Tryon Fine Arts Center (TFAC) has opened ticket sales for its diverse lineup of Main Stage shows. The season begins on September 30, with Yolanda Rabun performing a Nina Simone tribute, No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone. Rabun stars as the High Priestess of Soul in this one-woman play portraying the music, loves and losses of the legendary North Carolina musician.
“Yolanda is a powerhouse,” says TFAC executive director Marianne Carruth. “Her talents as a singer and professional actor will bring us not only mesmerizing music but also an actor’s performance of the complicated woman who was Nina Simone.”
On October 28, Brian Owens & Rissi Palmer take the stage to perform Soul in My Country. Owens made his debut in 2008 with The Cole Sessions EP. His album, Soul of Cash, is a tribute to Johnny Cash and includes the single “Soul in My Country,” featuring Palmer. Palmer debuted in 2007, with Country Girl which made her the first Black woman on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart since 1987. Since then, she has released two more albums including Revival, recorded in Durham. Owens and Palmer lead with two backup singers and a full band.
“Brian Owens is a long-time collaborator and dear friend (he produced my last album, Revival),” says Palmer. “We met when he was recording his brilliant Soul of Cash album and realized that we are both fascinated by the fact that great country music is really soul music. People get so caught up in the perceived differences and miss that it’s all the same.”
The 2022-23 season continues in February with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players performance of The Wand’ring Minstrels The Pirates of Penzance in One Act & Evening of G&S Favorites on Saturday, February 11. New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players is a professional repertory company giving vitality to the living legacy of the duo through performance and education.
The season wraps up on April 1 with Loudon Wainwright III on the main stage. Wainwright is an American singer-songwriter who has released 24 studio albums, four live albums and six compilations and is best known for being a wry, witty songwriter and actor.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit TryonArts.org/events or call TFAC at 828.859.8322 Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
I’m really happy for and impressed with TFAC!
As a life-long Nina Simone fan, I am looking forward to attending this one-woman show about her..