Lil' Rev

Friday , May 17, 2002
12:00 am
Location: Elderly Instruments
in-store performance (free)

Mark "Lil' Rev" Revenson's cd cover describes his music as "polkas, blues, folksongs, jazz, old-timey, new-timey!" While this seems a large musical bite for one musician to chew, Lil' Rev proves he is just the man to do it. Armed with his guitar, mandolin, ukelele and harmonicas, Lil' Rev treats his audience not only to this variety of styles, but also to a lesson on the history and origins of the songs. Lil' Rev plays a free in store performance at Elderly Instruments (1100 N. Washington, Lansing) at noon Monday, November 11. Based in Milwaukee, Lil' Rev is Hohner Harmonica's 1996 Blues Harmonica Champion. Equally proficient on ukelele, guitar and mandolin, Lil' Rev is a young man keeping old musical traditions alive. Much of his material dates from the depression era and earlier. For the most part, even his originals sound as though they could have been written a hundred years ago. "This is an honest, raw form of music, " he says. "It's hard-core, working class music . . ." Playing coffee houses, clubs and street corners in his native Wisconsin and around the country, Lil' Rev emphasizes audience interaction, getting the crowd to sing along, clap their hands and stomp their feet. "This music is all about involving people," Rev says.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Lil Rev