Performance Preview: Passing the Magic: ‘Wicked’s’ Generational Encore in Louisville
In the radiant pantheon of Broadway, few musicals shimmer with the enduring allure of ‘Wicked’. A mesmerizing tapestry of vibrant characters, emotive scores, and a narrative that turns familiar tales on their heads, this masterpiece has captivated audiences globally, weaving its magic for almost two decades.
But beyond its dazzling visuals and enthralling performances lies a deeper magic, one that transcends time and binds generations.
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In collaboration with the performing arts groups of Louisville, we are excited to bring you Audience Magazine, an all-digital publication that delivers a behind-the-scenes look into the performing arts and entertainment during this unprecedented time of reflection and artistic creation.
Audience Magazine highlights enlightening articles and information about the arts groups as well as spotlights on Louisville Landmarks and interviews with inspirational representatives from the arts community. And the best part about it all is …. it’s FREE!
Farm Aid Festival Retruns to Indiana Sept. 23 – Feat. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and more
INDIANAPOLIS — Farm Aid’s Music and Food Festival is returning to Noblesville, Indiana, on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Ruoff Music Center.
Farm Aid 2023 — a full day of music, family farmers, HOMEGROWN food and agrarian experiences — will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Margo Price, as well as Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Allison Russell, The String Cheese Incident, and Particle Kid.
Kentucky Performing Arts Celebrates 40th Anniversary Sunday August 27
Kentucky Performing Arts (KPA) kicks off its 40th anniversary season celebration with a community-wide event on Sunday, August 27 at The Kentucky Center (501 West Main Street).
The Community Celebration and Open House will welcome the entire city and state to the building where it all began.
Festival Preview: Bourbon & Beyond – September 14-17 – Louisville, Kentucky
Who is ready for another weekend of chest pounding music from iconic bands and musicians while enjoying refreshing cocktails and impeccable food? Fold in over 100,000 of your closest festival loving friends and you know it will be a weekend to remember!
Bourbon & Beyond is tuned up and ready to return to the Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center in Louisville on September 14, 15, 16 and 17 for what will be another great weekend of celebrating the perfect blend of bourbon, food and music.
Speed Art Museum to Transform Grounds into Three-Acre Public Sculpture Park and Community Gathering Space
The Speed Art Museum recently announced the Speed Outdoors, a project that will transform three acres of grounds surrounding the Museum into a vibrant public green space and cultural environment. Slated to open in late 2025, the ungated, public sculpture park will create a welcoming extension of the Museum with free and open access at all hours, inviting the public to engage with the Speed as a cultural and community anchor of Louisville while extending the Museum’s collection beyond its galleries.
Jack Harlow Returns for 6 Show Tour of Kentucky
Multiple GRAMMY-nominated rapper, actor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Jack Harlow announces first-of-its-kind, No Place Like Home: The Kentucky Tour. Produced by Live Nation and Production Simple, the Kentucky superstar will take his 3rd annual hometown shows to a new level with an exclusive 6-city tour, with stops across Kentucky. The tour will kick off on Friday, November 24th at Owensboro Sports Center in Owensboro and will wrap up in Lexington at Rupp Arena on Sunday, December 3rd.
Bourbon & Beyond Returns Sept. 14-17 with All-Star Line-up
Danny Wimmer Presents is excited to announce the biggest Bourbon & Beyond lineup yet after a record-breaking attendance of over 140,000 in 2022. The unique festival, celebrating the perfect blend of bourbon, food and music, celebrates what makes Louisville such a beloved festival destination.
Continuing with the Halloween tradition, Kentucky Shakespeare presents the spine-tingling ghost story that kept London’s West End on the edge of its seat for 33 years! Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost novel comes dramatically to life in Stephen Mallatratt’s ingenious stage adaptation of The Woman in Black October 4-29, 2023.
A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by a specter engages a skeptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It all begins innocently enough, but then, as they reach further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds.
KET’s New ‘Inside Louisville’ Production to Focus on Louisville Personalities
KET is unveiling a new program that’s all about Louisville!
Inside Louisville, hosted by Kelsey Starks, features conversations with Louisville’s biggest newsmakers and personalities, celebrating the people, places and traditions that make the River City such a vibrant and diverse community. The half-hour weekly program also features stories that explore Kentucky’s largest city, spotlighting its neighborhoods, nightlife and noteworthy attractions.
ACT Louisville Productions and Pandora Productions Announce Cast and Performances for Regional Premier of “The Prom”
ACT Louisville Productions (ALP) producers Beth Craig Hall and Randy Blevins along with Pandora Productions Producing Artistic Director Michael J. Drury have announced performances and the cast of the regional premiere of the musical The Prom. Each performance at The Henry Clay Theatre August 11 – 26 will include a community Prom experience complete with refreshments for sale, photo opportunities, a Prom royalty selection, along with dancing before the show and at intermission. In the spirit of the show, attendees are encouraged to dress in their most authentic Prom attire. Tickets to all fourteen performances are now on sale at actlouisville.com starting at $29.
Performance Preview: Broadway in Louisville: To Kill A Mockingbird – June 20-25
The iconic character of Scout Finch from Harper Lee’s beloved masterpiece novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is stepping into the spotlight, brought to life by the dynamic talent of Melanie Moore in the acclaimed theatrical adaptation coming to Louisville June 20 to 25.
A Broadway veteran known for captivating performances in productions like Finding Neverland and Fiddler on the Roof, Melanie takes on the complex role of Scout with unwavering dedication and an innovative approach.
Railbird Re-Cap: Music, Fun, Sun and Good Vibes Prevail
Railbird Festival returned with a bang June 3rd and 4th and set Lexington on fire with some of the biggest names in music, as well as some up-and-coming acts. Setting the tone with a new venue at The Red Mile, the food was plentiful and tasty, the drinks were cold and quenching and there were no issues with lines for anything.
Audience Interview: Louisville’s Singing Sensation: D’Corey Johnson
Getting on a stage in front of an audience is one of the hardest things imaginable for millions of people who suffer from performance anxiety, better known as stage fright. A psychological setback, it can often be overcome with determination and practice.
When we watched 11-year-old Louisvillian, D’Corey Johnson, walk on stage to perform for the judges and audience of America’s Got Talent recently, we saw a lot of confidence — and certainly no stage fright.
We caught up with D’Corey, his mom, Nakia, and voice coach, Dionte Colbert, to find out more about this Louisville singing sensation.
Listen to the full interview with Audience publisher G. Douglas Dreisbach below.
Railbird Returns: Two Days of Festival Fun in Lexington – June 3 & 4
The long-awaited return for the Railbird Music Festival is finally over and this weekend will mark the return of two-days of music, food and fun for the first time since 2021. Considering that the event sold out in less than three hours, we would have to say that the fantastic line-up combined with a venue change was a great decision.
Explore Kentucky: Kenlake State Resort Park
A play on the name of Kentucky Lake, Kenlake State Resort Park
is known for its proximity to the body of water, along with the watersports on offer.
However, there is also a lesser-known history associated with the park. In 1951, the property contained Cherokee State Park, the only state park developed for African Americans in Kentucky. Consisting of 300 acres with a beach, rental cottages, dining hall and picnic area, the park welcomed scores of visitors who were given few recreational alternatives in the Jim Crow era.
Audience Interview: Andre Kimo Stone Guess – President & CEO – Fund for the Arts
The Fund for the Arts is one of the most important organizations dedicated to the local arts. It was founded in 1949 and is one of the two oldest United Arts Funds in the country. The focus of the group is to support, promote, and develop the arts, artists, and arts organizations to help create a healthy and vibrant community for all.
With a vision for a healthy and vibrant community where everyone embraces the art that exists in our lives every day, everyone contributes to the well-being of our arts community, and it is understood that everyone belongs to the arts community, FFTA plays an important role in our arts community.
We caught up with president and CEO, Andre Kimo Stone Guess, who is a Louisville-native growing up in the Smoketown area, and accepted what he considers the right job at the right time just two years ago.
Andre’s energy, compassion and dedication to the local arts scene is inspiring and we are excited to hear what he has been doing in his first two years, what he is working on now, and what he hopes to come in the future.
Listen to the full interview below:
Louder Than Life Rock Fest Returns to Louisville – Sept. 21-24
After cementing its title as America’s Biggest Rock Festival with a record-breaking attendance of over 170,000 in 2022, Louder Than Life returns bigger and better than ever September 21, 22, 23 & 24, 2023 to Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY.
One of the top music events of the year, Louder Than Life will feature performances from a spectacular list of rock artists including: Foo Fighters, Green Day (making their DWP festival debut), Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Pantera, Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer, Limp Bizkit, Megadeth, Turnstile, Rancid, Falling In Reverse, 311, Pierce The Veil, Run The Jewels, Corey Taylor, Coheed and Cambria, Royal Blood, Parkway Drive, Bad Omens, BABYMETAL and many more.
Audience Interview: Greg Proops, Whose Live Anyway – April 2 – The Brown Theatre
“Whose Line is it Anyway” is an improv TV show adapted from a British show of the same name. It first aired in America in 1998 and has been popular ever since. Hosted by household names like Drew Carey and Wayne Brady, it features a group of actors and friends taking suggested themes from audiences and featured guests, and acting them out on stage.
In Whose Live Anyway coming to the Brown Theatre on April 2, cast members Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray will leave you gasping for air at the witty scenes they invent before your very eyes. Audience participation is key, so you might be asked for suggested themes or even to join the cast on stage.
We caught up with Proops, an actor-comedian who has appeared on many of the televised shows and is now immersed in the Whose Live tour, to talk about what we can expect from the show.
Listen to the full interview below:
NULU Bock Fest & Wurst Fest Returns March 25
One of Louisville’s favorite festivals returns on March 25 with safe and fun goat racing, local Bock Beer, and the annual Wurst Fest. This year will welcome more local breweries than ever before including Against The Grain, Butchertown Brewing, Mile Wide Brewing, Monnik Beer Co., and West Sixth Brewing with others to be added in the next several weeks.
Each brewery will serve its 2023 Bock Beer, along with other selections, at the event. Beer is available for purchase at booths along East Market Street.
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