Mesa Verde Country® Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:	Lynn Dyer Mesa Verde Country® (970) 565-8227 lynnd@mesaverdecountry.com	IMAGES AVAILABLE www.mesaverdecountry.com

ARVEL BIRD, 2007 NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS ARTIST OF THE YEAR,
TO PERFORM IN CONCERT

CORTEZ, CO As part of the Eighth Annual Mesa Verde Country® Indian Arts and Culture Festival, 2007 Native American Music Awards Artist of the Year, Arvel Bird, aka "Lord of the Strings" will perform in concert on Saturday, May 24, at 7 PM. Morefield Amphitheater, in Mesa Verde National Park, will echo with the spectacular music of this master of the fiddle.

Arvel Bird is a unique recording artist with a flawless talent and a passion to inspire his audiences. He uses his mixed heritage - his mother is Southern Paiute and his dad's family came from Scotland - to full advantage to create a repertoire like none before. His music is so universally appealing that no matter what style of music you enjoy listening to, from classical, New Age, folk, country, and Celtic, to Native American, bluegrass, fusion, jazz, or blues, you'll find it all, and more, in Arvel's work. He's a charismatic performer and expressive storyteller, too. All of his songs have meanings and messages, and in his live performances he tells their tales before he plays them. The stories are compelling and give vision to the music. He speaks of Native American wisdom, covering subjects such as the earth we all live on, and the animals we share it with. Other pieces include accounts of Native American history and traditions, some of which have great relevance for today. Bird has eleven CDs of his own music under his belt, along with one DVD. Early albums earned several music award nominations, and in 2006 two of them struck gold in the Nammys and Izzys in the Best Instrumental categories. Then, in 2007, he received the biggest prize of all when he became the Native American Music Awards Artist of the Year, shortly followed by the award for Best Instrumental Album (for his signature Animal Totems CD) at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in Toronto. Bird is considered one of the hottest Native American artists on tour today. His performance is part of a regional festival focused on Native American culture and archaeology. The Indian Arts and Culture Festival features a juried Indian Art Market, Indian Dances, and Navajo Rug Auction, as well as special archaeological tours and exhibits. For complete information on the festival, visit www.mesaverdecountry.com or call 800-530-2998. Video and audio clips on Bird are available on the festival website. For more information about destinations and activities in Colorado's Mesa Verde Country® call 1-800-530-2998 or visit www.mesaverdecountry.com.

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