Denver – Since 1979, Swallow Hill Music Association has brought the best acoustic, folk and roots music in the Rocky Mountain Region. Late spring and early summer in 2007 brings a plethora of singer/songwriter legends, a Grammy nominee, and talents spearheading and revolutionizing the genres they love. We are also pleased to launch our Summer Minifest Series 2007 in June, featuring three acts each evening with musical themes. The June shows will feature Celtic/Irish fare, swinging gypsy jazz fun, and American roots music. Tickets are now available online at www.swallowhillmusic.org or by phone at (303) 777-1003.

HIGHLIGHTS

Dave Alvin
Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 at 8 p.m.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in the blue-collar inner suburb of Downey, Dave Alvin is a songwriter whose music has always been influenced by fellow Californian songwriters. His music is a braid of different American genres—blues, country, rock, pop, folk, and R&B—and in each strand, he favors the California accent. His ability to draw from so many sources and to work in so many contexts reflects his home state's jumble of cultures. A member of the former 80s rock band, The Blasters, he left the band in 1986 and launched his solo career in 1987. "Alvin (is) a brilliant songwriter…" — Variety.com. KCUV 102.3 FM welcomes Dave Alvin

Casey Driessen and the Colorfools
Friday, May 11 at 8 p.m.
Spurred by his father's love of music, Driessen picked up his first fiddle at the age of six. After graduating from Berklee College of Music with honors, he joined up with heavyweight songwriter Steve Earle to be the fiddle player in his Bluegrass Dukes band. Since then, he has worked with a host of other talents, including Tim O'Brien, Darrell Scott, Béla Fleck, Jim Lauderdale, Lee Ann Womack, Mark Schatz and John Doyle. He recorded on the Walk the Line soundtrack and has garnered a 2007 Grammy nomination for his solo album, 3D, in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Jerusalem Ridge."

Jimmy Ibbotson
Saturday, May 19 at 8 p.m.
Following the 1968 breakup of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, members John McEuen and Jeff Hanna went about their search for a singing drummer and found Ibbotson. The resulting collaboration was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s fifth album, Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, which brought them their biggest success to date. Over the course of the 27 albums the Band put out with Ibbotson, there were many accolades, including Grammy wins, Country Music Association wins, Academy of Country Music wins, and gold and platinum records. His songs have been recorded by other music greats such as John Denver and Emmylou Harris. A true troubadour in the modern sense, Ibbotson's desire to leave the audience with a hot night to remember is evident to anyone lucky enough to catch a magical performance. KCUV 102.3 FM welcomes Jimmy Ibbotson

Colin Hay
Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26 at 8 p.m.
As front man and songwriter of Men At Work, Colin Hay has a secured place in pop history. While Men At Work won the Grammy category of Best New Artist in 1983, their run did not last much longer, ending by 1985. Hay began his solo career in 1987 with the album, Looking for Jack, which had a Top 40 single, "Hold Me." With his song, "I Just Don’t Think I'll Ever Get Over You," originally released on his Transcendental Highway album, he found a new audience when it was included on the Grammy-award-winning soundtrack for Garden State. "This is without a doubt my favorite song of the year," John Mayer wrote in Esquire magazine. "I'm still trying for a tune like this of my own." The Scottish-born Australian continues to draw wide international audiences with his charm-familiar voice, songwriting excellence and clever observations. KCUV 102.3 FM welcomes Colin Hay

Ronny Cox & Jack Williams
Friday, June 1 at 8 p.m.
Ronny Cox may be best-known for his acting, having appeared in major films and popular television series such as Deliverance, Beverly Hills Cop, St. Elsewhere, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, among many others. However, he spends half his time as a singer/songwriter performing at folk festivals, concert venues, and intimate theaters, where he showcases a wonderful acoustic mix of folk, western, jazz-blues, and just plain cornball stuff. Country Sounds writes, "Ronny Cox is not an actor that got a notion to become a singer; he is however, a singer-songwriter who just happens to have had great success as an actor." He will be joined by guitarist, singer/songwriter and storyteller, Jack Williams, who also has a colorful career. As a guitarist, Jack has accompanied Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow, Mickey Newbury and Harry Nilsson. Invited onstage by Arlo Guthrie to sing a song, he then joined the group for the concert encores. "The best guitar player I’ve ever heard." — Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

Chuck Pyle CD Release
Saturday, June 2 at 8 p.m.
Zen Cowboy Chuck Pyle returns to Swallow Hill to promote his latest release, True Unity. Eugene Weekly proclaims, "Vivid landscapes flow from Pyle’s pen with grown up themes of the New West …[his] big campfire smoked voice and solid guitar work anchor the song … it's really quite impressive how full the orchestration sounds with only Pyle's voice and guitar." Pyle returns to the stage in his signature custom white cowboy hat with his shaved head and masterful fingerpicking guitar skills that have garnered teaching invitations to the prestigious Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the Swannanoa Gathering. Although best known for writing the country songs "Cadillac Cowboy" and "Jaded Lover," it comes as no surprise that Chuck’s songs have been recorded by such well-known musicians as John Denver, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Suzy Bogguss, Chris LeDoux and Jerry Jeff Walker, just to name a few.

Diana Jones & Kevin Welch
Saturday, June 16 at 8 p.m.
Offering her listeners a rare gift of original songs with uncommon depth and beauty, infused with time-honored values of traditional American Music, Diana Jones has been called the new Emily Dickinson. "There's an authenticity to her stories and her singing that is truly special." — John Platt, WFUV. She has won several songwriting awards, including the 2006 Kerrville New Folk Contest, and has shared the stage with Martina McBride, Del McCoury Band, Guy Clark, Darrell Scott, Odetta, Old Crow Medicine Show, and John Gorka, among others. She will be sharing the Swallow Hill stage with Kevin Welch, another multi-faceted singer/songwriter. Starting off in the honkytonk circuit and spending time writing and doing a few cuts, he was signed by Warner Brothers in 1990 and released two albums through them, Kevin Welch and Western Beat. In 1994 he got out of the contract with Warner Brothers and started a label with other fellow musicians called Dead Reckoning Records. They released 21 records over the next 7 years, eventually ending their collaboration, but Welch is still doing what he loves, continuing solo as well as with others to put out great music.

Upcoming Concerts:

For tickets visit www.swallowhillmusic.org or call (303) 777-1003. Discounts are available for Swallow Hill members.

About Swallow Hill Music Association:
Helping people make music since 1979 years, Swallow Hill Music Association is one of the largest institutions of its kind in the United States as a source for folk, roots and acoustic music. With more than 2,100 members—some of whom are also volunteers—Swallow Hill provides a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. Three concert venues house more than 150 performances a year, featuring some of the world's great artists as well as up-and-coming new talent. The Julie Davis Music School at Swallow Hill provides a valuable and affordable extra-curricular educational resource to the community with more than 50 music instructors involved in more than 240 adult classes and 70 children's classes annually.

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