Wrapping up with a bang
The Festival at Sandpoint rolls into the homestretch this week with four big shows, culminating in the traditional symphony-and-fireworks finale on Sunday.
The festival has already had a successful first week, with the biggest crowds gathering for last Saturday’s Delbert McClinton and Dierks Bentley concert.
“That was an incredible, high-energy show,” said festival organizer Dyno Wahl. “And we’re expecting an even better weather forecast this week.”
The rain dampened last Friday’s opening act, but cleared up in time for headliner Jim Messina, whom Wahl called the Festival’s “sleeper hit” so far.
Here’s what’s on tap – and for tonight’s show, we mean literally on tap:
• Bruce Cockburn, tonight, 7:30 ($26.95) – Not only does this show feature the Canadian singer/songwriter/cult figure (pronounced “Coburn”), there’s also a microbrew tasting included in the price of the ticket, beginning at 6 p.m. Just show your ID and sample some brews, then take in Cockburn’s fiery, impassioned and spiritual folk and world-fusion music. He is best known for a 1980 hit, “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” but fans know him for a prodigious output of thoughtful songs.
• Buddy Guy, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ($29.07) – Blues guitarist Guy has come to embody the spirit of the Chicago blues. His roots go way back into the ‘50s and ‘60s as a sideman to Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters and Otis Rush. But since his 1991 breakthrough album, “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” he has been one of the leading frontmen in the blues world.
• BeauSoleil and Marcia Ball, Saturday, 6 p.m. ($32.25) – This show is billed as “Super Swampy Saturday” and for a few hours it may seem like Lake Pend Oreille is one big, blue bayou. BeauSoleil, led by fiddler-singer Michael Doucet, broke out of southern Louisiana in the ‘70s to become America’s leading Cajun outfit. Marcia Ball is from Texas, but her music comes straight out of the New Orleans and Cajun traditions. She sounds like Bonnie Raitt, if Raitt could also play rollicking barrelhouse piano. Ball’s raucous songs have titles such as “Let Me Play With Your Poodle.”
• Spokane Symphony, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ($26.95/adults, $11.05/juniors) – This grand finale concert is titled “An Olympic Salute,” and will feature conductor Gary Sheldon leading the orchestra in selections associated with the Olympics, including John Williams’ “The Olympic Spirit.” The orchestra will also play the finale from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, featuring the Festival at Sandpoint Chorus, led by Rob Kincaid. The evening begins early, at 4:30 p.m., with the “Taste of the Stars” wine tasting featuring more than 40 wineries (included in the price of the tickets for those 21 and over). The festival ends with the traditional fireworks display at concert’s close.
Tickets are available by calling the festival at (888) 265-4554 or visiting www.FestivalatSandpoint.com, or with service charges through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).