FOLK ARTISTS TO PERFORM HERE

Three nationally known folk singers will perform this spring in KRCU's new Spring Folk Music Series.

The station sponsored two successful concerts last year to test the waters for a series that is likely to become a permanent KRCU production, station manager Greg Petrowich said.

"There may be three in the fall and three in spring or maybe one every month during the school year," he said.

Singer-guitarists Tom May and Bill Staines both are familiar to area folk enthusiasts, having had engagements in Cape Girardeau, while Autoharpist Bryan Bowers will perform here for the first time.

May appeared in a free concert at the River City Yacht Club last year. His radio program, "River City Folk," is heard on more than 200 stations weekly. It is broadcast on KRCU at 8 p.m. Saturdays.

May will be featured in a performance April 20 in Glenn Auditorium at Dempster Hall. He accompanies his original songs and stories on guitar and occasionally the Irish penny whistle.

Autoharp virtuoso Bowers will perform May 12 at Rose Theatre. A performer for nearly 30 years, he is one of only four members of the Autoharp Hall of Fame. He also was inducted into the Frets Magazine Gallery of the Greats, a distinction that puts him in the company of Chet Atkins, Stephan Grappelli and Mark O'Connor.

Staines, a folk music legend, will be at Rose Theatre May 28. His fund-raising performance here last May was a big success, both financially and artistically.

Staines emerged from the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960s. Today he is one of the most popular performers on the folk music circuit.

Though he is best known for the song "Roseville Fair," his tunes have been recorded by such artists as Nanci Griffith, Glen Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker and Grandpa Jones.

All tickets for the Spring Folk Series are available by calling KRCU at 651-5070. A discounted ticket package can be purchased for all three concerts.

At this point, KRCU is primarily interested in booking folk musicians for concerts. "But it's not out of the question that we might do other concerts like jazz or classical," Petrowich said.

Revenue from the concerts is being used to book upcoming concerts.

The station begins its semiannual fund drive March 28 with a goal of $20,000. One programming addition the drive will help pay for is a show called "World Wide Jazz." Originating from Holland, the program will feature primarily European performers.

"World Wide Jazz" will debut in April and will air at noon on Saturdays.