Lionel Richie, Zac Brown Band to headline 2018 Jazz Aspen Labor Day

Music legend Lionel Richie and the platinum-selling, Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band will headline the 2018 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience, the nonprofit will announce today.

Confirmed opening acts include local favorite Michael Franti and Spearhead and the return of Fitz and the Tantrums.

Additional opening acts, along with the final headliner, will be announced later this winter, along with the specific days and times that each artist will perform. Three-day “Early Bird” passes to the festival, running Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, will go on sale Monday at 9 a.m.

The 2018 rendition of the festival will follow a record-setting year for Jazz Aspen, which saw the first ever two-night advance sellout in the Labor Day festival’s history. Jazz Aspen’s “Blind Faith” passes sold out in five hours when they went on sale this fall.

“We anticipate similar demand for the three-day pass given the great lineup of artists and momentum from last year’s event,” Jazz Aspen President Jim Horowitz said in the announcement. “The word is out, audiences have confidence in the stellar annual artist lineup combined with the experience of hearing these artists in this spectacular alpine venue. And there’s still one more surprise headliner to join the bill.”

Zac Brown Band previously headlined the festival in 2011. They return to Jazz Aspen following sold-out stadium shows at Denver’s Coors Field and Chicago’s Wrigley Field during the band’s 50-stop “Welcome Home” tour.

Richie’s performance, his first in Aspen or Snowmass Village, will be one of only a handful of shows he’ll perform outside of his Las Vegas residency next year.

“Early Bird” event passes are $219.95, available at 866-JAS-TIXX (527-8499), http://www.jazzaspensnowmass.org or at the Belly Up box office in Aspen, http://www.belly upaspen.com (970-544-9800). Three-day deck passes and Patron VIP passes also go on sale Monday. Single-day tickets will go on sale at a later date.

The 2018 Jazz Aspen June Experience will return to the Benedict Music Tent on June 22-23, with lineup announcements expected soon.