Bill Harley

Bill Harley will appear Thursday, November 8th at 9:00am and 11:00am for school field trips and Friday, November 9th for families at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (916) 782-1777.

Trying to describe Bill is often as funny as attending one of his concerts. One person will call him a singer/songwriter, another a storyteller. People know Bill from his books, his theatrical plays, his concerts, his workshops - or maybe even as a keynote speaker at a conference. With twenty-five recordings of songs and stories and six children's books to his credit, Bill's humorous yet meaningful work chronicles the lives of children at school and at home.

Bill tours nationally as a solo artist as well as with his band, the "Troublemakers" or with his pianist/co-conspirator, Keith Munslow. Armed with his guitar, songs, stories and slightly off center mind, Bill is the kind of performer you just have to see in person!

As a storyteller, Bill has appeared numerous times at the prestigious National Storytelling Festival, and at dozens of other regional festivals from California to Florida. You'll find Bill's stories and off-beat observations in numerous anthologies and magazines. He also shows up on your car radio as a regular commentator for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered". His commentaries are filled with his trademark humor and wisdom on topics ranging from T-ball game strategy to first jobs to dead groundhogs. As Bill says "Anything is material to a desperate man."

In the past several years, Bill has spent considerable time writing, and presently has six published books to his credit. These include: "Sitting Down To Eat" which was selected as an ABA Pick of the list ; "Sarah's Story" a Storytelling World Award Winner; and "The Amazing Flight of Darius Frobisher" his first novel for elementary students. He is currently working on another novel and has another picture book slated for publication.

The reasons for Harley's success are obvious - his songs are direct and honest, his stories are filled with the details of daily life, and everything he does has a refreshing dose of fantasy mixed with a healthy breath of reality. Since 1984, Bill's been producing recordings for kids and adults that have become staples in the car cassette player and the home entertainment system. Winner of a Grammy and numerous other national awards including Parent's Choice, ALA (American Library Association), NAPPA (The National Parenting Publications Award) and AFIM (Association for Independent Music), Bill's recordings are filled with joyous music and masterful stories. If you ask a kid their favorite they'll show you their entire Bill Harley collection, books, videos, Cd's, cassette tapes - they are all winners!

Check out Bill Harley's WEBSITE!

Did you know...

Bill took piano lessons starting when he was seven. Learning to read music was hard, so he often played by ear. He can read music now, but still plays by ear. He played trumpet in junior high school. He got a guitar when he was twelve, but the strings were so high it was almost impossible to play, so he quit. In high school, he started to study jazz piano. He still plays piano a lot at home. He got his second guitar (one that worked!) in college. His friends taught him some chords. He still takes lessons, but not as much as he'd like. He recently added a ukulele to his collection of instruments (he says it's fun to play).