Court Square Theater
Members save 10% on tickets for most events! (Not to mention, free popcorn…)
Solas: Shamrock City
Join Solas, “Irish America’s most influential band” (NPR’s The Thistle and Shamrock) as they celebrate the release of Shamrock City, their 11th album and most ambitious project & live show to date. A family story of immigration, mining and murder, and the remarkable history of Michael Conway & Butte, MT, Kim Ruehl of FolkAlley.com calls it “a deeply thoughtful, imaginative collection of songs which grapple with the wealth of ideas and emotions inherent in the immigrant journey”. Well-known as genre-crossers, special guests on the album include Rhiannon Giddens of GRAMMY Award winning old-time string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops & Aoife O’Donovan of nu-folk trailblazers Crooked Still.
The Shamrock City live show, an interactive multi-media stage show that features stories from and projected images of Butte, is receiving rave reviews. Paul Keating, a longtime Irish music critic and founder of the Catskills Irish Art Week released this early review for IrishCentral.com: “Based on the performance this could be a landmark recording, and in some aspects it might very well be the best one they have ever done, which is saying something given the “supernova” status of their early years.” Julia Crowley of Eugene Weekly says their Shedd performance was “amazing…excellent…a fascinating story.
PERFORMANCE:
Unfortunately, the April 18 performance had to be canceled due to flight delays. The performance will now take place on:
Thursday, May 16 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$22.00 advance
$27.00 at the door
Members save 10% on this event! (And always get free popcorn.)
Bill Yates & The Country Gentlemen Tribute Band
Bluegrass fans will immediately recognize the name Bill Yates for his many years as a member of Country Gentlemen. Bill played bass and sang harmony through many lineup changes, staying with Charlie Waller for 20+ years, starting in 1969. Due to Bill’s continuing activity and popularity in the bluegrass genre, he has most recently been deemed the “Ambassador of Bluegrass”, by not only his friends and adoring fans alike, but also by his peers. The current Bill Yates & The Country Gentlemen Tribute lineup that performs on the stage today include Bill Yates on emcee and vocals; Mike Phipps on the “Charlie-Waller”-like vocals and guitar; Dave Propps on mandolin and vocals;, Eric Troutman on upright bass and vocals; and Mark Clifton on dobro and vocals. This ensemble puts their heart and their soul into each performance and tries to satisfy that musical hunger of the Country Gentlemen fans around the country, especially those that miss hearing that magical voice of Charlie Waller himself.
PERFORMANCE:
Friday, May 17 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$12.00 advance
$15.00 at the door
Members save 10% on this event! (And always get free popcorn.)
Harrisonburg Public School Fine Arts Presentation
Join us for FREE performances by Harrisonburg’s many talented students!
PERFORMANCES:
Monday, May 20 @ 6:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Tuesday, May 21 @ 8:00 PM
Wednesday, May 22 @ 6:00 PM
Thursday, May 23 @ 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
TICKETS:
FREE
The Wiyos Concert with Half Circles
“Revelatory original songs” -Chicago Tribune
“…fabulously skilled and inspired kooks” -LA Times
“The group brings exuberance and intensity to these vintage styles” -The New Yorker
The Wiyos have been rolling for over a decade. They were one of the first “old-timey” bands to emerge on the national scene in the first wave of acoustic bands riding the renewed popularity of early swing jazz, rural folk, old-time blues and Appalachian music. Their relentless touring in the US and Europe, and numerous critically acclaimed albums and EPs landed them a full 28-day summer tour as openers of the 2009 Bob Dylan Show. The Wiyos were also featured in the BBC television documentary, “Folk America – Hollerers, Stompers and Old-Time Ramblers”. Scotland’s The Herald reviewed one of the 2012 release shows of Twist in Glasgow and called it [everything from] “junkyard blues to Cuban neighborhood via surf song harmonies and backwoods Appalachia… a fascinating travelogue”.
Website: http://www.thewiyos.com/
Half Circles is an Indie Folk/Indie Rock band from Harrisonburg, VA. With lyrics that move from personal to epic and instrumentation that slopes from soft to thundering, the band exhibits the penchant for dualism that gave them their name. Bells, flute, keyboard, melodica, drums, bass, and acoustic and electric guitars enter the mix, forming a symphony of stories you’ll not want to miss.
Website: http://halfcircles.bandcamp.
PERFORMANCE:
Saturday, May 25 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$15.00 advance
$17.00 at the door
Members save 10% on this event! (And always get free popcorn.)
The Seldom Scene
The Scene began as a non-touring bluegrass band back in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The basement jam sessions at the home of Ben Eldridge started the whole thing. Who would have thought that 40 years later, this band would have become one of the single largest contributers to the progression of bluegrass from the early days of Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Monroe to the more contemporary sounds that they founded. Bluegrass reached a second peak in popularity in the early 1970s, and the progressive bluegrass style played by The Seldom Scene was particularly popular. Original Seldom Scene mandolin player John Duffey’s stratospheric tenor anchored the group, but the vocal blend of The Scene set a new standard that attracted new audiences to what had been a niche music. Their weekly shows included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band’s popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week—but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera.
Seldom Scene continues to excel in the bluegrass scene and has received critical acclaim for their work. Their latest CD, Scenechronized, recorded in 2007, was nominated for a Grammy award. The Seldom Scene has performed at the White House many times, and continues to tour the world, garnering the monikor: “America’s Bluegrass Band”. The band consists of Dudley Connell (guitar/lead and baritone vocals), Ben Eldridge (banjo and scatt singing), Lou Reid (mandolin/lead and tenor vocals), Fred Travers (dobro/lead and tenor vocals), and Ronnie Simpkins (bass/baritone vocals).
PERFORMANCE:
Friday, June 21 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$26 in advance
$30 at the door
V.O.I.C.E.
These performances will not only feature some of your favorite TV theme songs but there will be chances to win door prizes if you “name that show” with us. Concert goers will have the chance to sign up, at the door, to be a potential contestant in this summer’s concert. There will also be a special appearance by Leapin’ Lizards, an upcoming children’s theatre organization from Grottoes, VA.
So come on out, sit back and relax and let us flip the channels this summer as we make a musical difference for such a wonderful organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters!
PERFORMANCES:
Saturday, June 29 @ 8:00 PM
Sunday, June 30 @ 2:00 PM
ADMISSION:
FREE (suggested donation $8.00)
Jesse Winchester Concert
You could stock a crowd-pleasing jukebox with the songs Jesse Winchester has written and recorded in the last four decades – and with the better-known versions of his songs that have become hits and album staples for artists ranging from Joan Baez to Elvis Costello to Jimmy Buffett. Winchester’s skill in capturing vivid small town vignettes, heartfelt love and love-lost situations, and goodtime celebrations has yielded a litany of I-know-that-songs: “Yankee Lady,” “Biloxi,” “Brand New Tennessee Waltz,” “Talk Memphis,” “Rhumba Girl,” “Payday,” “I’m Gonna Miss You, Girl,” “Let’s Make a Baby King” and many more.
His 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers (ASCAP) is one gauge of the music world’s esteem. If you listen to many of the songs Jesse Winchester has written in his professional career, now nearing four decades, you’ll hear most of the elements of what’s become known as “Americana” – detailed, empathetic stories of everyday people set to music incorporating folk, country, bluegrass, blues and gospel instrumentation.
PERFORMANCE:
Saturday, September 21 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$20 in advance, $25 at the door
Members save 10% on this event! (And always get free popcorn.)
Blue Highway
Photo by Scott Simontacchi
At the 17-year mark, Blue Highway is indisputably one of the most esteemed and influential groups in contemporary bluegrass. The band’s nine exceptional albums and compelling live performances give proof to the stellar reviews, Grammy nominations, and numerous awards earned by the band since it first took the stage on December 31, 1994, with the same musicians that comprise Blue Highway today. With a deep bench of virtuosic songwriters, vocalists and instrumentalists, Blue Highway’s hallmark is an unwavering commitment to the ensemble, the “democracy of the band” that makes Blue Highway a powerhouse. Individually, Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Shawn Lane (mandolin, fiddle, vocals), Tim Stafford (guitar, vocals), and Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals) are masters of their respective roles.
Together, in Stafford’s words, they are “a democracy in the best sense of the word”: five gifted artists selflessly merging their talents into a seamlessly brilliant group sound. As a result, the band moves from strength to strength, more mature and impressive with each new album. With ten highly-acclaimed albums to its credit, Blue Highway has garnered two Grammy nominations, a Dove Award, topped the Bluegrass Unlimited radio charts, and won numerous International Bluegrass Music Association awards. Refusing to coast on past glories, Blue Highway continues to push its music to new levels of accomplishment. Artfully balanced between tradition and innovation, it remains in the forefront of contemporary bluegrass music.
PERFORMANCE:
Saturday, October 12 @ 8:00 PM
TICKETS:
$20 in advance, $24 at the door
Members save 10% on this event! (And always get free popcorn.)
41-F Court Square, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 540.433.9189
