The Faulkner County Library welcomes the return of The Lightfoot Family Band on Feb. 11 at 2 PM.
Tove Thunell grew up the Swedish seaport town of Gothenburg. She became interested in American folk music in her early teens. Inspired by musicians such as Woody Guthrie and The Carter Family, she took up banjo playing when she was nineteen. This interest in folk culture later allowed Tove to attain a degree in Ethnology, which is the study of culture and folklore.
Joshua Lightfoot was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma and grew up around music as a natural part of family gatherings. He was taught to play guitar by his father, and later became multi instrumental,learning the banjo, mandolin and fiddle. The couple met for the first time in 2013 at the Woody Guthrie Folk festival in Okemah, Oklahoma. They began sharing songs which fired off a relationship and a career together. They became engaged in August, 2015 and had their wedding on April 30, 2016.
Traveling continents has grown to be the norm for the couple. In Sweden, they play street music along with different venues, and in the States, they focus on assisted living centers, memory care and independent living because of the passion for folk music that they usually share with the residents. Their repertoire consists mainly of American traditional music, bluegrass and old timey gospel but they also do Celtic and Swedish folk songs.
All library events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at 501-327-7482 or email nancy@fcl.org.
