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Britt lineup has style - lots of 'em, actually The concert series includes everything from progressive rock to a bluegrass legend By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune The Britt Festivals' 40th season, unveiled Wednesday, is a little like a wedding - something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. New comes with Jewel, the introspective singer, and Nickel Creek, the up-and-coming young country band. The great Ray Charles and Keb' Mo' bring blue notes. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy borrowed the roots of their stage show from vintage swingers, right? And for old, try the Beach Boys, Jethro Tull and the Kingston Trio. Announced by Britt General Manager Ron McUne at a lunch in Britt's Medford office, the season comprises 45 shows from June 7 through Sept. 7, with pop, country, folk, dance, jazz and classical. Tickets go on sale to members March 21, with bigger donors having first shot at them, and to the public May 1. Nonmembers can order before that, but orders won't be processed until May 1. Seating runs from a low of $16 for a lawn ticket to see The Trail Band to $69 for a premium reserved seat for Earth, Wind and Fire. Classic British progressive rockers Jethro Tull kicks off the season June 7. The Trail Band, Marv Ross' eight-piece ensemble, rides in June 8. INXS brings a wave of Australian rock June 9. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy returns June 14, followed by another popular returning group, Huey Lewis and the News, June 15. Jazz great Arturo Sandoval visits June 16. Get out the baggies and the woodies for June 21 when the Beach Boys arrive. Bluesman Keb' Mo' returns again June 22 with singer Maria Muldaur. Cowboy Junkies sold out Britt in 1999, and this time they're bringing a guest for June 23. San Francisco's Tower of Power brings its soul/funk/pop on June 27, followed by Bill Champlin's Sons of Champlin, which came out of the Bay Area at about the same time. Folk fanciers get a four-fer June 28 with Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky and Cheryl Wheeler sharing the bill. The King's Singers visit from England June 29. High-energy fiddle virtuoso Natalie MacMaster returns June 30, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band comes July 3. The a cappella Rockapella plays July 5. Singer, pianist, popster, jazzman, sideman and sometime Grateful Dead keyboardist Bruce Hornsby comes to town July 6. Look for a stripped-down '80s take on '50s and '60s chops when the B-52's land on July 7. The Chieftains visit from Ireland July 18, but former Jefferson Starship lead guitarist Craig Chaquico comes from no farther than the south end of the Rogue Valley July 19. Trisha Yearwood July 20 is the first big country show of the summer. Deadheads could still be dancing from the Hornsby show when percussionist/author Mickey Hart comes with multinational percussionists Bembe Orisha July 21. Martina McBride reprises the country beat on July 25, and Nigeria's Femi Kuti reprises the worldbeat July 26. C.J. Chenier brings his legendary dad Clifton's flavor of zydeco July 27, and the Kingston Trio brings back the pop-folk stylings of the '50s July 28. This year's classical festival returns Aug. 2-18, culminating in a program called "The Three Conductors" that features Britt's directors the past 40 years: John Trudeau, James DePreist and Peter Bay. This year's dance card begins Aug. 22 with the Sean Curran Company's contemporary stylings, continues Aug. 23 with the Suzee Grilley Dance Ensemble and winds up Aug. 24 with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band New Orleans show. Grilley, a former member of the Nikolais Dance Theatre, lives in the Rogue Valley. The Ray Charles show is Aug. 28. Dwight Yoakam comes to town Aug. 29. Jewel performs Aug. 30. Bluegrass great Ralph Stanley, whose half-century-plus career got a boost from his work in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" performs Aug. 31. The Doobie Brothers bring classic rock on Sept. 5. Young country stars Nickel Creek play Sept. 6, and Earth, Wind and Fire wraps up the season Sept. 7. Britt is a nonprofit festival held on a hillside that accommodates 2,200 people on county-owned land in Jacksonville. For more information, call (541) 773-6077, visit www.brittfest.org, or visit Britt at 517 W. 10th St., Medford. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.