Vince Gill & The Time Jumpers to Close PCI's Summer Concert Series, 8/30

Nashville's best and brightest studio musicians The Time Jumpers - including the venerable Vince Gill - bring Music City to Park City on Saturday, August 30. It's a blend of Texas swing-country-jazz-bluegrass that resists the confines of a particular genre and boasts ridiculous talent from an eclectic assortment of artists and pickers: Brad Albin (upright bass), Larry Franklin (fiddle), Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Vince Gill (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), "Ranger Doug" Green (vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar), Andy Reiss (electric guitar), Dawn Sears (vocals), Kenny Sears (vocals, fiddle), Joe Spivey (fiddle, vocals) Jeff Taylor (accordion, piano) and Billy Thomas (drums, vocals). Concert starts at 7 p.m. (gates open at 5:30 p.m.) at Deer Valley Resort's Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater. Lawn and reserved seats are available online at bigstarsbrightnightsconcerts.org or 435-655-3114.

The Time Jumpers was established in Nashville in 1998 by a group of top studio musicians, who wanted to spend some spare time drinking beer and jamming. Their Monday night sessions (originally held at The Station Inn) became legendary. Stars, such as Bonnie Raitt, Reba McEntire, Norah Jones, Robert Plant, The White Stripes, Kings Of Leon, Jimmy Buffet and Kelly Clarkson, began to drop by and partake in the mélange of swing, country, jazz and pop standards. The Grammy-nominated group, now 11-members strong, released its first album in 2007 and a second in 2012.

"And man, they're good. So, so good. The 11-piece band's jaw-dropping performance...put their storied chemistry front and center, as members traded solos with an improvisational bravado more commonly experienced in jazz clubs than honky-tonks," writes The Washington Post.

Twenty-time Grammy award-winner and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Vince Gill, who the Chicago Tribune calls "one of the best all-arounders in country music: a soulful singer, a dexterous songwriter, a renowned guitar player," joined the band as a full-fledged member in 2010. Two of his regular band members also grace The Time Jumpers. Since 1992, vocalist Dawn Sears has toured regularly with Gill as a back-up singer. Her first big break in Nashville came in the form of a television gig on a morning television show with Ralph Emery. She released three singles with Warner Brothers before teaming up with Gill. Drummer Billy Thomas also regularly tours with Gill and has toured and/or recorded with Patty Loveless, Emmylou Harris, Steve Wariner, Marty Stuart, Ricky Nelson, Don Williams, Earl Scruggs and Dolly Parton; Thomas was a founding member of the MCA Records trio, McBride & The Ride.

Three remarkable fiddle players add their fiery bows to the assemblage. Three-time Grammy award winner and champion fiddle player Larry Franklin has recorded and toured with a slew of artists, ranging from Willie Nelson to Lady Antebellum. He has recorded with Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Harry Connick Jr., Keith and Kristyn Getty, Amy Grant, George Strait, The Chieftains, Martina McBride, Buddy Greene, Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs. Joe Spivey (formerly a program director for a gospel station, musical director and band Cimarron member) has been touring with John Anderson's band since 1986. As a studio musician, he has recorded with Anderson, Merle Haggard, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Hank Williams Jr. and Clay Walker. Nashville's revered fiddle player Kenny Sears entered the professional arena when he was invited to join the staff band of the Big D Jamboree in Dallas at the age of 11, while simultaneously playing with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He joined Billy Gray's (Hank Thompson's former bandleader) troupe, moved to Nashville in 1975 and toured with Mel Tillis, Ray Price, Faron Young and Dottie West; he has also worked in Ralph Emery's staff band and the Grand Ole Opry band.

And the guitars certainly rival the fiddles.

Guitarist Andy Reiss first broke into the Nashville studio scene working with legendary producer and steel guitarist Pete Drake. He's played on hundreds of hit records, including two that went on to win Grammy awards: B. J. Thomas' "Amazing Grace" and the Reba McEntire-Linda Davis No. 1 duet, "Does He Love You." Reiss has also recorded with jazz greats Pete Christlieb, Beegee Adair, Benny Golson and as a member of the Lori Mechem Quartet. Considered one of the foremost scholars in country music, "Ranger" Doug Green began playing bluegrass and enjoyed an early career stint touring with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys while still in college. He and Fred "Too Slim" LaBour formed Riders in the Sky in 1977, which won two Grammys and gained entrée into the Grand Ole Opry in 1982. Pint-sized fans might recognize his voice from "Woody's Roundup" in Toy Story 2. Paul Franklin (no relation to bandmate Larry) moved from Detroit to Nashville in 1972 to play pedal steel guitar for Barbara Mandrell. He recorded and toured with Jerry Reed and Mel Tillis before abandoning the road for session work, recording with Sting, Mark Knopfler, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, Barbara Streisand and Megadeth.

Jeff Taylor (accordion, piano, concertina, penny whistle, mandolin and bouzouki) has recorded with Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Harry Connick Jr., Keith and Kristyn Getty, Amy Grant, George Strait, The Chieftains, Martina McBride, Buddy Greene, Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs; Taylor has also served as bandleader at the Ryman auditorium (for the musical Always, Patsy Cline), Opryland theme park for hundreds of productions and on the General Jackson showboat for The Skaggs Family Christmas Tour.

The newest member of The Time Jumpers is bassist Brad Albin, who has toured and/or recorded with include Mandy Barnett, Joe Nichols, Jim Lauderdale and the Sons Of The Pioneers. Albin is also a teacher and an active member of Nashville's Musical Theatre community.

"These are some of the most talented musicians ever to grace a recording studio or stage - individually and collectively," says PCI executive director Teri Orr, "We are so grateful to have the opportunity to bring our summer season to a close with such extraordinary and diverse artistry."

All St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights concerts take place at Deer Valley Resort's Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater. Lawn and reserved tickets as well as summer season punch cards are available at the Park City Institute Box Office at The Mega Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ (435 Swede Alley, Park City), via phone at 435-655-3114 or online at bigstarsbrightnightsConcerts.org. General Admission tickets may also be purchased at Deer Valley Signatures stores located at 625 Main Street and Silver Lake Village or Deer Valley Etc. in Snow Park Lodge (please call 435-649-1000 or 800-424-3337 for store hours); The King's English Bookshop (Salt Lake City); and Hugo Coffee (inside Park City's Visitor Center). Discounted tickets are available for children (under age 16) as well as seniors (age 62 and older).

Gates open 90-minutes before show time. Coolers are permitted and a nine-inch chair height restriction (i.e. you shouldn't be able to roll a basketball under the seat) is enforced. Concerts will be held rain or shine.

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