Spoleto Announces Diverse Musical Roster for 2014
Earlier this week, Spoleto Festival USA announced the full concert lineup for its 38th annual Wells Fargo Jazz Series as well as a bevy of additional performances.
Spoleto’s concerts and special events will run from mid-May and through early June. The annual live music series features a worldly mix of Americana, international pop, jazz/improv, blues, roots, gospel, and more at the Cistern, the Recital Hall at the Simons Center for the Arts, the Sottile Theatre, the College of Charleston’s TD Arena, and Middleton Place.
The Wells Fargo Jazz Series kicks off on May 23 at the Cistern with the first of two concerts by jazz vocalist Charenée Wade. Brazilian mandolinist Danilo Brito will lead his quartet through a full set at the Cistern on May 25. British jazz/classical pianist Gwilym Simcock will kick off a series of recitals at the Simons Center on May 25 as well.
Jazz vocalist and songwriter René Marie, a Wells Fargo Jazz favorite (pictured above), returns for a tribute to Eartha Kitt at the TD Arena on May 26. Her all-star backing band will feature Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Etienne Charles (trumpet), Adrian Cunningham (woodwinds, sax), Kevin Bales (piano), Elias Bailey (bass), and Charleston’s own Quentin Baxter on the drums.
The South American Aca Seca Trio (comprised of musicians and composers from Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina) will perform at the Cistern on May 30-31. Americana singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams and her band will headline the TD Arena on June 4. Experimental Norwegian saxophonist Håkon Kornstad will kick off a three-night stint at the Simons Center on June 4.
Additional musical events during the festival include jazz/pop singer Kat Edmonson at the Cistern on May 29, the banjo duo of Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn at the TD Arena on June 1, and the Swiss-born, North Carolina-based string trio the Kruger Brothers at the Cistern on June 6 and 7.
Performance artist/musician Laurie Anderson will return to Spoleto to present a lyrical, multi-media program titled “The Language of the Future” at the Sottile Theatre on June 4, 5, and 7.
Charleston’s own country/rock duo Shovels & Rope — featuring Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent — is set to play the Wells Fargo Jazz’s “Festival Finale” at Middleton Place on June 8. Hearst and Trent have extensively toured through North America and Europe over the last year and a half behind their latest studio album O’ Be Joyful.
Tickets for these events will go on sale Dec. 9. Call (843) 579-3100 for info and check out spoletousa.org for all ticket and event information.
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About the Author
Ballard Lesemann is a musician and writer. Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., he spent years playing in bands and working for Flagpole Magazine in the bustling music town of Athens, Ga. He returned to his hometown and served more than seven years as the Charleston City Paper's music editor. He's better at drumming than he is at playing guitar.
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