Acoustic Quintet Punch Brothers Joins the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents Series
The genre-bending group will perform September 9 in Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts announced that the Punch Brothers will perform September 9 in Muriel Kauffman Theatre. This event is part of the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents series.
Punch Brothers are the acoustic quintet of mandolinist Chris Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny and violinist Gabe Witcher. Says the Washington Post, “With enthusiasm and experimentation, Punch Brothers take bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.” The band combines instrumental wizardry with playful storytelling, pushing genre boundaries to make music like no one else. Singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham will open the evening, followed by headlining act Punch Brothers.
Tickets for the event range from $29 to $59 plus applicable fees and go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, March 2. Tickets will be available through the Kauffman Center Box Office at (816) 994-7222, via the Kauffman Center mobile app, or online at www.kauffmancenter.org.
ABOUT PUNCH BROTHERS
Punch Brothers formed in 2006. The band’s first Nonesuch record, Punch, was released in 2008 and combined elements of their many musical interests. In 2009, they began a residency at NYC’s intimate club, Living Room, trying out new songs and ultimately spawning the GRAMMY-nominated Antifogmatic (2010). In 2012, the band released Who’s Feeling Young Now?, which Q praised for its “astonishing, envelope-pushing vision,” while Rolling Stone said, “The acoustic framework dazzles – wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity.” The band’s most recent album, the T Bone Burnett-produced, The Phosphorescent Blues (released in 2015 on Nonesuch Records), addresses with straight-up poignancy and subversive humor the power and the pitfalls of our super-connected world.
Recently, Chris Thile took over hosting duties of Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion) in 2016 and released Thank You for Listening in late 2017 – a collection of songs written for the popular radio show. Chris Eldridge partnered with Julian Lage for the GRAMMY-nominated Mount Royal and Noam Pikelny released his fourth solo album, the GRAMMY-nominated Universal Favorite. Both Mount Royal and Universal Favorite were produced by Gabe Witcher, who was also behind Sara Watkins’ latest, Young In All The Wrong Ways. Paul Kowert has been recording and touring with the Dave Rawlings Machine while developing his latest project Hawktail, his band with Jordan Tice, Brittney Haas and Dominick Leslie.
ABOUT MADISON CUNNINGHAM
Orange County, Calif. native, Madison Cunningham, possesses a keen understanding of songcraft that is perplexing for someone who’s just 20 years old. With an ear for melody that is reminiscent of early Joni Mitchell and approach to guitar and vocals that isn’t far off from long past heroes of Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake, Cunningham exhibits a unique ability to keep the listener on the edge as they explore her debut EP, Love, Lose, Remember. The oldest of five daughters, Cunningham picked up a guitar at the age of seven and was singing with her sisters and family in church by the age of 12. It was a happenstance meeting with producer Tyler Chester (Blake Mills, Sara Watkins) four years ago that helped Cunningham start to develop her approach as a songwriter. Released in early 2017, Love, Lose, Remember, showcases Madison’s ability as a songwriter and arranger with the lyrical content of someone who has lived twice the life of this young artist.
Madison Cunningham. Photo by Robbie Jeffers
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Chanticleer Joins 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents Series
Vocal ensemble Chanticleer brings its 40th anniversary tour to Helzberg Hall on October 24, 2018
Vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Photo courtesy of Chanticleer
Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Chanitcleer will perform on October 24 in the Helzberg Hall. This event is part of the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents series.
Chanticleer is a 12-person vocal ensemble. Known as “an orchestra of voices” for its seamless blend of 12 male voices ranging from soprano to bass, Chanticleer performs original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary compositions. Since Chanticleer began releasing recordings in 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two GRAMMY awards.
ABOUT CHANTICLEER
Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, the San Francisco-based GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble Chanticleer will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2018. The 40th anniversary tour – Then and There, Here and Now – is a panoramic look at Chanticleer’s complete musical history, featuring classical pieces, traditional songs, and modern melodies. Chanticleer was founded in San Francisco in 1978 by Louis Botto. The group performs about 100 concerts each year in the U.S. and abroad. Named for the clear-singing rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer has won several GRAMMY Awards for classical ensemble and classical composition recordings.
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Black Violin Joins 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents Series
Hip-hop violin/viola duo Black Violin returns to the Kauffman Center on Oct. 3
Hip-hop/classical duo Black Violin. Photo by Colin Brennan.
Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Black Violin will perform on Oct. 3 in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre. This event is part of the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents series.
Black Violin is a duo that combines hip-hop and classical music influences. They will perform October 3, 2018, returning to the Kauffman Center after a sold-out fall 2016 performance. Violist Wil B. and violinist Kev Marcus have crafted a style that’s often described as “classical boom,” aiming to change perceptions of classical and hip-hop music.
Black Violin is currently writing and recording their next studio album, due out in 2018. The band’s most recent record, Stereotypes, debuted at number one on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart and number four on the Billboard R&B Chart. NPR praised the album and band, saying, “their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation.”
ABOUT BLACK VIOLIN
Black Violin has shared stages with musical acts including Kanye West, Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Black Violin’s music was featured on the Fox TV series, Pitch. The duo places heavy emphasis on educational outreach and perform for nearly 100,000 students annually. The band has partnered with the National Association for Music Manufacturers (NAMM) to continue their advocacy for accessible music education.
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Performance group applications are open for the 5th annual Future Stages Festival
Youth performance groups are encouraged to apply through March 5
KC Boys and Girls Choirs in Helzberg Hall during the 2017 Future Stages Festival. Photo by Alaina Abplanalp.
Applications for the 2018 Future Stages Festival are open now through March 5. More than 800 youth performers sang, acted, and danced onstage at the Kauffman Center during the 2017 annual Future Stages Festival. Performances varied from opera recitals to traditional African dance shows. Groups such as Team Shakespeare from Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and the Kansas City Ballet School participated in the free festival last year, helping to bring in nearly 5,000 festival attendees.
The Kauffman Center is hoping to showcase an even more diverse variety of performance groups for the 2018 festival on Sunday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applications are open through March 5. Large ensembles with 10 or more youth performers can apply to perform on the main stages of Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Helzberg Hall or the St. Luke’s Outdoor Stage. New this year, youth performers from smaller ensembles will have a chance to participate. Groups with 2 to 9 youth performers will be considered for an additional stage on the Arts District Garage Lawn.
Additional information about the event and applications may be found at kauffmancenter.org/futurestagesfestival. With over 40 percent of last year’s performance groups having been new to the event, the Kauffman Center is reaching deeper into the Kansas City metro area each year with Future Stages Festival. The diversity of performance groups makes a strong impression on youth performers and festival attendees alike.
“Future Stages is a vital experience for the Greater Kansas City community,” said a representative from Crescendo Conservatory, a 2017 Future Stages participant. “The dancers of Crescendo Conservatory are delighted to be included as part of the diverse youth performances offered throughout the festival. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a nationally recognized facility and one that every Kansas Citian should get to know!”
Click here to view images from the 2017 festival, and check out a video of the 2017 Future Stages Festival by KCPT here:
Future Stages Festival 2018 is presented by Premier Partner:
Additional funding provided by:
Festival support provided by:
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Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts to receive $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA award, among 1,023 grants annually, will support the Kauffman Center’s
5th annual Future Stages Festival on June 10th
Photo by Jillian Shoptaw
Kansas City, MO—National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $25 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $25,000 to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. This award is the largest NEA grant awarded to the Kauffman Center in support of Future Stages Festival. The festival is a free community event that provides opportunities for future artists to take center stage at the Kauffman Center. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.
The fifth Future Stages Festival will be held at the Kauffman Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 10, 2018. The free, one-day festival invites youth and families to experience a diverse range of performances and arts activities. Future Stages Festival, an extension of the Kauffman Center’s Open Doors Spotlight on Youth program, also provides opportunities for youth and community arts organizations to perform on stage at the Kauffman Center. Since the festival began in 2014, more than 2,500 Kansas City-area youth artists from 60 arts organizations have been featured on Kauffman Center stages.
Presented by Saint Luke’s Health System, Future Stages Festival is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register at kauffmancenter.org/futurestages to receive the latest event updates and schedule for performances and activities.
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
Photo by Cody Boston
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