Press

Abraham Lincoln in Song
One Man Show Tells Lincoln’s Story Through Music

“On February the 12th, 1809, Abraham Lincoln came into this world in a dirt floored log cabin on the Big South Fork of Nolan’s Creek in Kentucky” says folksinger Chris Vallillo as he launches into the combination of
narrative, storytelling and music that make up his one man show Abraham Lincoln in Song. Vallillo, a former archaeologist turned musician and folklorist, created the show using period music that was directly associated with Lincoln as the vehicle to tell the story of our 16th President’s life and times.

With Abraham Lincoln in Song, Vallillo combines Lincoln’s own words and stories with period folk songs and contemporary folk music to shed light on one of our nation’s most beloved historical figures -- not only as a
remarkable leader, but as a man who knew and loved this very music himself. Skillfully presenting both well known and obscure songs from Lincoln’s time, Vallillo tells Lincoln’s story -- from his birth in Kentucky through his death in 1865 at the hand of John Wilkes Booth. From an old jew’s-harp tune Lincoln used to play as a circuit riding lawyer, to political songs like Lincoln and Liberty, to the moving civil war song “We Are Coming Father Abra’am” Vallillo’s show lets the music to tell the tale in a way that words alone can’t match.

The show resonates with today’s headlines as well. “As I’ve performed this show over the last year, I’ve been increasingly struck by parallels between Lincoln’s time and our own,” notes Vallillo. “The country faces challenges we haven’t seen since the Great Depression. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard audiences comment on the fact that 200 years after the birth of the man who would abolish slavery, we are inaugurating Barack Obama – our first African American President – a man who admires Lincoln and in many ways emulates his political style.”

Extensively researched and historically accurate, both the live show and compact disc recording of Abraham
Lincoln in Song have been endorsed by the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Commissions of Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. When released last year, the CD of music from the show hit #10 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Charts.

Vallillo himself is a performer with an affinity for American roots music and a gift for translating historic topics into modern day understanding without losing the bedrock from which they surface. A former archaeologist turned folksinger/songwriter, he is a skilled six-string and bottleneck slide guitarist whose love of the past evolved into a love for old music.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum’s Phil Funkenbusch notes, “With Abraham Lincoln in Song, Chris Vallillo takes the audience on a musical journey, making history come alive with his excellent blending of music and storytelling. He grabbed hold of the museum visitors here, establishing excellent rapport with the audience with this thoughtful, humorous and moving show."

Vallillo has performed Abraham Lincoln in Song at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library, The Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum, the Abraham Lincoln Home National Historic Site, President Lincolns Cottage in Washington DC and theaters, museums and historic sites around the country to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The CD is available online at www.lincolninsong.com.

Hear the CD at: www.airplaydirect.com/music/chrisvallillo or email for a review copy.

www.lincolninsong.com * 309-833-4838 * vallillo@macomb.com