Grammy Winner Kris Kristofferson to Make Segerstrom Center Debut This Fall

Country music legend, a Highwayman, screen star and Academy Award-nominated songwriter, Kris Kristofferson makes his Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut on Saturday, November 5, 2016 in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

The three-time Grammy winner has recorded 28 albums and has spent three decades performing concerts all over the world. In recent years Kristofferson has performed in a solo acoustic setting, which puts the focus on the songs.

"There's an honesty in the sparseness. It feels like direct communication to the listener," he says. "I still have fun when I'm with the band, but being alone is freer, somehow. It's like being an old blues guy, just completely stripped away."

Singles tickets start at $19 and go on sale Friday, August 12 at 10 a.m. and will be available online at SCFTA.org, by calling (714) 556-2787 and at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755- 0236.

Kris Kristofferson has been making things happen his entire life. Born in Texas and raised in a military family, he was a Golden Gloves boxer who studied creative writing at Pomona College in California. The Phi Beta Kappa graduate earned a Rhodes scholarship to study literature at Oxford, where he boxed, played rugby and continued to write songs. After graduating from Oxford, Kristofferson served in the Army as an Airborne Ranger helicopter pilot and achieved the rank of captain. In 1965, Kristofferson turned down an assignment to teach at West Point and, inspired by such songwriters as Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, moved to Nashville to pursue his music.

"When I was in the Army, I was one of the few people outside of his personal friends who knew about Willie Nelson," Kristofferson recalls. "I listened to a disc jockey who happened to be a Willie fan. He would play Willie's songs and talk about him all the time. By the time I got to Nashville, he was a superhero to me. For guys like me, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson were two gods we worshipped. Then Willie and I got to be best friends. I came from a position of idolizing him to finding out he's the funniest son of a bitch you could be around."

After struggling in Music City for several years, Kristofferson achieved remarkable success as a country songwriter in the early 1970s. His songs "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," and "For the Good Times," all chart-topping hits, helped redefine country songwriting. By 1987, it was estimated that more than 450 artists had recorded Kristofferson's compositions.

His renown as a songwriter triggered Kristofferson's successful career as a performer and that, in turn, brought him to the attention of Hollywood, leading to his flourishing career as a film actor. Kristofferson has acted in more than 70 films. In 1977, he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in "A Star Is Born." He's appeared in cult favorites, including the Blade trilogy, Lone Star, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Blume in Love, Cisco Pike and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Recent films include Fast Food Nation, Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, The Jacket, Silver City, He's Just Not That Into You and Dolphin Tale.

Kristofferson has reached living legend status, but that hasn't changed or hindered his creativity. His current CD, Feeling Mortal contains 11 gems that explore love, gratitude, aging and his ever-present theme of freedom. "If you took freedom out of the songs, you'd have very few Kristofferson songs," he laughs.

In addition to many other awards, Kristofferson is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, winner of the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriter Hall of Fame and was honored with the American Veterans Association's "Veteran of the Year Award" in 2002. For Kristofferson's 70th birthday in 2006, his friends and admirers gifted him with a tribute CD, The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson. Stars including Willie Nelson, Russell Crowe, Emmylou Harris, Gretchen Wilson, Rosanne Cash and Brian McKnight recorded 17 of Kristofferson's compositions for the tribute. In 2007, Kristofferson was honored with the Johnny Cash Visionary Award from Country Music Television and in 2009 BMI lauded Kristofferson with the Icon Award. He received the Frances Preston Music Industry Award from the T.J. Martell Foundation in March, 2012. In 2014, Kristofferson was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the PEN Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution and as well as a beautiful multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, where students ages 3 - 14 are taught by acclaimed teachers utilizing the renowned ABT National Training Curriculum in studios utilized by the world's greatest dancers and choreographers.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family- friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.