39th Season Lineup
Classical (On Sale Now)
12 Concerts
America at 250: Centuries of Sound
Opening Night Orchestra Celebrating Pivotal Moments in Music
Saturday, June 27 • 7:00pm
Season 39 opens with a vibrant program conducted by Michael Sachs and featuring concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef, tracing 250 years of musical evolution from Carl Stamitz and Ludwig van Beethoven to the lush string writing of Antonín Dvořák and the lyrical modern voice of Samuel Barber.
Bluegrass and Beyond
The Modern American String Quartet
Wednesday, July 1 • 7:00pm
Classical minimalism meets American roots in this modern string quartet program featuring Philip Glass’s String Quartet No. 5 and Mark O’Connor’s String Quartet No. 2 “Bluegrass,” performed by Nurit Bar-Josef, Milana Reiche, Erina Laraby Goldwasser, and Austin Fisher.
American Roots
The Evolution of Folk Featuring Mark and Maggie O’Connor
Friday, July 3 • 7:00pm
Grammy Award–winning duo Mark and Maggie O’Connor lead a Strings Music Festival ensemble in Strings and Threads Suite, presenting American folk traditions through the lens of classical composition and ensemble performance.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Silent Film with Live Music by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Saturday, July 11 • 7:00pm
Step back into the golden age of cinema for a screening of Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), Buster Keaton’s beloved silent-film comedy, presented with live musical accompaniment by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.
Aeolus Quartet
Masterworks and New Voices for String Quartet
Wednesday, July 15 • 7:00pm
Based in New York City, the Aeolus Quartet brings “high-octane” excitement (Strad) and “dusky lyricism” (The New York Times) with dedication to all of its artistic endeavors, placing new and lesser-known works side-by-side with the time-honored masterworks of the medium.
Counterpoint
A Piano and Tap Dance Duo with Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher
Wednesday, July 22 • 7:00pm
A unique and collaborative program where piano and tap dance function as equal partners, blending classical works by Bach, Brahms, and Mozart with original compositions and improvisations that explore rhythm, structure, and the shared musical language of sound and movement.
Café 1930s: Jazz, Tango and Cabaret
Featuring Chee-Yun
Narrated by Brian McWhorter • Conducted by Mark Gould
Saturday, July 25 • 7:00pm
A Strings Music Festival ensemble traces the jazz-infused café and cabaret culture of the interwar years, moving from American vaudeville and jazz clubs to the cabarets of Berlin, tango cafés of Buenos Aires, and London’s avant-garde salons through works by Paul Schoenfield, Zez Confrey, Kurt Weill, Astor Piazzolla, and William Walton’s Façade, conducted by Mark Gould with narration by Brian McWhorter.
Parisian Colors
Chamber Music for Piano Quintet and Flute
Wednesday, July 29 • 7:00pm
Be transported to turn-of-the-century Paris in a chamber program exploring the lyricism and color of French music, featuring works by Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, and Saint-Saëns, performed by Chee-Yun, Karissa Shivone, Benjamin Hochman, and featured flautist Jennifer Steele.
Brass Through the Ages
From Renaissance Masters to Bach, Debussy, Britten, and Böhme
Saturday, August 1 • 7:00pm
Journey through five centuries of brass music in a dynamic program led by Michael Sachs, revealing the instrument’s astonishing range from Renaissance dances and Bach to Debussy, Ewald, Britten, and Böhme. The performance features an all-star brass ensemble of principal players from the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, San Francisco Ballet and Opera Orchestra, and the American Brass Quintet.
Cinematic Strings: An Ode to the Silver Screen
Iconic Film Scores Come to Life through Piano Quintet
Wednesday, August 5 • 7:00pm
Virtuosic chamber works and enduring themes, from animated classics and timeless love stories to Schindler’s List, trace the evolution of cinema’s sound, culminating in a sweeping piano quintet by Academy Award–winning composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, whose early-20th-century symphonic language became foundational to classic Hollywood film scoring.
Baroque Brilliance: An Orchestral Finale
Celebrating Bach, Handel, and Purcell
Saturday, August 8 • 7:00pm
An orchestral celebration of the Baroque era brings together the virtuosic brilliance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with the elegance and expressive spark of Purcell’s Abdelazer suite and Handel’s Concerto Grosso in D major, and with concertmaster Amy Lee leading a distinguished Strings Music Festival ensemble that includes flute, oboe, trumpet, and harpsichord, the performance offers a vibrant orchestral finale rich in color and texture.
Cliburn Silver Medal Winner
Vitaly Starikov Solo Piano Recital
Wednesday, August 12 • 7:00pm
Vitaly Starikov is a Russian/Israeli pianist acclaimed for “raw, deeply felt, and powerful” performances (La Scena), whose bold, unpretentious artistry earned him a Silver Medal in 2025 at the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and widespread praise for his gripping interpretation of Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto.
Contemporary Concerts
10 Concerts
The Robert Cray Band: All Amped Up Tour 2026
Monday, June 29 • 7:00pm
Blues icon. Soul man. Rock and roller. Robert Cray is all these things—and more. This Grammy Award-winning musician plays every note as if it counts and delivers every song as if it were his last, guided by integrity and intensity throughout a remarkable 50-year career.
Brent Rowan Songs and Stories
Sunday, July 5 • 7:00pm
Brent Rowan is an award-winning guitarist, producer, and session musician whose playing has shaped countless country and roots recordings over the past four decades. A five-time CMA Musician of the Year honoree, Rowan is known as one of Nashville’s most accomplished studio guitarists.
Ultimate Johnny Cash
Saturday, July 18 • 7:00pm
Filled with anecdotes, stories, and rich history drawn from Johnny Cash’s biographies, concerts, and live interviews, this tribute concert celebrating Johnny and June Carter Cash showcases their award-winning duets from an extensive catalog. Bringing their music and legacy vividly to life, the performance captures the spirit of The Man in Black in his prime, making you feel as though you’re witnessing a timeless chapter of American music history unfold before you.
Steve Earle: 51 Years of Songs & Stories
Friday, July 24 • 7:00pm
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle is one of the most acclaimed artists of his generation. A protégé of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, he became a master storyteller in his own right; his songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, and The Pretenders, and his 1986 breakthrough album Guitar Town reached No. 1 on the country charts, helping define the Americana movement.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Tuesday, July 28 • 7:00pm
Marty Stuart, five-time Grammy Award-winner, Country Music Hall of Famer, founder of the Congress of Country Music, and AMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, is joined by his longtime band, The Fabulous Superlatives, on tour in support of Space Junk, their first full-length double LP of original instrumentals.
Cat Power: The Greatest Tour
Tuesday, August 4 • 7:00pm
Cat Power celebrates the 20th anniversary of their landmark 2006 album The Greatest with Redux, a three-song EP honoring the record that marked a defining moment in her career. In 2026, she and her band will perform The Greatest in its entirety on a special 20th anniversary tour, bringing the album’s signature Southern soul to the stage.
The Jayhawks
Friday, August 7 • 7:00pm
Over the course of four decades and countless memorable live shows, The Jayhawks have soared to heights few ever achieve, winning the hearts and minds of critics, fans, and peers along the way. Since 2014, The Jayhawks have enjoyed a career resurgence, touring constantly and releasing three memorable albums—including Paging Mr. Proust. In early 2025, the band announced that work had begun on their 12th studio album, slated for release in 2026—the 40th anniversary of their debut album. 2026 has officially been designated “The Year of the Hawk.”
Herbie Hancock
Sunday, August 9 • 7:00pm
From paragon of Blue Note cool to space-age synth pioneer, Herbie Hancock has spent more than six decades redefining jazz. A 14-time Grammy Award-winner and Academy Award recipient, Hancock helped shape modern music with groundbreaking albums like Headhunters and classics including “Watermelon Man,” “Cantaloupe Island,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Chameleon,” and “Rockit.” A true living legend, his performances remain a masterclass in innovation, virtuosity, and boundless creativity.
Django Festival All-Stars
Saturday, August 15 • 7:00pm
For over two decades, the Django Festival Allstars have embodied the spirit of Gypsy Swing — a joyful, high-octane style first ignited by guitar legend Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli in 1930s Paris. Born out of the Django Reinhardt NY Festival, the Allstars have evolved into one of today’s most electrifying ensembles, carrying the torch of this timeless sound while pushing it boldly into the 21st century.
Little Feat: The Last Farewell Tour
Tuesday, August 18 • 7:00pm
Little Feat began in 1969 when Frank Zappa told Lowell George he should start his own band. That 56-year journey has produced dozens of songs—“Dixie Chicken,” “Oh, Atlanta,” “Willin’,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub”—and a thousand memories. One result was one of the best live albums in the history of rock ‘n roll, Waiting for Columbus.
More concerts to come!
Audience Development Initiatives (not included in subscription)
The following summer performances are not included in any subscription in an effort to attract diverse demographics to the festival.
The Wallflowers*
30th Anniversary Tour for Bringing Down the Horse
Standing-Only Show
Sunday, June 28 • 7:00pm
The Wallflowers will mark the 30th anniversary of their landmark album Bringing Down the Horse with a nationwide US tour. The band will perform their classic album in its entirety, in sequence. Originally released on May 21, 1996, Bringing Down the Horse was a critical and commercial triumph.
Tig Notaro: Out of Nowhere!*
Friday, July 17 • 7:00pm
Tig Notaro is an Emmy and Grammy Award-nominated stand-up comedian, actor, writer, podcaster, and radio contributor, and a frequent guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Rolling Stone named her one of the “50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time.”
Fitz and the Tantrums*
Standing-Only Show
Friday, July 31 • 7:00pm
Over the past year, multi-platinum-selling soul-pop outfit Fitz and The Tantrums wrote and recorded their forthcoming sixth studio album, Man On The Moon (due on July 25 via Atlantic Records). The result is the bands’ most daring album yet—a no-nonsense collection of soulful, pop-infected masterpieces that both thrill and engross listeners in equal measure.
Daniel Rodriguez String Band
Thursday, August 6 • 7:00pm
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Daniel Rodriguez returns to Strings after recording his latest album, Harboring Pearls. Whether shaped by personal heartbreak or the seismic shift in his daily life when Rodriguez exited his longtime band, Elephant Revival, songs such as “El Dorado,” “Anything and Everything,” and “Graduation” paint vivid pictures of Rodriguez’s journey unfolding in real time.
*Show On Sale Now