Tickets for the Sedona International Film Festival’s kick-off concert by legendary rock-and-roll band Chicago, which will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Tickets will be available online at the Film Festival website or in person only at the SIFF box office at 10 a.m. on that date. No phone orders will be taken because all ticket buyers must select their seats at the time of purchase. All concert-goers must have a ticket for entry. Sedona International Film Festival passes and ticket packages will not provide concert access.
The concert will be held Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Sedona Performing Arts Center, located at Sedona Red Rock High School, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road.
“We literally expect the concert to sell out in the first hour,” said SIFF Executive Director Patrick Schweiss. “That’s why we are encouraging ticket buyers to get their tickets online because if they come to the box office and get in line, by the time they get to the window to pick out their seats, there may not be any tickets left.”
The SIFF box office is located at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. State Route 89A.
Single tickets are $65. VIP tickets for the best seats at SPAC and a backstage meet-and-greet with band members before the concert are $125. Only 100 VIP tickets will be sold.
Hailed as one of the “most important bands in music since the dawn of the rock and roll era” by former President Bill Clinton, Chicago came in at No. 9 in Billboard Magazine’s Hot 200 All-Time Top Artists. Chicago was the highest charting American band in the ranking and is the first American band to chart Top 40 albums in six decades.
Formed in 1967, Chicago’s first album, Chicago Transit Authority in 1969, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. Since that first recording, the band has sold more than 100 million records and boasts 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive number one albums, 11 number one singles and 25 of 36 albums have been certified platinum.
The band includes original members Robert Lamm on keyboards and vocals; Lee Loughnane on trumpet and vocals; James Pankow on trombone and Walt Parazaider on woodwinds, as well as Jason Scheff on bass and vocals; Tris Imboden on drums; Keith Howland on guitar and vocals; Lou Pardini on keyboards and vocals; and Walfredo Reyes Jr. on percussion.
A documentary film about the band, “Now More than Ever: the History of Chicago” will have its premiere at the Sedona International Film Festival on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. at SPAC. The event will include a post-screening Q-and-A with band members.
The 2016 Sedona International Film Festival, which runs through Sunday, Feb. 28, will feature 160 documentaries, features, shorts, Academy Award nominees and specialty films.
Highlighting this year’s festival will be a screening of “American Graffiti” and a reunion of actors, hosted by Mackenzie Phillips [Carol] and Cindy Williams [Laurie], and featuring Beau Genry [Ants] and Candy Clark [Debbie], among others; James Franco’s new film, “Memoria,” with Sam Dillon, Thomas Mann and Franco; Mike Farrell [“M*A*S*H”] in his one-man global-warming-themed show, Dr. Keeling’s Curve, introduced by his wife, Shelley Fabares [“Coach,” “The Donna Reed Show”]; a performance by Roslyn Kind, Barbra Streisand’s younger sister; and “Gene Kelly: The Legacy” featuring his wife, Patricia Ward Kelly.
Films will run all day beginning Saturday, Feb. 20, on four screens at Sedona Harkins 6, 2081 W. SR 89A; the Mary D. Fisher Theatre and the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
Advanced-sale Platinum All-Access Passes are $1,050. Gold Priority Passes are $520; 20-ticket packages are $215; and 10-ticket packages are $110. Full-time students can get the 10-ticket package for $90. Packages, other than for full-time students, are available online at the Sedona Film Festival website or through the SIFF box office at 282-1177. Student packages must be purchased through the box office and student IDs are required.
Visit the Sedona Film Festival website for more information.
