MUSIC

McGonigel's Mucky Duck presents Grace Pettis - Billy Crockett - Dirje Smith.

Grace Pettis - "Having recently witnessed Grace on stage and heard her perform material from her debut album as well as yet to be recorded compositions, I can attest that Grace weaves words and melodies into memorable songs with a regularity that you'd only expect from a seasoned troubadour." -Arthur Wood, Maverick Magazine Grace has solidified her reputation as an accomplished songwriter with her recent win at the 2011 Kerrville New Folk Contest, as well as being asked to perform at the 2011 Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showcase.

In the fall of 2009 Grace released her self-titled debut album recorded at the renowned Blue Rock Studio in Wimberley, TX. After releasing her album she splashed on to the music scene winning NPRs 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, where her, "Nine to Five Girl" was selected for the "Best Song" award.

Grace carried this momentum when she performed as an "Official Showcase Artist,"at the 2010 International Folk Alliance conference, where she captured the attention of John Platt, Rich Warren and many others as one of the young standouts. Later that spring Grace won the Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest Grand Prize, and the "People's Choice" award. Grace went on to join the Storyville Coffee "Freedom Tour" with the likes of Willie Porter, David Wilcox, and Pierce Pettis. After touring with Storyville Coffee in the summer she continued to tour in various arrangements from solo, to duo performances with Pierce Pettis, to trio performances with Billy Crockett and Dirje Smith.

For more information, please go to Grace’s web site: www.gracepettis.com.

Billy Crockett - Change is the only constant, and music is life. This is obvious in the recent transformation of veteran writer-instrumentalist-recording artist Billy Crockett. Love for the guitar, the right word, a clear idea, and a refreshing honesty has fed a creativity that has grown into 25 years of hit-yielding albums, touring internationally and virtuoso guitar-playing, and brought him to a new perspective and a new album, Wishing Sky (Blue Rock Artists; released Nov. 2, 2009).

Wishing Sky, produced by Crockett at Blue Rock, features 13 timely and candid folk-pop story-songs; appearances and contributions by Jon Dee Graham, Ray Bonneville, Pierce Pettis and Lloyd Maines; a wide landscape of subjects and moods; flowing melodies and expressive lyrics; and the gusto of a man reunited with his first true love.

“These songs are my most personal so far,” Crockett says. “I am singing the gypsies, the howling dogs, the gaps and mysteries, the sweetness and silent remains of life as I know it. I have tried to do what poets must: tell it true.”

For more information, please go to Billy’s web site: www.billycrockett.com

Dirje Smith - Dirje Smith, freelance cellist, is a natural musician whose joy in making music comes through in every note. She has spent the last 13 years supporting traveling artists at festivals and listening rooms, crafting and playing parts in the recording studio, and playing with a variety of groups.

At home with many musical genres and able to read and improvise, she is, indeed, a cellist for all seasons.

For more information, please go to Dirje’s web site: www.dirje.com.