Folk Duo Ordinary Elephant Comes to the Arts Center

We are excited to welcome Ordinary Elephant to Mentone for a show on Friday, April 24.

The duo has spent the better part of the past decade on a never-ending tour that has earned married couple Crystal and Pete Damore widespread critical acclaim and made fans of luminaries like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier.

“There is nothing at all ordinary with this elephant. They are smack dab in the tradition that I have always loved but have both (all four?) feet in the 21st century. This is rich ground. Listen,” said Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Tom Paxton.

“Crystal and Pete, Ordinary Elephant, are an extraordinarily well-matched duo whose music seems to pour out of a singular place, like Buddy and Julie Miller, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings,” boasts Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. “Two become one, in song. Stripped down, intertwined clawhammer banjo and guitar and hand-in-glove harmonies surprise the listener with focused intensity and musical mastery. Songs are pouring out of them, and I suspect their rise will be steady. I’m a fan.”

In 2017, the pair took home the International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year on the strength of their breakout album, “Before I Go,” and two years later, they returned with the similarly lauded “Honest,” which the Associated Press hailed as “one of the best Americana albums of the year.”

Ordinary Elephant Accolades:

• 2024 International Folk Music Awards – Album of the Year Nominee
• Folk Alliance International Official Showcase Artist (2018, 2023, 2024)
• AMERICANAFEST Official Showcase Artist (2018, 2019, 2022)
• 2019 NACC Folk Chart (Year-end) – No. 2 Album
• 2019 May Folk DJ Chart – No. 1 Album, No. 1,2,4 Songs, No. 2 Artist
• 2018 International Folk Music Awards – Artist of the Year (2017)
• 2017 Kerrville New Folk Finalist
• 2017 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist
• 2017 NewSong LEAF Festival Finalist – Top 3
• 2017 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) Official Showcase Artist
• 2017 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Official Showcase Artist
• 2017 Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) Official Showcase Artist
• 2017 January Folk DJ Chart – No. 2 album (Before I Go), No. 3 song (Best of You)

Tickets for the show, which will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Central Time), are $25 per person. You can purchase online through our Facebook page, at the arts center or by calling 256-674-3366.