'Tall Trees Tour' features songwriters Grimm, Bedford

The Tall Trees Tour featuring acclaimed Midwestern singer/songwriters Tim Grimm and Ben Bedford, accompanied by the talented (and tall) Diederik van Wassenaer on fiddle, will stop Friday at 6 On The Square in Oxford.

Grimm grew up in the woods and small-town settings of southern Indiana, son of school teachers and grandson of farmers. He has spent years on stage performing in movies, TV series and plays. Grimm draws on his background, bringing an actor’s feel of storytelling and drama to his songs and paints portraits of the lives, strength, determination and resolve of his Midwest neighbors. Based in tradition, his music and lyrics border the line between Americana and country, and each of his past five recordings have reached the top of the folk or American-roots charts.

Grimm has toured and recorded with friend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, appeared with Harrison Ford in the film “Clear and Present Danger” and shared the stage with writer and poet Wendell Berry.

Bedford — named one of the “50 most significant folk singer/songwriters of the past 50 years” by Rich Warren of WFMT radio in Chicago — has played for audiences all over the United States, at notable venues such as The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Folkstage in Chicago and the Fayetteville Roots Festival, and he’s completed three European concert tours. His music has received extensive airplay on folk and roots radio in the U.S. and Europe.

A Springfield, Ill. native, Bedford draws upon history, with songs that have a strong sense of time and place. His musical storytelling has inspired a genre labeled “American portrait songwriting.” With three albums to his credit, Bedford’s songs tackle scenarios including homelessness, the plight of a Confederate soldier’s wife during the American Civil War, the aerial triumphs of Amelia Earhart, the life of Jack London, the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, John the Baptist and many more.

Classically trained violinist Van Wassenaer, an Amsterdam native and graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, soaked in the sounds of bluegrass in Nashville.

Tickets for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. show are $12 in advance (plus a $2 service charge) or $15 at the door. Ticket price for students under age 18 are $2; call to make a student reservation. For more information, call 843-OTS6 (6876) or go online to www.6onthesquare.org. 6 On The Square is located at 6 LaFayette Park in Oxford.