Amos Lee to Make Segerstrom Center Debut With Amy Helm and The Handsome Strangers, 8/6

Singer and songwriter Amos Lee will make his Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut on Wednesday, August 6 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as part of the second leg of his 2014 Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song Tour. His recent fall and winter headline tour included sold-out shows at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, ACL Live in Austin and the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Lee will be joined by band members, Freddie Berman, drums; Zach Djanikian, mandolin; Annie Clements, bass and vocals; Andy Keenan, guitar, banjo and vocals; and Jaron Olevsky, keyboards.

Tickets to Amos Lee Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song Tour start at $39 and will go on sale Friday, April 25 at 10 a.m. PST. Single tickets will be available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about groups of 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

For his fifth album, Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song, Lee has created an outstanding synthesis of blues, gospel, country and funk, bundled into one stunning CD that topped the Americana charts for two consecutive months. The twelve songs that evolved are the follow-up to 2011's chart-topping Mission Bell which contained the No. 1 Triple A radio hit "Windows Are Rolled Down," and bring Lee into new sonic territory, while retaining the trenchant impact of the scenes, characters and stories in his writing. He worked in a new city (Nashville, TN) with a new producer (Jay Joyce), and, for the first time, brought his touring band into the studio with him. The album features special collaborations with Alison Krauss joining Lee for "Chill in the Air" and Patty Griffin lending her voice to "Mountains of Sorrow."

"I enjoy the unplanned things that happen in the studio," says Lee. "The shapes that things take, the manipulation of sounds - it's a learning process for me. I can't do that when I'm just writing on my guitar. Usually, the stuff you like the most wasn't what was planned anyway, so I try not to put too much pressure on it because then the fun leaves."

With the release of his self-titled debut for Blue Note Records in 2004, Amos Lee immediately earned the attention of not only the press and discerning music fans, but also of his fellow artists. The Philadelphia-born former schoolteacher has toured with legendary artists like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, collaborated with Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams, Calexico and Zac Brown Band, and has been touted as a favorite songwriter and performer by the likes of The Band Perry and Lady Antebellum. He followed his debut with Supply and Demand (2006), Last Days at the Lodge (2008) and Mission Bell (2011) which entered the Billboard 200, Amazon, and iTunes charts at No. 1. Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song (2013) has received excellent reviews from fans and media alike. Lee is a supporter of Musicians On Call, a non-profit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities.

Amy Helm's deep musical roots were enriched by a lifetime of exposure to the finest expressions of American musical tradition. Combined with her stunning vocal and other creative gifts, those roots have grown up to reveal a spellbinding artist who moves easily through a broad range of musical styles.

The daughter of music legend Levon Helm and singer/songwriter Libby Titus Fagen, Helm wields a powerful voice that can both stir and soothe, whether she is singing traditional gospel, blues standards or her own heartfelt compositions. She is a gifted musician on both mandolin and drums, and has clearly absorbed the lessons of the many other accomplished artists with whom she has shared stages, including Mavis Staples, Emmylou Harris and Joan Osborne as well as other uniquely American performers such as Dr. John and Hubert Sumlin.

A founding member of the roots band Ollabelle with whom she has recorded three albums, Helm is poised to release her first solo album in 2014.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization and owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center's studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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