Music lovers rejoice! 2017 brings a new five-concert series to the Garfield Center for the Arts in Chestertown. “Roots at the Garfield” will explore all of the great music genres that touch the soul and set your feet to tapping; early blues, bluegrass, folk, r&b and rock. Over the last 3 years, the Garfield has been host to the “Blues at the Garfield” series; six blues concerts per year that brought some incredible talent to the Chestertown stage. The Nighthawks, Damon Fowler, Debbie Davies, Sue Foley, Corey Harris, Sherman Holmes, Deanna Bogart and Bill Kirchen were just a few of the blues acts that the series showcased over three years.
This year, “Roots at the Garfield”continues to bring great musical acts to Chestertown, while exploring a wider variety of genres. The first concert takes place on January 28th, with Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboy.
“Byrd is a preacher’s son, a Gulf War veteran, and an award-winning songwriter from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, known for literary, outsider songs that have become campfire favorites. The Chicago Tribune called Byrd “one of the top 50 songwriters of the past 50 years.”
Multi-instrumentalist Johnny Waken cut his teeth on electric guitar in Pittsburgh with rock legend Norm Nardini, opening for The Blues Brothers Band on their Red, Hot & Blue tour in 1992. On stage and after hours, he jammed with members of Bon Jovi and the legendary Steve Cropper. At the age of 24, Waken left music to pursue primitive skills and through-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2000 with an eleven-pound pack. Returning to music years later Johnny joined theatre troupe Paperhand Puppet Intervention, contributing to scores for nine shows and winning 4 Indy Awards for best original music.
Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboy are musical gunslingers, vaudevillian hucksters, and old-fashioned tent revivalists. Between heartbreaking ballads and hell-raising sing-alongs, the Cowboys entertain and get audiences involved in the show. “
Concert tickets are $30 general admission and $20 for students. However, you can also purchase a subscription to the entire five-concert series and save $25! Subscribers enjoy preferred seating options and a discounted ticket price while supporting the series and helping the Garfield continue to bring outstanding music to Chestertown. Single subscriptions are $125 and a couples subscription is $250. The entire series is generously sponsored by Andrew and Leslie Price.
Other concerts include The Leyla McCalla Trio on March 18th, The Steel Wheels on June 9th, David Stone: The Johnny Cash Experience on July 22nd and Hannah Gill & The Hours on September 9th.
Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online at www.garfieldcenter.org, by calling 410-810-2060 or in person at the Garfield box office, located at 210 High Street in Chestertown.
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