January 2024
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
Jen Kober with special guest Jason Schommer
Jen Kober is originally from Lake Charles, LA, and has energetically bounded onto the national stage bringing crowds to their feet with her original blend of stand-up, storytelling, and improvised rock-n-roll comedy. Her hard-hitting hour is phenomenally funny as Kober commands the stage and dares you not to laugh. She is the winner of NPR’s Snap Judgement Comedic Performance of the Year for her Girl Scout Cookie story which went viral upon its release. She can be seen on Disney+ in The Mandalorian and Diary of a Future President, on HBO’S Hacks, Showtime’s Black Monday and American Horror Story and Netflix: Dead to Me, Ru Paul’s AJ and the Queen.
This performance contains adult language and content.
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
Purchase Tickets
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
John Mueller’s Winter Dance Party show is the official live and authentic re-creation of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper’s final tour and the only show endorsed by the Holly, Valens and Richardson estates. Each live concert performance includes unbridled, high voltage entertainment featuring all the hit songs of the 50s era: That’ll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Rave On, La Bamba, Chantilly Lace and many, many more. John takes Holly’s songs true to their original form on a reissued 1957 Fender Stratocaster–the exact year and make of Buddy’s guitar and uses the same heavy flatwound guitar strings that Buddy used. John is indeed living proof that Buddy Holly’s legacy lives on!
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
February 2024
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
“What’s Going On: Songs From The Vietnam War Era” is a moving concert experience that incorporates live music, live narration and video to provide the audience a multi-media deep dive into the 60’s and early 70’s and of course, the Vietnam War. Through song and imagery this concert examines the tumultuous time period, but concludes on a note of hope and inspiration for a better tomorrow. As one Vietnam Veteran narrates during the show, “When we think of our divisions today, they pale in comparison to how badly we were divided back then.” A must-see Fabulous Armadillos production.
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
Hailing from Québec City, Cirque FLIP Fabrique is an established troupe founded by a group of friends who are at the peak of their talents as professional circus artists. Their shared dream is to create cirque shows that are inspired by artistry, imagery, personality and the human experience. Having performed extensively internationally for more than a million spectators, Cirque FLIP Fabrique continues to fascinate audiences worldwide with performances that are equally as fun and accessible for everyone as visually stunning.
BLIZZARD is the story of a group of friends, each one different from the other, like snowflakes, exploring the awe and wonder of a winter storm.
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
Back by popular demand! Dare to experience the dangers and delights of Dinosaur World in this interactive dino-mite adventure for the whole family!
Grab your compass and join our intrepid explorer across unchartered territories to discover a pre-historic world of astonishing dinosaurs. Using stunning puppetry to bring remarkably life-like dinosaurs to the stage, Dinosaur World Live presents a host of impressive pre-historic creatures roaring across the stage, including a Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus, plus a Triceratops and every child’s favorite giant carnivore, the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
With a wide smile and engaging Southern drawl, Aaron Tippin proclaims he’s the “luckiest hillbilly that has ever lived,” and there’s no arguing it. After all he’s been struck by lightning twice and lived to tell, piloted planes with engine failure and even somewhat more miraculously, he’s survived more than three decades in the music business and is still going strong.
Along the way, he’s earned six gold albums and one platinum. He’s released more than 30 singles, including such hits as “You’ve Got to Stand for Something,” “My Blue Angel,” “I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way,” “Kiss This,” “Workin’ Man’s Ph. D,” “There Ain’t Nothing Wrong with the Radio” and “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly,” which was not only a country hit, but top 20 on Billboard’s all genre Hot 100 chart. Of course, luck often plays a role in achieving success in the entertainment industry, but the real driving forces behind Tippin’s achievements are a dedicated work ethic and undeniable talent.
“This took me by surprise actually,” Tippin says of his music career. “It was the furthest thing from my mind. I wanted to be an airplane pilot.”
He achieved that dream early on by becoming a commercial pilot and then began expanding his horizons by pursuing his other love—music. Born in Pensacola, FL and raised on a farm in Travelers Rest, SC, Tippin had a passion for aviation and became a pilot with single and multi-engine ratings. “But when the energy crunch hit and the airlines started furloughing senior captains I said, ‘This ain’t going to happen,’” he recalls. “I didn’t want to be a corporate pilot for the rest of my life, so I did what I liked next best and that was pickin’ and grinnin.’”
He took a job with an excavation company driving a bulldozer and dump truck by day and playing in clubs at night with his band. The enthusiastic hometown reception buoyed his musical aspirations, and he made the move to Nashville.
His first success in Music City came as a songwriter. The late Charlie Monk, known as the “Mayor of Music Row,” took Tippin under his wing. “He was my first champion in Nashville,” Tippin says. “I was working for him when he got the job at Acuff-Rose Publishing and he calls me and says, ‘Hey, do you want to come over here and write?’ I was lucky to get that chance.”
Tippin found himself writing songs for the legendary publishing company that had been home to Hank William Sr. His songs were recorded by gospel greats the Kingsmen, David Ball, Mark Collie and the legendary Charley Pride, but soon people began asking about the unique voice singing his demos and Tippin was offered a deal with RCA Records. His first single, “You’ve Got to Stand for Something,” became his first top ten hit in 1991.
Over the years, he’s built a successful career as an artist who sings what he believes. Tippin’s music has resonated with fans for decades because his love for God, country and family has always been front and center. He sings songs that celebrate the life of the common, hard-working man because that’s who Tippin is at his core.
He and his wife Thea raised their family on their Tennessee farm while continuing to nurture his thriving music career and launching other successful ventures. He’s continued as a pilot and for several years ran an aviation school. A shrewd entrepreneur, Aaron also parlayed his love for wine into a partnership with Stonehaus Winery and is hands on in developing his own wines. His 2021 launch of Aaron Tippin’s Blue Angel Blueberry Wine has been a tremendous success and they are hard at work on a new Riesling.
Though he’s accomplished so much, Tippin refuses to rest on his considerable laurels. He continues to maintain a busy touring schedule and is working on a new book. “I call myself the luckiest hillbilly that has ever lived and I think it’s true,” he smiles. “I’ve even had my music in space. I performed in Saudi Arabia on the Bob Hope Christmas Show in 1990. There was a young Marine Captain in the audience and when the Gulf War was over, he moved on to NASA and he became a shuttle pilot and mission commander. So, one day I started getting calls from friends telling me that my song, ‘Big Boy Toys,’ had woke up the space shuttle.”
A month or so later, Tippin received a photo of an astronaut in space and in front of him, floating in midair, is an Aaron Tippin album. Commander Rick Sturckow wrote Aaron a letter explaining he had seen him perform when he was serving during Operation Desert Storm. “I was really impressed with you and your music. I was a fan. I chose your album to go with me in space,” Sturckow wrote.
Then he surprised Tippin by sending the album to him. “Rick listened to it up there and then he brought it back to earth and it’s hanging in my living room now,” he says with emotion in his voice. “I’ve had so many great things happen. I played the 4th of July at the Mall facing our nation’s Capitol. I’ve had some pretty cool things happen in my life and it’s all because of what happened with the songs. I still can’t believe all that came true. I’ve been hit by lightning twice. I’ve had two engine failures in airplanes and lived through them. I’m the luckiest hillbilly that’s ever lived.”
Tippin could easily retire and relax on his farm, but that ain’t his style. With the resurgence in the popularity of ‘90s country music, Tippin has never been in more demand. So, what keeps him out there performing after all his years in the business? “It’s the people I’ve met around the country that I’ve made friends,” he says. “I look so forward to going back out there and seeing them again and hanging out. I adore that. It’s fun for me and as long as it is fun, I’ll keep doing it. That’s what keeps me going is the fact that they still come after 33 years now. I’m so happy they keep coming.”
Fireside Music takes place in the Reif Center lobby for one hour prior to theater performance.
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
THANK YOU SPONSORS
Experience the Heartbeat of Latin America: 'Passion and Pulse'
Dive deep into the vibrant tapestry of Latin American sounds with this concert, "Passion and Pulse." This journey celebrates the spirit and fervor of trailblazing composers like Piazzolla, Marquez, and Ginastera. Each note is infused with passionate tango rhythms, soulful melodies, and the electrifying energy unique to Latin American music. From the sultry streets of Buenos Aires to the dynamic landscapes of Mexico, let your soul dance to the thrilling cadences and rhythmic heartbeats of these musical legends. Come, immerse yourself in a world where passion meets melody, and every pulse tells a story of tradition, love, and life.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
DISCOUNTS:
Save 10% when you purchase tickets for 3 or more events at one time. If you’re purchasing online use the discount code SAVE10. GROUPS: Group discount of 10% for 10 or more people (use code GROUP10 on eligible shows), 20% for 20 or more people (use code GROUP20 on eligible shows) or call 218-327-5780 to secure groups.
All tickets are final sale and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a refund will be issued. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this purchase policy. Before purchasing your tickets, we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the event.
At Elder Circle, Ken will share Alaska stories that will remind you of your own trips there, or will tempt you to plan your own first expedition north. It will be like taking a cruise to Alaska, but without the hassles or expense of leaving Itasca County.
Free Workshop & Performance
So You Want to Go Places With Your Art
This is a fun, inspiring workshop for artists of all disciplines, a workshop of surprises, and is especially recommended for writers who want to be published for the first time, or published more often, or published in larger, more competitive venues. It’s also recommended for musicians who want to perform, or record, for the first time, or who want to go from smaller venues in Grand Rapids to larger ones locally or nearby, or to, say, Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond. And how do you get people with blogs or podcasts, or radio DJs, to pay attention to your music? It’s the same for performers in other disciplines, whether theater or dance. And it’s the same for visual artists. How can you expand your reach so more people are aware of your work?
No matter their discipline or experience, attendees will leave with concrete ideas what they might put into practice to take their art further. They’ll also be taking home a few handouts.
The workshop will begin with an introduction—Ken Waldman is open to creatives of all kinds so he’ll need to see who all’s there. There will be several, short writing exercises to further determine where we are now with our work, and where we want to be. It’s an interactive workshop, and Waldman will also be sharing resources. Though this is a one-off workshop, Waldman will not only invite participants to stay in touch with him as seems right, but encourage participants to stay in touch with each other. In his many years of leading workshops, he’s found we’re all equals in the art-making—we’re all striving to make something new and good, and can always learn from each other.
Ken Waldman was 30 years old when he moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1985 to attend the MFA program there as a fiction writer. He’d never written a poem—never had any work published anywhere though had written several short stories—and had only started playing fiddle, badly, five years earlier, and was still, technically, a beginner. Ten years later–after first graduating his program, then three years working as a tenure-track assistant professor as he continued playing lots of fiddle, and then enduring a long illness time and protracted convalescence–he became “Alaska’s Fiddling Poet.”
For more than 25 years now, he’s made a living as a freelance writer, musician, performer, and touring artist. He began freelancing in 1995, when living in Juneau, Alaska, where every event out of town meant either getting on a boat or a plane. In 1998 he moved to Anchorage—Alaska’s commercial hub—and then in 2001 he drove out of state to pursue more opportunities. Some appearances include the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the Dodge Poetry Festival, The International Festival of Arts & Ideas, and the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland, Australia, and hundreds more events in the widest range of venues. He’s also been a visiting writer at over 100 colleges and universities, a visiting artist at over 250 schools in 35 states, and has led workshops from Alaska to Maine. His essay, “How I Make a Living in Poetry” was published in the September/October 2015 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine (and can be seen right here).
Since 2000, Ken Waldman has also had published sixteen full-length poetry collections, a memoir about his life as a touring artist, a creative writing manual, a kids’ book, and a novel. His twelve CDs include two for children, and over a hundred of his own compositions. More than 400 of his poems and stories have been in literary journals. To learn more about Waldman, visit https://www.kenwaldman.com.