Folk Singer Anne Hills to Perform in West End (VIDEO)

Focus Music will present folk singer/songwriter Anne Hills, with special guest Jesse Palidofsky, on April 21 at Church of the Resurrection in Alexandria’s West End.

The show starts at 7 p.m. at the church, located at 2280 N. Beauregard St. Tickets are $18 general, $15 in advance at FocusMusic.org. For information, call 703-380-3151 or emil herb@focusmusic.org.

Hills' soprano has made her one of contemporary folk music's premier vocalists, completed by deft work on guitar and banjo. She has received awards and recognition for her live performances, her unique solo and collaborative recording projects and her overall artistry and benefit work.

She's also known for choosing unforgettable material and writing heartfelt original songs. Her latest album is "The Things I Notice Now," a collection of some of iconic bard Tom Paxton's lesser-known gems.

Hills was a student at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy in the 1970s when she first heard Paxton, now an Alexandria resident, on her roommate’s stereo. Fast forward a few years, and she found herself collaborating with Paxton and the late Bob Gibson as the Best of Friends trio. A few decades later, Hills and Paxton recorded their first full-scale collaboration, "Under American Skies" (2001). The 2012 release of "The Things I Notice Now" completed the circle.

In addition to her solo albums, Hills also has recorded duo albums with David Roth ("Rhubarb Trees" in 2011), Cindy Mangsen and Chicago-based songwriter Michael Smith and trio albums with Mangsen and Priscilla Herdman. A veteran of the Chicago folk scene of the 1980s, Hills in 1998 contributed renditions to tribute albums for Pete Seeger ("Where Have All the Flowers Gone") and Phil Ochs ("What's That I Hear").

The 2000s saw her collaborating again with Paxton and singing in a group called Fourtold with Steve Gillette, Mangsen and Smith. Her vocals have also been featured on albums by Smith, Jim Post, Livingston Taylor and Si Kahn.

The daughter of American missionaries, Hills was born in India and raised in Michigan. In 1976, she moved to Chicago and was a co-founder of Hogeye Music, a folklore center and recording label. Hills also is driven by a commitment to social justice and helping children. Among her many benefit concerts and community service projects was "Part of the Village," a 1997 compilation CD she produced to benefit the Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Chicago that aids families and children in need.

In 2005, Hills earned her master's degree in social work, receiving Marywood College's Polizzi Award for dedication and service in social work.

In addition to her musical endeavors, Hills acts on the live stage. She also collaborated with Liz Paxson on a children's book, "Dreamcatcher," with an accompanying album, featuring Hills and her daughter, Tamlyn. She lives in Bethlehem, Pa., and is married to Mark Moss, editor of Sing Out! magazine.

Palidofsky is a pianist, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who has shared his music at the National Theatre and Kennedy Center, on the Hudson River sloop Clearwater with Pete Seeger, and at festivals such as the Washington Folk Festival and Smithsonian National Folklife Festival with the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation. He's also performed for terminally ill patients in hospices and hospitals and for inmates at the Detroit House of Correction and the maximum security prison in Salem, Ore.

His music reflects the rich diversity of his Detroit musical heritage, moving seamlessly from folk to blues to jazz.

Focus Alexandria, a volunteer-run local nonprofit, presents monthly folk and acoustic music shows, usually on the third Sunday night of the month, in Alexandria. Next, on May 19, is singer/ humorist Don White.