Billy McLaughlin and the Eclectric String quartetare is joined by percussionist Billy O for a night of McLaughlin's compositions for acoustic guitar. The music will be embellished with lush string arrangements by Grammy Award winning composer Eugenio Toussaint. You’ll get a range of sounds from solo guitar to full ensemble, and from new compositions to McLaughlin classics like Helms Place and Fingerdance. The last time McLaughlin performed at Shank Hall he was a right-handed guitarist. This will be his first performance at Shank Hall as a left-handed guitarist!
Meet the Artist
A musician since his teenage years, Billy went from the Top 10 Chart on Billboard to the depths of a devastating medical disorder called focal dystonia. The dystonia caused unexplainable muscle spasms and contractions. The dystonia threatened Billy’s career, but he had no room for failure. After shifting his focus to songwriting and learning to play with his left hand, Billy is now back at the frets, entertaining audience as he always has.
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The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (Chicago, IL) has named Billy their first Ambassador for Public Awareness and for his efforts McLaughlin has just been awarded the international 2010 Leadership in Public Neurology Award at the American Academy of Neurology conference held in Toronto. Previous winners of the award include Paul Allen, Julie Andrews, Leon Fleischer and Michael J. Fox.
Billy’s favorite quote: “Many people fail because they quit too soon.”
