• DAVID GRISMAN & JOHN SEBASTIAN
• 8:30pm Seating / 9:00pm Show

Please Note Doors Open At 8:30 p.m., show begins 9 p.m. Space is closed to the public before 8:30 p.m.

JOHN SEBASTIAN

Over four decades, the contributions of John Sebastian have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric. Drawing on blues, country, folk, and jug band music for inspiration, John has crafted a wholly-original sound which ties thoroughly modern music to the depth of America’s musical history. His group The Lovin' Spoonful was an indelible part of the mid-'60s rock revolution, their first seven singles hitting the Top 10. After leaving the group, he performed at Woodstock and wrote music for the films of Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. His 1976 theme song for the television show Welcome Back Kotter became a chart-topping solo record. The ‘90s saw John return to the group format with the J-Band, a contemporary take on the classic jug band. Inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, John continues to spread the gospel of American Roots music, lending his voice in support of social, environmental, and animal rights causes. Truly a a master musician, writer and performer, John Sebastian remains one of the best ambassadors American music has ever had.

DAVID GRISMAN

For over 40 years, mandolinist/composer David Grisman has been busy creating "dawg" music, a blend of many stylistic influences (including swing, bluegrass, Latin, jazz and gypsy) so unique he gave it its own name. In doing so, David has inspired a whole new genre of acoustic string instrumental music —with style and virtuosity, while creating a unique niche for himself in the world of contemporary music.

Praised for his mastery of the instrument as well as his talents as a composer, bandleader, teacher and record producer by the New York Times, David’s role as an acoustic innovator continues to grow. After recording for several major and independent labels, Grisman founded his own company, Acoustic Disc, which he runs from his studio in northern California. After launching the label in 1990, David entered the most prolific period of his distinguished career, producing over 60 critically acclaimed, sonically superior recordings of acoustic music (five of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards).

David discovered the mandolin as a teenager growing up in New Jersey, where he met and became a disciple of mandolinist/folklorist Ralph Rinzler. Despite a warning from his piano teacher that it wasn't a "real" instrument, Grisman learned to play the mandolin in the style of Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music. He took it with him to Greenwich Village where he studied English at New York University and became immersed in the proliferating folk music scene of the early 1960s. In 1963 Grisman made his first recordings as an artist (the Even Dozen JugvBand - Elektra) and producer (Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and the Kentuckians - Folkways). In 1966, Red Allen offered David his first job with an authentic bluegrass band, the Kentuckians. While studying the music of his bluegrass mandolin heroes like Bill Monroe, Jesse McReynolds and Frank Wakefield, Grisman began composing original tunes and playing with other urban bluegrassvcontemporaries like Peter Rowan and Jerry Garcia, with whom he would later form Old & in the Way.