Singer-songwriter engages audience at Mound City Library

Singer-songwriter Alan Cunningham blended storytelling and engaging songs during a performance at the Mound City Library on Tuesday, June 20. (Roger Sims/Linn County Journal)

Alan Cunningham, a singer-songwriter from the Ottawa area, spent more than an hour Tuesday evening, June 20, singing his songs and telling stories to an intimate but appreciative audience at the Mound City Library.

Cunningham, a former elementary music teacher for the Ottawa school district who also performs at coffee shops and other venues, has written songs for both adults and children. Planning initially on focusing on songs for children, he shifted gears to include songs that appealed more for adults when few children attended.

But even his songs for children – "Loose Tooth," which he wrote for a first-grader with a tooth about to come out, and "Teeny, Tiny Turtle," written for a fellow teacher who was going to cover the letter T in her class – drew appreciative applause.

His Mound City performance ended the day that saw him also performing at the Ottawa Library and the Fort Scott Library.