Article updated Feb. 19, 2018 by Dave Read
They’ve done the math on Mass.Ave. in Boston, where the BSO’s marketing majors compile the lineup for the Tanglewood Popular Artists series, and found that the median age of the classical music audience matches the mean number of trips around the sun Baby Boomers have taken.
The result is that musicians who peaked in the late sixties/early seventies are very likely to be getting another peek down by Stockbridge Bowl as we move into the Re-Gilded Age of the Late Teens!
Here in the Berkshires, where the Hospitality-Industrial Complex is a force to be reckoned with, everybody’s favorite baby boomer, James Taylor, headlines the 2018 Tanglewood Popular Artists series. No artist had a luckier trip in the Sixties than our own neighbor and friend Taylor, who recorded his debut album in 1968 while The Beatles were working on their White Album in the same London studio!
James and his All-Star Band will once again play two shows, July 3 & 4, with fireworks following the July 4 concert. Taylor is a stellar role model for his ’60s-era peers because he is true to his art, keeping it fresh and new every time he brings it to the Koussevitsky Music Shed. In this Tanglewood season celebrating the Centennial of Leonard Bernstein, who was as radical as any artist during the Sixties, it’s gratifying to have a fellow-traveler headlining the Fourth of July.
Other notable acts who also keep on keeping on, tapping into deep reservoirs of artistic fervor, include The Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Emmylou Harris, Ry Cooder, Judy Collins, Steven Stills, and David Crosby. But wait – there’s more, here’s the complete lineup:
2018 Tanglewood Popular Artist schedule
Thursday, June 21, 8:00 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Andy Grammer
Friday, June 22, 7:00 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Boston Pops and Audra McDonald
Sunday, June 24, 2:30 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Friday, June 29, 8:00 Seiji Ozawa Hall
String Quartet Marathon
Saturday, June 30, 10:00 & 2:30 Seiji Ozawa Hall
Live From Here at Tanglewood with Chris Thile
Saturday, June 30, 5:45 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Ry Cooder and Emmylou Harris
Sunday, July 1, 2:30 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Steve Miller Band, with Peter Frampton
Monday, July 2, 7:00 Koussevitsky Music Shed
James Taylor
Tuesday, July 3, 8:00 Koussevitsky Music Shed
James Taylor
Wednesday, July 4, 8:00 Koussevitsky Music Shed
Fireworks after the concert.
BERNSTEIN On the Town
Saturday, July 7, 8 p.m. Koussevitsky Music Shed
John Williams’ Film Night
Saturday, Aug. 11, 8:00 p.m. Koussevitsky Music Shed
John Williams’ Film Night has long been established as one of the Tanglewood calendar’s most consistently captivating evenings. Join Mr. Williams as he presents this year’s celebration of the music of Hollywood and beyond, featuring the Boston Pops and BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons.
Steve Martin and Martin Short, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life
Sunday, Sept. 2, 2:30 p.m. Koussevitsky Music Shed
Hotels near Tanglewood
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Tanglewood tickets and box office information
Tickets for the 2018 Tanglewood season, $12-$160, are available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, and at the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA. Download the 2018 Tanglewood season brochure.
