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Neighbor News

Saturday is THE day for a great outdoor music festival in King of Prussia!

The annual River Roads Music Festival will be held on Saturday, June 27th at Heuser Park in nearby King of Prussia - Another GREAT line-up!

Saturday, June 27th - Music starts at 1:30 pm
Saturday, June 27th - Music starts at 1:30 pm

As a big fan of outdoor music, we ALWAYS look forward to the River Roads Music Festival each year at Heuser Park in King of Prussia... Past years of this event have included the talents of the incedible singer-songwriter Dar Williams performing with The Indigo Girls, Paula Cole, & the late, Oh! so GREAT, Jill Sobule!

This year, Dar & company have built a tremendous line-up to appear on Saturday including 10,000 Maniacs, Shawn Colvin, Billy Bragg, Susuan Werner, Amythyst Kiah, and Miko Marks - WOW!

The whole thing kicks off at the beautiful Heuser Park (649 W. Beidler Road) in nearby King of Prussia... Less than 10 miles from our beloved P-ville! There will be music, food, beverages, & all the facilities necessary for a wonderful, outdoor music festival - Heck, even the weather (gloomy in the morning) is expected to clear by the early afternoon & cooperate with the event!

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What can you expect? Let's start with the founder of this event, Dar Williams...

Longtime listeners know that Williams and her music are always up for conversations that glimpse the brightest colors, woven into the larger context of time. As she said recently in an interview, “As I've gotten older, I feel more comfortable holding a lot of different threads in my hand to create more complicated patterns. Time has given me a better ability to hold a bunch of colors and temperaments and see what happens, where they become interesting new stories and also where I need to stop and untangle the themes and characters. It's daunting, and I've learned that, you know, daunting is fine, just keep going.”

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10,000 Maniacs remain one of America’s most beloved independent bands. They’ve been cult heroes, mainstream stars and alt-rock trailblazers. Through it all the creative core of the band remains, along with its trademarks of eclectic music and poetic lyrics.

Together now for more than four decades, the band is the most famous musical progeny of Jamestown, New York, the city that spawned them back in 1981. The band and the city share an honest and hardworking nature, both being a step outside the mainstream, and both possessing a bit of magic. “It’s a city of blue-collar poetry,” bass guitarist Steve Gustafson recently said. “And that’s what we’re about, real-life stories. We’re a family, we do real work and we keep moving forward.” Originally drawing from everything from African rhythms to bluegrass to English folk balladry, the group streamlined its sound during the ‘80s with legendary producer Peter Asher, kicking off a string of beautifully crafted singles including “Like the Weather,” “What’s the Matter Here?”, “Trouble Me,” “These Are Days” and “Candy Everybody Wants.” They're one of the first bands to score a hit from MTV’s Unplugged with their version of the Patti Smith/Bruce Springsteen classic “Because the Night.”

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Shawn Colvin is one of the leading lights of the so-called "new folk movement" that began in the late '80s. Although she grew out of the somewhat limited "woman with a guitar" school, she kept the form fresh with a diverse approach, avoiding the genre's clichéd sentiments and all-too-often formulaic arrangements in favor of a more personal, pop-influenced style. Colvin's debut record won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1991, but it was her 1997 single, "Sunny Came Home," that firmly catapulted her into the mainstream.

Throughout the '80s, Colvin worked her way up the folk circuit, also appearing in off-Broadway shows such as Pump Boys and Dinettes, Diamond Studs, and Lie of the Mind. Her work also appeared in Fast Folk magazine, and she got her first break in 1987 singing backup on Suzanne Vega's hit song "Luka."

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Billy Bragg is celebrating a remarkable 40+ years as Britain’s favorite folk singer, songwriter and campaigner. Galvanized in the late 70s by The Clash and an aversion to the austere policies of Margaret Thatcher, Bragg set out to inspire political engagement and empathy. He has performed numerous benefit shows for the miners, the Labour party, CND, the jobless and many more, and has run the Left Field political stage at Glastonbury for the last 20 years.

Billy has released 11 solo studio albums, three albums of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to contemporary music by Billy and Wilco (the Mermaid Avenue albums) and one album with Joe Henry. His last studio album, the acclaimed ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ came out in 2021.

Bragg won the Outstanding Contribution To British Music Award at the prestigious Ivors Awards in 2018. He has been honored with a pavement plaque on the Camden Music Walk Of Fame (previous recipients include Madness, Amy Winehouse, The Who, and David Bowie)

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Blessed with a great voice and great guitar and piano chops, the multi-talented Susan Werner put it all together and was on the cusp of success with ever-larger U.S., Canadian and European audiences. Her eclectic and offbeat set of influences made her a refreshing face in a sea of singer-songwriters on the Philadelphia coffeehouse circuit. Werner cites as influences people like Nanci Griffith, Jacques Brel, Thelonius Monk, Joni Mitchell, Sting and jazz diva Shirly Horn. Her songs can include social commentary along with introspective personal diaries of relationship troubles, but always seem to lift up the listener - A true talent!

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The music of Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter Amythyst Kiah explores the vast expanse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, a near-mystical connection with the natural environment, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-described “anime-nerd mall goth,” and much more. It merges her revelatory storytelling with a darkly cinematic twist on the rootsy alt-rock. With its sonic palette encompassing everything from fuzzed-out guitars and industrial-leaning beats to gilded pedal steel and Kiah’s exquisitely graceful banjo work, her music makes for a vital new addition to a body of work largely dedicated to exploring the struggle and joy of true self-discovery.

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Miko Marks was once named one of "Nashville's Hottest New Country Stars", by People Magazine. “An Artist Breaking the Sound Barriers” is what Ebony proclaimed Miko to be!

Undoubtedly, Miko Marks has blazed an unprecedented trail in Country Music, as well as being an all-star vocalist performer, with multiple awards, and several nationally televised appearances and news features to her credit. Her resume includes, special performances for U.S Presidents, several Heads of State, Monday Night Football, The NBA, and Major League Baseball just to name a few.

Originally from Flint, Michigan, Miko currently resides in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. These days she can often be heard keeping her vocal chops sharp at various notable venues around The Bay and across America.

Whether an accapella version of Bach’s “Ave Maria”, Mahalia Jackson’s “Precious Lord”, or Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”, Miko is a master “genre bender” and has the amazing capacity to transcend musical barriers with fluidity and style, making Miko Marks a world class vocalist for all occasions!

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WOW! Is that a festival line-up or what?!? Now we just need Mother Nature to do her part to make sure it all comes together - But this show will go on... RAIN or SHINE so pack a poncho if you are worried you might get dripped on, but DEFINITELY try to stop by for all of this great music... And don't worry, outdoor festivals in the summer can become legendary, lasting memories for those in attendance (ever hear of Woodstock?!? lol)...

Click here for more info on the River Roads Music Festival: riverroadsfestival.com/

WE'LL be there! Hope to see you out there as well - ENJOY!

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