MT. MORRIS — Encore Mt. Morris is pleased to announce the return of the Jodi Beach Quartet to its bandshell, playing a free concert on Saturday, Aug. 17 from 7-9 p.m. as part of the Ninth Annual Straw Sculpting Competition celebration.
Jodi is more than a singer and pianist. She is a storyteller, a theme weaver, a scrapbook of our lives presented in song. Her performances invite the audience on a sentimental journey of melodies and lyrics that will leave them smiling and bring a tear to their eyes.
If you ask her mother when Jodi first began to sing, she will look at you with a very sincere face and ask, “When hasn’t she?” Truly from birth Jodi has been warming people’s hearts with pure and beautiful vocal tones. At the age of five she started piano lessons and could read sheet music before she could read English. She continued her musical studies at Judson University and Northern Illinois University, and went on to form the award-winning Jodi Beach Trio, with whom she has recorded six albums and toured throughout the country.
“Timeless” best describes an evening with Jodi Beach. Music that is as alive today as it was when first created, enjoyed by audiences young and old, all who have been touched by these essential elements of life.
Though Jodi can bang out notes with the best of them she has never been one to “trade solos and go home.” She can always be heard playing well thought out and rehearsed arrangements that pull at your heartstrings one minute, have you dancing the next, and always treat you to the thing she loves to do the most…sing!
The campus will be extra festive with five new straw sculptures and many more favorites from years past adorning the grounds as the ninth annual U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition continues.
Concessions for the evening will be provided by vendors including Maxson’s Manor, who will be serving chili, hot dogs, nachos, pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, chips, hand crafted fudge, cookies, and drinks. Just 4 Fun Ice Cream and Bill's Famous Lemonade stand will be there too, all starting at 6 p.m.
Ewe and Me Acres will have a fresh produce stand with a variety of fruits, vegetables, baked goods, jams, jellies and dog treats on the Campus. Various craft and plant vendors will be open from 5-8 p.m.
Other attractions will be available on either side of the Bandshell during the concert. Encore's Old Sandstone Art Gallery will feature a new show and the new location of the Mt. Morris Historical Museum will also be open in the newly renovated College Hall.
Please bring a blanket or chair, or enjoy the new benches and join the fun on our beautiful, historic campus in the center of Mt. Morris, two blocks south of Illinois Route 64 on Wesley Avenue and enjoy the free Jazz concert.
