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Kentucky Center Presents
LIVING, BREATHING ENTERTAINMENT!

Experience The Kentucky Center's spectacular 2009/2010 line-up of concerts, shows and performances. The Kentucky Center is all about live performance. Not just live, but living, breathing entertainment, the kind of concert or show that becomes an indelible part of your life, a memory you carry with you forever.

Just look who we have in store: remarkable artists like Mark O'Connor and Natalie MacMaster; delightful family shows from Sesame Street Live; hilarious comics like Paula Poundstone and The Second City; and world-renowned dance from Pilobolus and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (bringing a very special evening-length dance theater piece in honor of the Lincoln Bicentennial). More than that, however, you will find a world of performing arts ready to burst into your life and become a part of who you are.

In addition, arts and entertainment lovers are urged to get the most out of the season by becoming Kentucky Center members. For as little as $100, patrons get member benefits like great "members-only" seats that are held back from the general public up to two weeks before the performance, "buy before the public" pre-sale opportunities for Kentucky Center Presents and Broadway Across America shows, waived handling fees on all performances and 15% discounts on select shows. Learn more about membership.

Plus, The Kentucky Center's eClub sends you presale invitations, event updates and news based on your personal profile. It's fast. It's easy. And it's free! Sign-up now!

View a .pdf of our 2009/2010 Season Announcement.

Season At-A-Glance
September 2009
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The Kentucky Center and IdeaFestival present
Ahn Trio
Thursday, September 24, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

This Korean-American sister act (piano, cello, violin) delivers intriguing original “Classical Pop” compositions with technical prowess and supermodel style.

For fans of: Phillip Glass, Kronos Quartet, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma

The Kentucky Center and IdeaFestival present
Anthony Bourdain
Friday, September 25, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall

Self-deprecating and authoritative, this globetrotting chef/author and host of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” has a cult-like following of impassioned Foodies.

The Kentucky Center and IdeaFestival present
Richard Kogan: The Mind and Music of Tchaikovsky
Saturday, September 26, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

A celebrated concert pianist and psychiatrist, Dr. Kogan will explore links between mental illness and musical genius.

October 2009
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The Kentucky Center and Louisville Chamber Music Society present
Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz Trio
Sunday, October 4, 3 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

A Grammy Award-winning composer, violinist and fiddler, O’Connor’s original 2001 “Appalachia Waltz” recording was a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer.

For fans of: Stephane Grappelli, Béla Fleck, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer

The Kentucky Center presents
An Evening With Great Big Sea
Wednesday, October 7, 7:30 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Canadian/Celtic rock band known for energizing crowds with driving interpretations of Irish, English and French folk songs.

For fans of: Solas, Capercaillie, The Chieftains

Dumante Verdenoce “Du the Night” Series
Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer
Friday, October 9, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Masters and innovators on their respective instruments, these world-renowned musicians will perform a triple concerto for banjo, tabla and double bass.

The Kentucky Center presents
Grupo Fantasma
Thursday, October 22, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Grammy-nominated 11-piece Latin Funk orchestra from Austin, TX.

For fans of: Alejandro Escovedo, Calexico, Lila Downs

The Kentucky Center presents
Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek) with special guest Brooks Ritter
Thursday, October 29, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Known as the fiddle player for Nickel Creek, Sara’s travelling the country on her first solo tour.

For fans of: Nickel Creek, Steve Earle, Neko Case, Bob Dylan, The Decemberists

November 2009
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Yum! Family Series Program
JIGU! Thunder Drums of China
Thursday, November 5, 7 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Exuberant and entertaining troupe of drummers, percussionists and musicians from the People’s Republic of China.

The Kentucky Center presents
Asylum Street Spankers: The Sin and Salvation Tour
Friday, November 13, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Known for their “dirty ditties,” these quirky Austin, TX musicians clean up their act (relatively speaking) to deliver a set of Southern gospel along with a set of more traditional Spankers tunes. MATURE CONTENT.

For fans of: Bob Dylan, Madeleine Peyroux, Neil Young, Steve Martin

LEO A Little Off Center
Steve Solomon’s My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm in Therapy
Saturday, November 14, 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 15, 3 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Enjoy one of the longest running one-man shows in history, with over 30 characters brought to life by a master at turning real life into comedy.

Brown-Forman Midnite Ramble
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray
Saturday, November 21, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall

Dance icon Bill T. Jones explores the cultural legacy of Abraham Lincoln’s life and death in this new work commissioned by the Ravinia Festival.

December 2009
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The Kentucky Center presents
Atlantic Records Recording Artists STRAIGHT NO CHASER
Thursday, December 3, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

This male a cappella group became a YouTube sensation with their “Twelve Days of Christmas” video.

For fans of: Rockapella, Take 6, Swingle Singers

Brown-Forman Midnite Ramble Series
KEM with special guest Algebra
Friday, December 11, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway
The Kentucky Center presents
Riders In The Sky: Christmas, the Cowboy Way
Sunday, December 20, 7 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

This Grammy Award-winning musical comedy group performs authentic renditions of old Cowboy and Western songs.

For fans of: Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans

January 2010
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WFPK presents
Brandi Carlile
The Give Up The Ghost Traveling Show
with special guest Katie Herzig
Friday, January 22, 9 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway
LEO A Little Off Center
Paula Poundstone
Saturday, January 23, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

One of Comedy Central’s “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,” Poundstone is also winner of multiple CableACE awards and a frequent guest on NPR’s Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me! and A Prairie Home Companion.

February 2010
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The Kentucky Center presents
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy: Masters of the Fiddle
Wednesday, February 3, 7:30 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Kentucky Center audiences love Natalie MacMaster’s high energy shows, characterized by traditional Cape Breton fiddle tunes and clogging. MacMaster is back with her husband Donnell, a celebrated fiddler in his own right and leader of Canada’s award-winning Leahy family band.

For fans of: Ashley MacIsaac, Leahy, Capercaillie

The Kentucky Center presents
Annual Mardi Gras Party
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience
Friday, February 12, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Back by popular demand, this Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble delights audiences with their charismatic, enthusiastic delivery of Louisiana’s indigenous Zydeco music.

For fans of: Dr. John, Marcia Ball, Taj Mahal

Brown-Forman Midnite Ramble
Soweto Gospel Choir
Tuesday, February 16, 7:30 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Dedicated to sharing the joy of “faith through music,” this Grammy Award-winning 26-member choir celebrates the inspirational power of African Gospel music.

For fans of: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Angelique Kidjo, Sweet Honey in the Rock

WFPK presents
The Dear Companion Tour Featuring
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
Friday, February 26, 8:30 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore’s Dear Companion explores their ties to their home state of Kentucky and aims to draw attention to the problem of Mountaintop Removal coal mining (MTR) and its negative impact on the people and heritage of central Appalachia.

The Kentucky Center and LiveNation present
Brian Regan
Saturday, February 27, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Star of two critically acclaimed Comedy Central specials, Regan’s stand-up comedy routines combine sophisticated writing with brash physicality.

March 2010
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Dumante Verdenoce “Du the Night” Series
Chris Botti
Friday, March 5, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway
WFPK presents
Rodrigo y Gabriela
With special guests The Alex Skolnik Trio
Sunday, March 7, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

A favorite at festivals worldwide, Mexican guitarists Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero bring crowds to their feet playing passionate, inventive acoustic guitar music that combines elements from flamenco, bossa nova and heavy metal.

The Kentucky Center presents
Pilobolus
Friday, March 12, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Characterized by radical innovation and extreme athleticism, this groundbreaking contemporary dance company has thrilled the world with their ground-breaking performance at the 2007 Academy Awards and their outrageous commercials for Toyota and Ford.

Dumante Verdenoce Du The Night Series
Norah Jones
With Special Guest Sasha Dobson
Friday, March 12, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall
The Kentucky Center presents
Celtic Crossroads
Saturday, March 13, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, this popular touring production -“Ireland’s Unique Music Experience”- comes to Louisville with a bevy of traditional and classically trained Celtic musicians, dancers and vocalists.

For fans of: Riverdance, Celtic Women

Yum! Family Series Program
Sesame Street Live! “When Elmo Grows Up”
Friday, March 26, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 27, 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 28, 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Elmo, Zoe, Rosita and friends answer the question while preparing for a pageant on Sesame Street.

April 2010
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The Kentucky Center Presents
FROM AFRICA TO APPALACHIA:
Jayme Stone & Yacouba Sissoko
Thursday, April 15, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

Avant-garde banjo player and composer Jayme Stone recently won back-to-back Juno Awards for Instrumental Album of the Year (2008) and World Music Album of the Year (2009). Yacouba Sissoko is a master kora (21-string harp) player in the Mali Djely griot tradition.

For fans of: Béla Fleck, Bill Frissell, Ry Cooder, Habib Koite, Ali Farka Toure

May 2010
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LEO A Little Off Center
One Man Lord of The Rings
Friday, May 21, 8 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

“One Man to do it all.” 40 characters from three masterworks in 3600 seconds.

June 2010
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LEO A Little Off Center
Second City Touring Company: 50th Anniversary Tour
Saturday, June 26, 8 p.m.
The Brown Theatre on Broadway

Known for its cutting-edge satirical revues, Second City Touring Company alumni include Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy and Eugene Levy.

* Kentucky Unbridled *