Kathy Mattea & Bill Cooley Launch DWT’s Season
In an intimate concert, Grammy Award-winning country recording artist Kathy Mattea and renowned musician and arranger Bill Cooley will open Diana Wortham Theatre’s 2016–2017 season on Saturday, September 24, at 8 p.m. Arranged by the musicians, The Acoustic Living Room is a unique show that offers fans new takes on old favorites, creatively coordinated covers, and new originals.
Known for radio hits such as “Where’ve You Been?,” “455 Rocket,” and “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” Kathy made a name for herself in the late 1980s and ’90s in the country tradition. With her album Coal in 2008, however, she delightfully surprised fans with tracks of old-timey Appalachian mining songs. Raised near Charleston, West Virginia, she says she wanted to pay tribute to “my place and my people,” which included miner grandfathers and parents raised in coal camps.
According to Guitar Player magazine, Bill is “one of Nashville’s most respective sidemen.” During his career, he has toured and recorded with Kathy, as well as country icon Merle Haggard, country-pop diva Reba McEntire, traditionalist Alan Jackson, and singer-songwriter Hal Ketchum, among others. As an arranger, he played an important role in Kathy’s albums Joy for Christmas Day (2003), Right Out of Nowhere (2005), and Coal. With elements of folk, bluegrass, and gospel, this evening promises to be a hit.
For tickets ($42 for adults, $37 for students, and $20 for children), visit dwtheatre.com or call 828.257.4530.
