LCC PRESENTS SERIES

THE SMALL GLORIES

Thursday, May 19, 7:30 p.m.

The winter/spring portion of the LCC Presents 2021-2022 season provides an eclectic mix of music, theater and multimedia artists in performances that are thoughtful, provocative and just plain fun.

Starting with the season’s closing act in May, Roots powerhouse duo Cara Luft and JD Edwards are The Small Glories, a musical tour-de-force planted on the Canadian prairie. Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg’s venerable West End Cultural Centre, The Small Glories could almost make you believe in fate. With a stage banter that strikes a unique balance between slapstick and sermon, these veteran singer-songwriters have a way of making time disappear.

It’s not uncommon for listeners to find themselves laughing, dancing, crying, or caught up in a good old-fashioned sing-along. Their material is welcoming — songs of love, loss and landscape are delivered with soaring, interwoven vocals accompanied by various combinations of stomping claw-hammer banjo, guitar and harmonica. Luft, one of the original members of folk trio and harmony sweethearts The Wailin’ Jennys, and Edwards duplicate and reinforce each other’s many strengths and yet allow their distinct personalities to shine through, resulting in a live show that is as heartwarming as it is hilarious, as fingerpicking proficient as it is relatable, and as Canadian as it is…well, it’s very Canadian. But that hasn’t stopped them from winning over audiences from Nashville to Australia. Their second album, “Assiniboine and the Red” (2019 Compass Records) earned #1 Album of the Year (Penguin Eggs Magazine) and won three 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Stephen Thompson, co-creator of NPR’s "Tiny Desk Concerts," wrote this for the “Why We’re Excited” segment on NPR’s Austin 100:

“The Small Glories’ Cara Luft and JD Edwards perform winsome, bluegrass-inflected folk-pop music that’s only deepened by their loose and lighthearted onstage chemistry. The pair’s concerts often double as comedy shows, wherein byzantine song intros somehow magnify the escapism of the buoyant songwriting. But the music itself is no joke: Luft is a Wailin’ Jennys alum whose work on the clawhammer banjo is to die for, while Edwards’ guitar and vocal harmonies deepen and enrich the duo’s sound.”

It’s why we’re excited and can hardly wait for this soulful good time in the LCC theater.

Tickets start at $22 and are available at Lakewood.org/LCCPresents or by calling 303-987-7845.

See the 2022 lineup

ONLINE Lakewood.org/LCCPresents • BY PHONE 303-987-7845 IN PERSON Lakewood Cultural Center Box Office • 470 S. Allison Parkway 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday • 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Saturday

TICKETS START AT $22

Please check Lakewood.org/CulturalCenter for current COVID protocols. Performances subject to change.

WINTER & SPRING PERFORMANCES

ETHEL’s Documerica

7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 17

Inspired by and showcasing evocative imagery from Project Documerica, a 1970s photographic archive commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, the archive’s visual and emotional impact are brought into the 21st century with electrifying virtuosity by this boundary exploding, indieclassical quartet. Music by some of today’s top composers is in constant dialogue with the images, taking us on a fascinating journey through time, history and a landscape of memory that is by turns urban, rural, pastoral and gritty.

TAKE3

7:30 p.m., Friday, March 4

This crossover trio of violin, piano and cello, led by star violinist Lindsay Deutsch, is genre-defying with a flair for the unexpected. With chops honed at the world’s top conservatories, these artists take audiences from Beethoven to Bieber with rock-star charisma for a performance that is infectious and down to earth.

The Lao Tizer Quartet featuring Nelson Rangell

7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 12

This Jazz Group of the Year nominee delivers an explosive mix of jazz, rock, classical, funk and world rhythms. Led by keyboardist and Boulder native Lao Tizer, the band features saxophonist/flutist extraordinaire Nelson Rangell, drum phenom Gene Coye and bass legend Ric Fierabracci.

1776 co-presented with Performance Now Theatre Company

Fridays-Sundays, March 18-April 3

Witness the birth of a nation as our forefathers struggle to craft the Declaration of Independence. The seminal event in American history blazes to vivid life in this most beautiful and unconventional Broadway hit. Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).