Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series is bringing the West to Auburn in a concert featuring the "Zen Cowboy" at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Friday.
With 40 years of experience in fingerpicking guitar, Chuck Pyle is the show's headliner.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. with Southern-style singer and songwriter Burke Ingraffia, and Pyle will take over a half hour later.
Sundilla president Bailey Jones handles the booking and said he was excited to work with Pyle again.
"He lives in Colorado, but he looks like he is from out West," Jones said. "He'll show up in a big cowboy hat and boots. Musically, he really sounds like the kind of thing you would hear hanging out around the campfire."
Pyle said his love of music started early because his mother played piano at their church. Pyle played piano, but said it wasn't right for him.
"A friend of mine brought over his brother's ukulele-- that was a big aha moment," Pyle said. "I could sing and play an instrument too. Now I've made a name for myself as guitar stylist."
Pyle said he writes about places he's been and lived with a little bit of cowboy thrown in, adding that he finds inspiration everywhere.
"It's just things I think of out of the blue, and sometimes just the rhyme of two words can get me going, like suspicious and delicious," he said.
Top artists like John Denver and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have recorded Pyle's songs, but he said he is more than just a singer and songwriter--he is an entertainer. He likes to make people laugh.
Jones said he's been with Sundilla since he was a volunteer, working his way to the top as other volunteers quit.
"Sundilla has been going on for 20 years now, and we bring in musicians from all over the country and have them perform," Jones said. "It is mostly acoustic, although it can be singer/songwriter, bluegrass, blues, alternative--a mix across the board."
Sundilla hosts about 12 shows every year. The building that has become the permanent venue for the Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series is one of the most unusual things about the concerts, Jones said.
"About 15 years ago, after it kind of bumped around, the local Unitarian church had this great old building they said Sundilla could use whenever they wanted," he said.
Anna Claire Conrad, sophomore in journalism, said she had a blast at a Sundilla concert she attended in October.
"It's not a huge room, so it stays really intimate and it was just a really good performance," she said. "You are able to just sit and enjoy the music."
Tickets are available for presale at The Gnu's Room for $10 or at the door for $12.
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