Coming to Grand Junction in October

John Hiatt

with special guest Carin Mari

October 22, 7:30pm

Avalon Theater
Grand Junction, Colorado

Reserved Seating

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John Hiatt was one of seven children born to working-class parents who had a volatile, unhappy marriage. When Hiatt was nine, his older brother Michael, whom he worshipped, committed suicide. Two years later, Hiatt's dad died. Hiatt, who later called himself "a screwed-up Catholic fat kid," found escape from all this trouble and tragedy in music, especially the sounds of heroes like Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and Elvis Presley. At 11, he got his first guitar and began an enthusiastic music apprenticeship involving garage bands, school dances and songwriting. Along with it came an equal enthusiasm for drink and drugs.

 

In some ways, Hiatt's apprenticeship would continue for two more decades. When he was 19, he quit school, moved to Nashville and got a publishing deal, writing songs for $25 a week for Tree International. He wasn't successful, but he honed his craft, and it led to the first of several record deals. Stints at Epic, MCA and Geffen produced a string of taut, angst-driven solo rock albums, with uniformly poor sales. One of his early songs, "Sure As I'm Sitting Here," became a hit for Three Dog Night and hinted at what would later bloom into a side career as a hit-writer-for-hire.

 

In the late 1970s, Hiatt moved to Los Angeles and joined Ry Cooder's band. There he continued to release near-miss solo records and landed a few stray covers by the likes of Ricky Nelson and Rosanne Cash. By the mid-1980s, Hiatt's perpetual also-ran status found him sinking deep in addiction to booze and cocaine.

 

He entered rehab in 1984, got clean and re-emerged in 1987 with Bring the Family, the record which finally brought some long overdue recognition, thanks to emotionally expressive songs like "Thing Called Love" and "Have a Little Faith in Me." As his solo career thrived with rootsy, R&B-tinged rock albums like Slow Turning and Perfectly Good Guitar, his songs were covered by a stellar list of artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson and Ronnie Milsap.

 

The 1990s and 2000s have seen Hiatt touring and making records, while branching out into bluegrass, folk, television (HBO's Treme) and motion pictures (voicing an animated character in Disney's Country Bears). In 2012, he released his twenty-first solo album, Mystic Pinball. He lives on a 100-acre farm outside of Nashville. (Excerpt from https://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.)

 

 

 

 

Coming to Grand Junction in February 2025

Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group

February 16, 2025

Avalon Theater
Grand Junction, Colorado

Reserved Seating

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A singer, composer and actor, Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.

 

Whether touring as a 'Duo' or with his 'Acoustic Group' or his 'Large Band,' Lovett's live performances show not only the breadth of this Texas legend's deep talents, but also the diversity of his influences, making him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music.

 

Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lyle Lovett has evolved into one of music's most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, besides the four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association's inaugural Trailblazer Award, and was named Texas State Musician.

 

His works, rich and eclectic, are some of the most beloved of any artist working today.

 

 

 

 

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