Country Music Renaissance man Marty Stuart, with his band The Fabulous Superlatives, will offer up an entertaining evening of country music, May 17, 2006 at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Showtime is 7 p.m. with local artist Lisa Blue accompanied by Bryant Leeper on piano to open.

Marty Stuart is one of country’s most eclectic artists, moving with ease among honky tonk, rockabilly, country-rock, traditional country and bluegrass. He is also one of the genre’s more flamboyant, and with the addition of the Fabulous Superlatives, the exciting stage show is complete.

Earlier this year the Austin Chronicle reported “… Stuart is the most important country music artist of our time… Dressed in black like his mentor Johnny Cash, Stuart flaunted his delightful ability to make all flavors of country with impeccable style…The members of his band, the satirically named Fabulous Superlatives, were no slouches either. Guitarist Kenny Vaughan remains universally lauded as one of Nashville's best, and his technique on the wide range of styles Stuart chose to play demonstrated why. They moved seamlessly from bluegrass and gospel to hillbilly and blues, with perfect vocal harmonies and a remarkable sense of how each should be played – with joy and without pretentiousness. As Stuart explained at one point, "The best-played music is from the heart."

Stuart entered the business at the age of 12. Known as a prodigy in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, Stuart’s ability on the guitar and mandolin led him to a road gig with the Sullivan Family Singers. At a 1971 Indiana bluegrass festival, Stuart befriended Roland White, mandolin player with Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass. After Flatt – who was one-half of Flatt & Scruggs, arguably the most successful bluegrass duo in history – heard Stuart play and sing, Flatt pulled the then 13-year-old into his circle, and not long after, Stuart was offered a job as rhythm guitarist.

For six years, Stuart traveled with Flatt’s band, working on his high school diploma via correspondence classes. After Flatt died in 1979, Stuart stretched out stylistically, playing electric guitar with fiddle iconoclast Vassar Clements in the group Hillbilly Jazz, and acoustic guitar with the legendary Doc and Merle Watson. Then, before his 20th birthday, Stuart was named a member of Johnny Cash’s band.

In 1982, he recorded his first solo album, Busy Bee Cafe, an informal jam session for Sugar Hill with guest spots by Cash, Watson and Earl Scruggs. He left Cash’s band in 1985 to pursue a solo career, and released a self-titled debut album in 1986.

Stuart has scored six top-ten hits, one platinum and five gold albums, four Grammy Awards and has made lasting music as a front man and in collaboration with virtually every major roots music figure of his era, from Lester Flatt to Bob Dylan. He has also produced records for some of the most distinguished artists working today, and many famous names have chosen to record his songs. For six terms, he served as president of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s board of directors.

In recent years, Stuart's energetic enthusiasm has gone outside music, yielding impressive work as a photographer, writer, collector and arts executive.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College. It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.