Mary Chapin Carpenter, who was scheduled to perform a sold-out concert on Feb. 15 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has cancelled her 2007-2008 tour and will be unable to keep the date.
In her place, Carolina Performing Arts will present four noteworthy artists to cap off its American Roots series at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14 in Memorial Hall.
Country-folk artist Emmylou Harris, folk-pop singer and songwriter Shawn Colvin, folk-rock vocalist and songwriter Patty Griffin and roots-country guitarist Buddy Miller will perform as part of their “Three Girls and Their Buddy” tour that begins next month.
“The news about Mary Chapin Carpenter was certainly unexpected, but I am thrilled we were able to attract these four great artists,” said Emil Kang, executive director for the arts at UNC.
Winner of 10 Grammy Awards during her 40-year career, Harris was one of the first female performers to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary country music. She recently released her 32nd recording, “Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems” (Rhino, 2007), a five-compact disc set including some of her best-loved classics.
Vocalist and guitarist Colvin came into public view with her debut album “Steady On” in 1989, winner of a Best Contemporary Folk Grammy – her first of three Grammy Awards. But Colvin did not reach mass audiences until 1996’s “Sunny Came Home” became a Top 10 pop single. Her ninth and latest disc is “These Four Walls” (Nonesuch, 2006).
A country music luminary since 1992, Griffin has penned songs performed by the Dixie Chicks, Harris, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler and others. Twice-nominated for Grammys, Griffin recently released her own sixth CD, “Children Running Through” (Dave Matthews’ ATO Records, 2007).
Besides his steady career as a songwriter, Miller has toured extensively with some of folk and country music’s biggest performers, including Steve Earle, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. He previously toured with Harris and Griffin in the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue and worked with Colvin in his Buddy Miller Band.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to cap off what has already been a fantastic American Roots series,” Kang said.
Tickets for the Jan. 14 concert have been mailed to ticketholders for the Carpenter concert, he said. Carpenter (Feb. 15) tickets will not be honored at the door for “Three Girls and Their Buddy.” Patrons can call or visit the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue at (919) 843-3333 with questions or concerns.
The box office, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, will close for the holidays at 5 p.m. Dec. 14 and reopen with regular hours at 10 a.m. Jan. 9.
Information and tickets for other Carolina Performing Arts events are available at www.carolinaperformingarts.org, by calling (919) 843-3333 or at the box office. Ticket prices vary for the public and are $10 each for Carolina students.
Note: For artist photos and media kits, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media
Carolina Performing Arts Web site: http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org
Carolina Performing Arts contact: Kara Larson, (919) 966-3834, kara.larson@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589