Dill Pickers to perform in Berkeley Springs

July 20, 2010

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The Morgan Arts Council showcases the sweet harmonies of the Dill Pickers for the concert in the park audience on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Berkeley Springs State Park. The rain location is the Ice House.

Made up of the Dill family, the Dill Pickers are musicians in the American tradition, combining the elements of blues, bluegrass, cajun, folk, gospel, Irish and rock. Now based in Winchester, Va., the Dills are well known in the Washington, D.C., area, according to a news release from the Arts Council.

Keith Dill held his first guitar at age 6. In the years that followed, he performed on pedal steel and electric guitars as well as fiddle for a variety of country bands.

Today, he is an award-winning musician and a favorite on recoding projects throughout the Washington, D.C., area as well as part of the family band. His own musical style ranges from Appalachian old-time to Louisiana bayou funk.

Viqui Dill grew up in West Virginia and has been playing bass with bluegrass and country bands in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband, Keith, for nearly 20 years. A songwriter and player of instruments like flute, percussion and 12-string guitar, Viqui's passion is singing harmony.

The Dill's son, Jim, started with French horn, moved onto piano and eventually found his way to percussion playing djembe and singing in the family band.

"The Dills may not be a Morgan County music family but they followed the same path of parent to child and church singing to the stage," Mary Hott, MAC's executive director, said in a news release. "We think they'll be a big hit with our local audience."

This concert is funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and West Virginia Commission on the Arts as well as hotel-motel tax from the town and county.

For a full schedule and links to the music of the seven concert series, check online at http://www.macicehouse.org.

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