DURANGO, Colo. - Tickets for the Fall 2008 Performing Arts Series at The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College are  on sale, available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com, by calling 970.247.7657, or visiting the Ticketing Services Offices in Downtown Durango at 7^th and Main Ave. The line-up of confirmed shows for Fall 2008, including show descriptions, follows below:

Booker T. Jones

Friday, Oct. 3, 2008

7:30 p.m.

$25/$32

Legendary performer Booker T. Jones is perhaps best known for the million-selling instrumental “Green Onions,” recorded by Booker T. and the MGs. Today traveling with his new band, Booker T showcases his impressive vocals and new original songs along with the tracks that make up what he calls “the soundtrack of his life” – the songs that have had the greatest impact on him and the world.

The Capitol Steps

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008

7:30 p.m.

$30/$40

Just in time for the election, The Capitol Steps returns to Durango with its musical political satire. Comprised of current and former Congressional staffers, the troupe is the only group in America that, as they say, attempts to be funnier than the United States Congress. No political party or national personality is protected from (or preferred in) The Steps’ witty satire, and the troupe continually changes its repertoire to keep “PC” – Politically Current. Capitol Steps is far from Politically Correct. 

“Moving Mountains” with Kathy Mattea

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008

7:30 p.m.

$27/$37

With her “Moving Mountains” tour Kathy Mattea is taking a stripped down, roots-oriented, acoustic approach to her own music, as well as the music from the coal mining era that fueled the industrial growth of our country. The early part of her tour yielded the newly-released live recording Coal. In her two-decade journey as a leading voice of American music, Mattea has explored music’s most basic human essence – melodies steeped in emotion, timeless narratives delivered with beauty by an unmistakable voice.

Wilma Mankiller

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008

7 p.m.

FREE

Perhaps the most celebrated Cherokee person of the 20^th Century, author Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her first book, an autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, was a national bestseller, and of it Gloria Steinem wrote, “As one woman’s journey, Mankiller opens the heart. As the history of a people, it informs the mind. Together, it teaches us that, as long as people like Wilma Mankiller carry the flame within them, centuries of ignorance and genocide can’t extinguish the human spirit.”

Loudon Wainwright III

Leo Kottke

Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008

7 p.m.

$30/$35

The Community Concert Hall presents an evening of special music as two legends come to the stage. A singer-songwriter who injects his music with wry humor and piercing insight, Loudon Wainwright III has recorded more than 20 albums and has proven to be the most candid diarist among the singer-songwriters who, inspired by Bob Dylan, brought confessional poetry into popular song. Innovative acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke is widely known for his idiosyncratic finger-picking style, which draws on blues, jazz and folk influences. With his powerful technique and prolific output, Kottke has emerged as a widely-recognized master of his instrument.

“The Queen of Bingo!”

Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

7:00 p.m.

$25/$30

Two zany guys playing two crazy gals light-up the stage in the tradition of Harvey Korman and Tim Conway sketches from the old “Carol Burnett Show,” in the hit Off-Broadway comedy about Bingo, family bonds, widowhood, diet crazes, winning and losing and sibling rivalry. “The Queen of Bingo!” focuses on a night out in the lives of “Sis” and “Babe,” two sisters on the other side of 50 who want to add a little fun, zest and excitement to their lives with a night out at the Bingo game.

Bar D Wranglers Christmas Jubilee 2008

Friday, Dec. 13, 2008

7 p.m.

$15/$20

Durango’s much-beloved cowboy crooners come off the Bar D and return to the Community Concert Hall stage for a new cowboy Christmas show. A warm-hearted and fun-filled show for the entire family, the Bar D Wranglers are sure to inspire audiences to remember the true meaning of the holidays.

3 Red Neck Tenors

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2008

7 p.m.

$20/$30

Join Billy Bob, Billy Joe and Billy Billee as they mix NASCAR with Beethoven, lite beer with Puccini and even kick up a little dust with Ave Maria Dixie! This musical comedy show takes the three singing cousins from their modest beginnings in Paris, Texas, where they discover that belting out a high C causes pigs to move faster and bar brawlers to scatter; all the way to their triumphant debut at New York's famous Carnegie Hall.

 State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara’s “Nutcracker”

Friday-Sunday, Dec. 19-21

2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

$25/$30

Santa Barbara, California’s acclaimed professional ballet company, State Street Ballet, will bring its touring production of the traditional “Nutcracker” to Durango for four performances. Founded in 1994 by Artistic Director and former ABT dancer Rodney Gustafson, the small but mighty company has brought audiences to their feet from California to China and beyond. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Gustafson has built a company respected for its choreography, dancing and fiscally responsible management, proving against all odds and naysayers, that ballet is alive and kicking in Southern California.”

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