Gaillard Center Announces 2023-2024 Season

Photo credits:
The Rite of Spring by Maarten Vanden Abeele | Patti LuPone photo by Axel Dupeux | Meow Meow photo by Harmony Nicholas

Press Release

Building upon a commitment to commissioning, producing, and presenting ambitious, world-class multidisciplinary programming for the Southeast, today the Charleston Gaillard Center announced its largest season ever for the 2023–2024 programming year with more than 40 shows spanning dance, music, theater, comedy, arts festivals, and family programming from leading local, national, and international artists and organizations. The Gaillard’s season features local artists and stories from Irmo to Florence, South Carolina, and international artists from more than 20 countries spanning Australia to Austria and Senegal to the United Kingdom.

The new season includes the world-premiere of the Gaillard’s first produced theatrical work, Finding Freedom: The Journey of Robert Smalls, which amplifies an underrecognized and important Southern story, and the premiere of a never-before-heard orchestration from famed composer and Charleston native Edmund Thorton Jenkins, performed as part of the Colour of Music Festival. It brings world-class dance performances and companies to Charleston, with the season bookended by two shows choreographed to Igor Stravinsky scores, Firebird, based on the iconic fairytale with choreography by the Nashville Ballet and accompaniment from the Gaillard’s resident orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, and the Southern premiere of Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring / common ground[s], the latter performed by two remarkable choreographers, professors, and grandmothers, Malou Airaudo, and “the mother of contemporary African dance” Germaine Acogny.

The Gaillard’s season will continue to highlight dance as a pillar of its programming, which is made possible by the generous support of contributors to the now extended multi-year dance initiative. The initiative brings some of the world’s best dancers and ballet companies to Charleston and the Lowcountry to provide free and ticketed performances, pre-show lectures and panels, and classes and workshops for dancers of all ages and abilities. Additional risk-taking dance performances include Step Afrika!’s Drumfolk that tells the powerful and hyperlocal story of using the body as an instrument following the banning of drums for enslaved individuals in the aftermath of the South Carolina Stono Rebellion of 1739.

The Gaillard will also continue to host performances from Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals and actors including Jagged Little Pill, Annie, and an evening with Broadway legend Patti LuPone. The Gaillard’s acoustically magnificent 1,818-seat Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall will also welcome concerts by leading, genre-spanning musical artists including Grammy Award winner Lyle Lovett, prolific blues guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy, and a performance of David Bowie’s final album Blackstar with the Charleston Symphony and original Bowie collaborators.

“Enhancing Charleston’s rich cultural landscape that is filled with original music traditions and  pioneering arts figures, this season the Gaillard Center will celebrate and present new, original work about— and by—some of the Lowcountry’s boldest and most accomplished voices from the past and present; deepen our engagement with the community by investing in more local festivals and partnerships to showcase the artistry of the region; and continue to increase access to boundary-pushing, nationally-known artists and productions in the Southeast,” said Gaillard CEO Lissa Frenkel. “We are particularly excited this year to take a pivotal step forward in the Gaillard’s role as an anchoring cultural institution for the region with our first-ever production of an original theatrical work about the important story of local historic figure Robert Smalls. This inaugural work builds on the Gaillard’s larger efforts to share stories that elevate universal human truths and prompt critical dialogue about social justice issues to inspire and enrich the community in the Lowcountry and beyond.”

The brand-new theater piece amplifies the Civil War hero and politician’s history, from engineering a daring sea-escape during the war to the remainder of his free life working for equality in the postwar South—which is not typically addressed in the state, region, or nation’s curriculum. The play will premiere in October 2023 and more information about the creative team, which is comprised entirely of professionals with roots in the South, and cast will be announced soon.

Additional season highlights from the leading nonprofit performing arts center include the return of the highly anticipated Lowcountry Jazz Festival weekend, for the first time co-curated by Tony Clarke and the Gaillard’s artistic team, featuring award-winning artists Dave Koz & Friends, Gregory Porter, Avery*Sunshine, and Jonathan Butler; performances from beloved, leading local artists such as Ranky Tanky, the Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble with the Gaillard’s Artist-in-Residence Emeritus Charlton Singleton; and the return of the festive holiday Spiegeltent which will again take up residence on the Gaillard’s front lawn to host an intermix of eclectic performances from leading contemporary artists, including new work produced by internationally-recognized live entertainment producers Underbelly; international cabaret star Meow Meow; the stunning bluesy vocals of Kyshona, following her appearance at Charleston’s High Water Festival this year; and the two-time Grammy Award-winning Charlton Singleton leading another Homegrown and Nationally Known concert in the tent.

The Gaillard will also continue its robust year-round education and community programs that make the arts accessible to every person in the Lowcountry, bring audiences of all ages together for workshops, discussions, masterclasses, and performances that break barriers between artists and audiences, inspire learning beyond the stage, and continue to build a future for arts in Charleston. This fall, the Gaillard will roll out education opportunities tied to the completion and unveiling of the Anson African Burial Memorial, which will be erected on the Anson Street-facing lawn of the Gaillard to honor 36 unmarked graves of enslaved Africans discovered during the renovation of the building in 2013. The curriculum-based lesson plans for classrooms will give the enslaved individuals, or “Ancestors,” a powerful voice from beyond the bounds of history by educating the next generation about this important piece of Charleston history and the memorial’s larger significance to the community, the region, and the country at large.

Find a full schedule of the 2023 season events below. For more information, visit gaillardcenter.org.

Gaillard Center’s 2023–2024 Season Events
For tickets and visitor information, visit gaillardcenter.org.

DANCE
The Gaillard Center continues to bring the world’s best dancers to Charleston and the Lowcountry, building upon previous seasons that featured performances from American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Mark Morris Dance Group. This season features Southern premieres, boundary-pushing artists, hometown stories, and is beautifully bookended with two works set to iconic Igor Stravinsky scores.

Firebird presented by Nashville Ballet featuring the Charleston Symphony      

October 19 & 20, 2023

Nashville Ballet returns to the Gaillard stage for the first time in five seasons, bringing a full-length production of Firebird, based on the Russian fairytale of the same name, and Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit. Choreographed by Artistic Director Emeritus Paul Vasterling, Firebird is set to Igor Stravinsky’s iconic score which will be performed by the Gaillard’s acclaimed resident orchestra, the Charleston Symphony. The choreographer behind Steven Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story, Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit blends the athleticism of classical ballet with boundary-breaking movement The New York Times hailed as “thrilling,” “poetic,” and “brilliant.”

Step Afrika! Drumfolk co-presented by the Gaillard Center and the International African American Museum (IAAM)

November 2, 2023

One of the top 10 African American dance companies in the world, Step Afrika! is the first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Step Afrika’s Drumfolk is a performance that honors the communicative power of drums through the history of the South Carolina Stono Rebellion of 1739, a rebellion in which enslaved people signaled to each other using drums and were subsequently banned from using them. This artform takes on new significance for a community forced to use their bodies as instruments for self-expression in South Carolina where the rebellion took place over 280 years ago.

Dorrance Dance The Nutcracker Suite

December 17, 2023

Set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s extraordinary interpretation of the Tchaikovsky score, The Nutcracker Suite is a transformation of the classic tale, trading pointe shoes for tap shoes in this high-energy, large ensemble imagination of a seasonal favorite. Created by Michelle Dorrance, Hannah Heller, and Josette Wiggan, join Dorrance Dance for an unforgettable trip to the land of the sweets filled with surprises, humor, and the rhythmic symphony of world-class tap dancers.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (50^th Anniversary)

January 9, 2024

The all-male comedic ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, bring its internationally beloved troupe, in tutus, to Charleston to perform a brilliant combination of skillful pointe work and hilarious parodying of classical ballet favorites like Swan Lake. Founded in New York City in 1974, the company, affectionately known as the Trocks, began by appearing in late-late shows in off-off Broadway lofts for small audiences who appreciated the iconoclastic humor of it all. In the nearly 50 years since then, the company has grown to achieve great appeal among more mainstream audiences who, each season, flock to theaters throughout the world to see these prima ballerinas perform.

The Rite of Spring / common ground[s]

February 2 & 3, 2024

In its Charleston debut, The Rite of Spring, the groundbreaking work by celebrated choreographer, Pina Bausch (1975), is danced by a recently assembled company of more than 30 dancers from across 14 African countries. Taking on new significance as performed in the town that saw 150,000 to 200,00 African slaves forcibly brought to its shores, this pioneering work, produced by Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables and Sadler’s Wells, with music by Igor Stravinsky, is driven by the choreographer’s prompt “how would you dance if you knew you were going to die?” At the performance’s culmination, a ‘chosen one’ is sacrificed, changing the season from winter to spring.

common ground[s] is a new work created, performed, and inspired by the lives of two remarkable women: Germaine Acogny, “the mother of contemporary African dance” and founder of École des Sables, Malou Airaudo who performed leading roles in many of Bausch’s early works and was a member of Tanztheater Wuppertal. This poetic and tender piece, the iconic duo’s first collaboration, examines their shared histories and emotional experiences.

BROADWAY/THEATER

In addition to producing new work, such as the Gaillard’s first produced theater piece that will honor the life of Charlestonian Robert Smalls, the Gaillard is beloved for hosting classic and new hit Broadway shows and welcoming stage icons to the community including, this season, Patti LuPone and Sutton Foster.

Finding Freedom: The Journey of Robert Smalls

October 6 & 7, 2023

The Gaillard’s first-ever produced theatrical work tells the story of South Carolinian Robert Smalls, a formerly enslaved man who engineered a daring sea-escape during the Civil War and spent the rest of his life—including five terms serving in the U.S. House of Representatives—working for equality in the postwar South. Infusing music, media, and movement, Finding Freedom paints the early years of Robert Smalls’ life enslaved in Beaufort, learning the land, waters, and Gullah traditions of his mother; his daring and heroic commandeering of the USS Planter through the Charleston Harbor during the Civil War; and his later life of advocacy in the US Congress. Further details to be announced soon.

Patti LuPone Don’t Monkey with Broadway

October 15, 2023

Spend an evening with a true Broadway legend as three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone performs her concert Don’t Monkey with Broadway. Through indelible interpretations of classic Broadway showtunes by the likes of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, Ms. LuPone explores how her life-long love affair with Broadway began and the unpredictability of the Great White Way.

The 7 Fingers Passengers

November 9, 2023

The 7 Fingers is an arts collective redefining circus with acrobatics and theater. Passengers tells a story of a group of people as they travel by train and contemplate the connections between their lives. Acrobatic feats such as aerial routines, juggling, tightrope walking, and hula hoop spinning emerge from the drama as each person drifts off and succumbs to their own traveler’s reverie.

The Illusionists Magic of the Holidays

December 14, 2023

Celebrate the holidays with the entire family at The Illusionists – Magic of the Holidays, a mind-blowing showcase featuring jaw-dropping talents of the most incredible illusionists on earth. The Illusionists has shattered box office records across the globe and dazzles audiences of all ages with a powerful mix of the most outrageous and astonishing acts ever seen on stage. This non-stop show is packed with thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions.

An Intimate Evening with David Foster & Katharine McPhee

February 22, 2024

Sixteen-time Grammy Award-winning musician, composer, and producer David Foster and acclaimed singer, television, and Broadway star Katharine McPhee are joining forces and bringing their show on the road. This intimate show with the powerhouse duo will be packed with David’s hits, from Chicago, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé, and Katharine’s biggest songs from American Idol, Smash, and Waitress.

Annie

February 27, 2024

Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in this new production–just as you remember it and just when we need it most. Annie, directed by Jenn Thompson, features the iconic book and score, written by Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin. This celebration of family, optimism, and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.

Jagged Little Pill

March 12–13, 2024      

Making its Charleston premiere, everything audiences have been waiting to see in a Broadway show—joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, LIFE—is here in this exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music. The first run equity tour comes to the Gaillard Center for a half-week run fresh from its final Broadway bow. Directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Waitress, Pippin, 1776) with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Grammy-winning score, this electrifying production about a perfectly imperfect American family “vaults the audience to its collective feet” (The Guardian). “Redemptive, rousing and real, Jagged Little Pill stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway.” (The New York Times). You live, you learn, you remember what it’s like to feel truly human… at Jagged Little Pill.

Sutton Foster

February 11, 2024

Two-time Tony Award winner and star of TV Land’s Younger Sutton Foster will perform Broadway favorites at the Gaillard Center for one night only. The actress, singer, and dancer was most recently seen on the Broadway stage starring in an acclaimed turn as Marian Paroo in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman at The Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her seventh Tony Award nomination as well as the coveted 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. Foster won her first Tony in the title role of Thoroughly Modern Millie and her impressive theater resume includes such titles as The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, Shrek, Little Women and Violet.

FAMILY

The Gaillard brings together family with our education programs, workshops, and range of performances from holiday classics to musical renditions of beloved movies, aimed to grow young audiences love of art.

Coco in Concert

October 22, 2023

Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos at the Gaillard with Disney Pixar’s Coco in Concert on Tour, featuring a screening of the complete film with Oscar® and Grammy®-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s musical score performed by Orquesta Folclorica Nacional de Mexico. Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Héctor, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

Madagascar the Musical

November 12, 2023

Based on the smash hit DreamWorks’ animated motion picture, Madagascar the Musical follows all your favorite cracka-lackin’ friends (Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo, and a colony of hilarious, clever penguins) as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar. Filled with outlandish characters, adventures galore, and an upbeat score, you’ll have no choice but to “Move It, Move It!” Madagascar the Musical is the perfect family outing, with vibrancy and pace for audiences of all ages!

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical

December 6, 2023

The beloved TV classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER soars off the screen and onto the stage this holiday season. Come see all your favorite characters from the special including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius, and, of course, Rudolph, as they come to life in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL. It’s an adventure that teaches us that what makes you different can be what makes you special. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the misfit in all of us.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live: King For A Day!

March 17, 2024

The grr-ific musical for little tigers and grown-ups alike is back! The hugely popular Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE!, based on the #1 PBS KIDS TV series, has delighted live audiences on stages across the country. Now, in its fourth year of touring, your favorite characters are hopping back on-board Trolley and coming to your town with DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD LIVE: KING FOR A DAY!. Daniel and all of his friends invite you for a brand-new adventure in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe where Daniel learns just what it takes to be King. The beloved characters come alive on stage to captivate you with new songs to sing along to, magical moments, and SURPRISE guests along the way! It’s an event filled with tigertastic fun, teaching the valuable lessons of kindness, helping others, and being a friend. Don’t miss Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE: King for a Day!… a royally great time!

FESTIVALS AND CAMPUS ACTIVATIONS

The Gaillard is dedicated to partnering with local, national, and international artists and organizations in conceiving, commissioning, and producing important new works and presenting ambitious, world-class multidisciplinary programming. This season, in addition to being a venue for Spoleto Festival USA, the Gaillard builds upon its commitment to elevating Charleston’s arts and cultural life by co-producing and hosting local music festivals that the community looks forward to each year.

Lowcountry Jazz Festival

September 2–3, 2023

For the first-time ever, the Gaillard is co-producing South Carolina’s premier annual smooth jazz festival, the Lowcountry Jazz Festival, curated by Tony Clarke in collaboration with the Gaillard’s artistic team. Co-produced with Closing the Gap in Health Care, a nonprofit organization created to decrease health disparities by providing health education for under-resourced communities in Charleston, the weekend festival returns with a stellar lineup of award-winning jazz singers and musicians Dave Koz & Friends, Gregory Porter, Avery*Sunshine, and Jonathan Butler.

This year, the finest smooth jazz combined with bluesy soul will create a relevant sound that resonates with the region’s discerning music audiences young and old. Charleston, South Carolina played an important role in the early development of jazz. It was a thriving center of African American music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was home to many of the first jazz musicians and bands. The city was also a major port, which helped to spread jazz music to other parts of the country and the world. The weekend celebrates these genres in the heart of downtown Charleston, allowing attendees to experience this vibrant cultural city with a fitting soundtrack.

Spiegeltent

November–December 2023

This holiday season, the Gaillard brings back its unique Spiegeltent, a “mirror tent,” originally used as a traveling European dance hall in the 20^th century. Under the elaborately ornate big top, patrons will have an opportunity to experience vibrant performances from a variety of contemporary artists spanning circus to comedy to music. The anchor show will feature a US premiere by internationally-recognized producers, Underbelly. Underbelly are famous for producing multi award-winning, live experiences and are the biggest producers of Spiegeltent shows in the UK. They are also a mainstay of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 2004 and feature the best of circus, comedy, and cabaret in the world. This season will also feature international cabaret star Meow Meow; the stunning bluesy vocals of Kyshona, following her appearance at Charleston’s High Water Festival this year; and the two-time Grammy Award-winning Charlton Singleton leading the second annual Homegrown and Nationally Known concert to close the season.

Colour of Music Festival

February 10, 2023

To usher in Black History Month, the Colour of Music Festival will honor and present never-before-heard orchestrations from Charleston’s ‘Father of Black Contributions’ to classical music, Edmund Thornton Jenkins, including his Negro Symphony, A Prayer; Clarinet Concerto; and the South Carolina premiere of the original orchestration of Jenkins’ Charlestonia: A Folk Rhapsody, edited by Tuffus Zimbabwe, Saturday Night Live keyboardist and Edmund Thorton Jenkins’ great nephew. Under the baton of Maestro Leslie B. Dunner, the evening will conclude with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE)
Dates To Be Announced

Building on the momentum of last year’s kickoff to Charleston’s Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, in which the Gaillard hosted an incredible concert by Steep Canyon Rangers, the Gaillard will once again partner with SEWE to present a musical act to complement their festival program.

MUSIC

Music has always been at the heart of the Gaillard, and whether audiences want to see the next country star, orchestra performance, R&B crooner, or improvisational jazz artist, they can find them on the Gaillard stage, where our goal is always to amplify artistic voices that reflect Charleston’s vibrant diversity.

Classical

Vienna Boys Choir

February 25, 2024

For six centuries, these angelic-voiced musicians have been adored the world over for their wide range of repertoire, purity of tone, and generosity of musical spirit. The Wiener Sängerknaben or Vienna Boys’ Choir is the world’s foremost children’s choral group and among the oldest of all musical organizations.

Jurassic Park in Concert with the Charleston Symphony      

March 7, 2024

Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects, the action-packed adventure of Jurassic Park pits man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Experience it now, projected in HD with a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to the picture. Featuring the Gaillard’s resident Charleston Symphony.

Blackstar Symphony, The Music of David Bowie with the Charleston Symphony  April 27, 2023

The Gaillard continues its celebration of David Bowie with Blackstar Symphony. Propelled by a 55-piece orchestra, jazz quartet, and singers, the line-up includes Gail Ann Dorsey, a member of Bowie’s original band; famed conductor Jules Buckley; singer and actor John Cameron Mitchell who starred in and created Hedwig and the Angry Inch; and Los Angeles based singer David Poe. Blackstar Symphony celebrates the unique music of Blackstar, Bowie’s final album. Different in feel and different in sound, Bowie’s Blackstar speaks more poignantly and more metaphorically than any of the artist’s prior creations. It stands as a monumental testament to artistic expression on the eve of the artist’s passing from this life, as he died two days after the album’s release. The second act of the evening will feature music from Bowie’s beloved musical catalog including “Heroes,” “Life on Mars,” and “Space Oddity.”                  

Jazz & Blues

Buddy Guy “Damn Right Farewell”

September 17, 2023

Buddy Guy is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Steve Ray Vaughan. Buddy Guy has received eight Grammy Awards, a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and spot #23 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” among others. Buddy Guy remains a genuine American treasure and one of the final surviving connections to an historic era in the country’s musical evolution.

Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis’ Big Band Holidays

December 10, 2023

With soulful big band arrangements of songs both sacred and secular, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) with Wynton Marsalis’ Big Band Holidays is an uplifting tradition enjoyed by audiences of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to some swinging JLCO instrumentals, special guest vocalist Ashley Pezzotti joins the band for imaginative new versions of classic holiday tunes.

Ranky Tanky with very special guest Ms. Lisa Fisher

April 7, 2024

Hometown favorite, Ranky Tanky is a two-time Grammy-winning American musical ensemble composed of five lifetime-long friends, based in Charleston, SC. Ranky Tanky creates jazz-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music. Gullah is a culture that originated among descendants of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry region of the US Southeast. The ensemble has established themselves as global ambassadors for their local culture and community. Since the band’s official formation in 2016, they have performed throughout the Lowcountry to sold-out crowds with Spoleto Festival USA, the Charleston Symphony, and the Gaillard Center’s Education & Community Program. Ranky Tanky is excited and honored to be sharing the stage with Lisa Fischer for this very special collaboration.

Pop, Rock & Country

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

August 11, 2023

A singer, composer, and actor, Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American musician with a career that spans 14 albums. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel, and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers. Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lyle Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, besides four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, and was named Texas State Musician.

Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles

August 16, 2023

Don Felder is renowned as a former lead guitarist of The Eagles, one of the most popular and influential rock groups of all time. He is a true American rock and roll guitar hero and is one of the most innovative riff-generating songwriters of the modern rock era.

Pink Martini with China Forbes

October 23, 2023

Pink Martini is the internationally acclaimed self-described “little orchestra” from Portland, Oregon. Founded by classically trained pianist Thomas Lauderdale, their music spans genres of jazz, classical, Latin, and pop and soundtracks of Hollywood’s golden age. The group has played festivals and concert halls around the world and their music has been featured in numerous movie and TV series soundtracks, most recently the Netflix blockbuster Red Notice and two songs in the current season of White Lotus. Pink Martini’s original lead singer China Forbes will be center stage, marking her first appearance at the Gaillard Center with the band.

Lake Street Dive with Monica Martin

October 29, 2023

An easy going, semi-acoustic evening.

Since forming in 2004, Lake Street Dive have matched their sophisticated musicianship with a fearless refusal to limit their sound. As shown on their most recent full-length album, 2021’s critically acclaimed Obviously, the Boston-bred band also possess a keen talent for combining sociopolitical commentary with immediately catchy pop gems. With their current lineup comprised of founding members Rachael Price (vocals), Bridget Kearney (bass), and Michael Calabrese (drums) — as well as keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss and touring guitarist James Cornelison — Lake Street Dive continue to create joyously soulful rock & roll with equal parts ingenuity, intelligence, and irresistible abandon.

Johnny Cash – The Official Concert Experience

November 25, 2023

The music never stops in Johnny Cash – The Official Concert Experience. Produced in collaboration with the Estate of Johnny Cash, this multimedia celebration is like nothing you’ve seen before. Using state-of-the-art technology, Johnny Cash’s rich, iconic baritone has been lifted from archival concert footage and recordings, enabling the “Man in Black” to perform his biggest hits—I Walk the Line, Ring of Fire—with a live band again! In addition to never-before-seen footage and on-screen narration by Cash’s only son, John Carter Cash, male and female vocalists will split singing duties to perform even more Cash hits, as well as tunes by artists of the time including The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and June Carter Cash.

The Righteous Brothers

March 3, 2024

Blue-eyed soul pioneers The Righteous Brothers are back! With a string of #1 classics, including the most played song in radio history, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield topped the charts in four decades. After Bobby’s death in 2003, Bill Medley continued to perform to sold-out crowds around the world, but fans and friends pleaded with him to keep The Righteous Brothers alive. Now as Bill Medley and Bucky Heard, the concert experience features their biggest hits—Lovin’ Feelin’, Soul & Inspiration, Unchained Melody, Rock and Roll Heaven, and Medley’s Grammy-winning Dirty Dancing film theme song The Time of My Life.

Live from Laurel Canyon

April 21, 2024

Live from Laurel Canyon – Songs and Stories of American Folk Rock is an evening of live music and narrated stories of some of the most influential songwriters who lived in Laurel Canyon in the mid-1960’s and 70’s. Similar to other legendary rock and roll neighborhoods of the same era like Haight Ashbury in San Francisco or Greenwich Village in NYC, Laurel Canyon was a community of artists who would forge a new genre of music (folk rock) and forever change the look, sound, and attitude of American pop music. Live from Laurel Canyon celebrates The Mamas and The Papas, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, America, and the Eagles with their own unique interpretations of some of the most iconic songs of the era.

COMEDY

Ilana Glazer

July 21, 2023

llana Glazer is a creator and comedian who co-created and co-starred in the critically acclaimed series Broad City. Her debut stand-up comedy special, The Planet Is Burning is on Amazon Prime, and her film False Positive which she co-wrote and starred in, was produced by A24 and available on Hulu. Most recently, you can see her in The Afterparty for Apple TV+. Ilana is also the co-founder of the non-profit Generator Collective, which was founded in 2016. Generator Collective defines minimal civic engagement and aims to humanize policy through people-powered stories on social media.

Matt Mathews: When That Thang Get Ta’ Thangn’ Tour

August 25, 2023

TikTok star Matt Mathews makes his stand-up comedy debut with the When That Thang Get Ta’ Thangn’ tour. Celebrated online for his relatability and situational humor, Mathews has amassed over three million followers on TikTok and over one million followers on Instagram. His live show is nothing short of a bonafide barn burner, guaranteed to provide bountiful belly laughs for all who attend. Throughout his routine, Mathews incorporates a swath of taboo topics and hysterical personal experiences, including his daily life living on a farm, growing up as a gay man in Alabama, his career as a renowned boudoir photographer, and a strange sexual encounter. His comedy show also features audience interaction via a segment called “Live Confessions,” where audience members anonymously submit their confessions, which he responds to impromptu on stage.

Anthony Jeselnik

September 16, 2023

Anthony Jeselnik brings his latest show Bones and All to the Gaillard Center this September. A stand-up comedian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Anthony starred in and created The Jeselnik Offensive, which ran for two seasons on Comedy Central. He has performed on Conan, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and was the first ever stand-up comic to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

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