GREENFIELD – Award-winning Iowa folk singer and songwriter Chad Elliott, teaming up with Ryne Doughty, will bring their musical storytelling 7 p.m. Saturday to Warren Cultural Center (WCC) in Greenfield.
The opening act will be The Pale Moons, which pairs Elliott with Anna Kopaska. Their 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 1896 Warren Opera House.
Tickets are $15 for all seats, available in advance at Ed & Eva’s, 154 Public Square in Greenfield, 641-743-2566 or online at warrenculturalcenter.com. The WCC’s Norman Lear Theater will be set up club-style with tables and chairs and wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks available that evening. The show is supported in part by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council and Empowering Adair County.
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 released his 20th original album, “Wreck and Ruin,” in fall 2015. He traveled to Nashville to record the new album with producer and drummer Ken Coomer of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo.
In 2009, Elliott released “Redemption Man.” For that project, he worked with producer and guitarist Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown) 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.
WCC offers a fitting venue for Elliott and Friends’ acoustic, Americana sound. It opened its doors in spring 2012 in the restored 1896 Warren Building on the town square in Greenfield. The Opera House, with its landmark turret, has been restored to its original glory after decades of disuse, featuring the multi-purpose Norman Lear Theater. The stencil-decorated room boasts pure acoustics that enhance live performances.
The Cultural Center also includes Ed & Eva's store, selling the wide-ranging works of Iowa artisans; lobby/gallery space, displaying rotating exhibits; historic residence meeting rooms and a balcony bedroom suite. Information about the center and events there is available at www.warrenculturalcenter.com and on Facebook.