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St. Cecilia Music Center brings GRAMMY Nominated duo The Milk Carton Kids to Grand Rapids in concert this Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021

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The Milk Carton Kids, will bring their special brand of folk to St. Cecilia Music Center this Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. This Thursday's concert kicks off their widespread tour through 21 U.S. cities and 5 performances in Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and England.
Milk Carton Kids

Milk Carton Kids /Milk Carton Kids

Tickets:

Tickets for The Milk Carton Kids are $40 - $50, available at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224. All remaining concert tickets can be purchased at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224.

 

The Milk Carton Kids, will bring their special brand of folk to St. Cecilia Music Center on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. This date will kick off their concert tour through 21 U.S. cities and 5 performances in Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and England. 

Tickets for The Milk Carton Kids are $40 - $50, available at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224.

St. Cecilia Music Center’s Executive & Artistic Director Cathy Holbrook says, “The Milk Carton Kids were a big hit at St. Cecilia Music Center during their first visit here in 2019. Their loyal fans and people who love folk and Americana music will appreciate Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale’s beautiful songs and entertaining stage banter.

The duo’s latest record, The Only Ones, released late in 2019, features a departure from their past recordings. It was produced on the band’s own Milk Carton Records imprint in partnership with Thirty Tigers. It is an acoustic performance highlighting their ethereal harmonies and acoustic guitar playing, without a backup band. On The Only Ones, the pair returns to the core of what they are about musically: the duo. 

Americana UK said about the album, “’With ‘The Only Ones,’ The Milk Carton Kids go back to their roots: acoustic guitars and ethereal harmonies delivering lyrics that detail all the emotions love evokes. Musical duos will inevitably be compared to those that came before, and while The Milk Carton Kids conjure everyone from Simon and Garfunkel to the O’Kanes, ‘The Only Ones’ prove they can confidently hold their own, alongside their influences.”

The Milk Carton Kids has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: 

  • Best Folk Album in 2013 (The Ash & Clay);
  • Best American Roots Performance in 2015 (“The City of Our Lady”); and
  • Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, in 2018 (All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do).

St. Cecilia Music Center’s 2021-22 Season includes a World-Class Lineup of Folk and Jazz Musicians, as well as celebrates the 10thanniversary of partnership with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The new WinterFest Music Festival in February will also be an exciting highlight of the new season. Throughout this season, St. Cecilia Music Center will feature 17+ evenings of outstanding performances by world-renowned jazz, folk, and chamber music artists in what is their 138th season of music. 

NOTE: SCMC currently requires proof of fully vaccinated status, or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours, to attend a concert at the SCMC venue. Attendees need to bring photo ID and proof of vaccination, or a negative test, the night of a concert. All audience members are required to wear a mask while in the building. 

If you a have tickets to an upcoming performance and are unwilling or unable to abide by this policy, please contact the SCMC box office for a refund at [email protected] a minimum of 48 hours prior to the concert date.

The Milk Carton Kids - Bio

Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale lives have changed dramatically over the past couple of years. 

Pattengale has moved to and is now producing records in Nashville. Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on "Live from Here with Chris Thile," the reboot of "A Prairie Home Companion." A break from years of non-stop touring, Ryan says, has yielded "space outside of the band that gives us perspective on what the band is."

Their newest record The Only Ones was released in October 2019 and was marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers. Americana UK has said about the album, “With ‘The Only Ones,’ The Milk Carton Kids go back to their roots: acoustic guitars and ethereal harmonies delivering lyrics that detail all the emotions love evokes. Musical duos will inevitably be compared to those that came before, and while The Milk Carton Kids conjure everyone from Simon and Garfunkel to the O’Kanes, ‘The Only Ones’ prove they can confidently hold their own, alongside their influences.”

Ryan plays a 1951 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar while Pattengale performs on a 1954 Martin 0-15 He h has also designed his own guitar akin to the 1955 Martin 0-15‘The Pattengale Special’.

Achievements

Their past achievements are many since 2012 when the duo began touring and performing:  The Milk Carton Kids have performed on National Public Radio's Mountain StageDaytrotter, and were guest DJ hosts on Sirius/XM's folk channel The Village. The duo toured in July/August 2012 with Old Crow Medicine Show and The Lumineers. In the fall of 2012, they toured the U.S. again with L.A.-based Leslie Stevens, and in November 2012, they began to tour with the Punch Brothers. In December 2012, three unreleased tracks ("Snake Eyes", "The Ash & Clay" and "Jewel of June") were featured in Gus Van Sant's film Promised Land, starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski.

They were also featured in T Bone Burnett & The Coen Brothers' concert film documentary, Another Day/Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis , alongside Joan Baez, Jack White, Gillian Welch, Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers and many other folk luminaries and upstarts. 

After the 2013 release of The Ash & Clay they appeared on a few TV and Radio performances including Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home CompanionCBS This Morning, and Conan

In April 2014 National Public Radio released a full concert DVD, Live at Lincoln Theatre. They also collaborated with Joe Henry and Over the Rhine for a two-night live performance & recording of all new songs inspired by the Great American Songbook

The Milk Carton Kids' 2013 album, The Ash & Clay, received a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Folk Album of 2013. The duo additionally received a nomination for Best Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2013 Americana Music Honors & Awards. 

In 2014 they were selected the Americana Music Association Duo/Group of the Year. 

The song "City of Our Lady" from the 2015 album Monterey received a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best American Roots Performance. The album was well-reviewed, with Rolling Stone calling it a "beautifully realized folk recording" and Paste calling the album "exquisite".

In October 2016, the duo joined the Lampedusa concert tour in the US in support of equal human rights for refugees.

All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do was released in June 2018 on Anti- RecordsRolling Stone praised the album, with writer Luke Levenson noting the bandmates' life changes as significant influences in its sound, commenting "both halves of the troubadour twosome have undergone serious life changes, with Joey Ryan fathering his second child and Kenneth Pattengale overcoming cancer and the breakup of a seven-year relationship

In 2018, The Milk Carton Kids closed the 18th Annual San Francisco Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, with a new variety show, “The Milk Carton Kids Sad Songs Comedy Hour”. The band performed and hosted an evening of music and comedy with guests including Andy Kindler, Aparna Nancherla, and more. A second installment of their “Sad Songs Comedy Hour” was held at the popular nightclub Largo in Los Angeles in January 2019. 

Their newest record The Only Ones was released in October 2019 and was marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers. Americana UK has said about the album, “With ‘The Only Ones,’ The Milk Carton Kids go back to their roots: acoustic guitars and ethereal harmonies delivering lyrics that detail all the emotions love evokes. Musical duos will inevitably be compared to those that came before, and while The Milk Carton Kids conjure everyone from Simon and Garfunkel to the O’Kanes, ‘The Only Ones’ prove they can confidently hold their own, alongside their influences.

Tickets for St. Cecilia Music Center 2021/2022 Season

SINGLE TICKETS

Single tickets** for WinterFest, Chamber, Jazz, and Folk series concerts be purchased by phone at 616-459-2224 or online at www.scmc-online.org. Currently SCMC is unable to hold post-concert receptions due to COVID. For certain concerts there will be merchandise available for purchase after the performance.

Folk Series Single Tickets – Upcoming Concerts

Milk Carton Kids

Thursday, December 2, 2021

A section $50

B section $40

Watkins Family Hour

Thursday, December 16, 2021

A section $55

B section $45

May Erlewine

Thursday, February 17, 2022

A section $35

B section $20

VIP tix $100

Shawn Colvin

Thursday, May 12, 2022

A section $45

B section $40

VIP tix $125

Judy Collins

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

A section $65

B section $55

 

SCMC WinterFest Jazz Festival - Upcoming Concerts

Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer

Thursday, February 24, 2022

A section $55      

B section $50

Christian McBride Trio & Cyrille Aimee

Friday, February 25, 2022

A section $45

B section $40      

Christian McBride & Inside Straight 

Saturday, February 26, 2022

A section $45

B section $40      

 

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center - Upcoming Concerts

Romantic Perspectives

Thursday, January 27, 2022

A section $45

B section $40

The Jazz Effect

Thursday, March 31, 2022

A section $45

B section $40                  

 

Jazz Series Single Tickets - Upcoming Concerts

Jazz Saxophonist Joshua Redman

Thursday, January 20, 2022

A section $55

B section $45      

Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap

Thursday, March 10, 2022

A section $55

B section $50

Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Thursday, April 14, 2022

A section $50

B section $45      

 

SUBSCRIPTION TICKETS

Season subscription tickets to the 2022 SCMC WinterFest Jazz Festival and Spectacular Jazz Series  are now available online at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224

Series Subscribers are offered with great benefits including 15-20% discount off single concert ticket prices. 

**Ticket prices: There is a $7 fee on each subscription ticket. Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. 

Spectacular Jazz Series 

3-concert subscription

15% discount off single ticket prices

Subscription: $137

Plus: Add any or ALL the three WinterFest concerts to your subscription and receive 15% off the single ticket price on festival tickets. 

 

SCMC WinterFest Subscription package

3-concert subscription

15% discount off single ticket prices

Subscription: $123

 

 

St. Cecilia Music Center’s mission is to promote the study, appreciation and

performance of music to enrich the lives of West Michigan residents. 

The Center fulfills this mission by 

presenting visiting world-class artists in concert, 

providing music education for all ages through our School of Music and 

preserving a historic building for musical activities and community events

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