Opera House: Winter 2018

05 Jan Opera House: Winter 2018

The Sheridan Arts Foundation (SAF), the non-profit that owns and operates the historic Sheridan Opera House, is proud to present its winter 2018 season.

All tickets are for sale online at SheridanOperaHouse.com, or by calling 970-728-6363 ext. 5. (Please note: a $4 ticketing fee applies at all sales outlets. The Opera House SHOW Bar opens one hour before each show; doors to the theater open 30 minutes before.)

Year after year, Telluride continues to garner rave reviews from national publications as a world-class destination. Condé Nast Traveler has rated Telluride the No. 1 Ski Resort in North America four out of the past five years.

What better way to end a day of skiing than to catch a show at Telluride’s premiere live-music venue: the Sheridan Arts Foundation’s historic Sheridan Opera House.

Located in the heart of Telluride and built in 1913, the Sheridan Opera House, Telluride’s “crown jewel,” has been providing entertainment for the town for more than a century. There is simply no better place to enjoy a live show than in the intimate, historic (and acoustically perfect) Opera House.

The following night, Friday, January 5, 9 p.m., the Sheridan Arts Foundation presents Railroad Earth. (Doors and SHOW Bar, 8 p.m.)

Railroad Earth’s music is driven by the remarkable songs of front-man, Todd Sheaffer, delivered with seamless arrangements and superb musicianship courtesy of all six band members. As mandolin/bouzouki player John Skehan points out:

“Our M.O. has always been that we can improvise all day long, but we only do it in service to the song. There are a lot of songs that, when we play them live, we adhere to the arrangement from the record. And other songs, in the nature and the spirit of the song, everyone knows we can kind of take flight on them.”

Railroad Earth can jam with the best of them and do have some bluegrass influences – but they use drums and amplifiers, which is somewhat taboo in the bluegrass world. What kind of music is it then? Tim Carbone takes a swing: “We’re a Country & Eastern band! ”

Tickets to Railroad Earth, $50; balcony seating $60.

Electronic funk duo the Floozies return to the Sheridan Opera House January 11 and 12, 9 p.m.

Just outside the jazz mecca of Kansas City springs liberal oasis Lawrence, Kansas, separated only by the waves of wheat from the epicenter of the electronic music revolution in Colorado.

Born in funk and bred in the digital age, live electronic duo The Floozies have burst onto the scene at a time when the industry needed them the most. They are  joined by opening support Daily Bread.

Tickets are $25 GA on the floor;$35 reserved seats in the balcony.

Back by popular demand after last winter’s sold-out show, Trout Steak Revival returns Friday, January 19.

Trout Steak Revival pushes the envelope on a progressive genre, while drawing creatively from the many canons of American roots music.

Tickets are $25 GA on the floor; $35 reserved seats in the balcony.

Five-time Grammy Award-winning bass player, producer, composer, author, and educator Victor Wooten plays the historic Sheridan Opera House Sunday, January 21, along with legendary drummer Dennis Chambers and renowned saxophonist Bob Franceschini.

Telluride audiences have seen Wooten do his thing countless times at Telluride Bluegrass, performing with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Wooten just released his first album in five years, Trypnotyx, and is touring this winter and fall in a trio to support the album.

Tickets are $40 GA on the floor; $55 reserved seats in the balcony.

Leftover Salmon returns to the Opera House for a double dose of Colorado jamgrass January 24 and 25, 2018.

For the past quarter-century, Colorado’s Leftover Salmon has established itself as one of the great purveyors of Americana music, digging deep into the well that supplies its influences; rock ‘n’ roll, folk, bluegrass, Cajun, soul, zydeco, jazz and blues.

The group is joined by Head for the Hills, a Colorado-based. post-modern bluegrass quintet who has played the Opera House and Telluride Bluegrass over the past few years.

Tickets are $35 general admission for dancing on the floor; $50 reserved seats in the balcony.

The beginning of February marks the Sheridan Arts Foundation’s Young People’s Theater annual high school musical: “Mary Poppins.” The show takes place February 2, 3 and 5. (The theater is dark on Super Bowl Sunday.)

February 9 is all about SunSquabi, with opening support from Artifakts, a three-piece suit, live electronic experience. Show time is 9 p.m.; doors and SHOW Bar open at 8 p.m.

Hailing from Colorado, SunSquabi has been picking up steam after a breakout year in 2016, marked by their debut release on GRiZ’s All Good Records. The bands 7-track EP Odyssey takes listeners through a laid-back electronic, funk fueled journey. Joining the band on their latest EP, Big Gigantic & GRiZ himself lend their talents to the project. Continuing to shatter expectations of what a “Live-Electronic” band should be, SunSquabi effortlessly transitions between synth-bass heavy vibes to smooth jam-like grooves.

Tickets are $15 general admission on the floor; $25 reserved seats in the balcony.

February 10 and 11, 9 p.m., the SAF welcomes back psychedelic rockers, Chris Robinson Brotherhood.

This show sold-out weeks in advance last year, so buy your tickets NOW to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun.

Tickets are $40 GA on the floor; $50 reserved in the balcony.

Over President’s Day weekend, February 15-18, the Opera House hosts the 19th annual Telluride Comedy Fest.

The lineup of comedians is announced in January, but tickets are already on sale. Past performers have included Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch, Aziz Ansari, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and many, many more.

February 27 and 28, 8 p.m., marks the return of bluegrass rockers The Infamous Stringdusters.

Helming today’s bluegrass forward march, the Stringdusters’ resume includes seven studio albums, three IMBA awards and a Grammy nomination.

Intricate harmonies, cleverly composed arrangements and a profound commitment to presentation induces traditionalists and newcomers to stomp their feet on common ground.

Tickets are $35 GA on the floor;$45 reserved balcony.

Shovels & Rope, the award-winning South-Carolina duo of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, plays the Opera House on Thursday, March 8.

The indie-folk duo, who channel country, bluegrass and blues, are an explosion of sound inspired by the likes of Bob Dylan, Wood Guthrie, Elvis Costello and the soulful harmonies of Johnny Cash and June Carter. The pair stunned audiences at the 2016 Telluride Blues and Brews Festival.

The duo’s most recent album, Little Seeds, was recorded in the couple’s home studio in Charleston, South Carolina. It succeeds 2014’s Swimmin’ Time and 2012’s O’Be Joyful. Joyful garnered the twosome the Americana Music Awards Song of the Year” (for “Birmingham”) and Emerging Artist of the Year honors.

Tickets are $35 GA on: the floor; $45 reserved seats in the balcony.

Acclaimed musicians Keller Williams and Martin Sexton play Friday, March 9.

Williams brings his acoustic “Shut The Folk Up and Listen” experience, featuring Martin Sexton, to Telluride as part of a special three-night run through Colorado.

Stripped-down and loopless, Keller Williams returns to his roots with just an acoustic guitar, sharing the stage with one of his musical heroes. The evening includes solo sets from both Williams and Sexton, as well as spontaneous collaborations between the two.

Tickets are $45 GA on the floor; $55 reserved seats in the balcony.

On Saturday, March 10, the Opera House presents psychedelic soul outfit Monophonics. Show time is 9 p.m.; doors and bar, 8 p.m.

Raised amid the rich musical culture and history of the San Francisco Bay Area, Monophonics proudly carry the torch through the generations into today’s musical landscape. Holding on to tradition, but by no means purists of any kind, they play their own brand of music known as “Psychedelic Soul.”

Touching on Northern soul, doo-wop, rock and roll, psych pop, and cinematic music, Monophonics show off its diversity while remaining true to its roots.

Monophonics is Austin Bohlman (Drums), Myles O’Mahony (Bass/Background Vocals), Ian McDonald (Guitar/Background Vocals), Ryan Scott (Trumpet/Back- ground Vocals/Percussion) & Kelly Finnigan (Keys/Lead Vocals) along with a rotating 2nd horn usually filled by Nadav Nirenberg (Trombone).

Tickets are $25 GA on the floor; $35 reserved seating in the balcony.

The Sheridan Arts Foundation presents renowned funk band, Galactic, live at the Sheridan Opera House on Monday, March 19.

It’s been more than 20 years since Ben Ellman, Robert Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Jeff Raines and Rich Vogel began exploring the seemingly limitless musical possibilities born out of their work together as Galactic.

Since then, the seminal New Orleans band has consistently pushed artistic boundaries on the road and in the studio, approaching their music with open ears and drawing inspiration as much from sounds bubbling up from their city’s streets – as well as from each other.

Over the years Galactic collaborated with the likes of Macy Gray, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, Allen Toussaint, Chali 2Na of Jurassic 5 and more. These guys have played festivals all over the country. And now they return to Telluride for a special winter visit.

Tickets are $50 GA on the floor; $60 reserved seats in the balcony.

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, CCI and El Pomar, Just for Kids.