The Colonial Theatre Presents: Rickie Lee Jones

Named as one of the 30 greatest women in rock, Rickie Lee Jones has been hard to classify ever since she came on the scene with the instant classic “Chuck E.’s in Love” in 1979. Jones began her career in the pop realm, but in her 15 albums, she has experimented fearlessly with her sound and persona. She’s performed straight jazz, blues, synth pop, new wave rock, pop covers, trip-hop, gospel, ambitious singer-songwriter music, and more, putting her unique spin on each style. Each new round of music-making activity by Rickie Lee Jones is different. Her live concerts have almost without exception been unforgettable experiences over her more than 30 years of performing. Her artistry is brilliantly underlined with her latest album KICKS which spans two decades (50s–70s) of pop, rock and jazz, presenting her unique and sophisticated interpretations of songs that were pivotal to her musical journey.

Lonestar is Featured Entertainment at Lancaster Fair

The Lancaster Fair proudly presents Lonestar — the featured entertainment on Saturday night, September 5, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10.

For more than 20 years Lonestar has logged countless miles touring throughout the world, released several Platinum-selling albums and ten No. 1 singles, earned ACM and CMA awards and inspired rave reviews as far away as London, where The Guardian proclaimed them exemplars of “country’s greatest strength: picture-painting, story-based, tear-your-heart-out lyrics that are the most direct and lucid in popular music.”

Yet all roads lead back to Nashville, where lead singer/guitarist Richie McDonald, lead guitarist/singer Michael Britt, keyboardist/guitarist/singer Dean Sams and drummer Keech Rainwater wrote and rehearsed songs for their tenth album, Never Enders, each one crafted impeccably yet as raw and soulful as all four members’ Texas honky-tonk roots.

Known for merging their country roots with strong melodies and rich vocals, Lonestar has amassed RIAA-certified sales in excess of ten million album units since their national launch in 1995, and achieved ten #1 country hits including “No News,” “Come Crying To Me,” and their crossover smash “Amazed” (which was also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first record since 1983’s “Islands in the Stream”, to top both charts). The band’s awards include a 1999 ACM Single of The Year for “Amazed” (the song also won the Song of the Year award), and the 2001 CMA Vocal Group of the Year. With over a 100 dates worldwide per year, they are celebrating over 20 years together. Lonestar’s highly anticipated CD, Never Enders, features ten new original Lonestar songs that bring the band’s trademark sound into the contemporary arena.

Sunday on the Steinway with William Ögmundson

William Ögmundson is an award-winning and EMMY-nominated composer and lyricist, and a classically-trained solo pianist with nine albums to his credit and over 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Admission $10/$5 students.

Rising Appalachia in Concert at The Colonial Theatre

Rising Appalachia brings to the stage a collection of sounds, stories, and songs steeped in tradition and a devotion to world culture. Intertwining a deep reverence for folk music and a passion for justice, they have made it their life’s work to sing songs that speak to something ancient yet surging with relevance. Whether playing at Red Rocks or in rail cars, at Italian street fairs or to Bulgarian herbalists, this fiercely independent band has blazed a unique and colorful path across the globe. 11 years into their movement, Rising Appalachia believes that the roots of all these old songs are vital to our ever evolving soundscape.

Led by the collective voice of sisters Leah and Chloe, and joined by their beloved band – percussionist Biko Casini and bassist/guitarist David Brown – Rising Appalachia is a melting pot of folk music simplicity, textured songwriting, and those bloodline harmonies that only siblings can pull off. Listen for a tapestry of song, clawhammer banjo tunes, fiddle, double bass, acoustic guitar, djembe, barra, bodhran, spoken word, and a wealth of musical layering that will leave you called to action and lulled into rhythmic dance simultaneously. It is both genre bending and familiar at the same time. Proudly born and raised in the concrete jungle of Atlanta, Georgia, sharpening their instincts in the mountains of Appalachia, and fine tuning their soul on the streets of New Orleans they have crafted a 6-album career from the dusts of their passion.

The Colonial Theatre Presents: Rickie Lee Jones

RESCHEDULED TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

Named as one of the 30 greatest women in rock, Rickie Lee Jones has been hard to classify ever since she came on the scene with the instant classic “Chuck E.’s in Love” in 1979. Jones began her career in the pop realm, but in her 15 albums, she has experimented fearlessly with her sound and persona. She’s performed straight jazz, blues, synth pop, new wave rock, pop covers, trip-hop, gospel, ambitious singer-songwriter music, and more, putting her unique spin on each style. Each new round of music-making activity by Rickie Lee Jones is different. Her live concerts have almost without exception been unforgettable experiences over her more than 30 years of performing. Her artistry is brilliantly underlined with her latest album KICKS which spans two decades (50s–70s) of pop, rock and jazz, presenting her unique and sophisticated interpretations of songs that were pivotal to her musical journey.

Irish Band Réalta Coming at Rialto Theatre

The hot Irish group Réalta is coming in from Belfast, Ireland to perform at the Rialto Theatre in Lancaster on March 4. The concert is hosted by the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts and is a great way to get into the mood for St. Patrick’s Day month.

Réalta take a lively, exciting and respectful approach to Irish traditional music. This award winning multi-instrumentalist group has traveled extensively bringing their unique take on Irish traditional music to international audiences with an enchanting program of dance music interspersed with the occasional air and song.

While Conor Lamb and Loïc Bléjean pursue the melody on uilleann pipes and whistles, guitarist and vocalist Deirdre Galway explores the harmony and rhythms within the tunes. All-Ireland champions Dermot Mulholland and Dermot Moynagh complete the line-up with dynamic accompaniments on double bass, bouzouki, banjo, bodhrán and voice, making this one of the most exciting acts on the Irish music scene today.

Conor Lamb fell in love with the uilleann pipes and Irish traditional music when he first heard Liam O’Flynn perform at the Lorient Interceltic Festival. Now regarded as one of the leading exponents of uilleann piping, Conor is a founding member of several traditional groups including Réalta, Madagán and Music in the Glen.

Loïc Bléjean is a virtuoso uilleann piper and low whistle player from Brittany, that ancient land in the north-west of modern France. He started playing the pipes in 1989, under the tuition of Alain Le Hégarat and then traveled extensively in Ireland, where he met many wonderful musicians.

Deirdre Galway began her musical life studying and competing on piano and clarinet. After achieving distinction at Grade 8, she began experimenting with jazz, rock and Irish traditional music. Accompanying on DADGAD guitar and researching old songs, Irish music is now her passion. Deirdre is also an Irish speaker, with a first-class honors degree in Irish Language and Literature.

Multi-instrumentalist Dermot Mulholland adds his talents to Réalta on banjo, bouzouki, double bass and vocals. He is a winner of several All-Ireland titles and is a founding member of the BBC Folk Award winning band Ioscaid. Beyond Réalta, Dermot is highly sought after for various performing, teaching and recording roles.

Dermot Moynagh is one of the most influential and leading bodhrán players of his generation. His talents were highlighted when he won the prestigious All Ireland Fleadh-Cheoil championship at a young age and since then he has been in high demand as a live performer and recording artist.

The release of their second album, “Clear Skies,” has brought Réalta widespread critical acclaim, with the Irish Music Magazine summing things up by writing, “Réalta have grown bigger, bolder and braver and this is one of the best CDs to have come out of Ireland this year.”

The show on March 4 will begin at 7 p.m., admission is $18 per person. Visit the Rialto Theatre to purchase tickets in advance, or online at www.gnwca.org. For more information about this and other GNWCA shows, visit the website, find the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts on Facebook or call (603) 246-8998.

Randy & Brad at St. Kieran Arts

Randy & Brad played their first show together when they were 11 years old and in the 5th grade Talent Show. They played “5 Foot Two” and “Bye Bye Blackbird” with Randy on Sax and Brad on Snare Drum. They won the Talent Show and have been playing in bands together ever since. From the first “horn band” in NH in 1967 called “Train,” then on to the nationally recognized recording act “Oak,” to today’s current “The Voice,” together since 1989.

Now Randy & Brad have chosen to also perform as a Duo playing a wide variety of songs from artists as varied as Elton John, Supertramp, Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, and Jethro Tull to dance hits by Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, Earth, Wind and Fire, and the O’Jays to current hits by Bruno Mars and Walking the Moon to real oldies from the 60’s by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Rasberries, Badfinger, The Foundations, Moody Blues and going even further back to Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. Rock, Oldies, Disco, Soul, Contemporary and Country. Randy & Brad can do it all.

Tickets: $15 all seats

St. Kieran Arts Presents: Cabin Fever Follies — Following the Country Road

Take a walk down the Country Road of Music with a great collaboration of local musicians as they present a history of this popular music genre. Always a highlight of our performance series schedule, the lineup brings many of our musical friends back to the venue and presents many new participants as well.

Join us for an afternoon of great entertainment and support our local arts center; keeping the live arts alive in the North Country!

Tickets: $15 all seats

Folk Duo-Hungrytown in Concert at Tillotson Center

After more than 15 years of world-wide touring and three album releases, Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson — otherwise known as the folk duo Hungrytown — have earned a reputation for the quality and authenticity of their songwriting. “It’s great to hear an act eschew sentimentality in favor of honesty and to prove that you don’t have to go raiding the memory of others to find the stuff that really good songs are made of,” writes Jedd Beaudoin of Popmatters.

Admission $10/Students $5.