Season Subscriptions on sale now.
Chose 8 from the following shows to make your package. For more information on each performer, click on the link to view their information.
Wynonna & The Big Noise September 19, 2019 Wynonna & the Big Noise at the Clayton Center for the Arts
Cirque Mechanics- $42 FT October 27, 2019 Cirque Mechanics-42 Feet
Dallas String Quartet-DSQ Electric November 16, 2019 Dallas String Quartet- DSQ Electric
Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice December 11, 2019 Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice
Bandstand January 30, 2020 Bandstand
The Tap Pack February 6, 2020 The Tap Pack
The Chieftains- The Irish Goodbye February 14, 2020 The Chieftains-The Irish Goodbye
The Play That Goes Wrong March 10, 2020 The Play That Goes Wrong
The Choir of Man April 3, 2020 The Choir of Man
Season Subscriptions go on sale now.
Chose 4-7 from the following shows to make your package. For more information on each performer, click on the link to view their information.
Wynonna & The Big Noise September 19, 2019 Wynonna & the Big Noise at the Clayton Center for the Arts
Cirque Mechanics- $42 FT October 27, 2019 Cirque Mechanics-42 Feet
Dallas String Quartet-DSQ Electric November 16, 2019 Dallas String Quartet- DSQ Electric
Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice December 11, 2019 Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice
Bandstand January 30, 2020 Bandstand
The Tap Pack February 6, 2020 The Tap Pack
The Chieftains- The Irish Goodbye February 14, 2020 The Chieftains-The Irish Goodbye
The Play That Goes Wrong March 10, 2020 The Play That Goes Wrong
The Choir of Man April 3, 2020 The Choir of Man
Wynonna’s rich and commanding voice has sold over 30-million albums worldwide. As one-half of the legendary mother/daughter duo “The Judds,” Wynonna was once dubbed by Rolling Stone as “the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline.” Most noteworthy, this iconic country music performer has received over 60 industry awards. Because of countless charting singles, including 20 No.1 hits such as “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not me,” and “Grandpa, (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Ole Days)”, Wynonna’s voice is certainly recognizable.
Wynonna and her band The Big Noise, led by her husband/drummer/producer, Cactus Moser, released their debut full-length album in February 2016 via Curb Records to critical acclaim. Wynonna has described the new sound as “vintage yet modern” and a “return to the well.” It’s a rootsy work encompassing country, Americana, blues, soul and rock. The album features special guests Derek Trucks, Jason Isbell, Susan Tedeschi and Timothy B. Schmit. NPR’s Ann Powers noted that, “With her tight band behind her after touring together for several years, she just sounds like she’s home…You can just feel the grin on her face.”
On the Trail of Big Cats with Steve Winter
In National Geographic Live, On the Trail of Big Cats, we go around the world in search of big cats with award-winning photographer Steve Winter. Also a determined explorer, Winter will lead you from Asian jungles where resilient tiger populations persist, to the Himalaya, home of the rare snow leopard. Co-author of the National Geographic book Tigers Forever, Winter’s mission is to share the beauty of big cats while working to save them.
Winter’s dedication to the protection of these iconic animals has made him a cornerstone of the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. This is a long-term commitment by the Society to stop poaching, preserve habitats, and support education to halt extinction. In 2013, National Geographic published Winter’s photography book Tigers Forever: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Cat. Winter has been named BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and BBC Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year. Additionally, he won first prize in the nature story category from World Press Photo in 2014 and 2008 (for the snow leopard photo that would become synonymous with Apple’s OS of the same name). He is also a two-time winner of Picture of the Year International’s Global Vision Award. He lectures globally on photography and conservation issues and has appeared on numerous global media outlets, including CBS Nightly News, 60 Minutes, NPR, BBC, and CNN.
photo by Steve Winter
Cirque Mechanics 42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels
At the center of every circus rests a 42ft ring full of thrills, laughs and excitement. 42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels, is the latest invention from the creative minds of Cirque Mechanics. The action in 42FT is full of theatricality and a modern sensibility, and showcases a galloping mechanical metal horse. Also featuring a rotating tent frame to showcase strongmen, acrobats and aerialists, this circus uses a unique approach to performance, inspiring storytelling and innovative mechanical staging.
Although Cirque Mechanics inspiration is modern circus, its roots are in the mechanical and its heart in the stories of American industrial ingenuity. Consequently, the show creates a welcoming place where we can be amazed. Above all, the show, embedded in realism, displays a raw quality rarely found in modern circus. Cirque Mechanics signature style exhibits acrobatics, mechanical marvels, and a bit of clowning around.
Finally, 42ft: A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels draws inspiration from the 1930’s traveling American circuses visible in the pages of LIFE Magazine and interpreted through the era’s silent film’s like Charlie Chaplin’s “The Circus.” Likewise, the team also drew inspiration from Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel “Water for Elephants”, also based on historical research
Photo Credit: Maike Schulz
Step right up ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to the Cirque Mechanics world of gears and canvas, pulleys and sawdust- within 42FT.
“…engrossingly entertaining.” ~ The New York Times
“…exceptional for the wit, whimsy and wonder.” ~ Omaha World-Herald
Dallas String Quartet is where Bach meets Bon Jovi.
Dallas String Quartet- DSQ Electric is an international music sensation. Their music is a fusion of classical and contemporary music on both traditional and electric strings. As a result, with the 2016 release of their fourth album “DSQ”, they continue to expand their passionate following on Pandora, Spotify, and Sirius XM radio. Additionally, DSQ performs as a quartet with the full accompaniment of drums and guitar.
The Wall Street Journal, A & E, WFAA- ABC, and ESPN have all featured DSQ Electric. In addition to performing internationally, DSQ performed “at home” for Presidents Obama and Bush, The College Football Playoff, NBA and NFL Organizations. Also, DSQ sold out venues like the House of Blues and Symphony Halls. They played alongside Josh Groban, Chicago and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
DSQ is comprised of composer and violinist Ion Zanca, violinists Eleanor Dunbar and Melissa Priller, bassist Young Heo, guitarist Anthony Plant and percussionist/drummer Efren Guzman. Above all, DSQ takes you on a journey to the nexus of classical music and modern pop where artists like Beethoven and Bono collide.
“This is not your Grandmother’s String Quartet” -Wall Street Journal
“The Dallas String Quartet excels at the unusual and blissfully sublime.” ~ Tempo Magazine
More about Dallas String Quartet Here
Individual Tickets on sale October 7, 2019
The 35th Anniversary of Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice featuring Will Ackerman, Barbara Higbie, Todd Boston with special guest Mia Pixley
Celebrate the winter solstice and its warm traditions with a concert of original and traditional acoustic music drawn from the multi-platinum selling Winter Solstice series as well as their many solo releases. Windham Hill founder and Grammy-winning guitarist, Will Ackerman, and Grammy Award-nominated singer, fiddler, pianist, and songwriter Barbara Higbie, guitarist Todd Boston and cellist, Mia Pixley come together to lead joyous holiday concerts.
William Ackerman founded Windham Hill Records in Palo Alto in 1975. The label’s audiophile recordings were a run-away success with critics and audiences alike. Musicians including Michael Hedges, George Winston, Will Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, Barbara Higbie and Darol Anger and their group Montreux, Liz Story, Mark Isham, and Tuck and Patty quickly became internationally recognized. Also, the name “Windham Hill” became synonymous with the best in acoustic music in the 1980s and 90s. For that reason, Windham Hill’s 10 Winter Solstice compilation recordings, selling in the many millions, “changed people’s conceptions of seasonal music” (John Diliberto, Echoes radio show host). Finally, the Winter Solstice Concerts bring the music of Windham Hill full circle, 40 years after it was originally conceived on the Stanford campus.
Press Quotes
“. . . Will Ackerman’s . . . pieces have that timeless introspection that has made his music so enduring. “—Billboard
“Barbara Higbie is one of the most exciting musicians I have heard, full of life and brilliant in her playing. “—S.F. Examiner/Chronicle
“Todd Boston is a mature artist who has come of age. The world’s a better place for his gift.” —Will Ackerman
“You won’t easily find a sound like Pixley and her twist on experimental classical music with a unique Southern vibe.”—Magnet Magazine
More information here
This concert is funded in part by the Allan Swartz Hoke Concert Fund of InFaith Community Foundation. The Clayton Center for the Arts thanks them for their support.
Individual Tickets on Sale September 23, 2019
Bandstand Musical -From three-time Tony® winner and Hamilton choreographer, Andy Blankenbuehler, comes a poignant and inspiring new American musical that explodes with infectious music and high-octane, heart-stopping dancing.
It’s 1945. America’s soldiers come home to ticker-tape parades and overjoyed families. Private First Class Donny Novitski, singer and songwriter, is struggling to rebuild the life he left behind. When NBC announces a national competition to find the nation’s next great musical superstars, Donny sees a lifeline for himself and some fellow veterans. Finally it gives them the purpose they so desperately need. Together, they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen. Along the way, they discover the power of music to face the impossible, find their voice, and finally feel like they have a place to call home.
BANDSTAND is “both a peppy celebration of can-do spirit and a more somber exploration of what American servicemen experienced when they marched home from World War II.
“It’s a great argument for why theater can sometimes tell a story more boldly and more viscerally” –The New York Times
“The show defies you not to be moved” – Time Out New York
“VISUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING.” –Newsday
“EYE-POPPING, ROOF-RAISING, AND ASTONISHING! BANDSTAND IS STAGED WITH BREATHTAKING ORIGINALITY BY ANDY BLANKENBUEHLER.” –Deadline
photo by Michael Pool
The Tap Pack Individual Tickets on Sale November 25, 2019
THE TAP PACK is a high energy, tap comedy show inspired by the infamous “Rat Pack” which included the famous talents of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior.
With dazzling performances on stage, dressed in slick suits and equipped with sharp wit, they are a modern twist on the classic Rat Pack.
They infuse tap dance with swing music and witty banter. As a result, this is a taste of a new, highly entertaining act featuring some of Australia’s finest tap dancing performers tapping up a storm. With credits on stage, film and television and with over 20 musical theatre productions between them, The Tap Pack is pure entertainment.
The show features high energy performances of mind-blowing tap dancing, smooth vocals, a swinging live jazz band and witty on-stage banter. As a result, the five-member cast wins the audience from the first downbeat and the pace of their amazing performances never slows. They joke, they compete, they croon and they cajole while performing cool classics with a fresh twist.
Above all, The Tap Pack brings a new, invigorating energy to a timeless style.
Old School Cool from the new Kings of Swing.
“If a couple of hours in the company of five talented, likeable Australian male entertainers who sing, joke around and could probably tap till dawn sounds appealing, this well-packaged … percussive dance show might be just the ticket.” —The Times of London
Photo by Simon Arnand
More about the group here
Individual Tickets on sale November 25, 2019
The Chieftains: The Irish Goodbye
After fifty-seven years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains are as fresh and relevant as when they first began. The six-time Grammy Award winners are highly recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music on a contemporary and International scale. Their ability to transcend musical boundaries to blend tradition with modern music Them hailed as one of the most renowned and revered musical groups to this day.
As cultural ambassadors, their performances have been linked with seminal historic events. The Chieftains were the first Western musicians to perform on the Great Wall of China, participating in Roger Water’s “The Wall” performance in Berlin in 1990. Also, they were the first ensemble to perform a concert in the Capitol Building in Washington DC. In 2010, their experimental collaborations extended to out of this world, when Paddy Moloney’s whistle and Matt Molloy’s flute travelled with NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman, to the international space station.
Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music and accompanying musicians quickly captured a much broader audience, elevating their status to the likeness of fellow Irish band, U2.
The Chieftains are never afraid to shock purists and pushing genre boundaries and the trappings of fame have not altered The Chieftains’ love of, and loyalty to, their roots. They are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. After fifty years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains’ music remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began.
Come see them perform at what will be a memorable evening of music, song and dance.