Tim Sparks & Phil Heywood
Saturday, September 25th, 7:30 pm

What a musical feast these acoustic artists offer up when they get together! Light up your night with fingerstyle fireworks as two guitar masters lead you down the highways and byways of country and blues.

Tim Sparks’ journey to the 1993 National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, and beyond, began in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when he started picking out tunes by ear on an old Stella flat top. From blues to jazz to the ethnic music scene, Tim is a well-trained seasoned performer.

Phil Heywood is the 1986 National Fingerpicking Champion, and the winner of the 1987 American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival Competition, an event judged by some of the top players in this field. Lucid, lyrical, soulgrabbing… this music is, as one fan put it, bound to “make your ears smile.”

$21 reserved / $26 at the door

For more AutumnFest activities, click on this link: www.thrivelocal.org/autumnfest.htm

Take off on a musical journey with Butch Thompson. Butch starts with the best of the early jazz piano repertoire, then builds his concerts carefully with just enough commentary— laced with his dry humor—to give his audience a sense of the tradition he's exploring.

His reach is wide, from classic ragtime by Scott Joplin to New Orleans stomps and tangos by Jelly Roll Morton, lyrical blues and boogie woogie from southside Chicago, roaring Harlem stride by Fats Waller, early solos by Duke Ellington, and more.

"Mr. Thompson was outstanding. His rapport with the audience was a presenter's dream." John A. Logan, College Performing Arts Series

$26 reserved / $31 at the door

Ring of Kerry
Saturday, October 30th, 7:30 pm

Ring of Kerry played to a sold-out house for our 2009 holiday concert, and we are so pleased to have them back again.

These five musicians sing and play several instruments, offering sounds that range from the thunder of the Irish bodhran drum to the sparkle of the hammered dulcimer; from the lilt and rhythm of fiddle and guitar to the haunting wails of flutes and pennywhistles.

The band has developed a blend that is animated, ruggedly beautiful and fun with music that reflects the character and traditions of the Celtic people.

$26 reserved / $31 at the door

Eliza Gilkyson
Saturday, November 6th, 7:30 pm

Experience personal lyrics steeped equally in beauty and pain. Encompassing Americana, rock, jazz and folk styles, the 2008 release of Beautiful World, from Grammy-nominated songwriter Eliza Gilkyson, is a collection of songs celebrating the beauty that shines amidst these dark days of war and corruption.

Songs about the exuberant nature of love and life artfully combine with meditative tunes about the world’s rich mysteries to create an evocative blend of Eliza’s most poetic music. “This may be my most joyful recording yet,” says Eliza. “Maybe it is because dark times can illuminate all that is good and decent and worth living for.”

“…stylistically adventurous...political in all the right ways…” — Austin Chronicle

$21 reserved / $26 at the door

Girl Singers of the Hit Parade
Saturday, December 11th, 7:30 pm

Christmas is a time we all want to hear those cherished songs that bring a wave of nostalgia. Most of the popular Christmas songs were made famous in the 1950s and this show brings them all back. The Lennon Sisters, Andrews Sisters, McGuire Sisters and the King Family were a part of every family’s Holiday and still are in many cases.

"The Girl Singers of the Hit Parade” encompass this warm family feeling with their Christmas Show. Veteran performer and songwriter Colleen Raye, creator of the Girl Singers, is joined by Jennifer Grimm, Sophia Grimm, and Debbie O’Keefe, touring the country with their perfect harmony and entertaining style.

"Girl Singers" features terrific songs, great pacing, and fabulous voices. Our sold-out audiences loved this show."
John Potter - Executive Director - Phipps Center for the Arts

$21 reserved / $26 at the door

Valentine’s Weekend
Hopelessly Romantic – an Evening of Music & Comedy
Friday, February 12th, 7:30 and 10:00 pm

Come experience our first New Doors event in the newly remodeled street-level space. Comedy, music, poetry… and it’s all about love. We are offering two show times to choose from when planning your evening!
Tickets $13.50 in advance, $16.00 at the door

Claire Lynch
Saturday, February 13th, 7:30 pm

With a successful new CD out last year, nationally acclaimed bluegrass artist Claire Lynch is well-received in the country music industry. She will appear with Jason Thomas for an evening of progressive bluegrass that is sure to entertain.
Tickets $26 in advance, $31 at the door, Flex Pass eligible

The Berryman’s
Sunday, February 14th, 2:00 pm

The folk duet of Lou and Peter Berryman bring their original songs to the Festival stage for a Valentine’s matinee.
Tickets $16 in advance, $21 at the door

Sweet Colleens
St. Paddy’s Concert
March 13th at 7:30pm

Returning for a rousing St. Paddy’s celebration are the Sweet Colleens - Jeremy Greenhouse, Pete Sandvik, Dave Bade, Jeff Gram, and Dave Bille - accomplished multi-instrumentalists who together fuse their diverse musical backgrounds into a high-energy, infectious, and crowd-pleasing mix of “Celtic folk-rock and alternative country/Americana, with Cajun and Caribbean seasonings.”

With original songs, warm vocal harmonies, and fiery instrumental arrangements, the Sweet Colleens are winning a loyal local following and fans across the Midwest and beyond. Their first concert at Festival in 2009 STILL has people asking when the Sweet Colleens will be back --- now you know!

Tickets $21 in advance, $26 at the door

Dan Chouinard & Friends
Once Upon a River ~ A Celebration of Earth Day 2010
Saturday, April 24th, 7:30 pm

Join Dan Chouinard, Ann Reed & Friends on Saturday, April 24th, to share the love, laughter and life lessons given to us by our most constant neighbor, the St. Croix River.

This unique celebration of Earth Day is made up of music and stories orchestrated by our very own Pied Piper of the St. Croix, one-time riverboat guide, Dan Chouinard!

Watch our website as all the details unfold for this Music Series Event, where we take time to reflect on the lessons learned from nature.

Tickets $21 in advance / $26 at the door

Randy Sabien
Saturday, May 1st, 7:30 pm

Enjoy the thrilling sound of jazz violin with Randy Sabien in Festival’s acoustically superb historic auditorium. Sabien is joined by a band that is likened to “Bob Wills meets Art Blakey meets the Allman Brothers.” Be-bop, blues, and rock mix in with western swing and jazz for a full evening of fun!

Tickets $21 in advance, $26 at the door, Flex Pass eligible.

Monroe Crossing
Mothers’ Day Weekend
Saturday, May 8th, 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 9th, 2:00 pm

Festival favorites Art, Lisa, Matt, Mark and Benji, Monroe Crossing, are returning to celebrate Mothers’ Day Weekend in classic bluegrass style! Monroe Crossing looks forward to entertaining audiences of all sizes from coast to coast and from Canada to the Caribbean in their tenth anniversary year and we’re delighted that one of the stops is downtown St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin!

“I dare ANYONE to watch Monroe Crossing and not get happy!”
— D. A. Callaway, Silver Dollar City

Tickets $26 in advance, $31 at the door

Bill Staines
Friday, June 11th, 8:00 pm

For more than forty years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960's and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge.

Bill quickly became a popular performer, and has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer. We welcome him back to Festival Theatre!

Tickets $21 in advance/$26 at the door

Sidewalk Cafe
Saturday, August 21st, 7:30 pm

A trio of the Midwest’s top string jazz artists makes up Sidewalk Café, playing the music popularized by Django Reinhart and legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli.

Musicians Gary Schulte on violin, guitarist/composer Reynold Philipsek, and upright bassist Jeff Brueske perform frequently at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, where the curator says they play “with bravado and passion that transcends the genre and captures its fundamental appeal and excitement."

Their 2009 performance at Festival Theatre was enthusiastically received by all in attendance, and we can’t wait to hear more!

$21 reserved / $26 at the door