$27.50 Reserved Seating

Those in the know might be familiar with The Magnetic Fields and their front man Stephin Merrit, who lives and works in New York City. Adept at computer music programming and production, Merritt records his own albums and plays almost everything on them with help from cellist Sam Davol, banjo player/second guitarist John Woo, and percussionist/ pianist Claudia Gonson. The Magnetic Fields have released six full-length CD's between 1993 and 1999, all on Merge Records. The Charm of the Highway Strip (1994) is an electro-country meditation on life on the open road.

Holiday (1994) has a more euro-pop sound, with songs about escape and nightlife. Get Lost (1995) has a mixture of styles and moods, including the intimate cabaret sound of With Whom to Dance? In 1999, the Magnetic Fields released their 3-disc set, 69 Love Songs. The album has sold 130,000 copies worldwide, and has brought Merritt's music to the mainstream eye. In addition to Merritt's singing, 69 Love Songs also features vocals by pianist Claudia Gonson, as well as three additional singers, LD Beghtol, Dudley Klute, and Shirley Simms. The album also included instrumental contributions of Future Bible Hero Chris Ewen, and novelist Daniel Handler on accordion.

In 2002, The Magnetic Fields signed a worldwide record deal with Nonesuch (Warner Brothers). Their first album for the label, i, was released in May, 2004, which was followed by Distortion in 2008. We are certainly looking forward to this concert and we hope you will join us in the upcoming months as we welcome Los Lobos, Aaron Neville, Malcolm Dalglish, Canadian Brass and local favorite Carrie Newcomer.

The BCT Presents Season 2009-2010 is made possible by Bloomingfoods, Bloom Magazine, Blue Ace Media, Ivy Tech Community College, The Indiana Arts Commission, Markey’s Rental & Staging, Oliver Winery, Upland Brewing Company and with support from many community partners and businesses dedicated to the performing arts.

Laura Barret

Toronto, Canada's beloved and bespectacled musical linguist, Laura Barrett, introduces many us to the clocklike tones of her signature instrument, the kalimba (an African thumb-piano, literally translated as “little music”). Utilizing the vibrant kalimba with her warm and nurturing voice, Laura Barrett has crafted several stunning releases displaying her classically trained musicianship, wild imagination and experimental tendencies. Barrett classifies it as "the prog-folk, dystopic-stage-musical, acoustic-glitch everyone's doing nowadays."

Rich melodies and intricate arrangements weave and wisp through Barrett's lyrics, sweet and furious rants about technologies that divide and alienate. These lyrics that read like a sci-fi novel are accented by the sounds of her growing ensemble, which consists of theremins, vibraphones, midi bass pedals, banjos, strings, and woodwinds.