DENVER — Swallow Hill Music’s Rootsfest returns for its 5th annual celebration of roots music featuring quintessential folk musicians David Crosby & Graham Nash on Saturday, April 9th at Denver’s historic Paramount Theatre.

Presented by 97.3 KBCO, this year’s Rootsfest will also feature performances by local legends Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, as well Anaïs Mitchell.

For over thirty years, Swallow Hill Music has provided a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. The Denver-based organization, serving as a unique source for roots, folk and acoustic music, is one of the largest nonprofit institutions of its kind in the United States. In 2010, the organization served more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming. In addition to the annual Rootsfest and a slew of events year-round at Swallow Hill Music’s three onsite venues, it also books the highly regarded summer music series at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Look for the 2011 Botanic Gardens summer schedule to be announced soon.

But first up, singer-songwriters David Crosby and Graham Nash will headline the 5th annual Rootsfest. On tour this spring throughout the U.S. but only in Colorado for this one show, their legendary harmonies will be accompanied on the road by an ace-backing band featuring James Raymond (keyboards), Dean Parks (guitar), Kevin McCormick (bass), and Steve DiStanislao (drums).

The show will mix acoustic and plugged-in performances. "Touring with a full band gives us the opportunity to do selections from our catalogue that Graham and I haven't performed live together before," says Crosby. "We will also be introducing some brand new songs we've written, that have never been heard onstage or on record."

Crosby and Nash are also launching their own record label, Blue Castle Records, with the first-ever digital and vinyl editions of the live album Another Stoney Evening, recorded forty years ago, in 1971 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. "This album represents the very beginning of our musical relationship as a duo," says Nash. "Whatever David and I do well together, it's wonderful that we're still doing it well. For the upcoming tour, with a rock 'n roll band, we've gotten fantastic advance response. It's exciting to be bringing this great new show to people."

Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore met at the legendary Denver Folklore Center, married, had some kids, played in some bands and now have released their first studio cd as a duo, Saints & Sinners. Released in September, five-star reviews are starting to come in calling this a “landmark recording of Americana music” (Driftwood Magazine) and “a high water mark for the pair” (thebluegrassspecial.com). Acoustic Music says this about the cd : “Miss it at your peril.”

Anaïs Mitchell, a rare musician who is equally comfortable wielding an acoustic guitar alone onstage, sharing a disc’s worth of alt-country duets, or scripting a vast operatic journey into the underworld, rounds out the 2011 Rootsfest celebration. Praised as “a songwriter of startling clarity and depth,” by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Mitchell “weaves her stories into an effortlessly beautiful and cohesive tapestry with the skill of an artisan’s carpenter, showing no seams.”

WHAT: Swallow Hill Music’s 5th Annual Rootsfest featuring David Crosby & Graham Nash and presented by 97.3 KBCO

WHEN: Saturday, April 9th, 7:00pm

WHERE: Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver, 80202

TICKETS: $35-$100 + $4 per ticket fee for online, phone, & ticket kiosk purchases.

INFO & BOX OFFICE: – General public on-sale starts Friday, January 21st, 10:00am at http://swallowhillrootsfest.org/, (866) 461-6556, or in person at The Paramount Theatre box office, The Pepsi Center box office (1000 Chopper Circle, Denver 80204), Dick’s Sporting Goods Park box office (6000 Victory Way, Commerce City, 80022), or any Dick’s Sporting Goods in store ticket kiosk.

About Rootsfest:
Started in 2007, Swallow Hill Music's Rootsfest has showcased both seasoned and up and coming artists in the celebration of roots music. Previous Rootsfest artists have included Judy Collins, Neko Case, Taj Mahal, Nancy Griffith, Rickie Lee Jones, Bruce Cockburn, Hot Rize, Paper Bird, Trace Bundy, Jim Lauderdale, Tallest Man on Earth, Joe Pug, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, and Boulder Acoustic Society.

About Swallow Hill Music:
Helping people make and enjoy music since 1979, Swallow Hill Music recently celebrated its 31st anniversary as one of the largest nonprofit institutions of its kind in the United States as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music. In 2010, Swallow Hill Music served more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming. With more than 2,000 members, Swallow Hill Music provides a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. Three concert venues house more than 200 performances a year, featuring some of the world's great artists as well as up-and-coming new talent. In addition, in 2010 Swallow Hill Music began producing the long running and esteemed Denver Botanic Gardens Summer Concert Series. Swallow Hill's Julie Davis School of Music offers classes for every interest, skill level and member of the family. A faculty of 60 instructors provides training to more than 4,000 students annually. A Tier II member of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Swallow Hill Music has been named one of the Top 25 Movers & Shakers in Arts & Culture by the Rocky Mountain News, has won both the Mayor's and Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and countless "Best of Denver" awards, has been recognized by the North American Folk Alliance, and is one of the most sought-after venues by roots, folk and acoustic performers in the country.

Visit http://swallowhillmusic.org for more information.