Kingston Trio Comes To McCallum Theatre

Surviving the many changes in the world of music, the enduring acoustic group The Kingston Trio will be performing at the McCallum Theatre on Sunday, March 11 at 7pm. The Kingston Trio consists of George Grove, Bill Zorn and Rick Dougherty. Despite line-up changes throughout the years, they have remained consistent in their sound, which probably explains their resurgence in popularity over the last few years.

The original Kingston Trio was formed in 1957 by Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard, while the three were attending college in the San Francisco area. Using only acoustic guitars and banjos, and singing simple yet memorable melodies, they revolutionized popular music, reawakening America to its own rich folk music heritage. The release of "Tom Dooley" in October of 1958 began the "folk music revival" and set the stage for Dylan, Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary and the entire protest movement of the 60's. The Kingston Trio was the number one vocal group in the world, a musical and cultural phenomenon whose record sales and concert draws were matched only by The Beatles.

In 1961, after two Grammy awards and numerous gold records, Dave Guard left the group and John Stewart was introduced, maintaining The Trio for another six years. In 1967 Bob, Nick and John disbanded The Trio to pursue individual careers. But Bob kept the dream alive when in 1976, after working for 9 years as the New Kingston Trio with various members, Bob purchased the rights to the name "Kingston Trio" and the group, which at the time consisted of Bob Shane, Bill Zorn and Roger Gambill, carried on.

While the line-up experienced several other changes through the years, today, The Kingston Trio's trademark three-part harmony and clean, crisp sound keeps them touring 30 weeks out of the year. The Trio's busy touring schedule has resulted in an increasing number of new fans, both young and old.
As Bob Shane put it, "There is a tremendous demand for our type of acoustic music, and not just from those who remember The Kingston Trio. All people want is for us to sing a song, tell a story, and make it good."

They have been doing just that since 1957.

Tickets for The Kingston Trio on Sunday, March 11 at 7pm, are on sale now. Ticket prices are $65/45/35/25. -- www.mccallumtheatre.com