ECC Arts Center's 2017-18 season features Art Garfunkel, Arlo Guthrie, Garrison Keillor, 'Million Dollar Quartet' and more
The Elgin Community College Arts Center's recently announced 2017-2018 season features a dynamic mix of music, theatre, and more. Highlights include performances by music legends Arlo Guthrie and Art Garfunkel; a collaborative concert featuring Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Tracy Silverman, and Howard Levy; a night of harmony and humor with Garrison Keillor and frequent "Prairie Home Companion" guests Robin and Linda Williams; and the national tour of "Million Dollar Quartet."
On Friday, Oct. 13, the revered Arlo Guthrie arrives at the Arts Center with his children Abe and Sarah Lee as part of their "Re:Generation Tour." Arlo Guthrie's father, Woody Guthrie, hoped to one day have enough kids to form a family band that would travel the country singing their songs together. The "Re:Generation Tour" honors that hope. Joined by his children, Arlo Guthrie presents the music of generations of Guthries in a concert experience that celebrates the legacy of a legendary American folk music family.
Celebrated musicians Roy "Futureman" Wooten (five-time Grammy-winning percussionist and founding member of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones) and Tracy Silverman (the world's foremost concert electric violinist), joined by special guest Howard Levy (Grammy-winning harmonica great and Futureman's fellow Flecktone), present their invigorating concert performance "Futureman | Silverman" on Saturday, Nov. 18. Utilizing electronics, live looping, and spontaneous musical interaction, the performance will celebrate everything from Bach to Hendrix.
Garrison Keillor will appear with musicians Robin and Linda Williams on Friday, Feb. 16. During this "evening of song and story," the three old friends join forces for two hours of harmony and humor. Keillor hosted the popular radio variety show "A Prairie Home Companion" for 42 years. First appearing on the program in 1976, revered Nashville singers/songwriters Robin and Linda Williams made frequent appearances on the Keillor-created show.
On Friday, March 9, Art Garfunkel has made an indelible mark on the music world as both a solo artist and half of the unrivaled Simon & Garfunkel.
On Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14, the Arts Center will host the national tour of the Tony Award-winning, smash-hit Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet." Inspired by a true story, the musical dramatizes the legendary recording session that brought together Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.
Other 2017-2018 season events include the Grammy-nominated country duo Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley (Sept. 22), leading contemporary Mexican music ensemble Villalobos Brothers (Oct. 7), revered songwriter and musician Rodney Crowell (Oct. 14), A.J. Croce performing "Croce: Two Generations" (Oct. 20), "The 12 Dames of Christmas" starring Angela Ingersoll (Dec. 9), the return of the Arts Center's mini-festival "MicroFest" featuring the zany jazz band The Queen's Cartoonists and the health-defying antics of Danger Circus (Feb. 10), the Literature to Life stage presentation of the Zora Neale Hurston biography "Zora" by Laurence Holder (Feb. 22), a musical celebration of 1960s and '70s Laurel Canyon (March 10), Michael Ingersoll and Christopher Kale Jones (former "Jersey Boys" and PBS stars of "Under the Streetlamp") performing their brand new show "Lean On Me: The Brotherhood of Rock and Roll" (April 7), and Chris Perondi's "Stunt Dog Experience" (April 27).
Tickets for all performances at the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu and by phone at (847) 622-0300.
Many Arts Center performances also feature pre-show dinners prepared by ECC's award-winning Culinary Arts and Hospitality program. Pre-show dinners are $29 and feature three courses. Wine and beer are sold separately by the glass at dinner events.
The Arts Center is located in Building H on the ECC main campus at 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.