FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT:           An Acoustic Evening with LYLE LOVETT & JOHN HIATT: On Stage Together

WHEN:           Thursday, February 19, 2009 • 8:00 PM

WHERE:        Aronoff Center for the Arts – Procter & Gamble Hall

PRICES:         $57.50 • $52.50 • $47.50 • $37.50

INFO:             Acclaimed singer/songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt team up for a not-to-be-missed acoustic evening of stories and songs, including memorable performances of country, rock, folk, blues and more. The popular artists will perform side-by-side, alternating songs from throughout their careers.

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale Friday, November 21

·   www.CincinnatiArts.ORG 

·   (513) 621-ARTS [2787]

·   Aronoff Center Ticket Office

·   Group sales (10 or more): (513) 977-4157

CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is proud to present an intimate, acoustic evening with two of the world’s best loved singer/songwriters – Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt – together on stage for one-night-only at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Thursday, February 19 at 8:00 PM. The show is a presentation of CAA’s 2008-09 Season – “Where the Stars Come Out at Night.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 21 and are available at www.CincinnatiArts.ORG , (513) 621-ARTS [2787], or the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Group discounts are available by calling (513) 977-4157. 

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt have teamed together for a new show in which both artists – who have been touring together in one fashion or another since 1989 – will perform side-by-side, alternating songs from throughout their careers. This not-to-be-missed evening of stories and songs will feature memorable performances of country, rock, folk, blues and more.

As the Toronto Star recently noted regarding a Lovett/Hiatt performance earlier this year, “the two-hour concert was filled with camaraderie, with heart-warming displays of mutual respect, formidable musicianship and the highest level of song craft.”

Lovett's tour with Hiatt comes on the heels of a triumphant series of dates this past summer with the Large Band. For the last few years, Lovett has alternated Large Band tours with acoustic shows teaming him with Hiatt, as well as larger songwriter circles featuring Hiatt, Guy Clark and Joe Ely (the four appeared together at the Aronoff Center in a sold-out 2007 “Songwriters Tour” stop).

Hiatt was honored in September at the Americana Music Conference with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Hiatt, an Indiana native, has enjoyed success both as a performer and a songwriter. He is currently touring in support of his latest release Same Old Man (New West Records).

Lyle Lovett

Lyle Lovett is a four-time Grammy® winner and has led a remarkable career which includes 13 albums and over four million records sold.  His music uniquely intersects an array of genres from country and folk to big-band swing and traditional pop as evidenced by such revered albums as Lyle Lovett, Pontiac, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Joshua Judges Ruth and The Road To Ensenada.

It’s Not Big It’s Large, Lovett’s latest collection, has been one of the most acclaimed efforts of his career. The album contains big, contemporary themes, but it is Lovett’s gift to make the deep thoughts slide down like honey. USA Today heralded his “Texas-sized cowboy jazz,” as the Wall Street Journal declared Lovett has “been widening the reach of country music for over 20 years,” while praising the “dozen new tracks that touch on country and folk as well as blues jazz and gospel.” The memorable songs include “I Will Rise Up/Ain’t No Cane,” the poignant “South Texas Girl,” the infectious, upbeat “Up in Indiana,” and the rueful ballad “Don’t Cry a Tear.”

Another facet of Lovett’s career is acting, and this year saw the filming of his latest effort, a role in Michael Meredith’s The Open Road.  Meredith also directed Lovett in Three Days of Rain, but Lovett’s longest and best-known film collaboration was with the late, great director Robert Altman. He appeared in four Altman films: “The Player, Short Cuts, Pret-a-Porter, and Cookie’s Fortune, and scored the music for another: Dr. T and the Women.

In the end, though, it’s music to which Lovett always returns, for it’s his own stories and songs that resonate the most. In an acoustic setting with his friend John Hiatt beside him, those stories and songs are sure to come through loud and clear.

For more information, visit www.lylelovett.com .

John Hiatt

Those of us who grew up understanding there was no difference (that mattered) in the music of Elvis, Ray Charles, Slim Harpo and Johnny Cash knew immediately upon hearing John Hiatt’s first numbers 31 years ago that he was a kindred spirit. That’s not to say only the rock-and-roll generation can appreciate Hiatt’s cleverness, idiomatic versatility, distinctive gruff and endearing voice, or slashing guitar skills. But when everyone from Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Rodney Crowell and Willie Nelson to Buddy Guy, Flaco Jimenez and Ry Cooder have covered his tunes, it’s quite clear that those who appreciate great songwriting and savor a keen wit, narrative flair and refusal to pen a sloppy or sappy line, eagerly embrace John Hiatt’s tunes.

A garage band veteran while growing up in Indiana, Hiatt also found inspiration in the groundbreaking songs of Bob Dylan, another figure with an encyclopedic knowledge of and love for vintage American music, plus the ability to

communicate sentiments and feelings many Americans either feared or pretended didn’t exist. When he arrived in Nashville as an 18-year-old, it was clear to anyone who listened closely that he not only had a lot to say, but was presenting it in a manner that brilliantly blended passion and sophistication. Early covers of his work by the Neville Brothers, Ronnie Milsap, Bonnie Raitt and many others began alerting music lovers to his compositional flair.

Then Hiatt began gaining equal notoriety as a performer, particularly a stint where he served as America’s answer to the angry Brits of the late ‘70s, plus some time working with Ry Cooder. The evidence of his evolution into a formidable artist also became more apparent in his live shows. Soon such seminal releases as Bring The Family in 1987, Slow Turning in 1988, Stolen Moments in 1990, and Walk On in 1995, were the signal that he had become a distinctive and dynamic star. Hiatt’s greatness couldn’t be denied, and he subsequently made three more astonishing

releases as the 21^st century began: Crossing Muddy Waters in 2000 reaffirmed his songwriting chops (as if that was necessary), The Tiki Bar Is Open showcased the rock ‘n’ roll roots and Beneath This Gruff Exterior revealed an artist still capable of surprising, shocking and delighting his audience. For more information, visit www.johnhiatt.com .

Performance Sponsor (Cincinnati Engagement): Bud Light and Heidelberg Distributing Company

Media Partner (Cincinnati engagement):  89.7 FM WNKU

2008-09 Season Sponsors:  THE UNION CENTRAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (Founding Season Sponsor), CADILLAC (Official Vehicle), DUKE ENERGY, P&G FUND, LOCAL12 WKRC, FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner)

2008-09 PRESENTING SPONSORS:  CityBeat, The Cincinnatian Hotel, Premier Pianos, Natorp’s

2008-09 PROMOTIONAL SPONSOR:  The Cincinnati Herald

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