The Barns at Wolf Trap have announced the following upcoming events:
Solas
Thursday, February 2 at 8 p.m.
$22
Heralded by The Philadelphia Inquirer as creators of “mind-blowing Irish folk music, maybe the world’s best,” Solas returns to The Barns for the first time since the Spring of 2007. The band is currently in the throes of making a record without the support of a record label for the first time in 15 years. They are soliciting contributions via a kickstarter campaign which also chronicles their vision for this ambitious project.
Receiving its first national exposure on A Prairie Home Companion in 1996, Solas went on to release 10 albums of highly eclectic tunes that landed the band spots at several of the world’s most influential and diverse music festivals. In recent years, the Seamus Egan anchored quintet has shifted their sound a bit more towards the country sphere of influence, with many songs featuring banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. Refusing to operate within the confines of just one or two musical genres, Solas has built a devoted international fan base with their exciting blend of traditional Celtic, folk and country melodies, bluesy improvisations, and global rhythms. Champions in Solas’s corner included Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris, and the much sought-after rap producer Timbaland—who surprisingly sampled the band on his radio hit “All Y'all.”
ECCO | East Coast Chamber Orchestra
The Discovery Series
Friday, February 3 at 8 p.m.
$35
Revered as one of America’s most exciting self-conducted chamber orchestras, ECCO | East Coast Chamber Orchestra brings an impressive collection of soloists, chamber musicians, members of major American orchestras, and GRAMMY Award winners to The Barns at Wolf Trap stage. With a focus purely on music-making, the band members have adopted a refreshingly organic, democratic, even revolutionary approach towards the creation of ECCO.
On January 7, 2012, ECCO released a new recording of fresh takes on some of the most popular and compelling music from three different centuries. Released via the eOne label, the self-titled debut album features some of history’s most beloved works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Geminiani. Expect to hear thrilling versions of various numbers from this recording during ECCO’s debut appearance at The Barns.
John Eaton
Made in America— A Salute to Our Great Immigrant Composers
Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m.
$25
John Eaton’s presentation of Made in America—A Salute to Our Great Immigrant Composers, marks the second of three performances from this celebrated local musicologist throughout the 2011-12 season. This one-of-a-kind program pays homage to the heroes of the Jazz Era on which Eaton cut his teeth as a musician and subsequently built his career as a one-man revivalist.
This signature Eaton program explores the careers and lives of such foreign born American song writers as Irving Berlin (“White Christmas”, “God Bless America”), Vernon Duke (“April in Paris”, “I Can’t Get Started”), and Kurt Weill (“September Song,” “Spread Low,”) in an effort to illuminate the discrete international influences on some of America’s most loved music. Eaton returns to The Barns on March 17 joined by bassist Tommy Cecil with A Juke Joint Jam Session, which features unique jazz improvisations on the great American Song Book
Looking for more with John Eaton? Visit YouTube and search “John Eaton Talks with Wolf Trap” for an interview about his five decade career, and why he'll never interpret any modern day music.
