Ricky Skaggs
The Stoughton Opera House has announced a packed 2012-13 season, with over 60 events. That's up about a dozen from last season, and event coordinator Christina Dollhausen says even more shows may be added in the spring.
The schedule emphasizes Americana, folk and bluegrass music. Big names include Judy Collins, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ricky Skaggs, George Winston, Iris DeMent and Jorma Kaukonen. Dollhausen is excited about even the lesser-known acts, such as throaty Canadian folksinger Basia Bulat and the alt-country band Be Good Tanyas.
"The Be Good Tanyas are three ladies with great harmonies," she says. "They've been on hiatus for four years, and I've had their website up on my computer, just waiting for them to go on tour again."
Dollhausen says the Opera House is steadily building audiences and awareness, and she and director Bill Brehm hope to keep the momentum going with the extra events this season.
"With more events, we can hopefully sell more tickets, and hopefully more people will learn about the Opera House," she says. "Bill and I are both of the philosophy that if you're going strong, keep going stronger."
Artists are catching on to the Stoughton Opera House, too.
"More than any other year that we've booked acts, artists have been contacting us, as opposed to years past when we've had to contact artists' agents and convince them that we're a venue they should consider playing," Dollhausen says.
Tickets for the Stoughton Opera House's 2012-13 season go on sale for members on Monday, August 6, at 9 a.m., and for the general public on Monday, August 20.
The 2012-13 season schedule for the Stoughton Opera House follows.
September
15 Greg Brown
22 David Mayfield Parade
23 Kathy Mattea
27 Ricky Skaggs
28 Spider John Koehner 29 Ole and Lena's Wedding
October
3 What I Learned from Sherlock Holmes with Michael Hecht
5 Junion Brown
6 Peter Yarrow
7 Gary Louris of the Jayhawks
11 Judy Collins
13 Molly and Jack Tuttle
14 The Amazing Acrocats
19 Frank Fairfield
20 The Ruth Moody Band
26-27 Drakula: The Performance
28 Atlantic Harp Duo
November
2 Count This Penny, Whitney Mann
3 Jorma Kaukonan
4 Charlie Hunter
9 Cheryl Wheeler
10 The Be Good Tanyas
16 Aimee Mann
December
2 Stoughton Chamber Singers: Victorian Holiday Concert
6 Branson on the Road
7 Cherish for the Ladies
8 Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three
9 Stoughton Festival Choir and City Band: Christmas Concert
18 George Winston
January
25 Tom Paxton
February
2 All That Jazz Big Band
7 Michael Perry
17 Ladysmith Black Mambazo
19-20 Fox Prairie Elementary School: Alice in Wonderland Jr.
22 Eilen Jewell
23 Lou and Peter Berryman
24 Ancora String Quartet
March
1 Moonhouse
2 Riders in the Sky
7 Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, and Lucy Kapansky: Red Horse
9 The Quebe Sisters Band
13 Janis Ian
15 Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks
16 Peter Rowan
21 Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
23 Karla Bonoff
April
5 Iris DeMent
6 Commonweal Theatre: A Doll's House
7 Opera for the Young: Cinderella
11 Preservation Hall Jazz Band
12 Basia Bulat
13 The Cat's Pajamas
18 Maggie Mae and the Heartland Country Band
19 Del McCoury Band
27 Caroline Chocolate Drops
28 Sergei Belkin
May
1 Michael Hecht: What I Learned from James Baldwin
3 Tony Rice Unit
11 Chris Smither
23 The Krueger Brothers
June
7 The Stoughton Chamber Singers: Music & the Human Experience
14 Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
28 Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
