LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct 15, 2008) – As a part of the "Bluegrass in the Bluegrass" concert series, the University of Kentucky John Jacob Niles Center for American Music and the Lexington Public Library present two concerts featuring successful musician, singer-songwriter and UK alumnus Tim Lake and the Tim Lake Trio. Catch one of two of the group's free public concerts, at the Lexington Public Library-Central Library at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16. A performance at UK will follow at noon Friday, Oct. 17, in the Niles Gallery, located in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library.

Lake is a singer-songwriter, composer, performer and teacher who was born in Manhattan, N.Y., and was raised in Lexington, Ky. Playing banjo and guitar, he has been a professional musician for more than 20 years. As a banjo artist, songwriter, and composer, Lake has performed his brand of American music with Kentucky style in international music festivals and concerts all over the world, including events in Japan, Ecuador, Norway, Austria and Ireland. 

After receiving his doctorate in music in 1991 from UK, Lake performed and recorded the world premiere of his doctoral work "An American Concerto For 5-String Banjo and Orchestra" with the Atlanta-Emory Orchestra in Atlanta, Ga., in 1993. Two years later, the concerto was awarded Kentucky’s prestigious Al Smith Fellowship for music composition. Lake has also received recognition as a composer from the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Standard and Popular Awards panel from 1994 to 2006.

Other recordings would follow for Lake, beginning with "Same Old Roadside Inn" in 1993 on Rounder Records. Since then Lake even started his own company, Padraig Records LLC, and released six more compact disc/cassette recordings.

Performing both nationally and internationally with his group "The Little Big Band," Lake has released a total of 10 albums of original songs. To listen to Lake talk about his music, visit his Web site online at www.timlake.com/. 

"Bluegrass in the Bluegrass" concert series is intended to feature bluegrass as a unique American music and to explore aspects of the genre's roots, development and current relevance. The concerts represent a diversity of traditional musical expression from the authentic old time sound to contemporary bluegrass. "Bluegrass in the Bluegrass" offers performances by both local and national artists, and celebrates an art form with strong connections to this city, its region and its people.

For Lake's "Bluegrass in the Bluegrass" concerts, he will perform as part of the Tim Lake Trio with musicians Ken Holbrook on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and vocals, and Kevin Kehrberg on bass.

For more information on the concert featuring Tim Lake and the Tim Lake Trio, contact Ron Pen, director of the Niles Center, by phone at (859) 257-8183 or e-mail to Ron.Pen@uky.edu, or Kelli Dean, program coordinator of the Lexington Public Library, by phone at (859) 231-5549 or e-mail to kdean@lexpiblib.org.