Galaxy concert features three-time Grammy winner

A veteran of the Nashville music scene, Miller has produced over a dozen albums, won three Grammys and numerous Native American Music Association awards, led symphony orchestras, and performed with artists including Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie and Tori Amos. “Look Again To The Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited,” a 2014 Sony Music release, features Miller performing the title track, as well as songs by Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Gillian Welch. 

Miller is the son of Mohican-German parents and grew up on reservations in northern Wisconsin. He first picked up a guitar at a young age and played in rock bands as a teen, but soon traded his electric guitar in for an acoustic, moved to a more folk and bluegrass style and took up the Native American flute. He also studied art in college and has an active career as a painter, creating works that have been shown in galleries across the country.

Though talented in a variety of fields, Miller said in an interview that playing music is his first love.

“I was just born to sing and play guitar,” he said. “Live performance is what I love to do.”

In concerts, Miller said he likes to intersperse conversation with his musical offerings.

“I’m a natural born story teller,” he said. “I talk to the audience, just like I talk to people. I don’t have pat stories I tell. It’s more free flow.”

From life growing up on two reservations, to touring with big name musicians, to his own family tragedies and battle with alcoholism, Miller has many stories to share, and his stop at CSC will include visits with history and social work classes on campus.

Music will be the focus of the evening concert, though, and Miller performs in a variety of styles and genres.

“I play blues and classical. I’ve written symphonies and my own country-western tinged music,” he said. “I just like to play.”

The audience can also expect to find Native American influence in the original music he performs, said Miller, “because that’s who I am.”

A frequent speaker and performer on college campuses across the country, Miller said he finds much to admire in students today.

“It’s a difficult time,” he said. “I see students are trying to make a difference (in the world).”

And the chance to play for students on the CSC campus is “an honor,” Miller said.

“I want to engage the students as well as entertain them. I want to encourage them … to make a big effect on the world.”

Tickets for Miller’s performance can be reserved by contacting the CSC Box Office at 308-432-6207 or emailing boxoffice@csc.edu. Box Office hours are: weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 6 p.m. and the day of the performance from 5 p.m. to curtain.