Emens Auditorium Calendar

Grand Ole Opry Members, Five-time GRAMMY® award winners individually, three-time GRAMMY® award nominees collectively, four-time DOVE Award winners, and winners of 35 IBMA Awards altogether (including 3-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award winners and 3-Time Vocal Group of the Year Award winners), Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, backed by one of the best bands on tour today, are some of the most reputable and elite entertainers in American music; bluegrass, traditional country and gospel music.

Yuko Mabuchi started playing classical piano at age of 4, in her hometown of Fukui, Japan. As a teenager she was fascinated by American R&B, Hip-Hop and Blues and after hearing the music of Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock she fell in love with Jazz. After high school she entered the AN Music School in Kyoto to study jazz piano under Kunihiro Kameda. After graduating from the conservatory, she began performing locally as a soloist, and as a member of a local jazz trio.

In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway… and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson’s RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. And now, this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning masterpiece returns to the stage in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production.

This 6 member ensemble has toured from New York to San Francisco. A genre-defying folk, jazz, world fusion ensemble, this super group includes grammy nominated and winning performers delivering an acoustic instrumental mix with virtuoso flair. Outreach is available at all levels.


Gina Chavez is blending the sounds of the Americas with tension and grace. A multi- ethnic Latin pop songstress, Chavez is a nine- time Austin Music Award winner -- including 2015 Musician of the Year and Album of the Year for her sophomore release, Up.Rooted. Her independent album topped the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a national feature on NPR's All Things Considered, and has been hailed by The Boston Globe, USA Today, Texas Monthly and the Austin Chronicle. Her band’s Tiny Desk concert made NPR’s top 15 of 2015.

They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story -- a story that has made them an international sensation all over again.

It’s hard to think of an artist in traditional Irish music more influential than Seamus Egan. From his beginnings as a teen prodigy, to his groundbreaking solo work with Shanachie Records, to his founding of Irish-American powerhouse band Solas, to his current work as one of the leading composers and interpreters of the tradition, Egan has inspired multiple generations of musicians and helped define the sound of Irish music today.

From the bombastic and epic, to the folky and mystical, Get The Led Out (GTLO) have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians intent on delivering Led Zeppelin live, like you’ve never heard before. Utilizing the multi-instrumentalists at their disposal, GTLO re-create the songs in all their depth and glory with the studio overdubs that Zeppelin themselves never performed.

Expect the unexpected, as canines and comedy collide in a smash hit performance, that’s leaving audiences everywhere howling for more. From shelters to showbiz, these amazing mutts unleash havoc and hilarity in a breathtaking, action-packed, comedy dog spectacular, featuring some of the world’s most talented 4 legged performers. Deemed ‘A Must See’ by the Washington Post, the dogs are sure to steal your heart, and then your socks!

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is “Broadway’s big, fat hit!” (New York Post). Set in 1595, this hilarious smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first MUSICAL! With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is “The Producers + Spamalot + The Book of Mormon. Squared!” (New York Magazine).

A virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and award winning songwriter with a distinctive voice, Molly has turned the heads of even the most seasoned industry professionals. She began performing on stage when she was 11, and recorded her first album, The Old Apple Tree, at age 13. Since then, she’s appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, was featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and Acoustic Guitar Magazine, won first place in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at Merlefest, and, last fall, received a Momentum Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in the instrumentalist category.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and professor at Texas Tech and one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, will deliver the Alice Proctor Killey: “Science in a Fact-Free World.” The values that inspire the quest for higher education define ethical behavior in our political, economic, scientific and personal choices. So, how can good science inform sound societal decision-making?

Ryan & Ryan is a dynamic father-son piano duo that blends classic and contemporary music into a delightful concert experience. With remarkable credits as solo performers, Donald and Barron combine efforts to amaze audiences with their skill, expressiveness, and love of making music. Their experience in classical, jazz, ragtime, hip-hop, and funk allows them to create exciting new music and give fresh interpretations of old.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. The beloved musical story of Maria and the von Trapp Family will once again thrill audiences with its Tony®, Grammy® and Academy Award®–winning Best Score, including “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss” and the title song.

Bella Gaia (Beautiful Earth) is an unprecedented audio-visual experience that combines NASA satellite imagery of Earth, time-lapse nature photography, and live world music and dance on stage. Inspired by astronauts who spoke of the life-changing power of seeing the Earth from space, director-composer Kenji Williams' award-winning Bella Gaia successfully simulates the Overview Effect from space flight, by using NASA supercomputer data-visualizations with an "iridescent landscape of gossamer melodies and labyrinthine rhythms" (Nooga.com) to explore the relationship between humans and nature through time and space.

Top 40 Swingers! Imagine four Manhattan Transfer style vocalists doing swing versions of your favorite top 40 hits, and you’ve got Martini Pop! Whether a sophisticated cocktail hour, or an all-out dance party, this cool, stylish group complete with small jazz combo, or full big band is always a surprise hit with their fun retro versions of radio hits like: “Umbrella” (Rhianna), “We Are Young” (Fun), “Somebody That I Used to Know” (Gotye), “Rumor Has It” (Adele), and classics like “The Way You Look Tonight” (Michael Buble) and “Come Fly with Me” (Sinatra).

New Yorker Matt Beilis was born with his distinct voice. Some would say it’s unconventional, which would fit the personality of this singer/songwriter/pianist. Matt traded in his Ivy League education-along with a lucrative finance career--for a gig in a piano store, betting that his artistic talents would propel him beyond the comfort that his academic achievements all but guaranteed.

Susan Werner has done it again; the woman NPR named "Empress of the Unexpected" has brought forth another unique concept album with a national tour to match. Her hew EP, An American In Havana, is a collection of original songs inspired by Werner's recent travels to Cuba. The recording features performances and arrangements by legendary Cuban percussionist Marya Casales (Dizzy Gilespie, Tito Puente, Regina Carter), along with Werner's trademark songcraft and wry, poetic lyrics.