ECC Arts Center to host Chris Smither and Paul Cebar Oct. 25

The Elgin Community College Arts Center will host acclaimed American blues/folk guitarist, singer and songwriter Chris Smither and special guest artist Paul Cebar on Saturday, Oct. 25. The performance will be held at 7 p.m. in the Building H Arts Centers' Blizzard Theatre on the Spartan Drive campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

Chris Smither has been playing music since he was a child. Born in Miami during World War II, he grew up in New Orleans, where he first learned to play. In his early 20s, Smither left the study of anthropology in favor of music in Boston coffeehouses. He has been writing and playing music ever since. What quickly evolved from his New Orleans and Cambridge musical experiences is Smither's enduring, singular guitar sound - a beat-driven fingerpicking style, strongly influenced by the playing of Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins, layered over the ever-present backbeat of his rhythmic, tapping feet.

Smither draws deeply from a range of genres and blends blues, American folk music, poetry and philosophy. He's revered for both his unique fingerpicking guitar techniques as well as his exemplary songwriting.

Well-known Smither songs include "Love You Like a Man" and "I Feel the Same" which have both been recorded by lifelong friend Bonnie Raitt. He has played alongside B.B. King, Nanci Griffith, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Dave Alvin and Tom Russell, just to name a few. Smither's most recent recording project is "Still on the Levee" (2014), a double CD retrospective that offers new takes on 24 of his most iconic songs.

This October, Signature Sounds also released a tribute album with artists such as Raitt, Loudon Wainwright III, Josh Ritter, Jeffrey Foucault, Patty Larkin, Jorma Kaukonen, and many more offering their renditions of Smither's classic works. Raitt calls Smither "my Eric Clapton," and The Boston Globe has named Smither "among the finest acoustic guitarists anywhere in American music."

Paul Cebar, who will be opening the performance, is a master synthesist, combining R&B, funk, and soul with African, Latin and Caribbean music creating an eclectic, exhilarating sound. Known for his work with the Milwaukeeans, Cebar's time as a musicologist in Florida and a journeyman wanderer in Cuba comes through in his music. He began playing in Milwaukee coffeehouses in the mid-1970s and progressed to solo gigs in the late '70s. Shortly thereafter, Cebar formed the band The R&B Cadets, which reigned from 1980-86. This would set the stage for the rest of Cebar's music career as a member of the Milwaukeeans and most recently the Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound.

Many musicians have graced the stage with Cebar, including Rip Tenor, Alan Anderson, Juli Wood, Tony Jarvis, Michael Walls and the current members of Tomorrow Sound - Reggie Bordeaux, Mac Perkins, Mike Fredrickson, and Bob Jennings.

Tickets to the performance are $32. Tickets for an optional preshow dinner prepared by ECC's award-winning Culinary and Hospitality program are an additional $29. The menu for that evening includes potato leek soup, sliced beef with bordelaise sauce accompanied by garlic mushroom whipped potatoes and green beans with yellow squash, and walnut honey goat cheese cheesecake. The deadline for dinner reservations is Monday, Oct. 20.

Tickets for all performances at the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office located in the Arts Center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

Visit elgin.edu/arts for more information about the ECC Arts Center, including video clips of upcoming artists and events, and links to the Arts Center's Twitter and Facebook pages.