Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart to Perform in Upper Milford

Listen Live Music, the volunteer-run organization in Old Zionsville that attracts regionally and nationally prominent acoustic performers, will present the husband and wife country music duo Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The concert will be held in the auditorium of the former Kings Highway Elementary School, now the Upper Milford Township Municipal Center.

Stacey Earle, a native of San Antonio, began her musical career playing rhythm guitar for her brother’s band, Steve Earle & the Dukes. After touring with them for a while she decided to head to Nashville to concentrate more on a solo career in country/folk songwriting.

It was there—at a songwriters’ night—that she met Mark Stuart. Mark had been playing guitar since his teens, performing in local honky-tonks. The two became inseparable in their lives and music making, and married about a year later. The couple draw from blues, pop, country and rock influences, but produce what they consider traditional, stripped-down country music, sung with a pure, bittersweet twang, and sprinkled with Stacey’s irresistible Southern charm.

Earle and Stuart still live in Tennessee, but spend most of their time on the road. Their current tour has them crisscrossing the U.S. and Canada. They’ll be coming to Zionsville from dates in Ohio, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Maryland, and then, after a few gigs in New York state, will appear at a bounty of festivals in Oregon and British Columbia in July and August. They own their own record label, Gearle Records.

The opening act for Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart is local singer/songwriter Peter Scapegrace, co-founder of the former country-funked jazzabilly band The Unpronounceable. He won for Best Acoustic Song in the Lehigh Valley Music Awards competition (hosted by Listen Live Music) in November 2010.

After Saturday night, Listen Music Live will take a summer hiatus from its monthly headliner concerts. The series will resume on September 24 with two-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Kim Richey.

Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart, Saturday, June 25, 8 pm, Upper Milford Twp. Municipal Center, 5671 Chestnut St., Zionsville, PA. Tickets $20 general admission. www.listenlivemusic.com. 610 966-6419