NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ The new Bluebird on the Mountain concert series begins at Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory on Saturday, May 14, the first of five shows this summer and fall offered by the observatory in collaboration with the Bluebird CafÈ.
Songwriters Marshall Chapman, Danny Flowers and Tom Kimmel will trade songs in-the-round on the scenic observatory grounds overlooking Nashville starting at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 6 p.m.
Tickets may be bought in advance for $55 per carload and will also be available at the door for $65. For $250, a season carload pass may be purchased for admittance to all five shows.
Cars may contain a maximum of eight people and no RV‘s or buses will be admitted.
Single tickets cost $17.50 in advance, $25 at the door and $80 for a season pass.
Tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster, which will add a handling fee. Tickets are limited and may run out before the day of the show. The concerts will be held rain or shine.
Visitors are encouraged to pack a picnic and bring blankets and lawn chairs for comfort.
The series is booked by Amy Kurland of the Bluebird CafÈ, who twice brought talent from the Bluebird to the observatory for shows in 2004.
Flowers, Kimmel and Chapman are regular performers at the Bluebird CafÈ.
Chapman, a Vanderbilt alumna, has released eight albums and had songs recorded by artists including Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett and Tanya Tucker. Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker and the Spinners have recorded songs by Kimmel. Flowers wrote the songs “Tulsa Time” (Don Williams, Eric Clapton) and “Gulf Coast Highway” (Nanci Griffith, Willie Nelson).
“Our collaboration with Amy and the Bluebird has already resulted in unforgettable performances at Dyer, and we‘re pleased that there are more to come,” said Rick Chappell, director of Dyer Observatory. “Our ‘per-carload‘ admission price for the shows has proven a big hit with groups of friends and families.”
The Bluebird has played a role in the careers of stars including Garth Brooks and Kathy Mattea and is known as a room where songwriters can expect rapt attention as they perform. The club was the setting for the film The Thing Called Love starring Samantha Mathis and River Phoenix and currently broadcasts “Live from the Bluebird CafÈ” on the Turner South cable network.
“The 2004 shows were examples of how magical outdoor concerts can be, and we‘re looking to continue and expand that festive feel,” said Kurland, who founded the Bluebird CafÈ in 1982 and nurtured it into Nashville‘s premier songwriter‘s venue.
Each Bluebird on the Mountain concert ends with an invitation to stargaze using the observatory‘s Seyfert telescope.
Dyer Observatory is located at 1000 Oman Drive, off Granny White Pike between Old Hickory Boulevard and Otter Creek Road, near Radnor Lake. A map is available at www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu/directions.htm.
The schedule for the rest of the Bluebird on the Mountain season:
* 8 p.m. Saturday, June 18: Tricia Walker, Ashley Cleveland, Karen Staley
* 8 p.m. Saturday, July 16: Rivers Rutherford and friends
* 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13: Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch, Don Schlitz
* 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17: Victoria Shaw, Gary Burr, Jim Photoglo
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu