elliott, from Coon Rapids, has been on the road for more than a decade, averaging close to 200 shows per year, performing a blend of Americana, roots and country music. Along the way, he’s collected more than a few interesting stories, many of which end up crafted into lyrics. He has shared the music stage with greats, such as Eric Church, Lonestar, Counting Crows, Brantley Gilbert, R.L. Burnside, Odetta, Tom Paxton and Loudon Wainwright III, among others.

Elliott has released 19 full-length albums since he began his songwriting career. In 2009, he released “Redemption Man.” Elliott worked with producer and guitarist Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown) on this album to achieve its distinctive electrified roots sound. It also features Pieta Brown on the song, “Same, Old Way,” which was the 2009 Woody Guthrie Festival song contest winner as well as a third place winner in the 2009 International Songwriting Contest for the Americana category. Two other songs on this album, “Redemption Man,” and “Illinois,” won Elliott a new folk finalist spot in the 2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville Folk Festival.

Elliott released “So Sang the Crow” in March 2013. He visited Basecamp Recording Studio in Montana to lay the tracks. The album speaks to the souls of those “fighting the good fight” in a life of challenge. Currently Elliott is working on his 20th original album. He has been traveling to Nashville to record the new album with producer/drummer Ken Coomer of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo. He expects to release the album in the fall 2015.