LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2024) – The Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts presents its 2024-25 live performance season, presenting a curated selection of national and international artists for the Lexington and University of Kentucky communities. Tickets for all events go on sale today, August 28.
The series kicks off on September 25 with surrealist blues poet Aja Monet. Grammy-nominated poet Aja Monet’s work captures the essence of the human experience with depth and complexity, combining her message with live jazz accompaniment to create emotionally compelling narratives of personal exploration and social justice.
The series continues on October 10 with musicologist Scott Freiman and his 90-minute multimedia presentation, “Deconstructing Dark Side of the Moon,” which pays tribute to Pink Floyd’s masterpiece by taking the audience on an exploration of the album and discussing the inspiration for the songs and their development in the studio.
On October 19, the center presents “Tuvergen Band: Otherworldly Voices from Asia.” The Mongolian-American folk fusion trio plays traditional Mongolian horsehead fiddle and demonstrates throat singing techniques; the British gamelan Langen Kerti opens the evening program.
In November, the Singletary Center partners with the Origins Jazz Series to present dynamic New York jazz pianist Emmet Cohen and his trio on November 3. Later that same week, the Singletary Center presents the next installment of its Expansive Sounds Series with North Carolina experimental trio Setting on November 7. The eerie blend of banjo, drums, and electronics makes Setting’s music both grounded and ethereal, an intimate experience with the audience sitting on the concert hall stage with the artists.
In 2025, the Singletary Center will present its first Visual Music Festival on February 8. The Visual Music Festival will be a day-long screening of new submissions of non-narrative, abstract animation requested by the SCFA for this unique program. In the evening, Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 non-narrative documentary film “Koyaanisqatsi” will be screened, featuring music by Philip Glass.
On February 15, the Singletary Center presents French electronic musician Franck Vigroux and Belgian video artist Kurt d’Haeseleer for a performance of their new multisensory work “Thirst,” a groundbreaking live electronic performance that redefines the boundaries of audiovisual art.
In March, the Singletary Center and GreenRoom Exchange will present the KODO One Earth Tour 2025 Warabe as part of the citywide LEX250 celebration on March 4. The highly athletic drummers are bearers of a centuries-old Japanese musical tradition and create a universe of sound and emotion through thunderous percussion and polished theatricality.
The Expansive Sounds Series continues in April with Canadian composer and synthesizer player Flore Laurentienne, presenting complex arrangements that combine a live string quartet with synthesizers and organic field recordings to evoke a deep sense of serenity and imagination. The April program continues on April 12 with New York pianist Kelly Moran, who gives a special concert on the Yamaha Disklavier. In addition to Moran’s real-time playing of each piece, listeners will be treated to accompaniments made possible by the Disklavier’s unique technology, which includes inhumanly fast arpeggios, chords that require more than ten fingers to play, and other motifs that push the physical limits of a standard piano.
The Singletary Center’s season concludes April 15 with Louisville indie-folk singer Bonnie “Prince” Billy in collaboration with the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music. With a deeply personal and unconventional approach to music, Bonnie “Prince” Billy creates a world where intimacy, community, mystery and spontaneity intertwine, helping the songwriter establish himself as a world-renowned cultural export from bluegrass.
“This will be a season of exploration and discovery,” says Matthew Gibson, director of the Singletary Center. “We are bringing so many new ideas and new sounds to stimulate the minds and hearts of our audiences. I can’t wait to showcase these exciting and intrepid artists as we continue to build on the Singletary Center’s long-standing reputation for enriching Lexington’s cultural landscape.”
In addition to the SCFA-curated season, the center will continue to be the performance home of the UK School of Music, the Lexington Philharmonic, and the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, as well as present events by campus, community, and nationally touring artists.
Thanks to the Singletary Center and School of Music’s commitment to student artistic engagement, UK students can use their student ID to receive a free ticket to dozens of performances each semester. For more information, contact the Singletary Center box office or call 859-257-4929.
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As part of the UK College of Fine Arts, the Singletary Center for the Arts presents and hosts approximately 400 artistic, cultural and educational events annually for the university community, the Lexington community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Find a performance you like at www.SingletaryCenter.com.
