**Take advantage of advance ticket prices, as they go up the day of the show!** ADV: $15/$12 MEM; D/S: $18/$15 MEM
For years, the name Bruce Hayes has been synonymous with the Colorado sound, a fusion of musical styles that combines acoustic and electric instrumentation with elements of rock, bluegrass, Celtic, and R&B music. Collaborating with The String Cheese Incident and Acoustic Junction in the mid-90s, Hayes helped define the acoustic jam band sound. He continues this tradition performing original songs and arrangements on mandolin, guitar, steel, and an amplified foot board of his own design. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, recording engineer, one-man band—Bruce Hayes does it all.
On stage he has an electrifying presence, tapping his feet on an amplified floor board, slapping accents on his guitar and cheeks, wailing on the harmonica, and singing charismatically. His fingers dance around the strings with incredible fluidity, creating rich harmonic textures and rapid-fire riffs.
Inspired by the Beatles and the Monkees, Bruce began studying music at age seven. He formed his first band in seventh grade and got his first paid gig as guitarist for the high school jazz ensemble when he was 15. In college he majored in classical guitar, but after attending his first bluegrass festival, he traded the classical guitar for a mandolin. His music has taken him across the continent a dozen times, and twice around Europe, with more than 3,000 performances to date. He’s jammed on stage with Joe Cocker, Arlo Guthrie, New Riders, Acoustic Syndicate, Railroad Earth, Darrell Scott, Tim O’Brien, and Drew Emmitt, and has opened shows for David Bromberg, Jorma Kaukonen, Merle Sanders, Subdudes, the Neville Brothers, Dave Mathews, Sam Bush, and David Lindley.
