March 12, 2009 Issue
Kenny Loggins Headlines 2009 Appalachian Summer Festival
25th Anniversary Season Is June 27 through July 25
Kenny Loggins, Joan Baez and Celtic band Leahy are among the star-studded lineup of the 25th Anniversary season of An Appalachian Summer Festival.
ASU announces the 25th anniversary season of its premier summer arts attraction, An Appalachian Summer Festival. The 2009 season will take place from Saturday, June 27, through Saturday, July 25. This year’s lineup features several of the festival’s most popular artists from the past, including Pilobolus Dance Theater and the Celtic sensation Leahy, as well as artists new to the festival, such as Joan Baez, Melissa Manchester and Kenny Loggins.
An Appalachian Summer Festival began as a small, chamber music series brought to the university by Arnold and Muriel Rosen, Florida residents with a summer home in the High Country. A partnership soon developed, and ASU joined with the Rosens and other generous individual and corporate supporters to transform the vision of a major summer arts festival into a reality.
To the chamber music series was added symphony performances, later ballet and contemporary dance, theatre, visual arts—both two- and three-dimensional—and finally, a film series. True to a university-based arts festival, educational opportunities—including lectures and opportunities to meet artists, artistic directors, competition jurors and other experts—have always been an important component of festival programming.
The festival has grown to include a corps of more than 100 volunteers and more than 26,000 festival attendees each season.
The 2009 season opens on Saturday, June 27, with a tried and true festival favorite, Leahy, a family of eight extraordinarily talented instrumentalists, singers and dancers who bring a rare level of energy, originality and musicianship to the stage. Leahy was last at An Appalachian Summer Festival in 2005, receiving a standing ovation and roaring applause.
The finale concert, held in the Holmes Convocation Center on Saturday, July 25, features Kenny Loggins. In 1984, Loggins’ title track for the Footloose motion picture soundtrack spent three weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. This is Loggins’ first appearance at An Appalachian Summer Festival.
Between June 27 and July 25, the festival will host a full slate of the finest artistic talent, including the Eastern Festival Orchestra with Sarah Chang, violin (July 12) and Horatio Gutierrez, piano (July 19); Joan Baez (July 23); the Halpert Biennial, a national juried competition and exhibition; Pilobolus Dance Theater (July 7); Melissa Manchester (July 2); Buckwhweat Zydeco (July 11); Paula Poundstone (July 17); the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble Concert Series (June 28, July 1, 6, 15 and 20); Triad Stage’s production of Oleanna (July 21 and 22); Mike Cross (July 18); the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Pops (June 30); the 23rd Annual Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition; Paul Taylor Dance (July 14); “Dinner and a Show at Westglow” featuring Sophie B. Hawkins (July 5); films, lectures, workshops and several special events, including a history party, Family Day at the Turchin Center and a silent auction.
Festival sponsors include Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Westglow Resort and Spa, SkyBest Communications, Inc., McDonald’s of Boone, Mast General Store, Best Western – Blue Ridge Plaza, Allen Wealth Management, Footsloggers Outdoor & Travel Outfitters, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Chetola Resort, the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, WBTV, WCYB, Charter Media, Mountain Times, All About Women magazine, Winston-Salem Journal, High Country Press, Mac 100.7FM, Mix 102.3FM, WHKY AM 1290 Talk Radio and WHKY-TVDT, Mountain Television Network, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WETS 89.5FM, WNCW 88.8FM and WASU 90.5FM.
Tickets to an Appalachian Summer Festival performances are on sale now and range from $5 to $30. The festival offers two flexible ticket passes: the Pick 5 offers a 15 percent discount off of any purchase of five or more tickets; the Festival Pass offers a 25 percent discount and priority seating for those who purchase a ticket to each performance.
For tickets and information, call 828-262-4046 or click to www.appsummer.org.
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