From Our Front Porch to Yours

Let me tell you about William Elliott Whitmore. A native son of southern Iowa, Whitmore tells his tales by picking up a banjo and stomping on the porch—a porch put together by the Jade Presents team, as a matter of fact—a porch comprised largely of props and offerings OWNED by the Jade Presents team, to boot!

That’s right, folks. Megan Turner, Jade Presents administrator and the glue that holds the office together donated almost this entire setup.

“The only thing that wasn’t mine—but came from somewhere else—were a couple art pieces by local artist Nathan Mastrud. Everything else, with the exception of the wood chair I purchased, was mine,” Megan explains.

“My favorite thing was my collection of skulls, collected and hand cleaned by me.”

We are very “all hands on deck” here at Jade Presents, so it came as no surprise to find out Megan enlisted the help of a few folks around the office. Lindsay Holmquist, a graphic designer at Jade Presents, shares how she and Megan worked hard to nail the aesthetic.

“After Megan had her vision of the set in mind, we spent a couple weeks visiting antique stores searching for the right pieces to fit our theme,” Lindsay shares.

“Most of what we ended up using came from Megan’s personal collection and the rest we scavenged from our office and Nice Barber Company’s patio.”

Lindsay had a larger vision in ensuring Whitmore felt at home on the Fargo Brewing Company stage.

“I spent a lot of time meticulously placing items so we had the separated spaces Megan envisioned and worked hard to make the campfire look like someone freshly chopped wood.”

A Natural Story Teller

“Last year, I was on tour at the time, as I always am, and my wife called me—we’ve got a little four-year-old at home—and she says, ‘I think I just found a human foot in the woods…’

“‘Scuse me?” Whitmore shares over a sip of his drink.

“And she says, ‘Yeah, and I’m fuckin’ scared, I know the difference between, like, animal feet and human feet.'”

Whitmore goes on to explain the picture she sent of the foot in question.

“Damn, that looks like the bones of a human foot.”

Whitmore explains the immediate urge to call the police, even though that goes against his very nature. 

“We don’t want to call the police, but sometimes you got to. You know, we just gotta do the right thing.”

So, instead of calling the police, they called Whitmore’s uncle.

“Who’s kinda my ‘fixer,'” Whitmore explains.

Uncle Fixer came on over and checked out the foot and ended up taking the bones in question to the police.

Long story short, it turns out they were the bones belonging to that of a bear.

“Google it, man; a bear foot looks like a fuckin’ human foot. The bones! It was wild.” And just like that, Whitmore tore into another song.

To play folk and blues like Whitmore, you need to be a good storyteller. That’s just a fact. Folk music is a form of oral history riddled with wisdom, warnings, and soul. Before folk and blues were celebrated as timeless genres, they served as music with a purpose: to educate and share the stories we have lived. To pass that knowledge down like a family heirloom and sometimes to entertain. Something William Elliott Whitmore does with passion and bravado. 

“When I say “devils,” you know who I mean

These animals in the dark

Malicious politicians with nefarious schemes

Charlatans and crooked cops”

– Old Devils by William Elliott Whitmore

A Fancy Lil’ Shindig

Don’t let the dinner conversation fool you; this was downright an elegant affair. Each two-person package came with duck fat kettle corn served up by Nova Eatery in Fargo Brewing Company, enjoyed by candlelight.

But it wouldn’t be a party without a six-pack. Imagine it; you nailed date night for you and your darlin’. Fancy popcorn, learning life lessons that have been passed down for generations, and walking out with a complimentary six-pack of ‘William Elliot Whitmore’ beer, brewed and canned by Fargo Brewing Company.

Now, that seems like a cool thing to put up on your shelf when you’re done enjoying it.

 Don’t Miss Out

If you missed out on At Home With William Elliot Whitmore, don’t beat yourself up for too long because there are plenty more shows on the Jade Presents calendar that will scratch that soulful itch. 

If you haven’t yet, head on over to our Facebook page and give it a follow. That way, you never miss out on another show like this. Your hunny will thank ya.

If you would like for your tour to get a spot in our neck of the woods, drop us a line here.