Harris Center For The Arts to Present Keb' Mo' & Mariachi Herencia in September

HARRIS CENTER FOR THE ARTS will present two fabulous nights of music as the first two events of its 2023-2024 season: five-time Grammy Award winner Keb' Mo' and opening artist Scott Mulvahill on Thursday, September 14, and an unforgettable night of Mexican music and culture with Mariachi Herencia on Sunday, September 17. Both shows are at 7:30 pm.

Keb' Mo'

With five Grammys, 14 Blues Foundation Awards, and a groundbreaking career spanning nearly 50 years under his belt, Keb' Mo's got nothing left to prove. Just don't tell him that.

“I may be turning 70,” Keb' reflects, “but I'm still breathing and I'm still hungry. I'm still out there going for it every single day.”

Born and raised in Compton, Keb' began his remarkable journey at the age of 21, when he landed his first major gig playing with Jefferson Airplane violinist Papa John Creach. For the next 20 years, Keb' would work primarily behind the scenes, establishing himself as a respected guitarist, songwriter, and arranger with a unique gift for linking the past and present in his evocative playing and singing. Though he recorded a one-off album in 1980 under his birth name, Kevin Moore, it wasn't until 1994 that he would introduce the world to Keb' Mo' with the release of his widely acclaimed self-titled debut. Critics were quick to take note of Keb's modern, genre-bending take on old school sounds, and two years later, he garnered his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album with Just Like You. In the decades to come, Keb' would take home four more Grammy Awards; top the Billboard Blues Chart seven times; perform everywhere from Carnegie Hall to The White House; collaborate with many including Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett; have compositions recorded and sampled by artists as diverse as B.B. King, Zac Brown, and BTS; release signature guitars with both Gibson and Martin; compose music for television series like Mike and Molly, Memphis Beat, B Positive, and Martha Stewart Living; and earn the Americana Music Association's 2021 award for Lifetime Achievement in Performance.

Bringing it all back home, Keb' looked to his own story for inspiration on his captivating new album, Good To Be, artfully linking the grit and groove of his Compton roots with strum and twang of his more recently adopted hometown of Nashville, TN, where he's lived and worked for the last eleven years. Drawing on country, folk, blues, and soul, the collection transcends genre and geography, weaving together a joyful, heartwarming, and relentlessly optimistic tapestry that manages to encompass the entirety of this once-in-a-generation artist's larger-than-life career.

Scott Mulvahill

Frontman. Singer-songwriter.  World-renowned upright bassist. Multi-instrumentalist.  Scott Mulvahill is leaving his unique mark on the intersecting worlds of Americana, bluegrass, folk, jazz, rock & roll, and roots music.  Raised in Houston, Mulvahill cut his teeth as a member of Ricky Skaggs' acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder. The group toured internationally for five years, backed by the bottom-heavy pulse of Mulvahill's upright bass.

Along the way, he also composed music of his own, shining a light on the genre-jumping influences — Paul Simon's sophisticated pop, James Taylor's folk, Jaco Pastorius' innovative jazz, and more — that would eventually inspire the material on his 2018 solo debut, Himalayas. His performances as part of Skaggs' nightly shows laid the brickwork for Mulvahill's transition from hotshot sideman to compelling frontman.

Encouraged by musical mentor Bruce Hornsby, Mulvahill developed a unique approach to his songwriting — one that mixed his chops as an upright bassist with hook-heavy melodies and compelling narratives.  A true “musician's musician,” Mulvahill fills his solo debut with complex finger work and innovative progressions.

Individual tickets for Keb' Mo' and Scott Mulvahill range from $52-$82, including fees, and are on sale now at the Box Office at (916) 608-6888, or online at HarrisCenter.net. Box Office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12:00pm-5:00pm, and one hour before showtime.

Mariachi Herencia de México

¡Viva el mariachi! A new generation takes mariachi to whole new heights—Latin Grammy-nominee Mariachi Herencia de México presents Herederos (the “Heirs”). Simultaneously honoring the past, celebrating the present, and creating the future of mariachi music, Mariachi Herencia de México presents an unforgettable night of Mexican music and culture.

Mariachi Herencia de México

The historic tradition of mariachi music has its roots of origin in cities such as Guadalajara and Mexico City. As the ever-evolving genre's influence spread, it reached Chicago and birthed the Mariachi Herencia de México. The energetic, virtuosic Latin Grammy-nominated group has issued chart-topping albums and performed across the North American continent. Nuestra Herencia, their 2017 debut album, topped the Latin streaming charts. 2018's Herencia de la Tierra Mía was produced by celebrated industry veteran Javier Limón and charted atop all major streaming services. 2019's Esencia topped industry charts, while a second volume, issued in 2020 performed similarly. In 2022, Herederos performed a wildly successful North American tour.

Individual tickets for Mariachi Herencia de México range from $42-$72, including fees, and are on sale now at the Box Office at (916) 608-6888, or online at HarrisCenter.net. Box Office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12:00pm-5:00pm, and one hour before showtime.

About Harris Center for the Arts

Long envisioned as a critically important element for Folsom Lake College, the visual and performing arts center was initially conceived as a facility to instruct, develop, and guide talented students to become actors, musicians, dancers, visual artists, and behind-the-curtain technicians. The scope and size of the Center expanded significantly with a 2003 feasibility study which validated the need for a facility that could also serve as a regional arts center for the greater community.

In 2004, the project proposal approved by the Los Rios Board of Trustees was submitted to the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office for final funding approval in the 2005-06 budget year. Construction of the $50 million project began in July 2008, supported by a State Educational Facilities General Obligation Bond, Local Measure A Bond, other District resources, and donations to the Folsom Lake College Foundation.

In February, 2011, the Center opened as "Three Stages at Folsom Lake College" and by the end of its second full season it had already attracted over 300,000 patrons to its offerings. In August, 2012, the Los Rios District Board of Directors announced the renaming of the facility to the "Harris Center for the Arts," honoring Chancellor Emeritus Brice Harris who, during his tenure, oversaw a doubling of the size of the District, including the development of Folsom Lake College. He, together with then President of the College Thelma Scott-Skillman, was perhaps most responsible for seeing the vision of a Regional Performing Arts Center for the community realized.

The 80,000-square-foot center includes three stages and is located at Folsom Lake College. Before Covid-19, it hosted more than 400 events per year. The venue, initially called Three Stages at Folsom Lake College, opened in 2011. It temporarily closed in July 2020, as the pandemic disrupted entertainment venues nationwide.

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