Shady Grove Concert Series: Clay Kirkland

Swallow Hill Music’s Shady Grove Concert Series Returns This Summer, in Partnership with Four Mile Historic Park!

Join us every Thursday evening from June 1st to July 20th, 2023 in The Grove at Four Mile Historic Park to hear performances from Colorado artists representing all areas of the state.

An important change to the series this year: No outside beverages will be permitted in, other than factory-sealed water bottles. Outside food will be limited to small soft-sided coolers only (max 11″ x 9.5″ x 11″). Large coolers, picnic baskets, backpacks or food take-out boxes will not be allowed in.

Wine, charcuterie sampler boxes, and other items can be purchased along with your tickets, and there will be a food truck open at the event as well.

For more information about the Concert Series, please visit:

https://swallowhillmusic.org/2023-shady-grove-concert-series/

SAVE MORE THAN 50% OFF THE DOOR PRICES BY PURCHASING SEASON TICKETS – AVAILABLE THROUGH JUNE 11, 2023!

$125 – General admission for one person for all eight of our Shady Grove Concert Series events, plus one drink ticket* per show! ($272 value)

$200 – General admission for two people to all eight of our Shady Grove Concert Series events! Also includes one drink ticket* per person per show! ($544 value)

BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY! SPECIAL PRICING ON CHILDREN’S TICKETS : Purchase half-priced tickets for children ages 4 – 12 by entering the Promo Code “childticket2023” below, and hit “apply”. Children age 3 and under attend for free, no ticket required.

*Drink tickets can be picked up upon arrival at the first show you attend in the series, and can be redeemed at the event for one mixed drink, beer, glass of wine, soda or water. Only one drink ticket per guest can be redeemed at each show.

ABOUT THE BAND:

In his 45-year career harmonica master Clay Kirkland has performed country with Willie Nelson, rock and roll with Chuck Berry, Southern rock with the Derrick Trucks Band, and many more. His mix of R&B, blues, rock, and more have made him a Denver concert staple, and he is excited to return to The Grove!

Website: https://claykirkland.com/

Clay Kirkland’s on stage performance and extensive musical training began at age six in Winterville, Georgia, with encouragement from his pianist/choir director mother and Baptist minister father. Kirkland’s studies of guitar, piano, saxophone, cello, baritone horn, and tabla drums, and singing in church and school choirs, enabled him to teach himself to play the harmonica a girlfriend gave him for Christmas in 1968.

Kirkland’s own recordings and his concert appearances with Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Chuck Berry, Lou Rawls, the Nighthawks with Jimmy Thackery and Mark Wenner, and as a member of the great Kansas City and Denver bands Gary Morris’ Breakaway and KC Grits, have led to such reviews as, “One of the world’s innovators on the harmonica, Kirkland unlocks a soulfulness hidden in the instrument’s brass” (the Denver Post) and “Phenomenal technique…a visionary musician, stunning…rooted deeply in the blues.” (British Blueprint, London).

Awards include “Colorado Blues Society Lifetime Achievement”; “Best of Westword 1995 Best World Beat Album”; and “Swallow Hill Music Distinguished Faculty”. Kirkland credits any accomplishments to a hatha yoga and pranayama practice that began in 1970, several decades of Primal Therapy, Holotropic Breathwork, and Siddha Yoga meditation, and sharing music with his son, Luke.

Kirkland has been a member of the Swallow Hill Music faculty for over thirty years and will be joined by other beloved faculty members Stef Kull, Josie Quick, Chadzilla Johnson, Paul Trunko, Ed Contreras, and Ed’s son, Josiah Contreras.