SimpleGifts with Billy McLaughlin: A Small Town Christmas Intimate concert at NYM Cultural Center on December 13

The Cultural Center in New York Mills is proud to present SimpleGifts with Billy McLaughlin: A Small Town Christmas, on Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

This performance, held at the Cultural Center in New York Mills, will be an unplugged and shorter version of their 2018 holiday tour. The event will be intimate – occurring in the smallest venue of the tour. In this “unplugged” version of their 2018 holiday show, SimpleGifts puts community celebration ahead of commercialization – pulling the audience into the sublime side of traditional repertoire in a truly meaningful Christmas event. Expect modern arrangements with an “Old-world” feel highlighting Billy’s signature acoustic-guitar, angelic three-part harmony vocals, bagpipes, Celtic whistles, violin, piano and tasty atmospheric percussion.

SimpleGifts makes musical magic by bringing a modern flair to traditional Christmas carols and hymns. Staying close to the heart of Christmas by avoiding commercial and pop holiday repertoire has become the trademark of this award winning six-piece ensemble.

Billy McLaughlin, an American original and well-known international performing and recording artist who has achieved Billboard’s Top-Ten Chart, is known for his harp-like guitar playing technique he calls “finger tapping.”

Several years ago, Billy came to embody every musician’s greatest fear: the award-winning guitar virtuoso began struggling to play his own music. Searching in vain through countless therapies for an answer to his problem, he was finally diagnosed with a yet-to-be-cured neuromuscular disorder called Focal Dystonia. After enduring the loss of all he ever dreamed of, McLaughlin did what for many would be unthinkable — if not impossible — he taught himself to play left-handed.

Billy currently serves as the Ambassador of Awareness for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and is a founding member of the American Brain Foundation. See more at his website: billymclaughlin.com.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. All tickets are general admission so arrive early to claim your best seat! Complimentary snacks and a cash bar will be available.

Advance ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for students; at-the-door prices increase to $25 and $15 on the night of the performance, if seats remain. “Students” include Kindergarten though College (student ID required). “Littles” who fit on laps (preschool & below) attend for free.

The full version of this show will be performed at the Historic Holmes Theater in Detroit Lakes, MN on Friday, December 14, 2018. We are grateful for the artist & organizational partnerships that made this unplugged, intimate performance in New York Mills possible, and encourage you to experience both versions of this show if you’re able!

For more information, call the Cultural Center at 218-385-3339, or visit www.kulcher.org.

The Cultural Center in New York Mills is a rural hub for creativity, community vitality, and lifelong learning in the arts. We offer visitors intimate opportunities to encounter art and artists in our 80-seat concert listening room, two galleries in a historic building, a gift store featuring local artists, an artist residency program, a sculpture park, and a variety of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Since our incorporation in 1990, we have been passionate about connecting people to artists and rich cultural experiences in rural Minnesota, celebrating the local and being a window to the world.