Interlochen announces

April 19, 2009

Interlochen Announces
Summer Highlights

The Steve Miller Band, Willie Nelson and Styx top a lineup of more than 30 major performances planned at the Interlochen Center for the Arts this summer.  Interlochen’s season kicks off with Willie Nelson on June 7 and runs through Aug. 22, ending with a three-day guitar festival. In between, the season will feature everything from the arena rock of Styx to the violin and cello-infused indie sounds of Ra Ra Riot; from folk icon Joan Baez to the four-part country harmonies of Little Big Town.
The spoken word also gets its due with an appearance by comedienne Paula Poundstone. Look also for one of Shakespeare’s greatest hits with “The Taming of the Shrew.”
 
Here’s a peek at the season ahead:
 
JUNE
 
WILLIE NELSON (June 7): The creative genius behind such recordings as “Crazy” and “Stardust,” Nelson’s career has spanned six decades and more than 200 albums
INDIGO GIRLS (June 23): offer two decades of roots-inspired music and infectious harmonies in hits such as “Closer to Fine,” “Hammer and Nail” and “Galileo.”  
“THE TAMING OF THE SHREW” (June 25-28 and July 2-5): Director William Church places this battle of the sexes in an early 1900s circus, with fiery-tongued Kate as a knife-thrower and Petruchio as a lion tamer. Interlochen faculty and alumni fill the roles of cast and crew.
CHERRYHOLMES (June 27): stormed to the top of the bluegrass world by winning the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association’s “Entertainer of the Year” award.
PARSONS DANCE COMPANY (June 29): is renowned for its sexy athleticism, exuberant personality and joyous movement.
THE WALLFLOWERS (June 30), led by Jacob Dylan is on the rebound, looking to upstage their multi-platinum 1996 release, “Bringing Down the Horse,” and the Grammy-winning single, “One Headlight.”
JULY
 
ARIANNA STRING QUARTET (July 2): one of America’s finest chamber ensembles. Formed in 1992, the quartet garnered national attention by winning the Grand Prize in the 1994 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize in both the Coleman and Carmel Chamber Music Competitions.
THE CAPITOL STEPS (July 3): offer political humor in what has become an Independence Day tradition at Interlochen.  
THE AHN TRIO (July 5): Soeul sisters and pianists Maria, Lucia and Angella join the World Youth Symphony Orchestra to perform Kenji Bunch’s “Hardware Concerto.”
“COLLAGE” (July 7): a tour de force of student performances encompassing music, dance, theatre, creative writing and visual arts.  
RA RA RIOT (July 8) melds elements of new wave and indie rock with violin and cello-infused chamber pop. The result is “a vibrant mix of keening strings, trebly guitar, bittersweet lyrics, and thundering rhythms that calls to mind a less apocalyptic Arcade Fire” (Spin).
INTERLOCHEN IRISH FESTIVAL featuring EILEEN IVERS & IMMIGRANT SOUL and THE GLENGARRY BHOYS (July 9): Former Riverdance star Eileen Ivers has been called “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by The New York Times; the Ontario-based Glengarry Bhoys have been hailed for their fusion of rock and Celtic styles.
PAULA POUNDSTONE (July 10): Her spontaneity and razor-sharp wit have made this comedienne one of the most popular panelists on NPR’s weekly news quiz show, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.”
MARCUS STRICKLAND (July 13): was named “Best New Artist” in JazzTimes’ 2006 Readers’ Poll and saxophone “Rising Star” in Downbeat’s 2008 Critics’ Poll. His trio performs adaptations of songs from a diverse palette of artists such as Bjork, Jaco Pastorius, Outkast and Oumou Sangare.
MAIA QUARTET (July 16): this internationally acclaimed string quartet has appeared in major concert halls throughout the U.S. and abroad.
CIRCO COMEDIA (July 17): performs daredevil stunts and comedy. The duo consists of Jean Saucier (acrobat, juggler, trick cyclist and magician) and Patrick Côté (burlesque clown, expert roller skater and drummer).  
CHRIS THILE (July 19): The former mandolin star of Nickel Creek joins Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra to present his first mandolin concert.
STEVE MILLER BAND (July 20) flies like an eagle with classic rock hits.
LEON BATES (July 21): presents “American Originals as one of classical music’s most noteworthy pianists.”
GORDON LIGHTFOOT (July 22): performs classic songs such as “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”  
“ANYTHING GOES” (July 30-August 2): A Cole Porter musical set in an Atlantic crossing on the ocean liner S.S. American. 
 
AUGUST
 
KENNY LOGGINS (August 5): reprises Loggins & Messina classics like “Danny’s Song” as well as solo tracks such as “Celebrate Me Home” and “This Is It.”
JOAN BAEZ (August 6): the folk superstar of the early ‘60s who gave Bob Dylan his start offers her take on the ‘00s.
HOT PEAS ‘N BUTTER (August 8): children’s musical group incorporates traditional Latin music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, jazz, folk and rock.
ENS? STRING QUARTET (August 12, 14 & 17): has garnered honors at international competitions.
LITTLE BIG TOWN (August 13): offers country hits such as “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home” and “Good As Gone.”  
STYX (August 15): was the first group to have four consecutive albums certified multi-platinum. Their hits include “Blue Collar Man,” “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” and “Lady.”
INTERLOCHEN GUITAR FESTIVAL (August 20-22): includes the jazz of Chapman Stick and fingerstyle virtuosos Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings) and Andrew York (the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet).
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 24 and may be purchased online at http://tickets.interlochen.org. To purchase tickets over the phone, call the Interlochen Box office at 800-681-5920 or 231-276-7800 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday.