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VIENNA — The Vienna Union Hall welcomes back David Mallet on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.

Mallett’s most recent release, Celebration (2016), is a 10-song collection with themes ranging from resilience to despair to the boundless promise of a new generation. Known for writing songs like the Garden Song, recorded by Pete Seeger and John Denver, Mallett, a Maine native, wrote and recorded in Nashville in the 80s. His songs were recorded by Marty Stuart, Hal Ketchum, Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Allison Kraus, and others. The Vienna Union Hall offers an intimate venue to once again hear Mallett with his Maine based band.

With the sensibilities of a storyteller and the passions of a poet, Mallett crafts imagery that evokes a past of Main Streets and summer dances, rambling farmhouses and the families who lived and loved there. His work is a continuation of the American tradition and echoes with the spirit of Stephen Foster and the poetry of Frost, Sandburg, and Guthrie.

While studying acting at the University of Maine, Mallett heard the music of singer-songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot and Bob Dylan and tried his hand at writing songs. He began to perform solo and, eventually expanded his repertoire with original tunes.

After recording for Flying Fish Records and Vanguard, nine CDs have been released on Mallett’s own North Road label, including Artist in Me (2003) named by the Associated Press as one of the year’s best records; the live album Midnight on the Water (2006); The Fable True (2007), a spoken work collection of Henry David Thoreau’s stories of his visits to Maine in the 1800s set against an original instrumental soundtrack; Alright Now (2009) which The Boston Globe proclaimed “a masterpiece”

In 2014, UMaine gave Mallett an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the state’s cultural heritage. He was named one of the most memorable Mainers of the 20th century in the millennium edition of The Bangor Daily News .

The Vienna Union Hall is one of central Maine’s hidden gems, bringing top talent to a small rural area. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show. For tickets visit https://www.viennaunionhall.org/arts-and-events.

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