The Paul Thorn Band Kicks Off the Return of Live Music at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall August 27
When the pandemic shut down stages around the world, entertainers and audiences alike were left searching for ways to fill their entertainment needs. Livestreams and other creative collaborations were plentiful and fantastic, but they didn’t quite replace the feeling you get at a live performance: The bass in your belly. The camaraderie of fellow fans.
The energy from the lights going down and hearing that first note, to the moments after the final encore when the lights come back on.
After a long and quiet year and a half, Old Forester’s Paristown Hall is ready to rock again with a lineup of bands and musicians that will bring audiences to their feet. The first performance will feature The Paul Thorn Band on Aug. 27. It is sure to be a show you won’t want to miss.
Audience Interview: Paul Thorn:
Audience Interview: Teddy Abrams – Louisville Orchestra’s Music Director – Season Outlook
The Louisville Orchestra has been a staple in the arts community since Robert Whitney founded the company in 1937, when Charles Farnsley served as mayor of Louisville. Farnsley led the orchestra as its music director for 30 years, until 1967, and then turned the reins over to Jorge Mester from 1967 to 1979. Farnsley returned in 2006 until 2014, after several other talented music directors came and went.
In 2014, the company introduced the current music director, Teddy Abrams who brought new and exciting energy to LO and the city of Louisville. He is an inspiration to many, a thought leader for the arts community as a whole, and the city is lucky to have him. We are excited to celebrate his work as he embarks on his fifth season with the Louisville Orchestra, and one that is likely to be the most anticipated ever.
Audience Magazine publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Abrams to learn more about his background, his interest in music and the community, and what he is excited about for the upcoming season.
Teddy Abrams Interview – Part 1
Teddy Abrams Interview – Part 2
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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!
Imagine Mural Festival Resurrected and Reimagined
Fund for the Arts and the Imagine Greater Louisville 2025 Steering Committee in partnership with PBS, KET, The Muhammad Ali Center, and Louisville Metro Government are announcing the resurgence of the transformational Imagine Mural Festival, which had its inaugural year in 2019.
The new Imagine Mural Festival will bring together collaborative teams of interdisciplinary artists to create multimedia art installations in the downtown Louisville blocks adjacent to the Muhammad Ali Center.
Audience Interview: Andre Kimo Stone Guess – President & CEO – Fund for the Arts
Fund for the Arts President & CEO, Andre Stone Kimo Guess
The Fund for the Arts is a vital asset for the arts in Louisville. Its goal is to provide arts access and education, and foster diversity, as well as promote the city as a nationally recognized epicenter of the arts. During a roller coaster of a year — the arts and the community overall are just now starting to rebound from the challenges of the pandemic — Christen Boone, who has navigated the Fund for the past seven years, announced her resignation.
After a national search for a new President and CEO, the Fund for the Arts’ next chapter will be led by one of Louisville’s own, Andre Kimo Stone Guess. On Tuesday, June 30, Guess was publicly introduced at the Fund for the Arts Summer Arts Kick-off that was attended by Mayor Greg Fischer, this year’s Campaign Chairperson, and Brown-Forman Chairman, Campbell Brown, Board Chairman and CEO of Stock Yards Bank, James ‘Ja’ Hillebrand, and outgoing President & CEO for the Fund, Christen Boone.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Guess to learn more about his background, his interest in the arts and the community, and what he is excited about for the future of the Fund for the Arts.
Listen to the full interview below:
Kentucky Opera’s 21/22 Brown-Forman Season is now on sale!
Kentucky Opera is excited to announce their 2021-2022 live and in-person season that includes mainstage operas of Orfeo and An American Dream with add-on performances to include Holiday Celebration and Robin Hood: a youth opera. After an entire season away from the stage, KO is thrilled to invite you to subscribe to the full season and seeing their longtime supporters as well as new ones back to their home stage in the Brown Theatre to celebrate and gather with our community.
The season includes the following performances and season subscriptions can be found at KYOpera.org.
Audience Interview: Bob Bernhardt – Louisville Orchestra’s Pops Series Conductor
The Louisville Orchestra recently announced its return to live and in-person performances with a stellar season of fan favorites, as well as some creative collaborations that will have audiences applauding with roars of ovation.
Pops Series conductor, Bob Bernhardt, is entering his 40th season with the Louisville Orchestra and is ready to feel the energy of a live audience. We are fortunate to have such great leadership and talent with his wealth of knowledge garnered over decades of musical collaborations with various symphonies around the country. He is not only a staple with the Louisville Orchestra, but also works with the Grand Rapids Symphony in Michigan, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, and is an Artist-in-Residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with the busy conductor to talk about LO’s return to Whitney Hall, his musical influences of John Williams and a snapshot of the season ahead.
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park Returns June 16
Kentucky Shakespeare, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth, is returning to the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater in Old Louisville’s Central Park from June 16 to August 15, 2021. “We are beyond excited to finally return to the magical in-person experience of Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, after being away from it since the summer of 2019. We look forward to coming together to connect, heal, and again experience the joy together of the free summer festival under the stars,” said Matt Wallace, Producing Artistic Director. “Opening with the stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love is a fitting love letter to Shakespeare and theatre, and it wouldn’t be possible without the presenting sponsor of the production, our partner Churchill Downs. We also return with the epic history Henry V, the culmination of the four-year Henriad tetralogy, Kentucky Shakespeare’s Game of Kings series. What a homecoming this will be – together again in Central Park.”
Billy Strings Announces Two Shows at Waterfront Park – May 21 & 22
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Billy Strings will perform two shows as part of Louisville, KY’s new concert series, Live On The Lawn at Waterfront Park, May 21 and 22. Tickets for shows go on-sale this Friday, April 16 at 10:00am ET/9:00am CT with a selection of pod-based purchase options. Full details can be found at billystrings.com/tour.
The newly confirmed dates follow an ambitious spring run for Strings, who continued to perform throughout the past year, both virtually and in-person.
A Triumphant Return: Kentucky Shakespeare’s Spring Parks Tour Preview
Creative freedom. Magic. Joy. After months of social distancing and isolation, the light at the end of the tunnel is finally growing brighter. Some semblance of normalcy is emerging with the spring, and that includes Kentucky Shakespeare’s return to the parks for the first time in two years.
On Saturday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m., Kentucky Shakespeare kicks off its 2021 Spring Parks Tour at Maples Park with an abridged performance of Romeo and Juliet.
Exhibit Spotlight: Speed Art Museum Unveils Fashioning Art from Paper through August
Speed Art Museum recently unveiled its highly anticipated exhibition featuring the artwork of Isabelle de Borchgrave, the Belgian artist whose life-like creations and elaborately adorned period clothing are entirely handmade with paper. The exhibition, entitled “Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper,” features nearly 100 life-size, trompe l’oeil paper costumes and works that involve the manipulation of paper and paint to create fully formed sculptural costume pieces.
The costumes span nearly 500 years of fashion, replicating historical garments found in European masterworks and in collections around the country.
Audience Interview: Erin Palmer – Kentucky Performing Arts
Kentucky Performing Arts is an important anchor in the arts and entertainment landscape in Louisville and throughout the Commonwealth. Its various performance halls and venues host an array of performances, concerts, comedians, and even presidential debates. In addition to the entertainment that happens on the stage, KPA also plays a role in education and outreach efforts that share the arts with children and adults in community centers, healthcare facilities and schools across Kentucky. In fact, KPA brings the arts to nearly all counties in the state, ensuring everyone can experience the wonders of the performing arts without barriers or restrictions.
The work that happens behind the scenes to create and implement KPA’s programs is an endless task. Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Erin Palmer, KPA’s Senior Programming Manager, to talk about some of her roles and responsibilities and how she balances everything from artist communications to community programs around the state.
PNC Broadway in Louisville Announces 2021-2022 Season
Despite a further delay to the start of the 2021-22 season, PNC Broadway in Louisville is excited to welcome patrons back in November for an incredible roster of shows, beginning with Waitress. All but two of the originally slated shows have been rescheduled.
While we don’t have all of the details in place yet, we are actively working with our partners at The Kentucky Center, along with local, state and federal health authorities, to put a health and safety plan in place for all fall performances. We will communicate that plan to our ticketholders well in advance of the first show.
Thank you to our subscribers, as well as everyone in our community who has rallied behind Louisville’s performing arts throughout the pandemic, for your continued support and understanding. We are so grateful to have you as a member of our theatrical family. Broadway is coming back, and we know it’ll be worth the wait!
Audience Interview: Robert Curran – Artistic Director – Louisville Ballet
The mission of the Louisville Ballet is to make moving art that inspires connection, conversation, and a profound sense of community by striving for bold collaborations and nurturing the next generation of artists, celebrating diversity and creating access for all. This has been a year to really push those boundaries and reconfigure the way the ballet achieves some of these goals.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Louisville Ballet Artistic Director, Robert Curran, who has led the company through a re-imagined Season of Illumination to bring the community in Louisville and beyond the magic of the ballet.
Listen to the full interview for free below.
Audience Interview: Leslie Broecker: President of Broadway Across America Midwest
On a normal year, Broadway Across America produces thousands of performances across the country and the world. This year, there have been none since April. That being said, Broadway’s creative aspirations and dedication to the stage has not waned at all. Just like the rest of us, the actors, actresses, producers, directors, staff, and volunteers at Broadway and all of our performing arts groups are anxiously waiting for the stages to shine bright once again.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with the President of Broadway Across America’s Midwest Division, Leslie Broecker, to talk about how the organization is dealing with the challenges of the last nine months, how the team has adjusted, and what the future might hold.
Listen to the full interview for free below.
Audience Interview: Kim Baker: Kentucky Performing Arts – President & CEO
Kentucky Performing Arts is known for hosting a variety of electrifying performances — from marquee musicians and comedians, to the touring shows of PNC Broadway in Louisville, not mention our own nationally renowned arts groups such as the Louisville Orchestra, Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet and StageOne Family Theatre.
When COVID hit last year, the team was forced to deal with a second disaster in just a couple years, the first being a fire that damaged the roof and lobby of its flagship venue, The Kentucky Center.
During a time when the venues are quiet and dark, Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with KPA’s President & CEO, Kim Baker, as she navigates her team through these tough times.
Audience Interview: Robert Barry Fleming: Actors Theatre of Louisville – Executive Artistic Director
Now in its 57th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville is the state theater of Kentucky, with a mission that serves to unlock human potential, build community, and enrich quality of life by engaging people in theater that reflects the wonder and complexity of our time. Over the last nine months, we’ve all certainly been tested on many fronts.
The company moved to a digital stage for several seasonal favorites that received great reviews. They are now launching Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End that will stream until January 28 and is a ‘pay what you can’ set-up.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Executive Artistic Director, Robert Barry Fleming, to hear more about how the company has navigated through the pandemic so far, and what might lie ahead.
Listen to the full interview for free below.
Audience Interview: Christen Boone: Fund for the Arts President & CEO
Fund for the Arts is an important anchor in the Louisville arts community, with the goal to provide arts access, education, diversity, and ultimately to promote the city as a nationally recognized epicenter of the arts.
Being nearly 10 months into an unprecedented public health crisis with COVID, combined with social and civil situations that we’re all dealing with, we caught up with President and CEO Christen Boone to see how the Fund has adjusted so far, and how the organization intends to move forward.
Listen to the full interview for free below.
Louisville Ballet Brings the Brown-Forman Nutcracker to the digital stage
For millions of Americans, the holiday season isn’t complete without a trip to the theatre to watch The Nutcracker, choreographed by Val Caniparoli. But in 2020, safety supersedes tradition, leaving venues around the country dark for the foreseeable future.
Such is the case for The Kentucky Center, where the Louisville Ballet performs this holiday classic. This June, the company announced the 2020-21 Season of Illumination will be all-digital and include a new ballet art film production entitled Kentucky! Volume 1 and the Brown-Forman Nutcracker, with more productions to be announced later.
While many regard the pivot as bittersweet, artistic director Robert Curran says it was an unexpectedly easy decision, and one that has brought a renewed sense of excitement to the company.
Louisville Orchestra Celebrates American Soul with FREE Virtual Concert
Since famed Louisville Orchestra conductor Teddy Abrams first graced the stages of Whitney Hall, Louisville patrons of fine music knew they were in for a treat. In what was a monumental transition into celebrating the roots of classical music as well as other important genres, the season line-ups soon began to reveal what Teddy and crew had in mind and where the future of the Louisville Orchestra was heading, and all signs pointed to exciting times ahead.
With past collages featuring various musicians, rock bands and even local artists, paired with the harmonic orchestra ensembles, Teddy and the LO have attracted new patrons to the performances as well as invigorated the long-time patrons of the group.
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