OREGON ZOO NEWS

SOULFUL SINGER CHRIS ISAAK RETURNS TO OREGON ZOO

PORTLAND, Ore. –– If he looks like Elvis and sounds like Roy Orbison, chances are it’s Chris Isaak. The popular singer will bring his reverb-laden pop back to the Oregon Zoo Aug. 14 as part of the zoo’s summer concert series, presented by NW Natural.
  
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Chris Isaak return,” said Krista Swan, zoo events coordinator. “The best place to enjoy his velvety voice is picnicking on the lush zoo lawn.” Isaak has been compared with Elvis and Orbison ever since his 1990 song “Wicked Game” was included in the David Lynch film “Wild at Heart” and became a Top 10 hit. Isaak’s musical style recalls the melancholy sweep of Orbison hits like “Crying” with a stripped-down feel reminiscent of Elvis at his Sun Studio best.
  
“Wicked Game” helped Isaak’s “Heart Shaped World” album go platinum and established him as one of the most successful musicians of the burgeoning Adult Contemporary genre. During the ’90s, Isaak continued to build his reputation with albums like “San Francisco Days,” “Forever Blue” and “Baja Sessions” –– the latter of which included a cover of Orbison’s “Only the Lonely.”
  
After focusing on acting for several years, Isaak returned to the music scene in 2009 with “Mr. Lucky,” his first studio release in seven years. With his trademark voice and style intertwined with fresh lyrics, it is clear Isaak has not missed a beat.

Tickets for Chris Isaak can be purchased at the Oregon Zoo for $37.50 each. Tickets can also be purchased (with service charge) at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, online at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 800-745-3000. For more information on the concert schedule, to read artists’ biographies or purchase tickets, please visit ww.oregonzoo.org/Concerts/index.htm.

Among the other popular acts set to play the zoo this summer are: reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff (July 23), U.K. jazz wunderkind Jamie Cullum (July 25), rock ’n’ roll legend Levon Helm (Aug. 8), new-wave party rockers the B-52s (Aug. 13), folk-rock duo the Swell Season (Aug. 20), hometown heroes Pink Martini (Aug. 26 and 27), Garrison Keillor’s long-running live variety show “A Prairie Home Companion” (Aug 28) and 1980s pop icon Cyndi Lauper (Sept. 1). The Oregon Zoo has brought outdoor music to Portland for more than 30 years.
In 1979, the zoo became the first zoo in the nation to host a summer concert series. Since then, the series has become one of the top outdoor events in the Northwest, and is the region’s longest continuously running outdoor series.
The zoo’s summer concert series is presented by NW Natural with support from KINK.fm, KATU, The Oregonian and Portland Monthly magazine. It features more than 15 performances from June to September.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission of inspiring the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington’s pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, western pond turtles, Oregon spotted frogs and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 8 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $10.50 (ages 12-64), $9 for seniors (65 and up), $7.50 for children (ages 3-11) and free for those 2 and younger; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $2 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.

Chris Isaak brings his velvety voice and reverb-laden pop to the Oregon Zoo Aug. 14 as part of the zoo’s summer concert series presented by NW Natural. Photo courtesy of the artist.

OREGON ZOO SUMMER CONCERTS
Presented by NW Natural With support from KINK.fm, KATU, the Oregonian and Portland Monthly magazine

July 14 Caravan Palace     $12
July 21 Bassekou Kouyate   $11.50
July 23 Jimmy Cliff with Trevor Hall $24
July 25 Jamie Cullum with Gin Wigmore   $22
July 28 Great Big Sea   $12.50
Aug. 4 Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys    $11
Aug. 8 The Levon Helm Band with Joe Pug   $24
Aug. 11 Leroy Bell and His Only Friends    $10.50 with Tahoe Jackson & the Trojan 7
Aug. 13 The B-52s     $27
Aug. 14 Chris Isaak   $37.50
Aug. 18 The Quebe Sisters Band $10.50
Aug. 20 The Swell Season with Black Francis     $24
Aug. 26 Pink Martini     $32
Aug. 27 Pink Martini     $32
Aug. 28 A Prairie Home Companion     $39.50
Sept. 1 Cyndi Lauper   $27

# # #

Oregon Zoo ¨ 4001 SW Canyon Rd. ¨ Portland, Oregon 97221 ¨ 503-226-1561