Arts Council presents winter concert series at WMPAC

ARTS COUNCIL BIG SKY

Solas performs March 9 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY

BIG SKY – The Arts Council of Big Sky presents two concerts this winter on Feb. 18 and March 9 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center. Well known for its free Music in the Mountains summer concert series, the winter series will focus on high-quality, critically acclaimed acoustic artists performing in an intimate, theater-style setting.

The first concert is International Guitar Night on Thursday, Feb. 18, when IGN founder Brian Gore will be joined by three of Europe’s finest acoustic guitarists: Gypsy Jazz legend Lulo Reinhardt, contemporary fingerstyle innovator Mike Dawes and multi-genre showman Andre Krengel.

Reinhardt has expanded on the legacy of his granduncle Django with Latin-flavored rhythms and melodies, while Dawes’ lightning-speed and deft tapping and percussion are setting the acoustic guitar world on fire. Krengel is a master of many styles from flamenco to swing to modern ballads and he’s a frequent collaborator with Reinhardt in Germany. The San Francisco Chronicle calls IGN “one of the most important showcases for contemporary finger stylists.”

The second concert features the quintessential Irish-American band Solas, performing on Wednesday, March 9. This year marks the band’s 20th anniversary, and Solas will mark this milestone with an exciting new recording project and tour, “All These Years.”

Founding members Seamus Egan – on flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistles, guitars and bodhran – and Winifred Horan on violins and vocals, form the backbone of the uniquely definable Solas sound. Egan and Horan will be joined by long-time members Eamon McElholm on guitars, keyboards and vocals; Mick McAuley playing button accordion and contributing vocals; as well as the newest member, Moira Smiley on vocals and banjo.

Solas is musically at the top of their game and continues to be the standard bearer not only for great Irish music, but great music in any genre. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Solas bring the past, present, and future of the band to the stage, with a program sure to delight audiences with both old favorites and new material.

The Boston Globe calls Solas “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced,” while the Wall Street Journal notes that the band “has electrified crowds everywhere it has played; it’s an Irish traditional band bearing all the marks of greatness.”

Tickets for both of these are on sale at warrenmillerpac.org. For more information, call (406) 995-2742 or visit bigskyarts.org.