Bil Lepp, 'Rubber Band' headline Buffalo Commons

McCOOK, Neb. — Nationally renowned storyteller and five time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest, Bil Lepp along with the high-energy three-girl “Rubber Band” headline this year’s Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival June 8-10.

Bill Lepp said he grew up in a family where the truth was fluid, so he became adept at spinning tales and exaggerating circumstances at an early age. Yet it is the morsels of truths in his stories which shed light on universal themes. While his stories may not be completely true, he says they are always honest.

Lepp has authored six books and sixteen audio collections. His first children’s book, “The King of Little Things,” won the PEN Steven Kroll Award for “Picture Book Writing,” received a Kirkus starred review, and favorable reviews from “The Wall Street Journal,” “Publishers Weekly,” “The School Library Journal” and other publications. It also won the Zena Sutherland Award, the Parent’s Choice Gold Award, was a finalist for the Irma Black Award, and was chosen to be West Virginia's book at the National Book Festival.

A storyteller, author, and recording artist, Lepp’s works have received awards and recognition from The Parents’ Choice Foundation, The National Parenting Publications Assoc., and the Public Library Assoc. In 2011, Bil was awarded the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence Award. Lepp has been featured 15 times at the National Storytelling Festival, and performed at major storytelling festivals, at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and at corporate events and functions across the country. He performed at Comedy Central’s Stage on Hudson in Los Angeles, CA.

The Rubber Band is Zoe Lewis, Roxanne Layton and Kate Wolf.

“We play hi-energy worldbeat grooves on a ton of unusual instruments,” Lewis said. Their music includes, quirky lyrics, a little jazz, a little salsa and a lot of entertainment!

“We still like each other and have a lot of fun together,” Lewis said. “We bend the notes and stretch your imagination.”

Known as “a band in a body” Lewis plays jazz, jump jive, Latin grooves, swing, international folk, funk originals on anything from the piano to the spoons. Lewis won the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Troubadour Award, the Kerrville New Folk Contest and a Falcon Ridge Audience favorite. Her song “Small Is Tremendous” was on two national television commercials for Mini Pringles and TJ Maxx. Another of her songs “Sheep” was No. 1 on the satellite radio children’s charts. She’s written the soundtrack for a documentary on the “Vagina Monologues” and just finished her first musical “Wake up.” Her latest recording is entitled “A Cure For The Hiccups.”

Lewis has performed all over the world with an array of incredible musicians including David Bowie, Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, B52s and has toured with Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Pat Benetar and The Indigo Girls.

Roxanne Layton has performed with Mannheim Steamroller for the last eight years and plays on a variety of wooden instruments including recorder, piccolo and a baritone - some of which she hand-whittled herself.

“We are very impressed when she gets flashy but we allowed her into the band when we discovered she could play the theme from ‘Titanic’ through her left nostril,” Lewis said.

In addition to playing the bass Kate Wolfe performs on guitar, mandolin and accordion and has her own album of songs entitled “Daisy Petals on my Head.”

“We think her best quality is her uncanny ability to bleat like a sheep in distress. This is the reason she is still allowed to perform with the Rubber Band,” Lewis said.

Bil Lepp and The Rubber Band will perform at a variety of free and ticketed events including Friday’s Music and Storytelling Dinner Cabaret at the Bieroc Café June 8 at 6 p.m. (tickets required) and Saturday June 9 at the free morning performances (9 a.m.-noon) at the High Plains Museum, and the June 9 “How the West Has Fun Grand Finale” at the Fox Theater at 7:30 p.m. (tickets required).

For a complete schedule of all the events at this year’s festival, and ticket information, please visit WWW.BUFFALOCOMONS.ORG