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High-resolution downloadable images of Junior Brown, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Tom Chapin and Catie Curtis are available on Wolf Trap’s Web site: http://www.wolftrap.org/Media_and_Newsroom/Photos_for_Publication.aspx

Contact: Graham Binder, Manager, Public Relations
(703) 255-1917 or grahamb@wolftrap.org

Vienna, VA—The Barns at Wolf Trap Spring season draws to a close with offerings for the whole family from hard driving country-rock to lighthearted acoustic folk. Junior Brown returns with his one-of-a-kind “guit-steel” dominant renegade country-rock on Thursday, April 23, followed by the season’s final Discovery Series show with the first ever Barns performance of Schubert’s Octet in F-Major from the road tested Chicago Chamber Musicians on Friday, April 24. Contemporary folk masters Tom Chapin and Catie Curtis wrap the week with performances on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, respectively.

Junior Brown
Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 8 p.m.
$24

Junior Brown returns for his fourth performance at The Barns and as always, he promises to keep it country with his signature “guit-steel,” a double-necked beauty that combines the lap steel and traditional guitars. Brown is somewhat of an anomaly, as he is able to successfully fuse hardcore country with rock, drawing a wide range of listeners who straddle the fence between the two distinct genres.

In 1994 he was named the No. 1 lap-steel guitar player by Guitar Player magazine, and Guit With It ranked third on the publication’s list of the year’s best country albums. Live at the Continental Club: The Austin Experience (2005) is Brown’s latest release, exemplifying his widespread reputation as an expert showman. In a 1998 concert review, Rolling Stone noted the crowd was “loving him before he’d even played his first note,” and concluded that “Junior Brown the performer is a double-threat.

Chicago Chamber Musicians
Friday, April 24, 2009 at 8 p.m.
$35

In their second Wolf Trap appearance, Chicago Chamber Musicians (CCM) is best known for exploring selections from the entire chamber music canon with a heavy touring schedule of 75- plus dates each year. To help recreate the experience of a live CCM performance, fans can enjoy a free download each month by visiting CCM’s website. Comprised of Chicago Symphony Orchestra members and esteemed soloists, this year’s program at The Barns features Mozart’s Horn Quintet, framed by two Schubert masterworks: the B-Flat Major Trio, and the first ever Barns performance of the Octet in F-Major. CCM was founded in 1986 with a steadfast commitment to building an internationally-recognized institution in Chicago, exclusively devoted to the study and performance of chamber music.

CCM has received two ASCAP/Chamber Music America Awards for Adventurous Programming, has commissioned 15 works from today’s leading composers, including John Harbison, Peter Lieberson, and Augusta Read Thomas, and has recorded on the Naxos, Cedille, Albany, and Summit labels – whose Chamber Works for Winds and Strings by Mozart earned CCM a 2006 Grammy nomination. Annually, CCM reaches more than 5 million people through radio broadcasts, live concerts, and school residencies.

Tom Chapin
Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
$22

Practically a yearly tradition at The Barns at Wolf Trap, enduring folk-pop artist/activist Tom Chapin has entertained audiences of all ages for more than 30 years with a balance of life-affirming lyrics and warmhearted vocals. He arrives in support of his forthcoming release Let the Bad Times Roll, an album geared more towards adults, rather than his often-produced children-based material.

Chapin draws the majority of his influence from socially conscious folk icons Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger—because, he says, they “wrote and sang real songs for real people; for everyone, old, young, and in between.” With more than 20 albums and three Grammys, Chapin can rest assured that his music is for everyone, too—a fact to which his children and adults everywhere can attest.

Catie Curtis w/ special guest The Bittersweets
Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
$20

Catie Curtis

Last at The Barns in the Spring of 2006, “folk-rock goddess”—as termed by The New Yorker—Catie Curtis returns in support of her ninth and latest release, Sweet Life. According to Curtis, this new record is about the resilient attitude of recognizing the good that comes along with the bad. A New England native, Curtis gained exposure by appearing on local Boston radio programs and eventually released her debut album From Years to Hours (1991), followed by Truth from Lies (1995), released on her own indie label, Sam the Pug Records. A record deal with EMI/Guardian Records in 1996 helped earn her national recognition and song appearances in several independent films and popular television shows including Felicity, Alias, Chicago Hope, and Grey’s Anatomy. While mainstream success has helped propel her career, her focus remains on building a fan base from a grassroots level through inspired, endearing live performance.

The Bittersweets

Led by guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Chris Meyers and guitarist/vocalist Hannah Prater, this Nashville-based duo is a shining example of the young alt-pop/folk talent that is slowly displacing the once predominant country pool of artists in Nashville, Tennessee. The Bittersweets arrive at The Barns for their Wolf Trap debut, fresh off the release of their sophomore record, Goodnight, San Francisco, an 11-track melting pot of delicate mood pieces featuring notable session musicians Russ Pahl (Don Williams), bassist Dave Jacques (John Prine), drummer Steve Bowman (Counting Crows), guitarist Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin), cellist David Henry (Ben Folds), organ player John Deaderick (Emmylou Harris,) and others.

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Tickets can be purchased by calling 1 (877) WOLFTRAP; or online at http://www.wolftrap.org/Purchase_Tickets.aspx

For more information, call The Barns at Wolf Trap at (703) 938-2404.