JACKSONVILLE, OR — Britt Music & Arts Festival announces its first group of concerts in 2018 season lineup, coming to the outdoor amphitheater on the Britt hill in scenic Jacksonville, Oregon this summer. The first of three scheduled season announcements presents a wide variety of musical artists, including the funk-rock of Primus, a capella choruses of Straight No Chaser, stylized folk of Trampled By Turtles and indie rock band Dispatch with special guest and Britt fan favorite, Nahko and Medicine for the People. In addition, the Free Rein Summer Tour with Rebelution and Stephen Marley was previously announced Monday, February 5.
With this announcement, there will be a Member pre-sale before tickets go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. Friday, March 9th. Details below:
Feb 16-25: Members may submit orders
Feb 26: Orders processed according to membership level
Mar 5-8: Sales open to members online
Mar 9: General public sales begin
Britt has changed its announcement schedule this season. Instead of announcing all of the concerts in April, Britt has scheduled three announcements: one each in February, March and April. The new announcement schedule is designed to make it easier for patrons to plan their summer entertainment, based on patron requests. Two more Britt season announcements revealing artists for the 2018 Britt Music & Arts Festival will occur on March 16 at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday, April 12 at 6:00 p.m., during the annual Season Announcement party.
Britt Music & Arts Festival is a member-supported non-profit organization and the Pacific Northwest’s longest running outdoor music and performing arts festival. Set among majestic ponderosa pines and native madrones, the vast hillside estate of gold rush era pioneer Peter Britt forms a natural amphitheater of unparalleled beauty, where internationally renowned artists perform every summer. For more than 50 years, Britt’s world-class performances, spectacular views, and casual, relaxing atmosphere have attracted thousands of music lovers from all over the West.
The 2018 concert line-up as of this announcement is:
- June 26: Primus & Mastodon
- June 28: Trampled By Turtles with special guest Deer Tick
- July 14: An Evening with Straight No Chaser
- August 16: Free Rein Summer Tour 2018 with Rebelution, Stephen Marley, Common Kings, and Zion I
- August 23: Dispatch with special guest Nahko & Medicine for the People
Inspired by its intimate and scenic hillside venue, Britt Music & Arts Festival provides diverse live performances, an incomparable classical festival and dynamic education programs that create a sense of discovery and community. Since its grassroots beginnings in 1963, the non-profit organization has grown from a two-week chamber music festival to a summer-long series of concerts in a variety of genres, including a three-week orchestra season, and year-round education and engagement programs. For more information, visit www.brittfest.org.
Tuesday, June 26 • 6:30 p.m.: Primus & Mastodon
TICKETS: Reserved $66 | Standing Room Only $66 | Lawn $42 | Child (1-12) Lawn $32
GATES OPEN: @ 5:15 Early Entry | 5:30 General Public
ALCOHOL: Patrons will not be permitted to bring in outside alcohol for this performance
Primus and band leader Les Claypool are no strangers to the Britt stage. Primus has been to Britt twice, and Claypool played with the Yard Dogs Road Show in 2009 and the Claypool Lennon Delirium in 2016. Taking inspiration from a wide range of sources was part of what made Primus one of the most distinctive, innovative bands of the 1990s. The trio’s alt/punk/avant-garde/psychedelic/country attack, along with Claypool’s surreal, fever-dream lyrics, resulted in some of rock’s unlikeliest hits, including “Tommy the Cat,” “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver,” and “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.” Their latest album, The Desaturating Seven, marks the return of the definitive Primus line-up—Claypool, guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde, and drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander—for its first album of original music since 1995.
Joining Primus will be Mastodon. Since forming back in 2000, Mastodon have certainly made the most of their time. Most recently, their 2014 seventh offering “Once More ‘Round The Sun” bowed at #6 on the Billboard Top 200, marking their highest chart entry to date. Casting a shadow over pop culture, they received “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance” GRAMMY® Award nominations in 2007, 2014 and again in 2015. Their music blasted through the Academy® Award-winning comedy “The Big Short,” animated blockbuster “Monsters University,” and sci-fi western “Jonah Hex” starring Josh Brolin—for which the group composed the score. After contributing “White Walker” to HBO’s “Catch The Throne, Vol.2” mixtape, Dailor, Hinds, and Kelliher appeared as “Wildlings” in a popular episode of Game of Thrones Season 5.
Thursday, June 28 • 7:00 p.m.: Trampled By Turtles with special guest Deer Tick
TICKETS: Reserved $42 | Standing Room Only $39 | Lawn $37 | Child (1-12) Lawn $27
GATES OPEN: @ 5:45 Early Entry | 6:00 General Public
Trampled by Turtles are from Duluth, Minnesota, where frontman Dave Simonett initially formed the group as a side project in 2003. At the time, Simonett had lost most of his music gear, thanks to a group of enterprising car thieves who’d ransacked his vehicle while he played a show with his previous band. Left with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, he began piecing together a new band, this time taking inspiration from bluegrass, folk, and other genres that didn’t rely on amplification. Simonett hadn’t played any bluegrass music before, and he filled his lineup with other newcomers to the genre, including fiddler Ryan Young (who’d previously played drums in a speed metal act) and bassist Tim Saxhaug. Along with mandolinist Erik Berry and banjo player Dave Carroll, the group began carving out a fast, frenetic sound that owes as much to rock & roll as bluegrass.
If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses… think again. Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch.
They have emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase, numerous national TV appearances and proven success with CD releases. Straight No Chaser is the real deal, the captivating sound of nine unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense… and with a sense of humor. On the road, Straight No Chaser has built a reputation as an unforgettable live act.
Saturday, July 14 • 8:00 p.m.: An Evening with Straight No Chaser
TICKETS: Reserved $66 | Premium Lawn Blankets $264 (4-person) / $132 (2-person) | Lawn $42 | Child (1-12) Lawn $32
GATES OPEN: @ 6:45 Early Entry | 7:00 General Public
If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses… think again. Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch.
They have emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase, numerous national TV appearances and proven success with CD releases. Straight No Chaser is the real deal, the captivating sound of nine unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense… and with a sense of humor. On the road, Straight No Chaser has built a reputation as an unforgettable live act.
Thursday, August 16 • 6:00 p.m.: Free Rein Summer Tour 2018: Rebelution / Stephen Marley / Common Kings / Zion I
TICKETS: Reserved $49.50 | Standing Room Only $49.50 | Lawn $39.50 | Child (1-12) Lawn $29.50
GATES OPEN: @ 5:00 Early Entry | 5:15 General Public
ALCOHOL: Patrons will not be permitted to bring in outside alcohol for this performance
California reggae band Rebelution returns to the Britt stage August 16, along with Stephen Marley, Common Kings, Zion I & DJ Mackle. A dozen years into Rebelution’s stirring career, the release of the California reggae band’s fifth album Falling Into Place finds them more energized than ever. Touring relentlessly since 2014’s Count Me In debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae chart, the band’s members have expanded their songwriting horizons and recorded 11 tight new tracks that fuse an ever-youthful attitude of celebration with the mature perspective of men of the world.
The songs say it all. “Plant a seed, watch the whole thing grow.” Rebelution doesn’t just play and sing. They live these words and this music – as more fans learn with every new release.
Thursday, August 23 • 7:00 p.m.: DISPATCH with special guest Nahko and Medicine for the People
TICKETS: Reserved $46 | Standing Room Only $39 | Lawn $39 | Child (1-12) Lawn $29
GATES OPEN: @ 5:45 Early Entry | 6:00 General Public
ALCOHOL: Patrons will not be permitted to bring in outside alcohol for this performance
Dispatch is one of the country’s most successful independent bands. It’s impossible to deny that few bands – at any level – have been able to achieve what Dispatch has: three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden to raise funds for Zimbabwean humanitarian efforts, world tours and a 2004 concert in Boston that drew 110,000 fans. But Dispatch never felt bound by their success, and over the past decade they have focused as equally on solo projects and non-profit work as what they could create as a trio. Their new album, “America, Location 12,” comprises eleven songs that show Dispatch is here for the long and messy haul, oozing with their signature energy and a new urgency in a time when a moment wasted is a moment too long.
Dispatch will be joined by a band on their third visit to the Britt Main Stage, Nahko and Medicine for the People, who call themselves a “world music musical collective”. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, frontman Nahko Bear, a musician of Puerto Rican, Apache, and Filipino descent, leads the group to create a fusion of multiple cultural musical influences.