Event Calendar

This program will be live-streamed for two evenings: Wednesday, May 19 and Thursday, May 20 at 7:30 pm. Each performance will remain accessible until midnight on Sunday, May 23.

For our last program of the 2021 Spring Season, we will present Robert Weiss’ production of the family favorite, Cinderella — featuring an original piano score by its composer, Triangle-based musician Karl Moraski. 

Tommy Edwards is an icon of bluegrass music in North Carolina, though he would never say so himself. This year marks a special milestone for Tommy and his longtime band, The Bluegrass Experience - it is their 50th anniversary year. Edwards formed The Bluegrass Experience in 1971 with Tom & Jerry Beane and friends Snuffy Smith, Charles Lee Conard, and “Fiddlin’ Al” McCanless. The band joined fellow Chapel Hill musicians like Mike Cross and the Red Clay Ramblers to carve their own place in the local traditional music scene as accomplished players and singers, anchored by Edwards’ original songs.

Apiopolis, a Raleigh-based beekeeping organization will install a new beehive at the Duke Energy Center on World Bee Day, May 20th. The install will be live streamed on the center’s Youtube and website. Local elementary schools have been invited to participate in naming the new queen bee, which will be announced by Raleigh’s Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Stewart during the live stream.

Joshua Gersen, conductor
Orion Weiss, piano

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19

This performance will be live in Meymandi Concert Hall. * limited availability 

North Carolina Symphony

Brett Mitchell, conductor

Joan Tower: Chamber Dance

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4

This performance will be streaming from our Meymandi Concert Hall stage.

Join us for a small bee themed educational market on Lichtin Plaza, featuring vendors from educational experts such as Wake County Beekeepers Association, other community resources and local makers. Snacks and beverages will also be available for purchase during the market.

Vendors:

• Wake County Public Libraries -Express Library Fayetteville Street

• Stacy Lee Gallery

• Brooke’s Fresh Cut Flower Farm

• Oxhip Studio

• Triangle Land Conservancy

• Apiopolis

• Blue Chip Wood Turnings

More to be announced soon!

This special event honors the late Tom McGuire’s passion for music and his dedication to children. The event features TIFT MERRITT and special musical guests. There is no charge to attend this virtual event. 

Community Music School is a perfect match for honoring Tom McGuire’s legacy. Community Music School has offered high quality personalized music education to underserved Wake County youth for more than 25 years. Donations to Community Music School are welcome.

Visit cmsraleigh.org/tommcguire to learn more.

This is a virtual streaming performance from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater.

Visit the AMPED UP MUSIC SERIES @ RED HAT AMPHITHEATER page for more information on this series!

Raleigh, NC & Brooklyn, NY based hip hop group, Kooley High, has been honing their craft of beats and rhymes for well over a decade now. Kooley blends their love for classic boom bap and lyrical content with a modern day vibe that pays homage while maintaining an original feel.

An unwavering dedication to their sound has enabled them to collaborate with artists like Skyzoo, Rapsody, Statik Selektah, & 9th Wonder.  With thousands of live shows and numerous albums under their belt, Kooley High is a gift to anyone who still yearns for dope beats & dope rhymes.  Kooley is High.

North Carolina Symphony

Brett Mitchell, conductor

Joan Tower: Chamber Dance

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4

This performance will be streaming from our Meymandi Concert Hall stage.

Why, yes...it is Christmas in May! The Campaneria Ballet School proudly presents The Nutcracker. Be carried off to the land of sweets and snow as you enjoy this Balanchine classic, reimagined and choreographed by Artistic Director, Miguel Campaneria. Jumpstart your family's holiday celebration. It's never too soon to celebrate Christmas!

Show #1 and Show #2 - "You Betta Werk"

Visit the AMPED UP MUSIC SERIES @ RED HAT AMPHITHEATER page for more information on this series!

Two of North Carolina’s veteran bluegrass musicians-- Hank Smith on Banjo and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw on fiddle--  join forces with some of the most versatile musicians in the Carolinas to create modern, American, acoustic music featuring the full range of their talents as composers and arrangers. The band is on tour regionally and nationally in support of their new album, RISE ABOVE on Robust Records.

The band makes use of traditional bluegrass instrumentation in a nontraditional way to present original music to the listener that goes beyond the limits of the idiom. The arrangements take on a new level of maturation that follows in the footsteps of Bela Fleck, Mark O'Connor, Chris Thile, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, and Tony Rice. Hank, Pattie & The Current want to pick up where seminal crossover groups like The Punch Brothers, Strength In Numbers and the ever-changing Bluegrass Allstars call home. The music is vocal and instrumental, allowing the band to experiment with arrangements and tailor the compositions to become vehicles for exploration. Hank Smith plays banjo, Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw plays fiddle and is lead vocalist.  The Current includes Billie Feather on guitar and Stevie Martinez on bass.

North Carolina Symphony

Michelle Di Russo, conductor

This performance introduces little ones to the joys of the orchestra with The Carnival of the Animals, one of the best-known pieces by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, with each movement depicting a different animal—from the royal lion to the graceful swan. Truly a fantastic family experience for all ages!

This performance will be streaming from our Meymandi Concert Hall stage.

Visit the AMPED UP MUSIC SERIES @ RED HAT AMPHITHEATER page for more information on this series!

Eric Gales grew up in a musical family with four brothers, two of them who learned to play the guitar upside down and left handed in the same fashion that Eric does. Eric released his first record at Age 16 for Elektra records to an amazing response from the media and music fans around the globe. Guitar World Magazine’s Reader’s Poll named Eric as “Best New Talent,” in 1991. After recording a second record for Elektra, all three brothers teamed up for The Gales Bros. “Left Hand Brand” which was recorded for the House of Blues label in 1996. Through the years, it would not be unusual to look out in the audience and see artists like Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, B. B. King, and Eric Clapton, looking on with interest as Eric took his guitar and worked crowd after crowd into a frenzy. The new millennium presented fresh opportunities for Eric. He was signed to a deal with Nightbird Records which was affiliated with the Hendrix family and distributed through MCA/Universal. Under this deal, Eric recorded the critically acclaimed record “That’s What I Am” in 2001 and hit the road, mesmerizing fans around the world with his uncanny connection to his guitar. In 2006 Eric recorded the CD “Crystal Vision” for Shrapnel Records and set the stage for his Blues Bureau Division follow-up, “The Psychedelic Underground”. In 2010 Eric released the critically successful album "Relentless" following it up with the equally powerful album “Transformation”. In 2014 a spiritually renewed Eric Gales released “Good For Sumthin’”. Released by Cleopatra Records and produced by Raphael Saadiq. His follow up project was the Double Live CD/DVD “A Night on the Sunset Strip” in 2016. From there Eric signed with Mascot Label Group in 2017. He has released two albums on this label, 2018’s “Middle of the Road” and 2019’s “The Bookends” both deeply personal and introspective works. As both an African-American left-handed guitarist of extraordinary ability and an expressive vocalist, it is natural for people to compare Eric to Hendrix. But Eric has developed a unique hybrid blues/rock sound that also draws upon influences as diverse as Albert King and Frank Gambale. A unique amalgam of styles, Eric Gales stands head and shoulders among other guitarists in his genre.

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Built around a powerful voice and hard-driving rock ‘n’ soul rhythm section, Asheville, NC’s DownTown Abby & The Echoes has begun to secure a foothold in the Southeast music scene.

Founded by Bailey Faulkner (guitar) and Abby Bryant (vocals, keys), the two formed the band out of distinctly different musical upbringings.

Throughout his youth, Faulkner developed his musical foundation from his parent’s love of The Beatles and guitar-driven classic rock staples. Hailing from the same hometown, Bryant formed her musical intuition at home and church where she began singing at only five years old under the direction of her music minister father. With her ear and voice trained on gospel and hymns and a spiritual connection to music, Bryant set the stage for her future career in music.

First meeting in high school, the future founders of the band combined their unique influences – Bryant embraced new genres and a sultry soul and Faulkner found the voice to front his melody-centered arrangements.

Listeners will find it hard not to hear similarities to some of the artists that inspire the two including currently touring acts Tedeschi Trucks Band, Grace Potter, and Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds. At the same time, one cannot deny that even with DownTown Abby & The Echoes’ youthfulness, the band connects to the roots of the music in the members’ hearts.

Blending the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy, Fireside Collective has drawn on folk, blues, funk and a wide variety of bluegrass sounds to create a distinctive body of work that’s all their own.

This is NOT your grandfather's magic show… This is the show that will have you asking, "How the ****?" and "What the ****?"

Tricks, antics, pranks, stunts, wisecracks, buffoonery - all brought to you by one of the most compelling entertainers of his generation! Side-splitting comedy and mind-blowing magic are brought into the spotlight as comedy magician Grant Freeman brings his unique, raunchy show full of surprises to Raleigh!

**This event was previously scheduled for March 12, 2021. If you have any questions about this new performance date, please contact your original point of purchase, or email us directly at PAC.Info@RaleighNC.gov**

**This event has been POSTPONED. If you have any questions about this new performance date, please contact your original point of purchase, or email us directly at PAC.Info@RaleighNC.gov**

Daniel Habif es considerado uno de los mejores y más importantes conferencistas de habla hispana en el mundo Ha sido galardonado como el Speaker motivacional más influyente de América. Sus conferencias, videos, poesía y el movimiento #INQUEBRANTABLES ha cautivado a millones de personas en más de 120 ciudades y 20 países. Es un portavoz de la reconciliación humana, la empatía y la inspiración. Sus creaciones sociales  de liderazgo como Rodéate de Gigantes, El Cartel del Bien e Inquebrantables están impactando profundamente en el levantamiento de nueva generación de lideres en el habla hispana.