Seven more headliners, eight more nights of fun and music, and the Oregon Zoo’s 2016 summer concert series, presented by the Oregon College Savings Plan and Banfield Pet Hospital, has come fully into focus.
The third and final collection of dates and headliners features two nights with local favorites Pink Martini, and one night each with Texas legend Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, the B-52s with the English Beat, Ziggy Marley with Steel Pulse, Omara Portuondo & Eliades Ochoa from Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, and Jake Bugg. A year after selling out one version of its “Tour de Compadres,” Needtobreathe returns with a bunch of friends — including Eugene-native Mat Kearney, John Mark McMillan and Welshly Arms.
Tickets for this final group of shows go on sale at 10 a.m. April 22 and can be purchased at zooconcerts.com. Pre-sale tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20. To receive pre-sale access, register for the Zoo Concerts newsletter, also at zooconcerts.com.
While you’re at the web site, be sure to check the full list of previously announced dates. Chicago, fresh from their recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will kick the 2016 series off on June 19.
The newest additions to the lineup:
- An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, July 3: One of the great Texas songwriters, and Texas has produced a lot of great songwriters. He’s won four Grammy Awards, has a slew of acting credits and is a fantastic storyteller.
- The B-52s with the English Beat, July 23: Formed in 1976 after drinks at a Chinese restaurant in Athens, Ga., the B-52s have sold more than 20 million albums, and more than that many people know the words to “Love Shack” and “Roam” and “Rock Lobster.” The English Beat started with ska in 1979 and have built a house of genres around themselves since.
- Ziggy Marley Live! with Steel Pulse, Aug. 4: Ziggy Marley’s last album, 2014’s Fly Rasta, won the 2015 Grammy for best reggae album. Next month, he’ll release his self-titled sixth solo album on Tuff Gong Worldwide, the label his father, Bob Marley, began in the 1965. Steel Pulse also has a Grammy for best reggae album, for 1986’s Babylon the Bandit. Being from England, that made Steel Pulse the first non-Jamaican band to win the award.
- Pink Martini featuring China Forbes and Storm Large, Aug. 5-6: In its 22nd year, Pink Martini still tours the world, still connects to the world through music and still entertains young and old alike. Singers China Forbes and Storm Large will both be performing at these always-popular local gigs.
- From Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club: Omara Portuondo & Eliades Ochoa, Aug. 28: The magic, the mystery and the romance of Cuba and its music. Omara Portuondo will be 86 this fall. She’s been performing for 70 of those years and will pull her set from the full sweep of her life and experience. With his guitar and voice, Eliades Ochoa became a symbol for the traditional music of Santiago de Cuba. To the band formed during the revolution, he has added contemporary musicians to bridge the then and now.
- Needtobreathe presents “Tour de Compadres” featuring Needtobreathe, Mat Kearney, John Mark McMillan and Welshly Arms, Sept. 2: Needtobreathe’s 2014 album Rivers in the Wasteland topped Billboard’s rock and alternative album charts. In July, the band will release its latest record, Hardlove. The lead single, “Happiness,” is streaming already on Spotify and Apple Music. Kearney, John Mark McMillan and Welshly Arms will join Needtobreathe on this year’s tour. Highlights of last year’s “Tour de Compadres” included a sold-out show at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, now available as a mini-documentary presented by Tidal.
- Jake Bugg, Sept. 9: Bugg was 18 and 19 years old when he made his first two albums. Now a wily and experienced 22-year-old, the acclaimed British singer-songwriter will release his third album, On My One, early this summer. The title is a little local slang that means “on my own,” which is basically how Bugg made a record he’s said is make or break for his young career.
In 1979, the Oregon Zoo became the first in America to host a summer concert series. The series has become one of the top outdoor events in the Northwest, and is the region’s longest continuously running outdoor series.