SEAN WATKINS & FRIENDS to Celebrate Paul Simon at Skirball Cultural Center

On Thursday, July 27, at 8:00 p.m., the Skirball Cultural Center launches its twenty-first season of Sunset Concerts with American Tune Featuring Sean Watkins & Friends: A Singer-Songwriter Celebration of Paul Simon, featuring the Grammy-winning musician and songwriter Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek, Watkins Family Hour, Works Progress Administration) and friends Cary Brothers, Gaby Moreno, Joey Ryan, The Bee Eaters, plus other special guests.

Representing Los Angeles's finest modern troubadours, Watkins and friends celebrate the legacy of Paul Simon and the past, present, and future of America's vital singer-songwriter community. The evening begins with DJ Liz Warner of dublab who will spin a set at 6:30 p.m. Then, Watkins and each of the four guests perform their favorite Simon tunes as well as original material, all backed by The Bee Eaters.

This concert is co-presented with The Bluegrass Situation, an organization at the nexus of a new generation of roots and Americana musicians reinventing the genre while remaining deeply connected to its history. It is inspired by the Skirball's current major exhibition, Paul Simon: Words & Music, on view through September 3.

Sean Watkins co-founded Nickel Creek when he was just twelve years old, kickstarting a career that's taken him from the stage of the Grammy Awards to the top of the bluegrass charts. Along the way, he has become an award-winning guitarist, singer-songwriter, and member of several bands-most recently helming the itinerant, genre-hopping Watkins Family Hour ensemble with his sister Sara. Watkins recently released his latest and fifth solo album, What to Fear, which Rolling Stone describes as "razor-edged folk."

Cary Brothers is an indie rock singer-songwriter from Los Angeles best known for his song "Blue Eyes" from the Grammy-winning Garden State soundtrack. He has had more than sixty songs featured in TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Bones, and the 2010 hit teen film Easy A, in addition to appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show. His last full-length album of original music, Under Control, premiered at #1 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter Chart. Brothers is also the co-creator of The Hotel Cafe Tour and has toured worldwide with artists such as Imogen Heap, Sara Bareilles, and The Fray.

Since moving to Los Angeles from her native Guatemala, singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno has been nominated for an Emmy for the Parks and Recreation theme song and won a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist. She has released four critically acclaimed albums, toured with musicians Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, Punch Brothers, Hugh Laurie, and Calexico, and has shared the international stage with pop music luminaries such as Bono, Andrea Bocelli, and Van Dyke Parks.

Joey Ryan is one half of the Los Angeles-based American indie folk group The Milk Carton Kids. Formed in early 2011, the Grammy-nominated, flat-picking harmony duo have since emerged as a delight to both traditionalists and newcomers to the folk movement, as well as a defining voice of the genre.NPR has described their approach to music as "gorgeous contemporary folk."

Since their formation in 2008, string folk trio The Bee Eaters have been on a steady trajectory of musical growth. Recent tours have taken them from Vermont to Hawaii to England and everywhere in between, collaborating with performers such as bluegrass legend Laurie Lewis, Appalachian music master Bruce Molsky, rising star songstress Aoife O'Donovan (of Crooked Still renown), soulful singer-guitarist Scott Law, and writer-ballad singer Jefferson Hamer. Their festival highlights include Wintergrass and the fortieth annual Indiana Fiddlers Gathering.

The full schedule of the 2017 Sunset Concerts is as follows: American Tune Featuring Sean Watkins & Friends: A Singer-Songwriter Celebration of Paul Simon (July 27); the West Coast debut of Ibibio Sound Machine (August 3); the Los Angeles debut of Delgres (August 10); Daymé Arocena (August 17); David Buchbinder's Odessa/Havana (August 24);and the Los Angeles debut of Betsayda Machado y La Parranda El Clavo (August 31). All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m.

IF YOU GO:

2017 SUNSET CONCERTS

Skirball Cultural Center

2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90049

(310) 440-4500 * skirball.org

All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. Check-in and FREE admission to the Museum and Skirball campus begin at 5:30 p.m. Doors to the concert venue open at 6:30 p.m.

FREE concert admission

RSVP is requested but does not guarantee admission or seating, which is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parking: $10 per car (cash only)

Carpooling is encouraged. Street parking is strictly prohibited.

Or take Metro Rapid 734/234

All Skirball exhibitions (except Noah's Ark) are free and open until 10:00 p.m. during Sunset Concerts, including Paul Simon: Words & Music. Audrey's Museum Store is open until 8:00 p.m.

Grab-and-go light fare, full bar service, and specialty food items will be available for happy hour and throughout the show. Guests may bring their own food. Note: No outside alcoholic beverages or chairs are permitted.

Marking its twenty-first season in 2017, the longstanding summer concert series kicked off just a year after the Skirball Cultural Center opened to the public in 1996. During that inaugural year, the institution drew nearly 300,000 visitors, far surpassing an initial expectation of 60,000. In winter/spring 1997, seeking to build upon this early success, the Skirball began to hold monthly dinnertime concerts inside its restaurant, Zeidler's Cafe. The concerts were so well attended that the staff immediately rethought the event space. The following summer, upon popular demand, the Skirball launched a free four-concert series on Thursday nights. These performances took place in the Skirball's much more spacious central courtyard, offering a view of the hillside at dusk. The series was soon named Sunset Concerts. For several seasons in those early years, along with Grand Performances downtown and Santa Monica Pier's Twilight Concerts, Sunset Concerts represented one of the city's few free outdoor summer music series. Noteworthy Sunset Concerts performers over the years have included Yasmin Levy (US debut), Hugh Masekela, Vieux Farka Touré (LA debut), Natacha Atlas, Red Baraat, Conjunto Chappotín y Sus Estrellas (US debut tour), Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and Novalima.

The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society.

The Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-5:00 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays. Admission to exhibitions: $12 General; $9 Seniors, Full-Time Students, and Children over 12; $7 Children 2-12. Exhibitions are always free to Skirball Members and Children under 2. Exhibitions are free to all visitors on Thursdays. For general information, the public may call (310) 440-4500 or visit skirball.org. The Skirball is also home to Zeidler's Café, which serves innovative California cuisine in an elegant setting, and Audrey's Museum Store, which sells books, contemporary art, music, jewelry, and more.

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