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A Brief History of the Acoustic City Concert Series...
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Way back in March of 1996, Jill Stratton, then Assistant Director of Residential Life
at Washington U, decided to introduce one life passion, working with college students, to
another: folk music. Being an economically-minded person, Jill zoned in on college students'
favorite price for anything: free. Using money from her programming funds, Jill produced a
free folk music concert featuring Catie Curtis in the Gargoyle for WU students and (for a
small fee) the local community. The concert was a success, and a seed was planted. Each
semester crazy Jill plotted and schemed, managed and toiled, bringing in new faces to the
folk scene, as well as nationally known acts like The Nields, Eddie From Ohio, Ellis Paul,
Vance Gilbert, and Carrie Newcomer.
By 1999, the concert series got dressed up in a new name, the Acoustic City Concert Series,
and that year featured Cry, Cry, Cry - the folk super-group comprised of Dar Williams,
Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell. Armed with a big email list, a small, devoted group
of students, and a growing regular fan base, the Acoustic City Concert Series branched out
in the fall of 2001 - holding concerts off-campus for the first time. This was a new challenge,
as these concerts were not funded out of the programming budget from the University. Instead,
Jill was shouldering the risk of a bad turnout all by herself. ["Hey, if no one shows up, I
can always sell my car, right?" quote from Jill Stratton, on the night of the Fall 2001
Erin McKeown show - the show broke even.] And ever since, all of the off-campus shows have
broken even, sometimes even allowing for a little bit to be put back in to the concert piggy bank.
This semester is the most robust yet, featuring 4 on-campus shows and an astounding (and
worrisome) 6 off-campus shows. ["Don't worry, Jill. If you have to sell your car, you can
borrow my bike." - a concerned student helper, early January, 2002.] By collaborating with
local venues as diverse as the famous Duck Room, the Focal Point, Off Broadway, and the
gorgeous Sheldon Concert Hall, the Acoustic City Concert series is taking the acoustic music
scene to new heights - and new ears. (We're even on the Web at www.acousticcity.org !) St.
Louis is fast becoming a popular stop on the burgeoning Midwest Folk circuit, in no small
part to the ACCS, and our partners, like the Focal Point and KDHX 88.1 FM.
As a not-for-profit organization, the ACCS is always looking for new music-lovers to join in the planning, production, and management of the series. If you're interested, please contact Jill Stratton at jstratto@restech.wustl.edu, or call her at (314) 935 - 7576; or Andy Harris at jharris@artsci.wustl.edu, (314) 935 - 0047. And even if you can't get involved directly, look over our wish-list and see if you can help:
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