Friday, September 28, 2007 at 8:00 PM.- SOLD OUT!

Tickets for the show are $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door, and can be purchased by calling the Windham Arts Collaborative at 860-450-1794 or visiting us @ 866 Main Street, Tues-Fri 1 - 5 pm. The Capitol Theater is located at 896 Main Street in Willimantic.

After the show join the band at the official Columbia Fields after-party at Main St. Cafe ~ Willimantic Brewing Company and receive 10% off with the show ticket stub.

Columbia Fields formed its current lineup in 2006 although the bands true roots date back to 2004 when guitarist/vocalist Grayson Minney, a native of Hebron met pianist turned keyboardist Eric Heath, a Marlborough native. The two began playing simple jam sessions together. Minney would start on his guitar and Heath would add a piano line. The pair created their first song and still one of their most requested “Elephant Song”. The group made their first performance as a duo at the Marlborough Tavern and although well received by the audience, Minney and Heath felt something was missing. In 2005, the two took on drummer Chris Bowes of Marlborough.

With Bowes in the mix they became known as the Acoustic State. They continued adding shows to their roster and picked up their bassist John Coates along the way.  With the full lineup of the band finally in place by 2005, the band in fear of pigeonholing themselves, changed their name to Columbia Fields, a popular party location for high school and college students.

Despite the band being less than a year old they have made great strides in their musical careers. Aside from playing weekly gigs at clubs and bars around Connecticut and southern New England, they recently placed in the Reader's Choice category for the Hartford Advocate’s annual Grand Band Slam and got to perform in Bushnell Park in August. The band placed as one of the four finalists in this summers Mohegan Suns Battle of the Bands and in early September they will play the Hebron Harvest Fair. Columbia Fields has also released their first full-length album, “When the Night Falls in July of this year.”

Part of the band’s growing success may in fact be due to their unique sound, Local Motion columnist for the Hartford Advocate, Danny Barry writes in his recent review, 

“I had a hard time coming up with similar bands to compare them to. The boys actually sound that original. There was an occasional chord progression that smacked of Crash-era Dave Matthews Band, and at other moments there were glimmers of Counting Crows. But these influences were always filtered through a much younger sensibility that owes a bit to contemporary emo. “

 The band describes their sound similar to that of DMB and Counting Crows but relies more heavily on keyboards and their own diverse likes in music. Columbia Fields credits their success to the strong commitment of each member of the band. From looking for gigs, to peddling their album. When it comes to the music everyone makes a contribution. Opening for Columbia Fields will be an acoustic set from singer/pianist Cassandra Kubinski originally from Enfield, now in Brooklyn, New York.
 
The concert, which is presented by the Windham Arts Collaborative, is a pilot event which may encourage many on-the-rise CT musicians to perform on the stage at the Capitol Theater.
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