Sheridan Opera House: The California Honeydrops Live in Concert, 9/22!

19 Aug Sheridan Opera House: The California Honeydrops Live in Concert, 9/22!

Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation presents The California Honeydrops live in concert on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at the historic Sheridan Opera House. Returning a year after a sold-out show, tickets are selling fast. The happening starts at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $40 general admission standing room and $50 reserved balcony seats, plus a $5 ticketing fee at all sales outlets. Tickets here.

Go here for more on the Sheridan Opera House/Arts Foundation.

And scroll down for a taste of the Honeydrops’ show.

The California Honeydrops celebrate their 14th year together with the forthcoming release of their latest studio effort, Soft Spot, marking a return to live music with a national tour across the United States. This LP follows the release of their cover album, Covers From The Cave, live albums Remember When: Vol 3 and Honeydrops Live 2019, and their first-ever double-album, Call It Home: Vol 1 & 2 in 2018.

Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, and drawing on diverse musical influences from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line, the Honeydrops bring vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows.

The group has taken the party all over the world, playing festivals of all kinds and touring widely across North America, Europe, and Australia. In 2016 and 2017 the Honeydrops were honored to support Bonnie Raitt on her North America release tour—and in the past have been privileged to support the likes of B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, Buddy Guy, and Dr. John. Whether in those high-profile performances or in more intimate venues where the band itself can leave the stage and get down on the dance floor, the California Honeydrops’ shared vision and purpose remain: to make the audience dance and sing.

The Honeydrops have come a long way since guitarist and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland subway station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. Listening to Lech sing, it can be a surprise that he was born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised by Polish political refugees. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California.

With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Bradbury on bass, The Honeydrops have built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski’s vocals. More like parties than traditional concerts, their shows feature extensive off-stage jamming and crowd interaction.

“The whole point is to erase the boundaries between the crowd and us,” Wierzynski says. “We don’t make set lists. We want requests. We want crowd involvement, to make people become a part of the whole thing by dancing along, singing, picking the songs, and generally coming out of their shells.”

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 CCAASE, Colorado Creative Industries, the Telluride Foundation.