BATTLE OF THE BANDS GLANCE
Don Felder, pictured at far right in this 1977 file photo of the Eagles, presents 'An Evening at the Hotel California' at the Kent Stage on Saturday, June 13. The show is billed as halftime for the annual Kent Folk Festival, which was announced Wednesday and runs from Tuesday, June 9, to Thursday, June 18.
(AP file)
KENT, Ohio - This year's Kent Folk Festival has a special surprise. Call it the tasty filling in a musical cookie.
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder will present "An Evening at the Hotel California'' at the Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., on Saturday, June 13. What the venue is billing as an "intermission'' is smack dab in the middle of the festival that opens on Tuesday, June 9, with Jeff Austin, the former mandolinist with the Yonder Mountain String Band and closes on Thursday, June 18, with Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band.
The rest of the lineup features the Stray Birds on Wednesday, June 10; Gaelic Storm, Thursday, June 11; Tall Heights, Friday, June 12; the Gibson Brothers, Sunday, June 14; and the Quebe Sisters on Tuesday, June 16.
Two additional concerts are "in the works,'' a spokesman said.
All shows are at 8 p.m., and tickets for all tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office, online at thekentstage.com and ticketfly.com, and by phone at 330-677-5005 or 1-877-987-6487.
Here are the ticket prices for each concert: Jeff Austin, $18 to $22; the Stray Birds, $15 to $18; Gaelic Storm, $28.50 to $30.50; Tall Heights, $12 to $15; Felder, $38 to $59; Gibson Brothers, $25; the Quebe Sisters, $25; and Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, $17 to $20.
The festival began in 1967, and has undergone several name changes since then, but it's always produced quality music. Felder is an obvious example in this year's lineup, but the rest are not slouches. The Gibson Brothers won the International Bluegrass Music Association entertainer of the year award in 2013, and the fiddle-playing, Texas-born Quebe sisters have been wowing Western swing fans since their debut release in 2003.