Sheridan Arts Foundation: Loudon Wainwright III

23 Mar Sheridan Arts Foundation: Loudon Wainwright III

The Sheridan Arts Foundation presents a night of acoustic music with acclaimed singer songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, live at the historic Sheridan Opera House on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. The show begins at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $35 reserved seats. The opening act is Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer.

Loudon Wainwright III has had a long and illustrious career highlighted by 22 album releases, a 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, as well as two previous Grammy nominations for I’m Alright (1985) and More Love Songs (1986).

His most recent recording, Older Than My Old Man Now, was named one of NPR’s Top 10 Albums of 2012. Wainwright is perhaps best known for the novelty song “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)” and for playing Captain Calvin Spalding (the “singing surgeon”) on the American television show, M*A*S*H.

Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, and Mose Allison, among others. have recorded his music. Wainright has collaborated with songwriter/producer Joe Henry on the music for Judd Apatow’s hit movie “Knocked Up,” written music for the British theatrical adaptation of the Carl Hiaasen novel Lucky You, composed topical songs for NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered and ABC’s Nightline, and recorded several songs for the soundtrack of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

As an actor, Wainwright has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Christopher Guest, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, and Judd Apatow. Loudon’s most recent project is his one-man play entitled “Surviving Twin.” A solo piece many years in the making, “Surviving Twin” is what the singer-songwriter calls a “posthumous collaboration” with his writer-father. Part concert, part dramatic reading, part family slide-show, it is a hybrid theatrical form consisting mainly of songs written by Loudon III, along with readings of magazine columns written by his late father, Loudon Jr., and photographs that span four generations of the Wainwright clan. The show was developed with the help of director Joseph Haj at UNC’s Playmakers Rep.

Pacific Northwest based songwriting duo Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer are natural explorers. McGraw spent a decade as a wildlife biologist and naturalist, working everywhere from Mexico and the Grand Canyon to the Pacific coast of Washington State. Fer logged some time in Spain, where she studied music and local culture. They met in the high desert of Flagstaff, Arizona in 2010 and have since built a music career together based on those travels, funneling everything – the characters they met, the sounds they heard, the stories they lived – into an innovative blend of folk, indie-rock, and rootsy Americana. The duo’s rich vocal harmonies coupled with Mandy’s pioneering electric guitar work captivate the listener within their dynamic and spirited live performances.

McGraw and Fer have amassed an admirable résumé and an ever-expanding fan base during their time playing music together. Having toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, performing in esteemed theaters to intimate listening rooms anywhere from Alaska to Amsterdam, the pair has honed their skills sharing stages with fellow troubadours including Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, Gregory Alan Isakov, Kelly Joe Phelps, Birds of Chicago, and many others.

Tickets are on sale at sheridanoperahouse.com or by calling 970-728-6363 ext. 5 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tickets and information: sheridanoperahouse.com or 970.728.6363 x5

For a preview of the show, check out this video:

*nominal ticketing fee applies.

The Sheridan Arts Foundation was founded in 1991 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization to preserve the historic Sheridan Opera House as an arts and cultural resource for the Telluride community, to bring quality arts and cultural events to Telluride and to provide local and national youth with access and exposure to the arts through education. The Sheridan Arts Foundation is sponsored in part by grants from the Telluride Foundation, CCAASE and Just For Kids.