Spinning Tree Theatre opens the 2019-20 season August 16 – September 1 with Every Brilliant Thing. This Kansas City premiere tackles the issue of depression using a life-affirming list and a partly-improvised structure that engages audiences in a way never before seen at Spinning Tree. This production will also mark the company’s first mainstage production at Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center.

Created by British playwright Duncan Macmillan with comedian Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing found success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Off-Broadway and was adapted into an HBO movie. The Kansas City premiere of Every Brilliant Thing is directed by Doug Weaver and features R. H. Wilhoit.

You’re seven years old. Mom’s in the hospital. Dad says she’s “done something wrong.” She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. 1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies… 6. Me. You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling. Audiences are taken on a remarkable journey that truly examines what makes life worth living – and the power of theatre to bring people together.

From the creator of HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s IN THE HEIGHTS tells the universal story of a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. IN THE HEIGHTS is the winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. 

In the company of Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, this International Jazz Ambassador makes musical magic when she greets the microphone. With her sincere, warm vocal delivery, classic vocal interpretations and unique improvisations, Lisa takes the listener to musical Nirvana.

Lisa Henry is an artist of vast accomplishments, both in and outside the realm of performance. These accomplishments include the recently televised PBS Special: In Performance at the White House, First runner-up in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, International Jazz Ambassador to Africa, CD recordings, BET documentaries, and recognition as an international clinician and adjudicator. As a jazz educator, Lisa takes the legacy and brilliance of jazz into classrooms and college campuses across the world. Through interactive assembly programs and vocal clinics, residencies, music business workshops, and performance adjudications, her teachings reach students from pre-school to university level. Lisa Henry thrills audiences at home and abroad. International tours include Mumbai and Calcutta, India with Kenny Garrett; South America “Expo Cumbre” tour with Herbie Hancock; Southern and Eastern Africa tour with T.S. Monk, and a month-long performance and educational tour in Madagascar.

An engaging performer, Lisa’s charm and charisma, combined with her vocal abilities, make her a performing artist of the highest caliber.

Trumpeter/composer/bandleader/educator Clint Ashlock grew up in the Kansas City area. An in-demand musician across various genres, Clint is a dedicated and tireless contributor to the scene. Alongside of his position as the Artistic Director and conductor of the esteemed Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, he has performed with such luminaries as Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Nicholas Payton, and Natalie Cole, as well as being a mainstay on the local Kansas City performing circuit, most notably with his own groups (the quintet Foward, his "other" big band, New Jazz Order, and the singer/songwriter/bandleader Jessica Paige.

As RuPaul’s Drag Race Miss Congeniality and All-Stars S2 finalist, Katya Zamolodchikova brings her hilarious new stand up show to your city for the first time this summer! Known for her incredibly funny personas and characters, starring in UNHhhh with Trixie Mattel, and appearances in productions like Hurricane Bianca, Katya’s show promises to be one hilarious night.

HELP ME, I'M DYING is a multi-media, multi-character, multi-faceted live stage show. A fusion of stand-up comedy, story-telling, video, and live dancerly-ish action and music that talks about what it means to be a woman, from the perspective of a person that dresses up like one.

Learn more about Katya

Kansas City saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker was born August 29th, 1920. To learn more about Parker and celebrate his birthday all month long, the American Jazz Museum presents an array of free programming opportunities!

In partnership with Marr Sound Archives and the Miller Nichols Library at The University of Missouri-Kansas City, "Bird's Fixings" features a historic panel discussion accompanied by Parker's favorite food: chicken! For more information about this event, visit the official website link below.

Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist, José González is taking his soft, rhythmic sound from the studio to the live stage. The indie folk music artist will perform an acoustic set in Helzberg Hall following special guest Bedouine.

To celebrate Charlie "Yardbird" Parker's 99th birthday and life legacy, The Blue Room is hosting a FREE performance with four Kansas City saxophonists.

Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and GRAMMY-winning artist, actor and activist, Common, continues to break down barriers with a multitude of critically acclaimed, diverse roles, and continued success at the box office. Witness Common live in an unforgettable evening of new music, greatest hits, and celebrated fan favorites. Opening for Common is GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter, activist and acclaimed hip-hop artist, Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh.

Every pair of tickets for this show includes new music from Common. Ticket buyers will receive an email with more details about their offer approximately seven days after the purchase. Limit of eight tickets per sale. VIP packages available.

Indigo Hour in The Blue Room features drink specials, free live music, and the best Kansas City R&B and Neo-Soul acts every Friday night from 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm.

For this week's featured ensemble, visit amercianjazzmuseum.org/blueroom

"The Weary Blues Arts Exhibition" is a promotional event for I, Too, Sing America: Langston Hughes Unfurled, a PBS American Masters Documentary. Leading this program is Dr. Randal Jelks, professor of American, African, and African American studies at the University of Kansas. He aims to build and audience and inform young creatives about the project. 

The Blue Room is hosting a night of KC Divas! Look out for vocalists Charlotte Fletcher, Eboni Fondren, J Love, and flautist Amber Underwood. For more information about each performer, click on the official website link below.

Join AJM and Groovy Grant of KKFI 90.1FM for a music listening party!

Weekly listening parties until October 26th, featuring different albums, live music, and more!

Matt Hopper is a jazz guitarist based in Kansas City. Hopper started playing guitar at 12 years old. His debut album, First Love, is has played nationally over 70 radio stations. Adam Schlozman is a guitarist from Kansas City, Missouri, where he is involved in many facets that make up its jazz scene and spanning many other genres. Guitarist Eric Slaughter is a high energy performer who is dedicated to exploring the various rhythms and musical textures of the world and presenting them with the groove, spontaneity and creative off-center logic which has characterized the best instrumental improvised music through the ages.

Bring your instrument and sit in at the weekly Blue Monday Jam Session – or just take in the sounds of one of Kansas City’s best jam sessions. Each Monday night begins with a set by a featured ensemble and then we open the mic to interested musicians. Doors open at 5:00 pm, live music starts at 7:00 pm, jam session starts at 8:00 pm. Arrive early to sign up!

For this week's featured ensemble, visit https://americanjazzmuseum.org/blueroom

Jason Seber, David T. Beals III Associate Conductor

“You must feel the Force around you...” The battle for the galaxy intensifies as Imperial Forces launch an all-out attack on the Rebel Alliance. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) flee to Cloud City where they are captured by Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) journeys to the mysterious, marshy planet of Dagobah where the wise Jedi Master Yoda teaches the young hero the ways of the Force. Tickets for the full-length film with your Kansas City Symphony start at $40 for adults and $32 for children. 

Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Warner/Chappell Music. © 2019 & TM LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Inspired by real world events, this boisterous new musical opens with a handful of government cronies at a support group for people who started the Iraq war. Crashing through time and remixing musical styles, Baghdaddy takes a witty and irreverent look at the questionable intelligence and hubris that led to one of the most colossal military blunders in recent history.

Glamour Profession is an 11-piece band made up of KC’s top studio and jazz musicians that plays the music of Steely Dan.  The band plays faithful arrangements of the Dan’s songbook arranged by Music Director and keyboardist, Paul Roberts. A band highlight is the performance of the entire Aja album from front to back.

Since its founding in 1987 by Mario Quintero Lara, Los Tucanes de Tijuana have sold more than 14 million albums worldwide and have performed live for more than five million people. The band has been nominated for 12 GRAMMY Awards, winning a Latin GRAMMY for Best Norteño Album for their 2012 album 365 Días. Los Tucanes de Tijuana is the only regional Mexican band to simultaneously place six titles on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums (1996-1997), and one of the few to attract youth audiences spanning across the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America, and Europe.

Desde su fundación en 1987 por Mario Quintero Lara, Los Tucanes de Tijuana han vendido más de 14 millones de álbumes en todo el mundo y han tocado en vivo para más de cinco millones de personas. El Grupo ha sido nominado en 12 ocasiones al Premio GRAMMY, ganando un Latin Grammy por Mejor Álbum Norteño por su álbum 365 Días en 2012. Los Tucanes de Tijuana es la agrupación Regional-Mexicana que en la historia de la música contemporánea ha sido capaz de colocar hasta 6 títulos en una sola lista Billboard Top Latin Albums en los primeros lugares (1996 – 1997) y una de las pocas que atrae audiencias juveniles en los Estados Unidos, México, Centro América, Sur América, y Europa.

One of the most powerful plays of our time written by one of the giants of American theatre! A southern family celebrates the 65th birthday of their patriarch, but the mood is somber and strange because of the secrets among the gatherers. Brimming with intensity and wit, this treasured work features motifs such as social mores, greed, superficiality, decay, desire, repression, and death. Filled with everything you’d ever want in a truly great play – conflict, complications, suspense, climax, and a stunning conclusion.