Posted:
4/18/2022 |
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Date: April 15, 2022
Contact: Missouri Botanical Garden Public Relations Dept.
Phone: (314) 577-0286 (media use only)
Email: cmartin@mobot.org (media use only)
For Immediate Release
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN ANNOUNCES RETURN OF WHITAKER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Free Wednesday evening concerts take place June 1 to August 3
WHAT: Whitaker Music Festival 2022 Concert Series
WHEN: Wednesdays, June 1 to Aug. 3, entry at 5 p.m., music at 7 p.m.
COST: Free with advanced Reservations
SPONSORS: Whitaker Foundation
INFO: mobot.org/whitaker
(ST. LOUIS) One of St. Louis’ favorite summertime traditions is back as the Whitaker Music Festival returns to the Missouri Botanical Garden this June after a two-year hiatus.
The Whitaker Music Festival offers a 10-week lineup of free Wednesday evening concerts under the stars. Pack a picnic and enjoy the beauty of the Garden grounds in summertime bloom as you listen to the tunes and rhythms of an eclectic rotation of artists from week to week. Live music will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, June 1 to August 3. Free admission entry begins at 5 p.m. Last entry is at 8:15 p.m. Free admission to the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden is available from 5–7 p.m.
New this year: free advance reservations are required for admission to the Whitaker Music Festival. Tickets for the June 1 show will be available on May 11. Tickets for each subsequent concert will be available one week in advance at noon the Thursday before the concert. Maximum of 10 admissions per reservation. Reservations will remain available until the concert's start time or until capacity is reached.
This year’s artists are:
June 1: Jeremiah Johnson Band
Jeremiah Johnson blends the sounds of the south with Mississippi River blues and a touch of country flair. Emotionally charged southern blues rock, powered by the common man’s passion for life, and all the struggles in-between.
June 8: Karen Choi
Rooted in the Americana tradition, Karen’s music explores the common human experience from a rich lyrical perspective. Her newest studio release, “Lost County,” leans into the stylistic freedom that the Americana genre has to offer, rich with harmonies, multiple varieties of organ, piano and guitar.
June 15: Old Souls Revival
Three albums and four stand-alone singles into an already incredible career, Old Souls Revival stands ready to play with the best of them. With their latest series of singles, they are approaching the 21st century with honesty, simplicity, and determination resembling the idols who paved the way for them.
June 22: Annie and the Fur Trappers
Annie and the Fur Trappers are an energetic traditional jazz and blues band that currently includes clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, piano, banjo, and washboard. Annie and the Fur Trappers is dedicated to performing and preserving the music of the 1920s and 30s today. The band plays traditional jazz, delta blues, ragtime, and swing music.
June 29: Arcadia Dance Orchestra
The Arcadia Dance Orchestra is an 11-piece band led by bandleader T.J. Muller. Named after the once famous Arcadia Ballroom ("On Olive, near Grand"), The Arcadia Dance Orchestra specializes in recreating the music of St. Louis’ ‘Roaring Twenties’
July 6: We Are Root Mod
We Are Root Mod brings inspiration through their soulful hip hop and funk inspired music, known for its grooving, cultured and gospel-infused sounds. The band comprises members who are all family that grew up playing music together in church.
July 13: Sweetie & the Toothaches
Specializing in 1940s through 1960s R&B, Jump Blues and Blues Ballads, Sweetie & the Toothaches will have you stomping your feet and shaking your hips. Be prepared to sink your teeth into this hot jump blues band’s personal brand of fresh smoked rhythms, sweet & salty harmonies and lip smackin’ solos.
July 20: Mo Egeston All-Stars
Maurice "Mo" Egeston is a pianist, band leader and educator. The All-Stars have developed a unique sound around Egeston’s originals and vocal arrangements, influenced equally by traditional jazz improvisation, modern soul, Latin grooves, electronic music and studio style production.
July 27: The Soulard Blues Band
Formed in 1978, the Soulard Blues Band (SBB) has worked steady at the Blues for more than forty years. The SBB has produced ten CDs, including "Live in Stuttgart" which was recorded when the band was invited to play in St. Louis’ sister city, Stuttgart, Germany for their "one hundred years’ celebration.”
August 3: Old Salt Union
Old Salt Union is a string band founded by a horticulturist, cultivated by classically trained musicians, and fueled by a vocalist/bass player who is also a hip-hop producer with a fondness for the Four Freshmen. It is this collision of styles and musical vocabularies that informs their fresh approach to bluegrass and gives them an electric live performance vibe.
Whitaker Music Festival concerts will be held outdoors on the lawn of the Cohen Amphitheater, just west of the Climatron dome on the grounds of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
The concert series is the only time of year when picnicking is allowed on Garden grounds. Visitors are welcome to bring their own picnic supper, baskets or coolers; no barbecue grills, fireworks, sparklers or pets. No glass bottles or firearms are allowed on Garden grounds. Security bag checks will take place at each entry location.
Free entry for those with advance reservations begins at 5 p.m. on each performance evening. Last entry is at 8:15 p.m. Live music begins at 7 p.m. Free admission to the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden available from 5–7 p.m. (advance reservations not required for Children's Garden entry.)
For more information, please visit mobot.org/whitaker.
The Whitaker Music Festival is generously funded by the Whitaker Foundation, which was created by Mae M. Whitaker in memory of her husband Lyndon. The Whitaker Foundation makes grants to enrich lives through the arts and promote and preserve St. Louis City parks.
The Garden is proud to partner with KDHX, which provides DJs each week for a preshow from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in south St. Louis, accessible from Interstate 44 at the Vandeventer exit and from Interstate 64 at the Kingshighway North and South exit. Free parking is available on site and two blocks west at the corner of Shaw and Vandeventer.
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The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 163 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display.