By St. Cecilia Music Center
St. Cecilia Music Center brings American Country Music Group Asleep at the Wheel to the Royce Auditorium stage on Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. The band will arrive in Grand Rapids directly following six straight concert dates in their home state of Texas.
With recent band additions Katie Shore (fiddle, vocals), Dennis Ludiker (fiddle, mandolin) Connor Forsyth (keyboard, vocals) and Josh Hoag (Bass), Asleep at the Wheel’s newest members have given a newfound energy and their own unique style to the band.
Asleep at the Wheel veterans Ray Benson (lead guitar and vocals), David Sanger (drums) Eddie Rivers (steel guitar) and Jay Reynolds (saxophone and clarinet) round out the new 8-piece band who will appear at St. Cecilia.
“It is St. Cecilia Music Center’s mission to bring great music to Grand Rapids and we are pleased to bring Asleep at the Wheel to the Acoustic Café Series,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive director, said in supplied material. “With the appearance of Margo Price last season, we opened the door for country music artists to perform in our acoustically-superb and intimate hall. We trust Asleep at the Wheel fans will be excited to hear them up close and personal.”
Founding member of the band, Benson, launched Asleep at the Wheel in Paw Paw, West Virginia 48 years ago. Now based in Austin, Texas, the band has garnered 10 Grammy Awards, released more than 20 studio and live albums, and charted 20 singles on the Billboard country music charts.
The Grammy Award-winning Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys is the band’s most recent release (2015) and marks their third full-length Bob Wills tribute album. Featuring 22 acclaimed collaborations, the all-star lineup over the years has included legends such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and George Strait, The Avett Brothers, Amos Lee, Old Crow Medicine Show and many other fine talents.
The Acoustic Café Series, in partnership with the syndicated radio show of the same name, will round out the season with singer/songwriter, banjo and fiddler Rhiannon Giddens co-founder of the Grammy award-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops.
SCMC formed a partnership three years ago with the syndicated radio show Acoustic Café and its host Rob Reinhart. The Ann Arbor based radio program is syndicated to over 120 commercial and non-commercial stations throughout the country and airs locally in Grand Rapids on WYCE Friday mornings. The series at SCMC features touring singer/songwriter folk/Americana musicians in concert and also presents the opportunity for a live taping with the artists and Rob Reinhart.
“Since its inception in the 2015-16 season the Acoustic Café Folk Series has expanded its offerings and brought some of today’s up and coming artists, as well as some of the veterans of the singer/songwriter genre,” Holbrook said in supplied material.
Tickets for Asleep at the Wheel tickets are $35 and $40 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org . A post-concert party with a cash bar will be offered to all ticket-holders where the band’s CD’s can be purchased.
