Sierra Hull & Highway 111 | Press Releases

8 p.m., Friday, October 21, 2011
Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

Image: Sierra Hull The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts begins its 2011-2012 "Sweet Sounds" series with rising bluegrass star Sierra Hull & Highway 111 performing at 8 p.m., Friday, October 21, 2011. Opening the concert will be area favorites The String Fingers Band , which includes Dan Carlucci, an alumnus of Fairfield Prep and Fairfield University. Tickets are $25.

Sierra Hull is a fresh, important new voice onto today's bluegrass scene. She's got a rare talent that combines youthful intensity and energy with a sense of grace and maturity well beyond her years. From full-throttle newgrass instrumentals to eloquent, heart-stopping ballads, to playful modern bluegrass, Sierra's music features her fluidly inventive mandolin playing, and tender, wistful singing supported by a luminous cast of bluegrass masters.

Sierra Hull was a child prodigy, recognized for her guitar and mandolin skills when she was 8-years-old. When she was 11, she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, performing with bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss, another former child prodigy. As a young teenager, she toured with Krauss and other bluegrass legends like Ralph Stanley. And her national debut album, Secrets , was recorded when she was 15. She recently attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., as a Presidential Scholar while also touring with her band, and she graduated earlier this year after completing a two-year Artists Diploma program. Her latest disc, Daybreak , came out in 2011 on Rounder Records, and videos from the album have been receiving airplay on CMT and CMT Pure. In August, the International Bluegrass Music Association nominated Sierra Hull & Highway 111 for Emerging Artist of the Year, and Sierra herself as Mandolin Player of the Year. She is also featured in the upcoming Porchlight Sessions, the feature-length music documentary about bluegrass music that covers the expanse of bluegrass music from the perspective of the community that surrounds it.

Image: Sierra Hull The String Fingers Band are a talented group of area musicians who take an eclectic approach to American Roots Music and present a highly original blend of bluegrass, newgrass and folk roots music. Band members include songwriters Dan Tressler, on vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo, and Dan Carlucci, on vocals, guitar, and mandolin, with Dave Kaye on dobro, banjo and pedal steel guitar, Ryan McAdams on bass guitar, and Rob Bonaccorso on drums. Their latest disc is called "Don't Forget."

Single tickets for Sierra Hull & Highway 111 performing at 8 p.m., Friday, October 21, 2011, are $25.

Tickets and subscriptions are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at fairfield.edu/quick .

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit fairfield.edu/quick .