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For over 40 years Chris Farrell has been a mainstay of Chicago's
famed singer-songwriter scene. Learning his craft while sharing
the stage with legendary acts of the '70s and '80s, he has emerged
with his own brand of songwriting and showmanship to carry on this
proud tradition. Chris' work is the genuine item from those days and
has grown with the times to hit a bull's eye with relevance for today.
Chris easily flows from ballads to satire, from comic songs to social
commentary while always finding room for the sweet tunes you'll
hum on the way home. Presenting his finely crafted songs with solid clear finger picking, beautiful melodies and rich vocals, he adds stories and humor to offer a well-paced show and first-rate command of the stage that only decades of experience can produce.
Chris arrived in Chicago in early 1975. His blue collar roots in the coal mining towns of Pennsylvania fit right in with the city's heritage of folk songs and, straight talk writers and journalists. Within that first year he found a home at The Old Town School of Folk Music and continued for forty-two years as one of the most respected faculty members in the school's sixty year history.
He has toured all over the U. S. and abroad with memorable shows
at Nashville's Blue Bird Cafe, New York's Folk City, and even Rick's
Cafe in Casablanca, Morocco.
Here are just a few of Chris' favorites.
The Blue Bird Cafe, Nashville, TN
The Earl of Old Town, Chicago, IL
Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA
Somebody Else's Troubles, Chicago, IL
The Old Time Cafe, San Diego, CA
Folk City, New York, NY
The Speakeasy, New York, NY
The Idler, Cambridge, MA
The Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, VT
The Quiet Knight, Chicago, IL
Douglas Corner Cafe, Nashville, TN
The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
The Bothy Club, Philadelpia, PA
The Folkway, Peterborough, NH
Charlotte's Web, Rockford, IL
National Clubs
Schubas
The Uncommon Ground
Wishbone North
The Barbarossa
Cafe Carpe
Martyrs'
Two Way Street
Holsteins
The Bulls
Sylvester's
The Beat Kitchen
The Kingston Mines
The Charleston
Tut's
Earl's Pub
Fitzgerald's
The No Exit Cafe
The Heartland Cafe
Durty Nellie's
Orphan's
Wise Fools Pub
Red Line Tap
Stages Music Hall
The Roxy
P. J. Flaherty's
Chicago Area Clubs
Chicago Folk and Roots Festival
WFMT Folk Festival
Old Town Art Fair
Pennsylvania Folk Festival
Fox Valley Folk Festival
Warrenville Folk Festival
Chicagofest
First Chicago Center
Chicago Tribune - Pioneer Court
McCormick Freedom Museum
Museum of Lake County, NC
Eckley Miner's Museum, PA
De Paul University
Nortwestern Universtiy
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
University of Wisconsin
University of Illinois Chicago
Northern Illinois University
Columbia College
Penn State University
Scranton University
Wilkes University
King's College
Concerts
Taste of Chicago
The Old Town School of Folk Music
Chicago Public Library Cultural Center
The Art Institute of Chicago
Lakeview Festival of The Arts
Harold Washington Library
Newberry Library
The Skokie Theatre
Illinois State Fair
Field Museum of Natural History
Shedd Aquarium
Morton Arboretum
Photo by John Weinstein
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