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‘Solid Ground: The Songs of Fred Alley’ Reaches #15 on Folk Radio Chart

Katie Dahl, Eric Lewis, Rich Higdon and Fred Alley are all household names in Door County, but lately they are garnering recognition from much farther afield. The album Solid Ground: The Songs of Fred Alley (a joint effort by Dahl, Lewis, Higdon, and David Alley) hit #15 on the national folk radio charts for October.

(Left to right) Rich Higdon, Katie Dahl and Eric Lewis collaborated on ‘Solid Ground.’ Submitted.

Solid Ground, which was recorded last January at David Alley’s Sister Bay studio, Utopia Boatwurks, features 12 of Fred Alley’s folk songs, several of which had never been released publicly. The album was released in August at a well-attended concert at Door Community Auditorium. The two most popular cuts from the album on folk radio have been “Woody’s Fire” (Alley’s take on the tortured life of pioneering troubadour Woody Guthrie) and the anthemic “I Am a Camera,” though nearly all the album’s tracks have received at least some radio play nationwide – some on stations as far away as Australia.

“I’m so glad the album is getting national airplay,” Dahl said. “Fred Alley’s plays, especially The Spitfire Grill, have gotten recognition worldwide, but a lot of his folk songs haven’t been heard by as many people, even those who knew him or saw him perform a lot. Part of my goal in making the CD was to give these songs, which have meant so much to me, a wider reach.”

Solid Ground is available at several Door County retailers, including the Northern Sky Theater Office, as well as on iTunes. At the end of December, Dahl, Lewis and Higdon will team up again to perform in Northern Sky Theater’s annual “Home for the Holidays” show – which will feature holiday music as well as a few Fred Alley songs.

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