By the end of finals week students will have had their fair share of stress and coffee, but the Acoustic Brew Concert Series offers students a way to unwind.

The Center for Well Being, 123 Mt. Nittany Road, in Lemont, will host an acoustic concert series featuring folk singer Spider John Koerner and opening act Van Wagner at 7:30 p.m. on May 7.

The 1960s revolutionary scene produced political artists such as Bob Dylan who shed light on controversial issues. Through that era of political unrest emerged Spider John Koerner.

Koerner played alongside Dylan in a Minneapolis coffeehouse at the beginning of his career, creating what was for him, at the time, a part of the 1960s cultural movement.

"It was our version of the hippie scene," Koerner said.

He attended the University of Minnesota in 1956 as an engineering major and was exposed to the world of music in his sophomore year by a friend in his dorm.

"My friend loaned me a guitar and a music book and in a couple of weeks I could play a song. It struck me that there was a whole other side of life," Koerner said.

Although math and science still appealed to him he loved the scope of possibility music provided him.

"Koerner is one of the first musicians to popularize rural blues and open it up to more of a broader audience," said Acoustic Brew board member Mel DeYoung.

Although he got his start in the 1960s, Koerner does not incorporate political messages into his music. He describes his music as a mix between American folk music and 1960s bar style.

"I don't do it in a quiet way. I pump it up," Koerner said of his music, a quarter of which is original.

The Acoustic Brew Concert Series has been attempting to book Koerner for a few years.

"It's hard because he does not work through a major agent," Acoustic Brew publicist Jim Colbert said.

Koerner does not have a specific summer schedule but the Minneapolis native will be spending several weeks on the east coast in May and will be traveling to Florida, as well.

"The shows we offer are pure acoustic shows. Koerner is a throwback to the folk singers of the early 1960s. It's the original unplugged music before MTV," Colbert said.

The Acoustic Brew series gives students a chance to experience music that is not geared toward or necessarily promoted the mass media.

Opening act Van Wagner encourages students to come out and experience music in its purest form with no financial strings attached.

"The two will put on a good show because their music is very much in sync. It's organic and unpretentious," Colbert said.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at Webster's Bookstore Cafe, 128 S. Allen Street.

A limited number will be available at the door if they do not sell out downtown.