WorldStage Summer Concert Series Lineup Set!

Contributed by Michael Christensen, @folkloremike

Since 2005 the Utah Cultural Celebration Center has presented the WorldStage! Concert Series, an outdoor musical and cultural experience for the whole family. The artist roster for 2016 features both returning fan favorites, and top-notch newcomers. Check out this lineup!

July 18: West Valley Symphony
Now celebrating its 25th season, the West Valley Symphony kicks off the 2016 Utah Cultural Celebration Center’s WorldStage summer series.  Formed in 1991 by founder Ralph Baker, the symphony is an all-volunteer orchestra of around 80 musicians ranging in age from 17-90.  The group is comprised of musicians from all over the Wasatch Front, who rehearse weekly to explore and share the emotion and expressiveness of symphonic music.  Donny Gilbert, Music Director.  George Dye, Associate Music Director.  Eric Barney, Concertmaster.  

August 1: World Travelers* 
Since 2009 the WorldStage! concert series has presented folk musicians and dancers from around the world.  The Utah Cultural Celebration Center is pleased to continue its partnership with Bountiful Davis Art Center in 2016 by presenting International folk music and dance traditions.  Explore your world! 
*visiting nationalities to be announced as they are confirmed.

August 8: The Soulistics
Bringin’ you some furious funk and the sweetest of soul classics, the Utah Cultural Celebration Center is proud to present one of the Valley’s finest entertainment groups.  The Soulistics are a 10-piece band boasting some of the best musicians in the Intermountain West. This flashy, in-your-face show is no mere cover band. The Soulistics take the best funk, R&B and soul tunes ever and tear into them with fierce style, and a sound hailing back to those shadows of Motown. They are proud to pay respect to this devilishly good music by giving you a full-scale show to remember. If you want the funk, they’ve got the goods. 

August 15: Phoenix Jazz and Swing Orchestra
The Phoenix Jazz and Swing Band started in 1990 when a group of retired musicians in the Salt Lake City area decided to start a band to play for fun. From that beginning, they have been carrying on for almost 21 years–bringing their music to appreciative crowds in and around Salt Lake City.  The name Phoenix Band was chosen to allude to the Phoenix bird in Greek Mythology that arose from the ashes after getting old and dying. The members of the Phoenix Band are rising similarly “from the ashes.”​

August 23 (Tuesday): Country Current (U.S. Navy Band)
This special Tuesday night engagement is a real treat, as the Utah Cultural Celebration Center gets to host, direct from Washington, D. C., the United States Navy Band.  The U.S. Navy Band Country Current is the Navy’s premier country-bluegrass ensemble and has been entertaining the Navy and the nation since 1973. Country Current specializes in music from America’s heartland and is the oldest established country music ensemble of all the major service bands. The group consists of seven musicians and one audio engineer. Instrumentation includes banjo, fiddle, pedal steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass and drums. Several members of the band perform as vocalists. Country Current is nationally renowned for its versatility and exceptional musicianship, performing a blend of modern country music and cutting-edge bluegrass.

Gates open at 6 p.m. Downbeat at 7 p.m. sharp. ​Don't miss it!

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