Vocalist Emmylou Harris Makes Verizon Hall Debut with Special Guest Teddy Thompson, Sunday, October 15
September 22, 2006
Emmylou Harris
Over the past 30 years, Emmylou Harris has established a repertoire of musical contributions to country-rock, the bluegrass revival, folk music, and the Americana movement that gave country music its "alternative wing." Now, the twelve-time Grammy® Award winner debuts at the Kimmel Center with special guest Teddy Thompson in Verizon Hall on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 7:30pm. Her performance will include selections from the November 2006 release of a career-retrospective, five-disk box set that features several staples over her lengthy career, duets, rare, unreleased material, and songs that Ms. Harris has recorded for films.
Tickets for Emmylou Harris with special guest Teddy Thompson are $32, $40, $47, $54 and $57, and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
After releasing his solo debut in 2000, Teddy Thompson gained considerable critical applause and an enthusiastic fan base. His most recent album, Separate Ways, 2005, contains 12 original compositions that merge an irresistibly engaging melodic sensibility with a brooding, melancholy lyrical insight that belies the London-born, New York-based Thompson's youth. The album is clearly the work of a vital, vibrant artist who's still discovering and exploring his own strengths, making it clear that Teddy Thompson is in for the long haul and making music that's built to last, just as his parents Richard and Linda Thompson have done before him.
Emmylou Harris has been praised by Billboard Magazine as "a truly venturesome, genre-transcending pathfinder." A key figure in movements that united rock audiences with country traditionalists, Emmylou Harris made country music "hip" for younger audiences; led the way back to neo-traditionalist sounds with Blue Kentucky Girl (1979); and more recently, has reinvented her sound, joining in the Americana movement that gave country music its "alternative wing."
The common bridge is her exquisite vocal style and a gift for discovering the heart of a song. Throughout her career, Ms. Harris has been admired for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, but it was with her 2000 album, Red Dirt Girl, for which Ms. Harris was awarded her tenth Grammy, that she revealed she is also a gifted songwriter. Continuing the trend with her September 2003 album, Stumble Into Grace, she wrote ten of the album's eleven tracks. Though Emmylou Harris is the most admired and influential woman in contemporary country music, her scope extends far beyond it. She has recorded with such diverse artists as Ryan Adams, Beck, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Tammy Wynette, Neil Young, The Chieftains, Lyle Lovett, Roy Orbison, The Band, Willie Nelson and George Jones.
In addition to making music, Ms. Harris is a longtime social activist and has lent her voice to many causes. She is active in cultural preservation issues, notably the Country Music Foundation and the Grand Ole Opry. As an animal rights activist and the owner of several dogs and cats, Emmylou also supports PETA and the Humane Society. Since 1997 she has been the most visible spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine Free World, drawing public attention and notable musical artists to the cause.
Kimmel Center Presents also offers with more than fifty Free at the Kimmel community performances during the 2006/07 5th Anniversary season. These include Free in the Plaza with local artists performing classical, jazz, pop, country, world, dance and family fun on the Commonwealth Plaza stage, as well as Artist Chats with Kimmel Center Presents performers, education events and Organ Postludes in Verizon Hall. On Sunday, October 15 at 5:30pm, Melody Gardot will deliver jazz/pop hybrid harmonies on the Commonwealth Plaza Stage, followed by Emmylou Harris's ticketed performance in Verizon Hall. On Tuesday, October 17 at 6pm, the Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Ensemble will prelude the NHK Symphony Orchestra ticketed performance with conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. A free organ postlude will follow the performance. Please check online for additional information and a performance schedule.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2006/2007 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, ARC Properties, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The William Penn Foundation. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are media sponsors for the Great Orchestras on Tour series.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Sunday, October 15, 2006 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
Emmylou Harris, guitar and vocals
Mary Ann Kennedy, multi-instrumentalist, backing vocals
Pam Rose, multi-instrumentalist, backing vocals
Chris Donohue, bass
with special guest
Teddy Thompson, vocals
************
FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENTS
Sunday, October 15, 2006 | 5:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Melody Gardot, vocals and guitar
Ken Pendergast, bass
Charlie Patierno, drums
Patrick Hughes, trumpet
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | 6pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Ensemble
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | Post-show
Verizon Hall
Organ Postlude
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