Songwriters in the Round #67

Songwriters in the Round #67

The Songwriters in the Round Series is proudly sponsored by the Hallberg Family Foundation

Every month, the Wyoming Area Creative Arts Community brings in 3 songwriters to perform at the Hallberg Center for the Arts in an "In The Round" format, performing their original pieces of music.

This month's show brings three original songwriters to the Freemore Stage.

Admission is Free.

Songwriters in the Round starts promptly at 7pm.  Seating is limited, so please arrive early!

You will be able to Stream This Performance Right Here!

Lily Alter 

Lily Alter is a songwriter, vocalist, and pianist from Oak Park, Illinois. She first started songwriting while earning her undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. There, she studied with Greg Jasperse and was awarded Downbeats in 2023 and 2024 for Outstanding Performance as an Undergraduate Vocal Jazz Soloist. She recently graduated from University of North Texas with her Master’s of Music degree, where she continued to study songwriting and composing with Rosana Eckert. There, she was the vocalist for the 2023-24 One O’Clock Lab Band. Currently based in Red Wing, MN, she performs at venues throughout the Midwest and maintains a vibrant studio of private students. Her original compositions blend influences from jazz, folk, and singer/songwriter music and often focus on metaphors and imagery to tell stories of important experiences and powerful figures in her life. Lily uses a lyric-forward approach that evokes themes of hope, perseverance, and beauty in nature, while ensuring that the harmonic landscape of each piece remains supportive and atmospheric. With the upcoming goal of recording an album, she is continuing to expand her body of work, maintaining common themes of tenacity and hopefulness, while remaining open to evolving as an artist. 

Mary Cutrufello

Mary Cutrufello has been a Texas honky-tonk heroine, a fiery Midwestern roots-rocker, and a powerhouse acoustic performer in her almost 35 years in the music business. Connecticut-raised and Yale-educated, she's performed on The Tonight Show and Austin City Limits (twice), and toured in all 50 states and several European countries. Hailed by USA Today as "a fierce guitarist with a blistered-throat voice," Cutrufello's music is a captivating, heartland-proud musical stew at once timeless and immediate. And as anyone who’s seen her tear-it-up live shows can attest, her guitar skills put her in a class with the best of the Lone Star, North Star—or any other—State.

Mike Lichey

I was born in Houston, Texas and started playing the guitar when I was 13 years old. One day, I faked sick and stayed home from school. Bored to tears at home, I dug out my father's old acoustic guitar and played it until my fingers bled. I found an immediate passion for the guitar, and would always become involved in some sort of band all throughout my high school years and the years to follow. One summer, I was playing guitar at the Guitar Center in Roseville, Minnesota when I was approached by lead guitarist for Prince, Miko Weaver. He liked what he heard and he and I exchanged phone numbers to start a band together. I jumped on a Greyhound bus and headed to Oakland, California to play in Miko's band, the "Bandwagon." 

After awhile, I decided to move back to Minnesota. I started a three piece band with two former band mates and shortly thereafter, we were all introduced to Badfinger guitarist/songwriter, Joey Molland. As Joey Molland's Badfinger, we toured the states, journeyed overseas to London, Japan and Belgium for roughly two years. I decided to leave the band for personal reasons, although the experience I had playing guitar with Joey Molland and being able to perform the Badfinger music will forever be in my most positive memories. Joey is truly a gifted guitarist, singer and songwriter. The next step in my musical endeavors came with a phone call from Miko Weaver whom invited me to be a part of Eddie Murphy's new musical exploration, "Psycadelic Psoul." I flew to New York the next morning after receiving a confirmation phone call from Larry Graham from Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. Larry would also be Eddie's Musical Director. We began rehearsing for the Montreaux Jazz Festival and several east coast tours at SIR Studios in Manhattan, NY. I have kept in touch with Eddie and some of the musicians from Psycadelic Psoul and I hold that entire musical experience very close to my heart. I have met so many fantastic people throughout my musical career and have written many songs that I hope you take the time to listen to and enjoy. I can only hope and pray that my future in music holds many more unexpected surprises and many more memorable experiences. Life, Love, Song.