JANUARY 15, 2009 ISSUE
Back By Popular Demand
John Cowan Band Returns to Hayes Center for Winterfest January 24
Inimitable vocalist and top-notch bassist John Cowan will return with his band to Blowing Rock’s Hayes Center to perform on Saturday, January 24. Cowan’s 2008 Winterfest performance sold out.
In the brief history of Blowing Rock’s Hayes Performing Arts Center, renowned vocalist and bassist John Cowan has become one of the venue’s most beloved performers, performing multiple sell-out shows to enthusiastic audiences in the intimate space.
On Saturday, January 24, Cowan and his band will reprise their rolls as Winterfest’s Saturday night showmen, returning to the Hayes Center yet again to perform songs from throughout the lauded musician’s career.
As lead singer for the former New Grass Revival, Cowan introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental brand of acoustic music by fusing rock, r&b, gospel and jazz influences with country and bluegrass. Joining him at the Hayes Center will be bandmates and longtime collaborators Jeff Autrey on guitar and Shad Cobb on fiddle, as well as special guest mandolin player John Frazier from Colorado outfit Hit & Run Bluegrass.
Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “groundbreaking, rock-star-explosive,”
Cowan has followed his muse from one project to the next, putting his unique stamp on soul, rock, blues and beyond, as well as doing time with the Doobie Brothers, Leftover Salmon and the Sky Kings. The Nashville resident has also loaned his vocal talents to recordings by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Garth Brooks, Roseanne Cash, Steve Earle and Leon Russell.
Since his first appearance on the back of a flatbed truck by what is now known as the cabin stage at MerleFest in 1988, Cowan has been a mainstay of the festival, missing only a handful in the last two decades. Last year’s festival saw him conjuring the spirit of a young Robert Plant as he fronted The Waybacks for their star-studded interpretation of Led Zeppelin II during the band’s Hillside Album Hour set.
Tickets for the John Cowan Band concert are $25 for the general public and $14 for students. Purchase tickets now by calling the Hayes Center Box Office at 828-295-9627. You may pay by credit card or in person by cash. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.HayesCenter.org by credit card. Special group rates are also available.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center
Cost: $25 for adults/$14 for students
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