Sawyer Brown to open the Clarion’s 15th season Oct. 16

The Clarion at Brazosport College is ready to bring a full season of shows and concerts to the community.

For the past 14 years, the Clarion has brought some of the world’s finest recording artists to Brazosport College, and the 15^th season will continue that trend with another selection of shows that will appeal to all musical tastes.

The upcoming 2021-2022 performance season will feature eight shows, including five main concerts and three special events. The featured concert lineup includes internationally acclaimed artists Sawyer Brown on Oct. 16, Jose Feliciano on Nov. 5, Tracy Byrd on Dec. 10, Paul Shaffer on Jan. 29 and Darryl Worley on March 25.

The special events lineup includes an educational program with Janet’s Planet on Nov. 9, jazz artist T.S. Monk on Nov. 19 and acclaimed Austin artist Gina Chavez on April 8.

Tickets for the 2021-2022 performance season are currently on sale and both individual and season ticket packages are available. The Clarion’s season ticket package consists of at least four shows. By choosing four shows or more, discounted prices are available.

Call the Clarion box office at (979) 230-3156 or visit Brazosport.edu/clarion for more information or to purchase tickets.

The following is a closer look at the 2021-2022 artists scheduled to perform:

SAWYER BROWN
Sponsored by BASF Corporation
Oct. 16, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50 Adult; $45 Senior; $20 Student/Child

Winners of the music competition on the syndicated television program, “Star Search” in 1984, Sawyer Brown quickly became a familiar name throughout the country music scene. By the end of 1985, they had scored three straight Top 10 hits, including their first No. 1 song, “Step That Step,” which stayed on the Billboard country charts for 21 weeks. Sawyer Brown also won the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award for new talent. Today, the band has released more than 20 albums, which have included more than 50 hits — with three reaching No. 1 — that have appeared on the Hot Country Songs charts.

JOSÉ FELICIANO
Nov. 5, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50 Adult; $45 Senior; $20 Student/Child 

José Feliciano has been a fact of American musical life since his breakthrough at the very height of the late 1960s – the golden age of American pop and rock music. Feliciano became a household name when he recorded a cover version of The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” which won him a 1968 Grammy Award for his performance, the same year he won the Grammy for Best New Artist of the Year. To date, Feliciano has earned a total of nine Grammys and Latin Grammys. His career has taken him all over the world and the musical map, including some 60 albums and one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written, “Feliz Navidad.”

TRACY BYRD
Sponsored by MEGlobal and Vernor Materials
Dec. 10, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50 Adult; $45 Senior; $20 Student/Child

Tracy Byrd became a household name on the Country Music Scene in 1993 when his third single, "Holdin' Heaven” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Charts. Since that day, Byrd has earned 18 Top 10 hits, including songs like “Don't Take Her She’s All I Got,” “Watermelon Crawl,” “I'm From the Country,” “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo” and, of course, Academy of Country Music Song of the Year “Keeper of the Stars.” Byrd has sold more than seven million records, earned four gold albums and a double platinum album, and played more than 4,000 shows.  

PAUL SHAFFER
with Brazosport Jazz Orchestra
Sponsored by Freeport LNG
Jan. 29, 2022
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50 Adult; $45 Senior; $20 Student/Child

Arguably best known for his 33 years serving as David Letterman’s musical director and sidekick, Paul Shaffer began his career in 1972 as musical director of the Toronto production of "Godspell." After playing piano in "The Magic Show" on Broadway in 1974, Shaffer spent the next five years with the original "Saturday Night Live," where he played keyboards, composed special musical material and, in 1980, became a featured performer. Since then, he’s starred in the CBS comedy series "A Year at the Top," served as musical director for the Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – for their triple platinum album and national tour, and has made multiple guest-starring television appearances, including “Ed,” “The Sopranos,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” "Schitt's Creek" and “How I Met Your Mother.” More recently, his show, “Paul Shaffer Plus One” has appeared on SiriusXM and AXS TV. 

DARRYL WORLEY
March 25, 2022
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $45 Adult; $40 Senior; $20 Student/Child 

Through six albums and 18 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Song charts, Darryl Worley has produced one of the most impressive and wide-ranging catalogs in contemporary music and is a country music mainstay. He has topped the charts with the singles, "I Miss My Friend," "Awful Beautiful Life" and "Have You Forgotten?” Along the way, he has sold nearly two million albums, earned nominations for five major ACM and CMA awards, including "Song of the Year" and "Single of the Year," and has written songs for other major artists, including George Jones. 

Special Events

JANET’S PLANET
November 9, 2021
9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Tickets: $5 per person 

Janet's Planet travels at the "speed of thought," introducing the wonders of the galaxy to families and young audiences throughout the country. The 45-minute interactive presentation engages and challenges students and is designed to inspire STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) potential in elementary school-aged kids. Lesson plans are designed to integrate with Next Generation Science Standards, based on a curriculum endorsed by NASA and Space Florida. Janet's Planet meets Common Core Standards. At the core of Janet’s Planet there is a message that inspires lifelong learning and scientific literacy. Janet’s goal is to strategically design her programs in a way that educates and inspires scientific inquiry.

T.S. MONK
November 19, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $25 Adult; $20 Senior; $10 Student/Child 

The son of legendary pianist, Thelonious Monk, drummer and bandleader Thelonious Sphere “T.S.” Monk is also one of the greats. T.S. has received the New York Jazz Awards’ Recording of the Year and “Downbeat’s” prestigious 63rd Reader’s Poll Award. Honoring his father’s legacy, he formed the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which sponsors music education for students in the form of full scholarships to funding and supplies. T.S. is also known for his jazz sextet, which has been heard at the JVC Jazz at the Bowl festival, Sun Valley Center and many of the legendary jazz clubs. T.S. was also present when Jazz returned to network television in 1996 and 1998, as a historic group of artists gathered for “A Celebration Of America’s Music.” The show featured Natalie Cole, Jon Secada, Tony Bennett, K.D. Lang and T.S., performing his father’s signature tune, “Round Midnight,” with Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Nnenna Freelon.

GINA CHAVEZ
April 8, 2022
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $25 Adult; $20 Senior; $10 Student/Child 

A 12-time Austin Music Award-winner, including 2019 Female Vocalist and 2015 Austin Musician of the Year, Gina Chavez explores the true meaning of “Americana" as she and her five-piece band take audiences on a high-energy journey through Latin America and beyond. Her passionate collection of deeply personal bilingual songs traversing Cumbia, rumba and soul, take audiences on a journey to discover her Latin roots through music. Her album, “Up.Rooted” topped the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a feature on NPR's “All Things Considered” and her “Tiny Desk” concert has more than 900,000 views.

Call the Clarion box office at (979) 230-3156 or visit Brazosport.edu/clarion for more information or to purchase tickets.