Wolf Trap's Summer Season Kicks Off This Week

PHOTO: Filene Center at Wolf Trap; photo courtesy of venue

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VIENNA, VA -- Pack your picnic, grab your friends and get ready for star-filled summer nights. Summer officially begins this week for Washington-area music lovers, when Wolf Trap opens the Summer 2016 season on the Filene Center stage at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

The season kicks off Wednesday night with indie rock artist Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in their Wolf Trap debut at the 7,028-seat open-air Filene Center.

On Friday and Saturday, Garrison Keillor makes his final Wolf Trap appearances as host of A Prairie Home Companion – a Wolf Trap opening weekend tradition since 2001.

On Sunday, May 29, Wolf Trap hosts the annual free Summer Blast-Off!, featuring “The President’s Own” United States Marine Corps Band, followed by a fireworks display.

Gates for Sunday's free concert will open at 6:30 pm for Lawn (90 minutes prior to curtain). Fireworks viewing area opens following the performance, at approximately 9:30 p.m. Fireworks begin at approximately 9:45 p.m.

Note: There is no Wolf Trap Express Shuttle bus service for the Summer 2016 Blast Off performance.

This year’s concert is packed with popular and classical favorites including patriotic marches, a dazzling Ragtime solo feature, a brand new arrangement of music from the hit Broadway show Guys and Dolls and, of course, Tchaikovsky’s iconic 1812 Overture. As always, the musical extravaganza is capped with one of the best fireworks displays of the year. Here's the lineup:

• FILLMORE | March, "Americans We"
• CANFIELD | Yankee Doodle Fanfareture
• WILLIAMS/ trans. Lavender | The Patriot
• CAMPHOUSE | Yosemite Autumn
• arranged NINMER* | Scenario from Guys and Dolls
• Master Sgt. Kevin Bennear, baritone, and Gunnery Sgt. Sara Sheffield, mezzo-soprano
• arranged NOWLIN* | "Amazing Grace"
• Master Sgt. Kevin Bennear, baritone, and Gunnery Sgt. Sara Sheffield, mezzo-soprano
• TCHAIKOVSKY/ trans. D. Patterson* | Overture Solennelle, "1812," Opus 49
• SOUSA* | March, "The Stars and Stripes Forever"
• arranged KNOX* | A Salute to the Armed Forces of the United States of America

Summer concerts

The Filene Center season features iconic artists whose music mirrors the majesty and diversity of our national parks – and includes more than 50 debut artists. Select debuts include: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (May 25), Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats (June 7), Flight of the Conchords (June 13), Lake Street Dive (June 16), Paul Simon (June 27 + 28), Asha Bhosle (June 29), Sufjan Stevens (July 22), Don Henley (September 7+8), and Leon Bridges (September 10).

Returning acts include Dolly Parton (June 8), Jackson Browne (June 14), Mary Chapin Carpenter (July 2), American Ballet Theatre in Romeo and Juliet (July 14-16), Kristin Chenoweth (August 21), and Weird Al Yankovic (September 11). The National Symphony Orchestra continues its summer residency at Wolf Trap with DreamWorks Animation in Concert (June 30), America the Beautiful (July 1), Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Yuja Wang, piano (July 8), a special 35thanniversary presentation of Raiders of the Lost Ark (July 9), Seth MacFarlane (August 6), and much more. Additionally, to mark the 100th birthday of the National Park Service on August 25, Wolf Trap presents a weekend of performances by legendary artists Ricky Martin (August 24 + 25), Aretha Franklin (August 26) and Bonnie Raitt (August 27).

In addition to the Filene Center season, Wolf Trap also offers Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, which runs June 21 through August 6, and performances at The Barns at Wolf Trap by Wolf Trap Opera, one of the most highly acclaimed artist training programs in the nation.

The Summer 2016 season will conclude September 16 with the Wolf Trap Ball, Wolf Trap’s major fundraising event in support of its award-winning arts, education, and community programs. Held on stage at the Filene Center, this year’s unique charitable event will celebrate the National Park Service Centennial.