Lyle Lovett to kick off Starry Nights season

The Sisters Starry Nights Benefit Concert Series gets off to a stellar start with a performance by renowned singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett, who performs on Saturday, February 25 in the Sisters High School Auditorium. The sold-out concert is a benefit for the Sisters Schools Foundation.

Lovett is one of the most innovative and respected musicians of his time. Over the course of his career, he has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Country Male Vocal Performance (1989), Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal (1994 for “Blues for Dixie” with Asleep at the Wheel), Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (1994 for “Funny How Time Slips Away” with soul legend Al Green), and Best Country Album (1996).

His unique musical style — which draws from country, folk, swing, jazz, blues and traditional pop — combined with his honest, soulful voice and brilliance as a songwriter, have earned Lovett rave reviews and a fiercely loyal following over the years.

Central Oregon audiences have made him one of the area’s favorite performers, voting his show at Les Schwab Amphitheater with the Large Band “Best Concert of 2002.” Sisters Starry Nights fans will have the opportunity to see Lovett in a more intimate, acoustic format joined by a quintet of his long-time band members: John Hagen (cello), James Gilmer (percussion), Viktor Krauss (bass), Russell Kunkel (drums) and Mitch Watkins (guitar).

Opening the show will be the award-winning Sisters High School Jazz Quintet, featuring freshman Jared Henderson (bass), sophomore Tyson Edmunson (trumpet), junior Shalena Edmunson (saxophone) and seniors Benji Nagel (guitar) and Justin Veloso (drums). They will perform under the direction of SHS Band Director Jody Henderson.

Another highlight of the concert will be the performance of five Sisters Middle School students in a special number with Lyle Lovett. Seventh-grader Kaity Douglass and eighth-graders Trish Erickson, Austin Erlandson, Drew Harrison and Hayley Valoppi will sing with Lovett, under the direction of SMS/SHS Choir Director Tara MacSween.

SHS Seniors Rose Slavkovsky and Harry Womack will serve as Masters of Ceremonies for the evening.

Sisters Starry Nights has earned over a half million dollars in net proceeds for the Sisters Schools Foundation since the event’s inception in 1997, with major sponsorship support from Title Sponsors Ray’s Food Place and Hap Taylor & Sons, Inc., and Presenting Sponsor Bank of the Cascades. Headliners donate their time for Starry Nights, which provides funding for programs and activities at Sisters Elementary, Middle and High Schools.

The series will close the season on Saturday, April 22 with a double bill featuring past Starry Nights favorites Leslie Satcher (who appeared in 2002 with Vince Gill and Amy Grant) and Hanna-McEuen (who opened for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 2005). Tickets for the April 22 show are still available at Leavitt’s Western Wear and are priced at $45.

For more information on Starry Nights, contact Shirleen Cundiff at the Sisters School District at 549-8521 or Leavitt’s Western Wear at 549-6451.