Blues icon Taj Mahal to perform at the Wachholz in August

Legendary blues icon and five-time Grammy Award winner Taj Mahal is bringing his unique and masterful sound to the valley this summer.   

Known for his profound influence on blues, roots and world music, Taj Mahal’s performance promises to be a captivating celebration of musical history, blending diverse genres that have shaped his unparalleled career that spans six decades.   

In addition to the guitar, he is proficient on about 20 different instruments — and counting.  

“Taj Mahal doesn't wait for permission. If a sound intrigues him, he sets out to make it. If origins mystify him, he moves to trace them. If rules get in his way, he unapologetically breaks them. To Taj, convention means nothing, but traditions are holy. He has pushed music and culture forward, all while looking lovingly back,” according to a press release.  

A brilliant artist with a musicologist's mind, he has pursued and elevated the roots of beloved sounds with boundless devotion and skill. As a result, he's not only a god to rock-and-roll icons such as Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, but also a hero to ambitious artists toiling in obscurity who are determined to combine sounds that have been ostracized from one another — simultaneously traditional and avant-garde.  

Recollecting all his albums, collaborations and live experiences, he said he finds satisfaction in one main idea.   

"As long as I'm never sitting here, saying to myself, ‘You know? You had an idea 50 years ago, and you didn't follow through,’ I'm really happy," he said in a press release. “It doesn't even matter that other people get to hear it. It matters that I get to hear it — that I did it.”  

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Wachholz College Center, 795 Grandview Dr., Kalispell. 

Ticket prices range from $59 to $87, which includes service fees, and may be purchased at wccmt.org, or by visiting/calling the ticket office at 756-1400.