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How to Book Lee Murdock
Lee Murdock tours year round to all parts of North America from his home in the Chicago area. Most performances are solo, but the Blue Water Band is available for Chicago area and on-the-road concerts and events. Special rates apply for historical societies, museums, lighthouse preservation groups and other organizations involved with Great Lakes education and tourism. Lee's pricing for school assemblies and workshops is especially simple and affordable, even when travel is involved.

Every concert is a little different, and Lee's agent, Joann, will work with you to arrange the best format for your event. Standard concert and coffeehouse format is two 45-55 minute sets, with a brief intermission. Outdoor events or multipurpose room concerts may be 45-60 minutes in length, with no intermission.

Special Program Offerings
In addition to the regular concerts or festival performances of Great Lakes Music, Lee Murdock also suggests a few special program titles:

The Christmas Ship Concert A holiday concert commemorating the turn of the century tradition of carrying Christmas trees to Great Lakes port cities during the days of sail on the Great Lakes. At the end of the lumber season every year, Great Lakes Captains would carry one final cargo, heralding the holiday season with a deck piled high with fresh-cut evergreen trees and garlands.

Lee Murdock has written a very popular song about one of the more famous of these ships, The Rouse Simmons.

An annual tradition, this holiday concert is offered as a major concert in the Chicago area every year, on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. This year's concert will take place Saturday, November 29, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. at the Maple Street Chapel historic church, Main & Maple Streets, Lombard, Illinois.

The Christmas Ship Concert is also available for touring in November and December, celebrating the maritime aspects of Great Lakes heritage. Depending on the performance space and budget, this can be presented as a solo performance, or with the Blue Water Band.

Lighthouse Legends Like the great castles of Europe, there is an aura of mystery and romance surrounding the lighthouses on the inland seas. Lee's songs and stories share the tragedy and the heroics, the isolation and the beauty of lighthouse lore and the life saving service. (This program is also offered through the Road Scholar program of the Illinois Humanities Council).

Great Lakes Ghosts A narrated concert featuring songs of supernatural legends and spooky tales from Great Lakes lore. The perfect fall concert for libraries and museums.

Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region This 45-55 minute educational presentation can be adapted for school assembly programs at the elementary or middle school levels. The program traces the settlement of the Great Lakes region, including both maritime history and songs and stories about the people who settled on the Great Lakes shores. Includes songs from farming, lumber trades, shipping, family life, women's roles, heavy industry, legends and heroes. (Also available as a concert for community audiences, and one of two programs offered through the Illinois Humanities Council Road Scholar speaker program).

Sea Shanty Workshops Experience the work in the songs adapted by the sailors who worked the Great Lakes vessels during the days of sail. An opportunity for everyone to join in song, and the feel the work that was made easier with these call-and-response songs.

Grants and Fee Support
Some grant programs are available to help cover Lee's performance and travel costs in certain circumstances. The first two are designed to be very simple accessible programs, inviting community groups and small agencies to take advantage of the funding. Ask us about them when you call, or take a look at the programs online.

Artstour - The Illinois Arts Council Illinois-based nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies (like public schools, libraries, art centers, etc) may submit a very simple application form to apply for a grant of 35-50% of Lee's performance fee. This is not based on need, but the guidelines require applications to be submitted at least six weeks in advance.

Road Scholars - The Illinois Humanities Council This is the Speakers' Bureau program sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council. Programs must be free and open to the public (so schools don't usually qualify) and sponsored by nonprofit organizations within the state. Lee's quota of shows is already filled for calendar year 2003, but we are taking reservations for Road Scholar programs for 2004.

Heartland Art Fund This fund requires a more rigorous application process than the above programs, including an application deadline generally in February for performances scheduled from September-August of the following year.

Technical Requirements
For performances in schools, libraries and museums, Lee can bring his own sound system and all equipment needed for the performance. Setup takes about ten minutes.

For concert halls and outdoor settings, the sponsor may be asked to provide a sound system and general stage lighting where appropriate. For solo performances, only two microphones are needed. With the Blue Water Band, eight to twelve channels are generally sufficient, with three monitors.

Joann Murdock Booking/Publicity contact:
Artists of Note
P.O. Box 11
Kaneville, Illinois 60144-0011
USA
Phone: (630) 557-2742
E-mail: jmurdock@artistsofnote.com