Grand Rapids’ St. Cecilia has announced its upcoming jazz and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center concerts as well as Acoustic Café folk shows for next season.
Delivering Sincerity and Charisma: The Lone Bellow will play St. Cecilia in Grand Rapids in the fall as part of a U.S. tour. (Photo/Jeffrey Wilkinson)
OCT. 23 UPDATE: Asleep at the Wheel will return to St. Cecilia for the second year in a row to play the Acoustic Cafe series, bringing its Western swing-propelled music to Royce Auditorium along with a new album, “New Routes.” The concert is April 11.
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The Milk Carton Kids
AUG. 14 UPDATE: Iconic guitarist Leo Kottke has been added to the lineup for St. Cecilia’s Acoustic Cafe series. He will perform as part of the series on April 18, 2019. Tickets are $35 and $40, available online here. This is the third time Kottke has appeared at St. Cecilia for the folk series.
JULY 10 UPDATE: Grammy-nominated indie-folk duo The Milk Carton Kids have been added to St. Cecilia Music Center’s Acoustic Café series. The acclaimed California band featuring Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale will play St. Cecilia on Feb. 28, 2019, touring with a full band in support of its latest album, “All the Things That I Did and All the Things that I Didn’t Do.” Tickets are $40 and $45.
JUNE 5 UPDATE: St. Cecilia Music Center has added two more concerts to its Acoustic Cafe Folk Series for 2018-19, with singer-songwriter Pokey LaFarge returning on Oct. 4 and banjo powerhouses Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn on Feb. 9, 2019. Details online here.
When Brooklyn’s The Lone Bellow released its “Walk Into a Storm” album last September, Paste Magazine raved that the Americana/indie-folk outfit’s third full-length recording was full of “sonic drama” and “emotional urgency” and that “another triumph” was within the band’s reach.
NPR Music commended the group for its “absolute sincerity,” with songs “stacked with charisma-drenched ringers.” (Listen to songs from the new album below.)
Arturo Sandoval
Now, the band is set to play Grand Rapids on its upcoming fall tour, lighting up St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium on Nov. 29 in the first show of St. Cecilia’s 2018-19 Acoustic Café Folk Series. Tickets are $30-$35 and available online here.
The current season of Acoustic Cafe concerts wraps up Thursday (May 15) with a sold-out show featuring Rhiannon Giddens.
The concert is just part of an impressive forthcoming season of jazz, chamber music and folk announced today by St. Cecilia.
The Jazz Series launches on Oct. 11 with 10-time Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, followed on Nov. 1 by another multiple Grammy winner: pianist Kenny Barron, who will appear at St. Cecilia with his quintet.
Also on the bill for the jazz series: organ whiz Joey DeFranceso on Feb. 7, 2019 and the Benny Green Trio with singer Veronica Swift on March 7.
Kenny Barron
St. Cecilia’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center series kicks off Nov. 15 with an all-star group performing “The Trout Quintet.” Get details about the rest of the series online at scmc.org, where you can also find details about St. Cecilia’s special celebration events for its 135th anniversary during Women’s History Month in March 2019.
St. Cecilia executive director Cathy Holbrook said while only one folk concert has been booked thus far, she vowed there will be “more this summer” to announce for the upcoming season, with at least five Acoustic Café shows expected.
Season ticket subscriptions are now available for the jazz series ($136-$193) and the Chamber Music Society series ($102-$145) by calling 459-2224 or visiting St. Cecilia at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Combination packages also are available.
Individual tickets for all concerts ($30-$50) are available by calling 459-2224 or online at scmc-online.org.
LISTEN: The Lone Bellow, “Walk Into a Storm”
WATCH: The Lone Bellow, “May You Be Well”
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC
