NEWS RELEASE
DATE: Feb. 23, 2011
CONTACT: Mark Demko, 610-332-1342 or mdemko@artsquest.org
FIVE NEW MUSIKFEST CAFÉ ACTS ANNOUNCED INCLUDING ACADEMY AWARD
WINNER BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE & GRAMMY WINNERS LOS LONELY BOYS
BETHLEHEM, PA—Academy Award winner Buffy Sainte-Marie, country singer-songwriter Steve Azar, international big band and jazz recording artist Matt Dusk, Tex-Mex rockers Los Lonely Boys and Australian comedy trio Axis of Awesome will perform at the Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling, located at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. Tickets for the shows will go on sale starting Tues., March 1, 10 a.m., to ArtsQuest Members and Fri., March 4, 10 a.m., to the public. They will be available at www.artsquest.org or by calling 610-332-3378.
Steve Azar - May 4, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $35 VIP Box/$30 Cabaret
One of country music's most promising stars and prolific songwriters, Steve Azar began writing songs at a very early age. A Greenville, Miss. native, Azar was initially influenced by bluesmen like Eugene Powell and Sam Chapman when they would play behind his dad's liquor store. Azar loved their sound so much that he was immediately hooked and knew that music would be his life's journey. In 2001, Azar launched a radio phenomenon with his self-penned hit, "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)." The song not only topped the charts, but also received more than three million spins on the radio. Another one of Azar’s big hits was the Top 10 "Waitin' On Joe," which also produced a No. 1 video featuring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. "Indianola," Azar’s 2008 album, reached No. 1 on XM Radio’s "Country Outlaw" channel.
Matt Dusk - May 5, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $30 VIP Box/$22 Cabaret
Singer-songwriter, producer, arranger and fervent jazz-pop musicologist Matt Dusk is blessed with the perfect name…for his spirit truly comes out as night approaches and the concert audience awaits. The Canada native and Juno Award nominee has spent most of his career reanimating the great American songbook alongside some of his own more quirky pop creations. The international recording artist scored a gold album with his debut CD, "Two Shots," and a chart-topping adult contemporary single with "All About Me." Dusk even had a No. 1 single in Japan with "Back in Town," becoming the first male jazz singer to top the pop charts in that country. His new high-definition television special, "Matt Dusk: Live From Las Vegas," will be featured on Public Television during its March 2011 Pledge Drive.
Buffy Sainte-Marie - May 15, 7:30 p.m.
with Jackie Tice
Tickets: $39 VIP Box/$30 Cabaret
By age 24, Academy Award winner Buffy Sainte-Marie had appeared all over Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia, receiving honors, medals and awards, which continue to this day. Her song "Until It's Time for You to Go" was recorded by Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Barbara Streisand and Cher, and her "Universal Soldier" became the anthem of the peace movement. Over the years, Sainte-Marie recorded numerous albums, three of her own television specials, spent five years on "Sesame Street," scored movies, helped found Canada's "Music of Aboriginal Canada" Juno Awards category and won a Golden Globe and Academy Award for the song, "Up Where We Belong," from "An Officer and a Gentleman." Her 2009 release, "Running for the Drum," earned her numerous honors including her third Juno Award and an Aboriginal’s People Choice Music Award (APCMA) for Best Folk Album. She was the 25th inductee into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the first person to receive APCMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Axis of Awesome - June 9, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $25 VIP Box/$20 Cabaret
Since 2006 Axis of Awesome has been wowing audiences throughout the world with its mixture of quirky original songs, catchy pop-parodies and hilarious banter. Made up of comedian Jordan Raskopoulos, classically trained musician Benny Davis and Iron Chef enthusiast Lee Naimo, this musical comedy act is tapped to be the next "Flight of the Conchords." In its native Australia, Axis of Awesome received the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Moosehead Award in 2008 for it show, "The Axis of Awesome Comeback Spectacular." The trio continued its success by performing to sold-out audiences and rave reviews at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Its "4 Chords Song" video has received more than 750,000 views on YouTube.
Los Lonely Boys - June 20, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $45 VIP Box/$35 Cabaret
These three Texas brothers - guitarist Henry Garza, bass player Jojo Garza and drummer Ringo Garza - hit it big with their first two studio albums, the multi-platinum 2003 debut "Los Lonely Boys" and 2006's "Sacred," which arrived at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The band was catapulted to world-wide success when its initial hit, "Heaven," reached No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and earned it a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The trio’s most recent recording is "Keep on Giving: Acoustic Live," released in 2010.
ABOUT THE MUSIKFEST CAFÉ PRESENTED BY YUENGLING
The Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling is an intimate concert venue featuring one of the most unique backdrops in the nation, the historic blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel plant. Guests attending concerts at the state-of-the-art performance venue will be able to look out upon the iconic furnaces, illuminated nightly, thanks to 26-foot-tall clear glass walls located behind the stage, making for a concert experience unlike any other.
The Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling is located on the third and fourth floors of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way in Bethlehem. The venue, which will open May 1, will accommodate audiences of 450-900 people depending on the performance and seating configuration.
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Editor’s Note: Attached is an image of Buffy Sainte-Marie, who will be performing at the Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling on May 15.
