Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob
Bruce Hornsby will perform in a benefit concert at Colorado Academy May 3, 2014. Proceeds support financial aid at CA.
Bruce Hornsby will perform in a benefit concert at Colorado Academy May 3, 2014. Proceeds support financial aid at CA.

In his Top 20 hit “Every Little Kiss,” Bruce Hornsby laments, “Everyone here’s a number, not a name.”

While that might be true in some places, that’s not how it is at Colorado Academy. We’re a community that comes together for one another. That’s one reason three-time Grammy winner Hornsby will headline CA’s latest benefit concert.

“An Evening with Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers” is set for Saturday, May 3 in the Newton Gymnasium. Benefactor Packages are available now, with individual tickets going on sale March 3. As always, all proceeds go to CA’s financial aid endowment for students who might not otherwise get to be part of the CA community. Parents, students, alumni, staff and anyone CA-related is welcome to the show.

It’s dubbed “Welcome to the Funhouse” after a Hornsby song. A splendid time is guaranteed for all, as Hornsby and his band have such a good time onstage.

“Why is it so crazy? People talk about that like it’s so rare. We’re playing music, man!” Hornsby says.

Some musicians “look so labored, so serious and tortured up there,” he says with a laugh. “We’re the opposite. We are there to make a joyful noise. It should be no surprise. We haven’t had a set list in 21 years. We’re just winging it. We take requests from the audience. So we’re continually engaged – it never gets tired.”

Known for his hits like “The Way It Is,” “Every Little Kiss” and “Mandolin Rain,” Hornsby loves to play the big songs and rock out. It’s what attracts artists like Eric Clapton, Elton John, Sting, Don Henley, the Grateful Dead and more to collaborate with him. His bigger songs have serious themes, but once onstage he’s a ringmaster. One particular requirement he has for his show: stairs to the stage so that he can bring up audience members to dance. It’s going to be a CA party with a display of food and beverages that is sure to bring back memories of amusement parks of yesteryear.

While other artists have found it difficult to stay relevant, Hornsby has no such problem. He’s always moving forward, be it appearing on Jimmy Fallon, Facebook, developing a Broadway show, live downloads of his shows and more collaborations than you can name.

“I just do what I like to do, follow the inspiration, follow the ideas,” he says with a laugh. “What do you do? Anything you can.”

As noted, Benefactor Packages are available now at a variety of price levels that include perks such as a catered dinner and a meet-and-greet with Hornsby prior to the show.

A strong theme of community and inclusiveness will be part of the event, and for the first time some of the “Funhouse” artwork will be created by CA students and integrated into the pre-show party decor in the gym.

Individual tickets will be sold through the CA website starting precisely at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, March 3. Reserved seats are $125 each, with general-admission bleacher tickets available to students and faculty for $75. Concert goers can also get a discount on food-and-drink tickets through the website during the first day of sales.

Even in the yearning isolation of “Every Little Kiss,” Hornsby holds out hope for reconnection and human contact, singing, “What I wouldn’t give for only one night…”

That night is May 3, live at CA.