Tonight's the night

Here’s a friendly reminder – tickets are now on sale (and won’t be for long) for one of Durango’s best nights out – KDUR Cover Night.

Since 2001, KDUR has hosted a night of covers, focusing on a specific artist, as a benefit for the independent, local radio station located at Fort Lewis College. This year, the honorary artist is truly one of our favorites: Neil Young.

Tickets went on sale 10 a.m. Wednesday, and hopefully for you, they are still on sale as of publication time. The event, which notoriously sells out quickly, is scheduled for Feb. 10 at the Animas City Theatre.

As the story goes, local musician Erik Nordstrom (of Farmington Hill and Lawn Chair Kings fame) pitched the idea to then-KDUR Program Director Jason Repko in 2001, and Repko loved it. The first artist covered? Another one of our all-time favs (and another Neil) – Neil Diamond.

And the idea was rather simple: put some house equipment on stage and let local musicians perform their interpretations of that artist’s body of work. The first few events were held at the now-closed Storyville (now Taco Libre), and it was an immediate hit. In 2014, Cover Night moved to the Animas City Theatre, where it’s been held ever since.

Over the years, many good artists have been featured including: Talking Heads, Tom Petty, Prince, David Bowie, The Clash, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, The Ramones, Velvet Underground, the Pixies, and, last year, Dolly Parton. One year there was even a “One Hit Wonder” theme.

Not only is Cover Night a great fundraiser for an awesome community radio station, it’s also a chance to see the local musicians play your favorite hits. And, it brings old school Durango back together, if only for a night.

This year’s Neil Young theme is sure to be a doozy. Station Manager Bryant Liggett said 28 bands have reached out to play, but that number will have to be whittled down to 20.

“I am stoked so many musicians want to play,” he said.

Now, we all know Young lives just outside Telluride, which begs the question: is there a outlandish chance there could be a surprise cameo at the ACT from the notoriously curmudgeonly musician?

We reached out to Young’s agent as well as legal representation, and, unfortunately, didn’t hear anything back by press time. But we can always helplessly hope.