The Ozark Arts Council and the Buffalo River Concert Association are pleased to present the Bill Hearne Trio with special guest Mike Hearne at the Historic Hotel Seville on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7:30pm. Ticket prices are $10 for general admission.

"Some of you may remember when Bill and Bonnie played the Seville in the 1990s," said Rick Hinterthuer, head of the Buffalo River Concert Association. "This will be an intimate evening of road-house style country music."

Bill Hearne showcases a "baritone as mellow as Bourbon and smoky as a Texas pool hall." Legally blind since birth, he took up the guitar when he was seven and has been delighting listeners ever since. Largely self taught, he developed a picking style he calls cross-picking.

"Since I didn't have people to play with, I developed a style that incorporated a percussion rhythm while playing lead riffs," he said.

Bill moved to Austin in 1968 to attend the University of Texas and there earned his first paycheck as a musician and met his wife, Bonnie Cross. They started touring together in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado before moving to New Mexico in 1979 where they became the house band for La Fonda, a venerable hotel in downtown Santa Fe. Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith both cite Bill and Bonnie as influences in their own careers.

In 2003, Bonnie’s health deteriorated to where she could no longer perform. On his own musically for the first time since meeting his wife, Bill put together two groups: the "Bill Hearne Trio" and "Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue". In the Trio, which will be performing at the Hotel Seville, he is backed by bassist and vocalist Cathy Faber and Bob Goldstein on lead guitar, mandolin, and banjo.

Appearing with the Trio is Bill’s nephew, Mike Hearne. By the age of 11, Mike had formed his own band that covered Beatles songs. He played mostly rock & roll until his Uncle Bill introduced him to country music.

"I used to hang out at Bill’s shows and was stunned by his guitar playing," Mike recalls. "It really inspired me and I began listening to country music. The rest, as they say, is history."

Based in Taos, New Mexico, Mike has been a consistent winner of the "Best of Taos" awards as a performer and singer for the past 10 years. He has won "Song of the Year", "Album of the Year", and "Best Production" at the New Mexico MIC Awards. His critically-acclaimed CD "Sight and Sound" consists of 11 songs written about 11 different works of art; it won seven awards at the New Mexico Music Awards, making him the biggest winner in their history.

"We need your support to keep bringing in artists of this stature," said Hinterthuer. "Treat yourself to a concert and dinner at John Paul’s. You won’t regret it."