Continuing the 120-year-old tradition of bringing music, oration and the arts to the Boulder community, the Colorado Chautauqua Association, steward of Boulder’s cultural and historical gem the Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark, is pleased to announce its 2018 Summer Concert Series. From Amos Lee and Andrew Bird, to Graham Nash, Ziggy Marley and Mary Chapin Carpenter, this year’s lineup presents a diverse mix of performers across genres that appeal to every music fan. Laughter also returns to the stage with comedian Paula Poundstone and Boulder’s own poet and activist Andrea Gibson.
In addition to the concert line up, the Chautauqua summer series features something for everyone, including six weeks of classical music with the Colorado Music Festival, the 33rd annual Silent Film Series with live musical accompaniment, documentary film “Symbols of Resistance,” TEDxBoulder and Ignite Boulder, hiking plays and more. For a complete list of upcoming events, please visit chautauqua.com.
2018 CHAUTAUQUA SUMMER CONCERT SERIES LINEUP:
Thursday, June 14. 7:30 PM.
Tickets: $28.00 - $43.00 ($25.00 - $40.00 Concert Member)
In a most exceptional pairing, world-renowned singer-songwriters Leo Kottke and James McMurtry take the historic Auditorium stage to deliver an unforgettable experience.
Famed acoustic player Leo Kottke is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. In concert, Kottke intersperses humorous and often bizarre monologues with vocal and instrumental selections from throughout his career, played solo on his 6 and 12-string guitars.
James McMurtry’s vibrant vignettes have turned heads for more than a quarter-century now. His music has earned the respect of fans everywhere, including Stephen King, who proclaimed, “James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.”
Saturday, June 16. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $28.00 - $58.00 ($25.00 - $55.00 Concert Member)
With smart, observational humor and a legendary spontaneous interaction with the crowd, Paula Poundstone is one of our country’s pre-eminent comedians. She improvises with a crowd like a jazz musician, swinging in unexpected directions without a plan, without a net. There's a disarming ease in her craft, an immediate sense that she's so quick on her feet you need never worry about the possibility of something going wrong.
Saturday, June 23. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $43.00 - $58.00 ($40.00 - $55.00 Concert Member)
Five-time Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Mary Chapin Carpenter returns to the Chautauqua Auditorium. Her newest album, “Sometimes Just the Sky,” released March 30, 2018, is a celebration of her acclaimed 30-year recording career. The landmark record features new versions of some of Carpenter's most beloved songs, as well as one newly written song, which became the title track.
Tuesday, July 10. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $45.00 - $60.00 ($42.00 - $57.00 Concert Member)
Groundbreaking banjoist, composer and bandleader Béla Fleck has reconvened the original Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, the extraordinary initial line-up of his incredible combo. “There’s a special thing that happens when the four of us get together and play,” notes Howard Levy. “We all have the same attitude of trying to do things that we haven’t done before and coincidentally, no one else has either.” One thing is certain, however, the ‘original’ Flecktones’ reunion is not rooted in nostalgia.
Tuesday, July 31. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $60.00 - $75.00 ($57.00 - $72.00 Concert Member)
Over the course of more than a dozen years and six studio albums, Amos Lee has continued to evolve, develop and challenge himself as a musician. With his most recent album, “Spirit,” he makes his biggest creative leap yet. Most notably, for the first time, Lee acts as his own producer. For Amos Lee, this album is the fulfillment of dreams and aspirations – musical, personal and professional. “All you can ask for as an artist is the chance to create what you hear and feel inside of yourself,” notes Lee.
Monday, August 6. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $23.00 - $38.00 ($20.00 - $35.00 Concert Member)
Singer-songwriters Deb Talan & Steve Tannen began writing together the night they met, and soon formed indie band The Weepies. On the strength of their simple yet insightful songwriting and distinctive harmonies, they quietly sold more than 1.5 million records with over 54 million streams on Spotify, 25+ million views on YouTube, and more than 110k social media followers. Mipso will open tonight’s show.
BRUCE HORNSBY & THE NOISEMAKERS
Tuesday, August 7. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $43.00 - $60.50 ($40.00 - $57.50 Concert Member)
Thirty-one years after winning a Best New Artist Grammy and launching one of contemporary music's most diverse and collaborative careers, Bruce Hornsby is still making joyful noise—and finding clever, expansive ways to chronicle the dynamic musical snapshots along the journey. His longtime band, The Noisemakers, captures a unique type of playful, freewheeling spirit and chemistry.
ANDREW BIRD with Neyla Pekarek of The Lumineers
Friday, August 10 and Saturday, August 11. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $39.00 - $59.00 ($36.00 – $56.00 Concert Member)
Since beginning his recording career in 1997, Bird has released 13 albums and performed several hundred concerts worldwide. He has recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, appeared as "Dr. Stringz" on "Jack's Big Music Show," and headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, and festivals worldwide. Mojo Magazine declared him "simply incredible live." Neyla Pekarek of The Lumineers will open both shows.
THE GIPSY KINGS featuring Nicolas Reyes & Tonino Baliardo
Tuesday, August 14. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $62.50 - $80.50 ($59.50 - $77.50 Concert Member)
Back by popular demand, the Grammy-winning band behind “Bamboléo” returns to the historic Chautauqua Auditorium stage to celebrate 25+ years of flamenco, salsa and pop fusion perfection in the party-starting spirit of the south of France. Uniting the family Reyes and the family Baliardo, the band continues a tradition that has drawn famous fans such as Picasso, Cocteau, Dali and Chaplin.
ZIGGY MARLEY: Rebellion Rises Tour 2018
Wednesday, August 22. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $44.00 - $59.00 ($41.00 - $56.00 Concert Member)
Throughout the course of his three-decade career and 16 albums, Ziggy has built a music legacy worthy of his legendary family name. Eight-time Grammy award-winning musician and reggae icon Ziggy Marley will release his seventh full-length solo studio album, “Rebellion Rises,” on May 18th through Tuff Gong Worldwide. Fully written, recorded and produced by Marley, this passionate and indelible new collection of music encourages people to stand together in activism through love.
Sunday, August 26. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $23.00 - $38.00 ($20.00 - $35.00 Concert Member)
Lean in to Mandolin Orange’s album, “Blindfaller,” and it’s bound to happen. You’ll suddenly pick up on the power and devastation lurking in its quietude, the doom hiding beneath its unvarnished beauty. You’ll hear the way it magnifies the intimacy at the heart of the North Carolina duo’s music, as if they created their own musical language as they recorded it. “Blindfaller” builds on the acclaim of Mandolin Orange’s breakthrough debut on the label.
Saturday, September 1. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $50.00 - $65.00 ($47.00 - $62.00 Concert Member)
Fans who have followed the remarkable career of blues-rock singer Boz Scaggs recognize his solo triumphs - with classic albums like “Silk Degrees” (1976), which sold five million copies, and “Middle Man” (1980), reaching number 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart. His late-period high points like “Some Change” (1994) and “A Fool to Care” (2005) are instant reminders of his characteristically deft touch as a blues-rock singer. His soul is effortless and deeply felt, never making a show of itself, but unmistakably evident in every lyric he delivers.
Saturday, September 8. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $25.00 - $40.00 ($22.00 - $37.00 Concert Member)
One of the most celebrated and successful poets in the field, Andrea Gibson’s career began in 1999 with a break-up poem at an open mic in Boulder and won the first ever Woman of the World Poetry Slam. Author of three collections of poetry and currently working on an illustrated collection of most memorable quotes for Penguin (winter 2018), Andrea (they/them/their) has also released seven full-length albums.
An intimate evening of songs and stories with GRAHAM NASH
Sunday, September 23. 7:30 PM
Tickets: $43.00 - $58.00 ($40.00 - $55.00 Concert Member)
Legendary artist Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee - with Crosby, Stills, and Nash and with The Hollies. He was also inducted twice into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, as a solo artist and with CSN, and he is a Grammy Award-winner. In September 2013, Nash released his long-awaited autobiography “Wild Tales,” which delivers an engrossing, no-holds-barred look back at his remarkable career and the music that defined a generation. The book landed him on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
TICKET INFORMATION:
· All events take place in the historic Chautauqua Auditorium (b.1898)
· Member Presale and General Public on sale info:
o Chautauqua Concert Member Presale begins Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. online only at tickets.chautauqua.com
o General Public: Friday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m. online only at tickets.chautauqua.com
· The Chautauqua Box Office is now located just north of the Chautauqua Community House in cottage 200. Hours: Monday through Friday from 12 - 5 p.m. 303.440.7666.
· The Chautauqua Box Office Kiosk opens May 7 for phone and walk-up sales. Hours: 12 - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 12 - 8 p.m. on Auditorium event days. 303.440.7666.
· Chautauqua Concert Members receive a discount on select tickets and advance purchase privileges.
o The public is welcome to join as members at any time to take advantage of early purchase privileges and discounts.
· All tickets are subject to a service fee.
· The free HOP 2 Chautauqua shuttle is available for all Auditorium concerts. See individual event listing at chautauqua.com for schedule details.
