FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has added five concerts to its year-round schedule: folk artist Steve Earle on June 14; rock band Los Lobos on June 20; singer-songwriters Shawn Colvin and Rodney Crowell on June 21; country rock outfit Pure Prairie League on July 3; and pop and country singer LeAnn Rimes on August 6.
"This line-up will put a lot of sizzle in the summer, and there is even more on the way," says Mahaiwe Executive Director Janis Martinson. "In true Mahaiwe style, we are bringing audiences versatile artists who have not only been wildly popular and award-winning, but also have had wide-ranging influence in the field through the songbooks they have created."
These summer shows will be joined by others in subsequent announcements.
Steve Earle
Country-folk singer-songwriter Steve Earle will perform at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, June 14 at 8 p.m. A protege of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earle quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, The Pretenders, and countless others. In 1986, he saw the release of his record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and is now regarded as a classic of the Americana genre. Subsequent releases like The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007), and TOWNES (2009) received consecutive Grammy Awards. Restlessly creative across artistic disciplines, Earle has published both a novel and collection of short stories; produced albums for other artists such as Joan Baez and Lucinda Williams, and acted in films, television (including David Simon's acclaimed The Wire), and on the stage. In 2009, Earle appeared in the off-Broadway play Samara, for which he also wrote a score that The New York Times described as "exquisitely subliminal." Earle wrote music for and appeared in Coal Country, a riveting Public Theater play that dives into the most-deadly mining disaster in United States history, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Earle was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
Tickets are $44 to $84 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
An Evening with Los Lobos
Mexican-American rock band Los Lobos will perform at the Mahaiwe on Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. Together for over 50 years, Los Lobos have built an impressive legacy. In between 100-plus concerts a year for five decades running – amassing millions of fans in the process – Los Lobos have released 17 studio albums, seven live records, three compilations, two EPs, and two feature videos. Through this output, the band has garnered four Grammys, an Austin City Limits Hall of Fame induction, the ALMA Ritchie Valens Pioneer Award, NEA and Hispanic Heritage Foundation Honors, Congressional recognitions, and numerous "Keys to the City" and "Los Lobos Day" celebrations. Beyond the accolades, and the source of it all, is heart. Los Lobos have dedicated their off-stage time to helping others, working for peace and justice. Their compositions have transformed the hard cries from the East L.A. barrio into songs of hope, tales of common folk finding ways to endure. They were weaned on late-night radio's soul, R&B, and doo-wop, and cured through the African-American currents of the blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll. As proud Chicanos, their songs have always glistened with the distillation from their Mexican and Latin American roots—nourished by Norteña and rancheras, buoyed by bolero and cumbias, soaring on the rhythms of son huasteco and son jarocho. Los Lobos have helped spread the rich diversity of cultures across every continent, throughout the global community. Kids in Antwerp now know about Aztlán. Residents of Luxor and Ghana are crooning Lalo Guerrero. People from Laos and Bulgaria are belting "La Bamba"—all thanks to Los Lobos as cultural ambassadors. Los Lobos are David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Jr., Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, Steve Berlin.
Tickets are $46 to $76 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Shawn Colvin & Rodney Crowell: Together on Stage
Folk and alternative country singer-songwriters Shawn Colvin and Rodney Crowell will come together for a collaborative performance on Saturday, June 21 at 8 p.m.
Shawn Colvin stopped the industry in its tracks with her arresting 1989 debut, Steady On. The following spring, Colvin took home the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, establishing herself as a mainstay in the singer-songwriter genre. In the ensuing 30 years, Colvin has won two more Grammys – both Record and Song of the Year for her smash hit "Sunny Came Home" in 1998 – released thirteen superlative albums, written a critically acclaimed memoir, maintained a non-stop national and international touring schedule, appeared on countless television and radio programs, had her songs featured in major motion pictures and created a remarkable canon of work.
Colvin was recently honored with an induction into the 2019 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, alongside legendary artists Lyle Lovett and Buddy Guy. In a moving induction speech, Jackson Browne praised her as "ineffable" – 'that which is impossible to express in words' – and extolled, "Not many writers are able to do what Shawn does. It's a very special way of relating what really matters. It takes an original to get our attention. Shawn is utterly original in her singing, and original in what she speaks about in her songs."
Native Texan, Rodney Crowell is a multi-Grammy Award winner with 15 number-one hits. Over the course of his career, Crowell has gracefully blended his own mainstream success as an artist with a prolific catalog of songs recorded by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Keith Urban and more. With more than 40 years of American roots music under his belt, Crowell has been cited as an architect of Americana music, extending his genre reach, but owing to the distinctly universal, literary quality of his writing, he has also penned beloved songs for artists as diverse as Bob Seger, Etta James, the Grateful Dead, John Denver, Jimmy Buffett and countless others.
A member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Crowell is also the author of the acclaimed memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, and teamed up with New York Times bestselling author Mary Karr for Kin: Songs by Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell in 2012, with Karr saying of her collaborator, "Like Hank Williams or Townes Van Zandt or Miss Lucinda, he writes and croons with a poet's economy and a well digger's deep heart." Crowell was honored with ASCAP's prestigious Founder's Award in 2017, and that same year released the album Close Ties, which spawned a Grammy nomination for "It Ain't Over Yet" with Rosanne Cash and John Paul White in the category of Best Americana Song. Crowell has four daughters and lives with his wife and dog in Tennessee. He writes every day and loves tending to his garden.
Tickets are $44 to $79 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Pure Prairie League
Country rock band Pure Prairie League will perform at the Mahaiwe on Thursday, July 3 at 8 p.m. From their beginnings in mid '60s Ohio as a group of friends playing cover tunes to the present-day unit featuring the propulsive team of drummer Scott Thompson and bassist Jared Camic, keyboardist Randy Harper, guitar ace/vocalist Jeff Zona and pedal steel/saxophonist John Heinrich, Pure Prairie League continues to embellish the rich 50-plus year history of one of country rock's pioneering forces. As one reviewer recently wrote, Pure Prairie League's sound "combines sweet memories with edgy, contemporary muscle. Their vocals are as strong as Kentucky moonshine and the musicianship and performance skills are as sharp as a straight razor."
Pure Prairie League's eponymous first album has been celebrated for its early influence in country rock music. Their second effort, the multi-platinum Bustin' Out brought the Craig Fuller-penned classic "Amie." With ten more albums and countless shows, Pure Prairie League has forged a legacy in country rock history.
Tickets are $39 to $59 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
LeAnn Rimes
Pop and country music sensation LeAnn Rimes will perform at the Mahaiwe on Wednesday, August 6 at 8 p.m. LeAnn Rimes is an international multi-platinum selling acclaimed singer and ASCAP Award-winning songwriter. She has sold more than 48 million units globally, won two Grammy Awards; 12 Billboard Music Awards; two World Music Awards; three Academy of Country Music Awards; three Country Music Association Awards and one Dove Award. At 14, Rimes won "Best New Artist" making her the youngest solo artist to take home a Grammy Award, and at 15, she became the first country artist to win "Artist of the Year" at the Billboard Music Awards.
Out of the 63 singles she has released throughout her expansive career, LeAnn's ballad "How Do I Live" holds the record as Billboard's Hot 100 all-time number-one hit by a female artist and currently ranks 6 on Billboard's "Greatest of All Time: Hot 100 Songs" list. Fifteen of her multi-genre singles are top-10 hits, including "Can't Fight the Moonlight," which went number-one in 11 countries.
In 2022, LeAnn was presented with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award, which is an award presented to genre-spanning songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones.
Passionate about using her voice to help heal the world, LeAnn was honored with the Ally of Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign for her over 20 years of support of equal rights, the 2019 HOPE Award for Depression Advocacy, and 2009 ACM Humanitarian Award, among other recognitions.
Tickets are $97 to $147 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under. This performance is sponsored by Fairview Hospital.
Tickets
Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe Members on Wednesday, March 12 at noon, and to the public on Friday, March 14 at noon. Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office, 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
To learn more about Mahaiwe Membership, contact Brenna Hull at 413-644-9040 x107 or brenna@mahaiwe.org, or visit mahaiwe.org/membership.
Individuals ages 30 and under are eligible for $15 youth tickets. Visit the Box Office or call 413-528-0100 Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 27,000 students from 76 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe's school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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