The Fox Theatre And Good Times Productions Present HAMPTON 70

Atlanta's legendary surrealist musician and icon Col. Bruce Hampton will celebrate his 70th birthday with Hampton 70: A Celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton, on Monday, May 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre, with proceeds benefiting the Fox Theatre Institute and other musician-focused charities. Joined by an all-star lineup of musicians, this once-in-a-lifetime event will feature collaborations by Col. Bruce's friends and admirers as they come together to honor and pay tribute to his music and life.

Tickets go on sale starting Friday, March 17 at 10 a.m. Tickets, priced at $35, $50, $75, $125, plus applicable fees, are available online at FoxTheatre.org, by calling (855) 285-8499, or by visiting the Fox Theatre Box Office.

Scheduled to appear at Hampton 70: A Celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton's are Widespread Panic members John Bell, Dave Schools, Duane Trucks and Jimmy Herring, Peter Buck of R.E.M, steel-guitar-man Darick Campbell, renowned saxophone player Karl Denson, Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, Jon Fishman of Phish, banjo-shredder Rev. Jeff Mosier, guitar god Warren Haynes, Drivin' N Cryin' front man Kevn Kinney, Atlanta jazz-staple Johnny Knapp, Chuck Leavell of The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones, Athens rock-troubadour T. Hardy Morris, 13-year old guitar prodigy Brandon Niederauer, John Popper of Blues Traveler, funk bassist Kevin Scott, keyboardist Matt Slocum, Denny Walley of Frank Zappa fame, gypsy-metal guitarist Emil Werstler, Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers, the Colonel's Sling Blade co-star and Oscar- award winning actor Billy Bob Thornton plus Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, and more special guests to be announced soon (lineup subject to change).

Fondly called the "Granddaddy of the Jam Scene" for decades, Col. Bruce Hampton is a legend in jam music whose impact on the scene is insurmountable. From his beginnings with the groundbreaking avant-garde group the Hampton Grease Band to the seminal Aquarium Rescue Unit, his idiosyncratic blend of improvisational space rock has an influence that reaches far beyond Atlanta's music clubs. He is one of live jam music's most recognizable and respected players and this event will see many of his frequent collaborators and friends joining to honor his life and achievements.

"From the beginning, our goal has been to celebrate the musical accomplishments and contributions of Col. Bruce Hampton, and we could not think of a more appropriate place to host such a party than the most iconic venue in the state," said Matthew Wilson of Good Times Productions. "Much like Col. Bruce, venues like the Fox Theatre are sacred and they should be honored and protected. We are humbled and privileged to be part of such a great show, joined by so many of Bruce's wonderful friends to celebrate the 70th birthday of a real life Georgia legend, and simultaneously helping to give life to other arts centers around the state that Bruce has called home for 70 years."

"We are truly honored to host Hampton 70, celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton's life and work," said Adina Erwin, Fox Theatre's Vice President and COO. "We were surprised and delighted to learn that the proceeds of the event are to benefit the Fox Theatre Institute as well as other music-minded organizations. The Fox Theatre Institute's focus is to revitalize communities' one theatre at a time, and with Col. Bruce's generosity, we will be able to uplift the arts community and these vital historical structures. We are truly excited to be a partner with Col. Bruce Hampton, a music legend, on this historic event."

The Fox Theatre Institute (FTI) is a multi-layered outreach program created by the Fox Theatre to support Georgia's arts community with a "pay it forward" philosophy. FTI programs include Fox in a Box, an interactive in-school program, Georgia Presenters, a statewide booking consortium, and the much-heralded Preservation Grant Program, which encourages the preservation of historic theatres by providing grant funds for the maintenance and physical improvement of theatres throughout the region. Grants are awarded to projects that provide significant economic and cultural impact to the communities they serve. Grant award winners also receive operations expertise and guidance through seminars and strategic planning, fostering professional development. For the past nine years, the Fox Theatre Institute has supported 15 preservation projects totaling more than $360,000 in grants; such recipients include the Miller Theater (Augusta), Douglass Theatre (Macon), Morton Theatre (Athens) and the Plaza Theatre (Atlanta). In 2017, the Fox Theatre will announce a revamped FTI program to include a dynamic grant award system with multifaceted opportunities for cultural centers to receive substantial financial assistance.

For more information on FTI, please visit FoxTheatreInstitute.org.

For more information and updates about Hampton 70: A Celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton, please visit FoxTheatre.org/Hampton70.

About Col. Bruce Hampton

Equal parts psychedelicized Allman Brothers and boogiefied Grateful Dead (with a dash of Commander Cody thrown in), Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit capitalized on the nuevo-hippie movement that swept through America in the early '90s. The Atlanta-born Hampton has been kicking around the Southern music circuit since the early '60s; as the Hampton Grease Band, he released Music to Eat on Columbia Records in 1969. After the Grease Band folded, Hampton released a solo effort (One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist in 1978) and then founded New Ice Age, which soon evolved into the Late Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age released two albums, Outside Looking Out (1980) and Isles of Langerhan (1982). The Colonel recorded a second solo album, Arkansas, in 1984 and by 1987 the group had broken up. Hampton then formed the Aquarium Rescue Unit, an eclectic congregation adept at everything from country-swing jazz to meltdown Southern boogie and over-amped gospel bluegrass. By the time of 1992's Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, the band featured Oteil Burbridge on bass and vocals, guitarist Jimmy Herring, Matt Mundy on electric mandolin and vocals, and drummer Apt. Q258; the record documented a live date from the previous September. The band's first studio album, Mirrors of Embarrassment, was released in mid-1993, concurrent with an appearance on the H.O.R.D.E. tour. Shortly after the release of Mirrors of Embarrassment, Hampton left the group, but the Aquarium Rescue Unit continued touring and recording without him, releasing In a Perfect World in 1996. Hampton released the career retrospect Strange Voices: A History 1977-1987 in 1994 and soon formed a new band, Fiji Mariners, releasing an LP under that name in 1996. Also in 1996, Hampton was given his first motion picture role -- playing Morris in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade. His new Fiji outfit spent most of the next few years on the road and the inevitable (for Hampton anyway) live album, Live, was released in 1998. The group continued to tour extensively, on up to May 1999 when they disbanded. During the ensuing hiatus, Hampton performed live with various ensembles and appeared in Phishman Mike Gordon's 1999 film Outside Out. In 2006, Hampton formed yet another jam supergroup, the Quark Alliance, and released Give Thanks to Chank in 2007. Most recently, Col. Bruce has been touring with an outfit known as Col. Bruce Hampton and The Pharaoh Gummitt, and in 2016, Hampton stared in the feature film, Here Comes Rusty, alongside Fred Willard, Joey Lauren Adams.

About the Fox Theatre Institute

The Fox Theatre Institute (FTI) is a dynamic outreach program offering historic preservation expertise, consultation and education to performing arts venues in Georgia and the region. Created by Atlanta's Fox Theatre, an iconic attraction widely applauded for being a catalyst for positive change in the community, FTI pays it forward, helping other cultural institutions renew, reinvigorate and restore artistic vitality in their backyards and beyond. Keeping environmental and economic impact top of mind, FTI offers the financial assistance, restoration support and operations mentoring needed to leverage scarce resources and stimulate local economies. Not only that, but it keeps the artistic pulse of beloved communities beating for decades to come. FTI was recently featured on NPR's Marketplace for its substantial impact on historical theatre restoration and community building throughout Georgia and the Southeast. For more information, visit www.foxtheatreinstitute.org.

About the Fox Theatre

The Fox Theatre is one of Atlanta's premier venues for live entertainment and declared a Top Stop of the Decade by Venues Today Magazine and the #1 non-residency venue worldwide for the decade by Billboard Magazine. For the past decade, the Fox Theatre has been consistently ranked in the top three non-residency theatres in North America for gross ticket sales by industry trade magazines, Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today. The Fox Theatre has the #1 social media presence for any theatre or performing arts center in North America, for any venue between 2,000 and 5,000 seats, and for any Georgia venue according to the Social Media Power 100 compiled by Venues Today Magazine. The Fox's 4,665 seat theatre hosts 250 performances with more than 500,000 visitors per year. An impressive range of events from rock concerts to Broadway, ballets, comedy and movies, the Fox's private events host wedding receptions, trade shows, corporate meetings and association functions in its fabulous ballrooms, lounge and outdoor terrace. As a 501(c) 3 non-profit arts organization, the Fox Theatre stands today as a fiercely protected landmark and a nationally acclaimed theater celebrating its 88th year. The partners of the Fox Theatre are Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, Lexus, Georgian Terrace Hotel/Livingston Restaurant+Bar, Georgia Natural Gas, Regions, Atlanta Beverage, Grady Health System, and Whole Foods Market. For group sales information, please contact the Fox Theatre at (404) 881-2000 or visit www.foxtheatre.org. To purchase tickets, please visit the Fox Theatre Ticket Office, online at www.FoxTheatre.org, and at all Atlanta Ticket Alternative locations including Whole Foods Markets, or toll free at 855-285-8499. Please stay connected with the Fox Theatre on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Photo Credit: Joshua Timmermans