FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contacts: August 18, 2015 Eileen Chambers: 312-294-3092 Rachelle Roe: 312-294-3090 Photos available upon request [email protected]
SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS ADDS A SPECIAL CONCERT—AN EVENING WITH THE BODEANS NOVEMBER 7 AT 8 P.M.
Singer-songwriter Charlie Mars Opens with an Acoustic Set
Tickets on Sale to the Public Friday, August 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
WXRT is the media sponsor of An Evening with the BoDeans with Charlie Mars
CHICAGO—Symphony Center Presents is pleased to announce the addition of a Special Concert for the 2015/16 season. An Evening with the BoDeans is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. with singer-songwriter Charlie Mars opening for the legendary live band. The November 7 concert marks the third Symphony Center appearance for the BoDeans since 2010 and Mars’ Symphony Center debut. Tickets for An Evening with the BoDeans with Charlie Mars at Symphony Center go on sale to the public Friday, August 21 at 10:00 a.m. WXRT is the media sponsor of An Evening with the BoDeans with Charlie Mars.
Since their 1986 critically acclaimed debut album, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the BoDeans has become one of the most celebrated and successful rock bands in the industry. After Rolling Stone named the group one of their Best New Bands in 1987, the BoDeans reached new levels of popularity for their 1993 hit, “Closer to Free,” the theme song for TV’s Party of Five. The song became one of radio’s top singles, ranking in Billboard’s Top 100 and earning an ASCAP award. The band also has a permanent display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Midwest Artists Exhibit in Cleveland, OH.
With more than 15 albums in the BoDeans discography from the past 30 years, the band’s most recent recording project, I Can’t Stop, was released in April 2015 on Free & Alive Records. The new release has garnered critical praise and features new band members along with founding
member and frontman Kurt Neumann. The new release highlights Neumann’s lean, soulful approach to the Heartland rock-and-roll that has been the group’s hallmark for so many years.
Charlie Mars, who opens the evening with an acoustic set, is a uniquely talented vocalist, songwriter and guitarist who has been an icon of Southern pop-rock since 1997. Winner of the Esquire Magazine Songwriting Competition, Mars shares his warm, country-inflected songs with audiences all over the U.S. and has performed on Austin City Limits and at the South by Southwest festival.
Mars is set to release his final installation to the series of albums dubbed “the Texas Trilogy” titled The Money in October 2015 on Rockingham Records/Thirty Tigers. The new recording explores Mars’ personal and artistic maturation over the years. According to Mars, “The Money isn’t about the money. It’s about stripping the chaos down to essentials, and letting what’s left shine.”
Tickets for An Evening with the BoDeans with Charlie Mars go on sale Friday, August 21 at 10:00 a.m. and are available in person at Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Ave., by calling the Symphony Center Box Office at 312-294-3000 or online at cso.org.
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Symphony Center Presents Saturday. November 7, 2015, 8:00 p.m. Special Concert An Evening with the BoDeans with Charlie Mars
Tickets: $30-$75
BoDeans Long known as one of the best live acts in the business, BoDeans continue to tour year round and deliver amazing, high energy, performances. "I realized some time ago that the key to the BoDeans identity is the fans' connection to our music -- nowhere is that more evident or rewarding as when we come together live. We love to connect with fans that have supported us for so long and brought us so much inspiration." said Kurt Neumann, the band's founder and frontman, "We will continue to play as long as they continue to come out and sing along."
Chart topping songs like "Fadeaway", "Only Love," and "Dreams" won them Rolling Stone's reader’s poll for Best New American Band in 1987. They were part of a small contingent of bands that inspired a new radio format known as Adult Alternative, Album Rock-Triple A. Their reputation for delivering a dynamic live show garnered support slots with U2, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, George Thorogood, The Pretenders, David Bowie, and appearances at Farm Aid, Summerfest, and ACL, among others.
In the 20+ years that followed the release of Love & Sex & Hope & Dreams, the band released several albums which embody songs played heavily at radio, in TV shows, and movies and defined a sound that a generation embraced-songs like "Good Things," "You Don't Get Much," "Idaho," "If It Makes You," "Closer to Free", "Stay," "American," and, "All the World," which was recently featured on CMT.
BoDeans now reside in that small group of bands that have managed to survive the ups and downs of the industry, remaining true to their sound and their style, for nearly 30 years. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum has them permanently displayed as part of their Midwest Artists exhibit.
In 2012, BoDeans released American Made, their 11th studio record, which finds the group embracing their heartland roots and celebrating the American spirit. That year, they also released the double live CD Amped Across America which was recorded during the summer/fall of 2012.
Summer 2013 marked the return of legendary drummer, Kenny Aronoff, who has played with the band both live and in the studio off and on since the mid 80's. Many of the band's biggest hits feature Kenny on the drums with longtime bassist Ryan Bowman, David Duffy on fiddle and mandolin, Stefano Intelisano on the keyboard and accordion, and Sam Hawksley with the acoustic guitar and vocals. The team joins Kurt and Kenny on the road and in the studio with a new record due out 2014.
Charlie Mars Mississippi-born singer/songwriter Charlie Mars is a country- and folk-inflected pop artist blessed with a warm vocal croon and a knack for crafting poignant, earthy songs. Born in 1974 in Laurel, Mississippi, Mars grew up listening to various styles of pop/rock, from Michael Jackson to the Violent Femmes. Just prior to his senior year of high school, Mars moved with his family to Jackson, Mississippi, where he attended Jackson Preparatory School and played in the band Adley Madidafus. After graduating high school in 1992, he attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. It was also while at SMU that Mars formed the Charlie Mars Band and released several of Mars’ breakout albums, including 1995's Broken Arrow, 1997's Born & Razed, and 1999's End of Romance. Mars’s tunes are acclaimed for their blends of Southern minimalism and deep gut grooves, demonstrating his unique artistry.
In 2001, looking to start fresh, Mars moved to Sweden where he began writing new material. Re- energized, he returned to the United States where he spent time in Austin, Texas and eventually released his 2004 self-titled album on V2 Records. After settling in New York City in 2008, he began to find his “true voice” and began work on what would eventually become his "Texas Trilogy." Recorded with producer Billy Harvey and a core group of musicians—J.J. Johnson, John Ginty and George Reiff—in Austin, the trilogy includes 2009's Like a Bird, Like a Plane and 2012's Blackberry Light. In October 2015, Mars will round out the trilogy with the release of his seventh studio album, the Harvey-produced recording project title, The Money. According to Charlie, “The Money isn’t about the money. It’s about stripping the chaos down to essentials, and letting what’s left shine.”
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: www.cso.org and www.csosoundsandstories.org/ Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th music director. Pierre Boulez is the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus, Yo-Yo Ma is its Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek are its Mead Composers-in-Residence.
From baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892, the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.
People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT radio network and online at cso.org/radio. Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including two in 2011 for Muti’s recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti’s first of four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at www.cso.org/resound.
The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a training ensemble for emerging professionals. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest artists and ensembles from a variety of genres—classical, jazz, world, and contemporary.
The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO is committed to using the power of music to create connections and build community.
The CSO is supported by thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute.