The Barns at Wolf Trap Announces Their Spring Event Schedule

The Barns at Wolf Trap continues its hard-hitting spring schedule with debuts from The Bad Plus, The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, and a Tribute to the Music of Neil Finn/Crowded House. The comprehensive event list is as follows:

The Bad Plus
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 8 p.m.
$25

Best known for their proggy covers of popular tunes by Nirvana, Heart, and other artists of today and yesterday, fusion group the Bad Plus arrives for their Wolf Trap debut. Their mid-decade album, These are the Vistas, was touted by NPR's All Songs Considered as one of the most influential records of the decade. The Bad Plus has largely built their career through personal interactions with fans via a non-stop touring schedule, introducing audiences to their powerful, inimitable sound. Their latest studio offering, For All I Care, featuring collaboration with Wendy Lewis, is rife with original composition, supplemented by signature covers of Wilco's "Radio Cure," Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," and the Beegees "How Deep is Your Love."

Shemekia Copeland
Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 8 p.m.
$22

In her return to the The Barns at Wolf Trap, Shemekia Copeland continues to command audiences with powerful and sultry vocals rooted in the rich, soulful tradition of blues music. This performance will feature music from Copeland's fifth album, Never Going Back, released in February 2009. In a review of the record, the Boston Globe commented, "Boy, has she got a set of lungs." Daughter of the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, she is dubbed as "the next queen of blues", drawing comparison to Etta James and koko Taylor. Copeland's second album, Wicked, received a Grammy nomination, as well as three Handy Blues Awards. Before the age of 30, Copeland performed a headlining slot at the Chicago Blues Festival and earned critic's choice awards from The New York Times and The Times of London. Copeland has shared the stage with some of the industry's finest musicians, including the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, and John Mayer.

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
The Discovery Series
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 8 p.m.
$35

As of part of the acclaimed Discovery Series program, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin) makes its Wolf Trap debut. Founded in 1988, they are primarily known for redefining the sound of the classic wind quintet, covering not only the broad spectrum of the classic wind quintet repertoire, but venturing into works for an enlarged ensemble. Aside from exclusive recording projects with the Swedish BIS Records, the quintet frequently tours throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, Australia, and the Far East, and has recently intensified collaborative efforts with such high-profile musicians as Lars Vogt, Stephen Hough, Jon Nakamatsu, and Lilya Zilberstein. With only periodic stops in the U.S., their appearance at The Barns is an experience not to be missed.

A Tribute to Neil Finn/Crowded House
Featuring: Naked Blue, Jon Carroll, Margot MacDonald, John Jennings,
David Kitchen Band, King Teddy, Cal Everett, Deeme Katson, Luke Brindley, Todd Wright, Alfonso Velez, Harry Traynham, Bruno Loves Danger, Diane Rosenthal, and Rocky Roberts
Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
$25

Wolf Trap welcomes local artists to The Barns for a musical tribute to the works of Neil Finn/Crowded House, who was recently deemed as a "national treasure" of New Zealand by icons David Byrne and Shawn Colvin. Boasting an exceptionally deep song catalog, making him the ideal candidate for one of Wolf Trap's yearly tribute shows at The Barns, Finn is known best for his unwillingness to replicate his small collection of hit songs in favor of commercialization and/or the achievement of pop-star status. Instead, he refused to limit himself a formula and embraced a multitude of song-craft, pulling influence from the music that moved him since his years as a teenage prodigy in New Zealand. Wolf Trap has gathered a collection of fine regional musicians with the goal of recreating the on-stage intimacy, collaboration, and good humor that so aptly defined Finn and Crowded House's live performances.

Tickets for all performances can be purchased by calling 1 (877) WOLFTRAP; or online at http://www.wolftrap.org/Purchase_Tickets.aspx. For more information, call The Barns at Wolf Trap at (703) 938-2404.

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