ST. GEORGE — Dixie State University and the Zion Summer Concert series welcome the Lionel Young Band to the Tanner Amphitheater stage Saturday, 8 p.m. at 350 W. Lion Blvd in Springdale. Tickets can be purchased online and are $15 for adults, $6 for youth or $38 for the family.
Lionel Young is a high-energy performer with a bent for the blues. His Lionel Young Band, winner of numerous awards for best in and around the Colorado region, has won the “2011 International Blues Challenge” band competition. Added to his victory at the 2008 international blues challenge in the solo-duo category, that makes Young the first double champion in the history of the Blues Challenge.
Fans of the driven, classically-trained Young love his distinctive brand of blues on the electric violin.
Young’s show features not only his own originals, but interpretations of blues classics by Willie Dixon, Leadbelly and Stevie Ray Vaughan, along with the strength and passion of Young’s playing, his smooth vocals and unique translations.
The songs, which include his award-winning composition “Brown Cloud Over Denver” and “Hey, O.J.,” a controversial little gem, alternately stir up social concerns and soothe the weary soul.
Born in Rochester, New York, Young began taking violin lessons at the age of 6 with Anastasia Jempelis at the Eastman School of Music.
He was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera-Ballet Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra, which commissioned him to play bluegrass and blues for their summer festival and on a tour of Japan, Taiwan and Korea during the 1988 Summer Olympic Music Festival.
Throughout his career, Young has won numerous awards, including The Young Artist Award through the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Concerto Contest through Carnegie Mellon University, The Passamenic Award with a string quartet and the award for the Best Blues Band in Westword’s Best of Denver.
He also won a position with the Denver Orchestra and premiered a solo piece by William Hill.
Young has had the honor of working with such show business luminaries as Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Paige/Robert Plant, Doc Severenson, Linda Ronstadt, Living Color, Billy Taylor, Woodie Herman, Stanley Turrentine, Homesick James, Homer Brown, Hamlet Bluiett, Chief Bae and Johnny Long.
Joining Young is local blues artist Neil Bradley Owen. Owen is the winner of the 15th annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival’s 2008 solo acoustic blues competition. Owen’s songs prove to be instantly memorable, with melodies and lyrics that speak to the heart. Ryan Tilby, an area multi-instrumentalist, will accompany Owen as he plays Saturday.
Visit the Dixie State University website for a full list of this season’s performers and events. Tickets can be purchased at the door or from the DSU box office: 435-652-7800. Call 435-652-7994 for more information. Help support local music!
Event details
- What: Lionel Young Band, Neil Bradley Owen
- When: Saturday, Aug. 1, 8 p.m.
- Where: Tanner Amphitheater, 350 W. Lion Blvd,Springdale.
- Tickets: $15 per person, $6 youth, $38 family; purchase online or call 435-652-7800
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