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Wolf Trap is marking America’s 250th anniversary with a summer season packed with major concerts, orchestral performances, opera and fireworks at the Filene Center and the Barns.
The America250 series will celebrate the range of music found across the country, with performances spanning pop, jazz, folk, classical music and ballet.
“At Wolf Trap, music and nature create shared experiences that feel especially powerful at this moment in our nation’s story,” Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO Arvind Manocha said. He described the outdoor venue as a gathering place where generations of audiences and artists can experience live performances together.
The anniversary lineup includes the Beach Boys on June 7, jazz singer Harry Connick Jr. on July 3, the Tedeschi Trucks Band on Aug. 28 and 29, and the Philadelphia Ballet’s “Stars and Stripes Forever!” showcase on Sept. 10.
A June 9 concert will honor the late folk singer-songwriter John Prine. Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Margo Price, I’m With Her and Prine’s son Tommy Prine are among the participating artists. Backed by Prine’s band, they will perform his songs as well as their own music.
The concert was organized through a partnership between Wolf Trap and the Prine family’s nonprofit, the Hello In There Foundation.
“John Prine’s songs are woven into the fabric of America with a songwriting legacy now spanning more than five decades,” the Prine family said, noting his history of performing at Wolf Trap.
National Symphony Orchestra returns throughout summer
The National Symphony Orchestra will present Peter Boyer’s “American Mosaic” at Wolf Trap on Aug. 15, along with compositions by Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin.
Commissioned by the NSO and the Kennedy Center for the country’s 250th birthday, “American Mosaic” combines orchestral music with images from all 50 states captured by photo historian Joe Sohm. Its world premiere is scheduled for Feb. 19-22 at the Kennedy Center.
Banjo player Béla Fleck had been scheduled to appear in that premiere but withdrew amid a wave of artist cancellations after the Kennedy Center’s board voted in December to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building.
The NSO’s other Wolf Trap appearances include St. Vincent on June 25; Disney’s animated “The Little Mermaid” in concert on July 11; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Aug. 14; Jon Batiste on Aug. 21; Gregory Alan Isakov on Aug. 26; and “Hook” in concert on Sept. 5.
Two familiar seasonal events are also part of the America250 celebration. “Blast Off!” returns May 24 with “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band and a free fireworks display traditionally held around Memorial Day. Wolf Trap will again partner with Arlington’s Signature Theatre for the sixth annual “Broadway in the Park” on June 20.
Sting, James Taylor and other major acts fill the calendar
Sting will open the summer with three performances from May 21-23. Guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai will bring the SATCHVAI Band to the Filene Center on May 30 during the group’s first U.S. tour.
Other scheduled performances include:
- Gary Clark Jr. with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on June 6
- Young the Giant with Cold War Kids and almost monday on June 12
- Melissa Etheridge and Wynonna Judd on June 24
- The Human League with Soft Cell and Alison Moyet on June 30
- Pepe Aguilar on July 12
- Alison Krauss & Union Station on July 16 and 17
- Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Mavis Staples and The War and Treaty on July 18
- Tori Amos on July 22
- The Head and the Heart on July 26
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit with Patty Griffin on July 30
- Chance the Rapper on Aug. 1
- “The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA” on Aug. 8
- James Taylor & His All-Star Band on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1-2
- The Avett Brothers on Sept. 18 and 19
Wolf Trap Opera will stage Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” at the Barns on June 18, 21, 25 and 27, followed by Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” on July 17, 19, 23 and 25. Puccini’s “Tosca” will close the opera season at the Filene Center on Aug. 7.
Tickets for the announced performances go on sale to the public Friday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. Additional concerts and the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods schedule are expected later in the spring.