Festival announces 2017 line-up

SANDPOINT — Something to dance to? Check.

Good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll? Yep, that, too.

New music to explore and fall in love with? You know it.

When the Festival at Sandpoint celebrates its 35th annual summer concert series this summer, music lovers will have a chance to do all of the above. The annual concert series, which runs Aug. 3-13, showcases eight nights of music under the stars on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint. The season line-up serves up its trademark eclectic mix with headliners Pink Martini, The B-52’s, Jake Owen, The Head and The Heart, Iration, The Wailers, George Thorogood and The Destroyers and the Spokane Symphony conducted by Gary Sheldon with piano soloist Tien Hsieh. Supporting artists include The Roman Candles and The White Buffalo.

- Thursday, Aug. 3 — Opening Night

On the Festival’s Opening Night, Thursday, Aug. 3, spend an evening with Pink Martini. Pink Martini is the “little orchestra” from Portland, Ore., with a wildly diverse repertoire who draw inspiration from music from all over the world — crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop. The virtuosic group draws from the romantic Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and ’50s, with a global perspective that comes from their multi-cultural members including bandleader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale and lead vocalist China Forbes, Pink Martini’s “diva next door,” who first met while students at Harvard.

According to the Washington Times, “Pink Martini is an original force in contemporary music even as it basks in eclectic nostalgia. It also bridges, better than any band in recent memory, the high-brow/pop culture divide.” Lauderdale says “Pink Martini is a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure … if the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we’d be that band.”

All tickets are $44.95. Gates open at 6 p.m., concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

- Friday, Aug. 4 — The B-52’s

It’s a Festival dance party with the world’s greatest party band, The B-52’s. Forty years into their career, with over 20 million albums sold, there can be no doubt as to why they remain one of rock music’s most beloved and enduring bands. Any mystery concerning the band’s longevity and ongoing, multi-generational appeal is immediately solved when exposed to a B-52’s concert experience. From groundbreaking songs like “Rock Lobster,” “Dance the Mess Around” and “Private Idaho” to chart-topping hits like “Love Shack,” “Roam,” “Deadbeat Club” and “Funplex,” the B-52’s dance-rock tunes can jump-start a party every time.

Playing their first gig on Valentine’s Day in 1977 in Athens, Ga., the newly-christened band, featuring Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, was named after the Southern slang for their exaggerated, bouffant hairdos that remain their signature coif. Their thrift store aesthetic and genre-defying songs soon became the talk of the post-punk underground on New York’s Lower East Side and they went on to galvanize the pop world with their stream of consciousness approach to songwriting and outrageous performance.

All tickets are $54.95. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Please note: This is a dance show. The Festival venue will be configured differently for this concert to allow for an increased dancing/standing area in front of the stage. There will still be adequate sections for blankets, low chairs, high chairs and reserved patron and sponsor seating, as well as seated availability in the grandstands. The dance venue map can be viewed online at FestivalatSandpoint.com.

- Saturday, Aug. 5 — Jake Owen

On Saturday, August 5, red-hot county artist Jake Owen is coming to Sandpoint. A fast-rising star, Owen was named American Country Music Awards’ Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2012 and the No. 1 hits just keep coming including “Barefoot Blue Jean Nights,” “The One That Got Away,” “Anywhere with You,” and “Beachin’.”

All tickets are $74.95. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30 p.m.

- Sunday, Aug. 6 — Family Concert, “The Frog Prince”

Sunday, Aug. 6 is musical fun for the young and young at heart. The Festival presents its Family Concert, “The Frog Prince” with music by Jules Massenet and choreography by Marc Spielberger. The concert features The Festival Community Orchestra and Sandpoint’s Studio 1 dancers.

Favorite pre-concert activities include the Instrument Petting Zoo — where kids can try out various instruments with guidance from musical mentors — an animal petting zoo, pony rides, clowns, face painting, games galore and the popular Parents’ Corner, where moms and dads can take a break from the chaos for a complimentary mini-massage.

All tickets are only $6. Activities begin when the gates open at 2:30 p.m.; the musical performance starts at 5 p.m.

- Thursday, Aug. 10 — The Head and the Heart

Week two at the Festival kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 10 with indie folk-rock sensation The Head and the Heart. Their 2011 self-titled debut album with hits “Lost in my Mind,” “Rivers and Roads” and “Coeur d’Alene,” captured an undeniable creative partnership between six strangers, street musicians thrown together by little more than a shared love of music. It became one of Sub Pop Records’ best-selling debut releases ever, and rocketed the band to acclaim well beyond its then-home base in Seattle. The formative experiences that followed both on and off the stage heavily informed the 2013 follow-up “Let’s Be Still”. Their latest release “Signs of Light”, with the lead single “All We Ever Knew,” continues to earn the group devoted fans who love to see them perform live.

The Roman Candles, who are touring with THATH this summer, will open the show.

All tickets are $44.95. BrewFest tickets are available for $10 — which includes a commemorative pilsner glass and premium microbrew tastes. Brew tasting starts when gates open at 6 p.m. Concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

- Friday Aug. 11 — Iration and The Wailers

Friday, Aug. 11, get a double dose of positive vibrations with Iration and The Wailers.

Iration is an alternative/reggae group of musicians who met while growing up in Hawaii but formed the band after reconnecting in Santa Barbara, Calif. A deep-rooted reggae influence is fused with elements of rock, dub and pop to create smooth original sounds. Top hits include “Reelin,” “Time Bomb,” “Fallin” and “Summer Nights.” Touring nationally since 2008, Iration has performed at national festivals including Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and they are one of the leading bands in the genre of sunshine reggae. These Hawaiian-bred musicians look forward to spreading their original sound and aloha spirit all the while never forgetting to get a surf in when possible.

The legendary Wailers are coming together to perform on The Festival at Sandpoint stage, and this is a slice of musical history you must not miss. Starting in 1974, Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded, toured, and performed before millions of fans all over the world. Rolling Stone magazine named Bob Marley & The Wailers Band of the Year in 1976 and 1977’s “Exodus”, was declared Best Album of the Century in 1999 by Time Magazine.

Steered by famed bassist and founder Aston “Familyman” Barrett, and joined in solidarity with original Wailers’ band members, the incomparable Wailers band carries on its revolutionary reggae sound and message to loyal fans around the world.

All tickets are $54.95. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 7 p.m. for this double-header concert.

Please note: This is a dance show. The Festival venue will be configured differently for this concert to allow for an increased dancing/standing area in front of the stage. There will still be adequate sections for blankets, low chairs, high chairs and reserved patron and sponsor seating, as well as seated availability in the grandstands. The dance venue map can be viewed online at FestivalatSandpoint.com.

- Saturday, Aug. 12 — George Thorogood & The Destroyers

On Saturday, Aug. 12, George Thorogood & The Destroyers are bringing their 2017 Rock Party Tour to Memorial Field. The boogie-blues rock icon is best known for his high energy performances and indelible hits including “Bad to the Bone,” “Move It On Over,” “Who Do You Love?” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”

Thorogood is joined by The White Buffalo, an American singer-songwriter who was named as one of NPR’s 12 New Artists to Watch.

All tickets are $74.95. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30 p.m.

- Sunday, Aug. 13 — Grand Finale Concert, “Nordic Nights”

The Festival season culminates on Sunday, Aug. 13, with the Grand Finale Concert: “Nordic Nights” featuring the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Gary Sheldon. The Scandinavian-inspired program opens with Clarke’s “Prince of Denmark March” and Alfen’s “Swedish Rhapsody No. 1”, followed by Grieg’s powerful “Piano Concerto” featuring the triumphant return of piano soloist Tien Hsieh. The second half of the program includes Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite” and Sibelius’ “Finlandia”.

Preceding the concert, our annual “Taste of the Stars” wine tasting, is now the largest wine event of its kind in the state of Idaho and complimentary for all concertgoers over the age of 21 years. Our traditional fireworks finale, made possible by Avista Utilities, will close The Festival at Sandpoint’s 35th season in celebratory fashion.

This concert also serves as part of The Festival’s 5th Grade Music Outreach Program, an educational mission that takes place in all elementary schools in Bonner and Boundary counties. Each fifth-grader receives complimentary tickets for themselves and two family members to attend a symphonic Festival concert.

The recipient of the Festival’s Music Scholarship will perform before the concert and the winning bidder of the original 2017 poster artwork by Leata Judd will be announced.

Gates open early at 4:30 p.m. for the wine tasting event and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $39.95 for adults, $10.95 for youth through 18 years.

Individual tickets to all shows go on sale online starting Saturday, April 29, at festivalatsandpoint.com and in person at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 1, at The Festival at Sandpoint office, 525 Pine St., Sandpoint.

Phone orders may be placed by calling the Festival Office locally at 208-265-4554 or toll free 888-265-4554. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover cards, personal checks and cash are accepted.