October 2
25 26 Event Calendar
6 Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal Thur. Sept 4
6 The Milk Carton Kids Sat. Sept 6
6 Ray Wylie Hubbard Fri. Sept 12
10 Music Appreciation Series: Trevor Stephenson, Pianoforte Mon. Sept 15
7 Mipso Fri. Sept 19
10 Music Appreciation Series: The Wisconsin Brass (UW-Madison Faculty) Mon. Sept 22
7 Riders In The Sky
Sept 25
7 Shadowlands - feat. S. Carey + John Raymond Fri. Sept 26
8 House of Waters Sat. Sept 27
10 Music Appreciation Series: Christopher Allen. Classical Guitar Mon. Sept 29
8 Mavis Staples
Oct 2
10 Music Appreciation Series: Brazil Meets Stoughton (From the University of Iowa) Mon. Oct 6
8 Bob Mould Solo Electric Here We Go Crazy Wed. Oct 8
9 Marc Cohn & Shawn Colvin Together On Stage Sat. Oct 11
10 Music Appreciation Series: Eric Tran, Piano Mon. Oct 13
9 Davina & the Vagabonds Sat. Oct 18
10 Music Appreciation Series: The Wingra Wind Quintet (UW-Madison Faculty) Mon, Oct 20
9 Fruit Bats (Solo) Wed. Oct 22
12 Albert Cummings
12 Rhonda Vincent
12 Väsen + The Fretless
Oct 23
Oct 24
Oct 25
10 Music Appreciation Series: The Shauncey Ali Quartet Mon, Oct 27
13 Tab Benoit Thur. Oct 30
13 Steve Poltz
10 Music Appreciation Series: Aaron Fried, Cello
13 Sam Grisman Project
14 Del McCoury Band
Oct 31
Nov 3
Nov 6
Nov 7
14 Caitlin Canty Sat. Nov 8
10 Music Appreciation Series: The Rabin String Quartet (UW- Madison) Mon. Nov 10
14 Molly Tuttle: The Highway Knows Tour Sat. Nov 15
15 The Cactus Blossoms Thur. Nov 20
15 Kruger Brothers Fri. Nov 21
16 Harp Twins Rockin’ Holiday Concert! Fri. Dec 5
16 Susan Werner
17 City Band & Festival Choir
Dec 6
Dec 7
18 Squirrel Nut Zippers: Christmas Caravan Fri. Dec 12
19 Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show Sat. Dec 13
19 Madison Area Concert Handbells Sun. Dec 14
There are a few dozen shows that we’re dying to tell you all about, but for now you’ll have to wait. We will send out emails, but if you aren’t on our email list, go to stoughtonoperahouse. com to sign up NOW. You won’t want to miss attending these exceptional shows!
Reflections
Welcome to Stoughton Opera House 2025–26 Season Guide!
2024–25 was a season to remember. We believe we have some of the most devoted patrons around and we were so pleased to see your smiling faces. Date nights, beer & cookies in the Ghost Light Lounge, lurking bats, a round of applause for the seat cushions and a ton of great shows. It was another full season of pre-show live acts on the small stage in the lounge, and the response from both the performers and the patrons was phenomenal. Expect even more great things in the lounge during the year to come.
There were so many great suggestions for future shows from audience members last season that it will take years to book them all. In the pages here you’ll find perennial favorites, eclectic new sounds, and well-known artists joining us for the first time. You’ll also find some open dates on the calendar—that is where the surprises go! As we add shows to our initial line-up, the very best way for you to stay in the loop is to head over to our website and get on our email list—don’t miss out on surprises! Seriously. All of the staff, crew, and volunteers at the Opera House are so thankful for your support and for the time you spend with us playing your part. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you at the show soon!
William Brehm, Director
Stoughton Opera House Friends Association fgfgfgfg
The Stoughton Opera House Friends Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Opera House. Through targeted philanthropy, awareness building, and volunteer support, the Stoughton Opera House Friends Association will play an integral role in sustaining the Stoughton Opera House as a first-class performing arts facility. If you would like to be considered for a position please contact us, we are always looking for members who would like to help. For more information visit www.stoughtonoperahousefriends.org
We are always looking for great new shows to add to our schedule. Be sure to follow our Facebook Page and sign up on our website to receive e-mails on the latest news and shows.
HOURS: Check our Facebook page or website for the most up-to-date box office hours before coming by to visit. Tuesday—Friday 1:00pm–5:00pm 90 minutes before shows
Guided tours available by appointment during business hours. email: boxoffice@stoughtonoperahouse.com
Fund a special project or contribute to the endowment fund—there are many options that can be custom tailored to fit your budget and wishes! SOHFA has helped keep the Opera House growing with improvements like the Ghost Light Lounge, the new padded seats, the hearing loop, and many other projects that make the Opera House even more wonderful. For more information contact our Development Coordinator, Christina Dollhausen, at christina@stoughtonoperahouse.com. HELP KEEP THE MUSIC HUMMING!
Summer Season 2025
Samtalä
Musicians in Dialogue
Thurs. Aug. 15 • 7:00 pm
Fri. Aug. 16 • 3:30 pm
The Blue
Beginning deep in the ocean, this program rises upward—breaking the surface and ultimately soaring into the sky.
As human beings, we don’t naturally inhabit the deep sea or the high atmosphere, which gives us limited direct experience of either realm—but abundant imagination about what life means at each level.
“Blue” takes place at the Stoughton Opera House and features voice, string quartet, string bass, and piano.
The one-hour program, performed without intermission, includes works by John Cage, Kaija Saariaho, Maurice Ravel, Florence Price, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Franz Schubert.
Musicians:
David Perry, violin
Alex Norris, violin
Madlen Breckbill, viola
Phil Bergman, cello
Laura Perry, Bass & voice
Micah Behr, Piano
Samtalä | Musicians in Dialogue
/sahm-tah-leh/ — from the Norwegian word samtale, meaning “conversation”
Samtalä | Musicians in Dialogue, formerly known as the Stoughton Chamber Music Festival, is a chamber music project rooted in musical dialogue — between instruments, artists, space, and listener. Every performance is a meeting of ideas, voices, and shared presence.
Offering a full spectrum of housing and care services to suit your needs
Skaalen is located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Stoughton. Our beautiful campus offers walking paths and relaxing outdoor spaces. Skaalen provides a variety of living options from which to choose –care free and comfortable independent living, supportive living apartments, assisted living, memory care, and skilled-nursing & rehabilitative services – Skaalen’s Continuum of Care retirement campus is here for you every step of the way.
Whether you are considering Skaalen for yourself or someone you love, we invite you to take a tour of our campus by going to our website skaalen.com/learn or call 608.975-5105 for additional information on our services.
Stoughton Opera House: 2025 26 Season
Your Seat is Waiting . . .
Fall Season 2025
Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal
Thurs. Sept 4 • 7:30pm
Rosanne Cash is a composer and singer-songwriter who has earned 4 GRAMMY® Awards and 14 GRAMMY® nominations, among numerous other accolades for songwriting and sound recordings. She is also an author, whose 2010 memoir Composed garnered widespread praise from critics and landed on The New YorkTimes bestseller list. In addition, she is a music community catalyst who often brings together giants of American roots music for various events and is a valued voice in documenting modern music history. In 2021, Cash was the first female composer to receive the MacDowell Medal, awarded since 1960 to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture.
In 2023 Rosanne and her husband John Leventhal, the six-time GRAMMY® winning songwriter, producer and life-long creative partner, launched RumbleStrip Records, an initiative to reexamine and reissue Rosanne’s early work, originally released on Columbia / Sony Music, and beyond.
The first two releases were a deluxe remastered version and first vinyl pressing of the 30th anniversary of Cash’s landmark album The Wheel and Leventhal’s debut solo album, Rumble Strip (2024), released 50 years into his remarkable career. 2025 begins with The Essential Collection, a new 40 song/40 year 2CD compilation highlighting Rosanne’s deep catalogue of songs including 10 number 1 hits. The album coincides with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit, Rosanne Cash: Time Is A Mirror. The exhibit explores Cash’s more than 40-year journey as an artist, song-writer and storyteller, and how she has embodied both tradition and innovation across her musical career. It runs through March 2026. Cash and Leventhal are currently writing the music to the theatrical production of Norma Rae www.rosannecash.com
The Milk Carton Kids
Sat. Sept 6 • 7:30pm
Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids—Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale — swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. The Milk Carton Kids were nominated for “Best Folk Album” for their new record, I Only See The Moon, at the 66th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. This marked the group’s fourth GRAMMY® nomination. I Only See The Moon is out now, to critical acclaim, on Far Cry Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers.
www.themilkcartonkids.com
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Fri. Sept 12 • 7:30pm
When F. Scott Fitzgerald issued his classic conclusion that ‘There are no second acts in American lives,’ he failed to envision the career of legendary Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard. A willing conspirator in the late seventies Cosmic Cowboy revolt that ushered in the mythical Outlaw era, Hubbard was a catalyst in the cultural upheaval that led to the peaceful coexistence of Lone Star music enthusiasts who comprised each end of the social and political spectrum of that troubled time. But along the way, his attention began to leave matters extraneous to his art and soul by the wayside and focus on the beauty and potential to be found in the blank canvas of the yet to be written and recorded song. In the years that followed he evolved into a writer of uncommonly honest portraits of life, alternately mixing deep personal sagas with poignant character studies of those traveling on the dark side of the road.
www.raywylie.com
Mipso
Fri. Sept 19 • 7:30pm
Book of Fools is the new Mipso album. Some of the songs feel pretty rock and roll. There’s a looseness and an energy to the 11-song batch, with electric guitars, barroom piano, and a good groove on the kit. It has some nice harmonies, too, the tight kind you’d expect from four friends who’ve been singing together for a decade. The songs are really good ones. You’ll want to keep singing them loud in the car and in your head while you walk around the supermarket. They may stick with you for a while. Book of Fools feels cozy and familiar, but also strange, its songs sparkling with hand-medown melodies and odd sounds and unanswered questions. Unanswerable questions. What would be the point in trying? www.mipsomusic.com
Riders In The Sky
Thurs. Sept 25 • 7:30pm
40 years ago, there were three young men with drive and wit who wanted to keep a special music alive. They believed in preserving the heritage of Western Music and presenting it to a new generation. They believed in entertaining, and they did so… entertaining themselves as well as the audience! And they believed in creating original Western Music to continue the tradition, not just seal it in amber as a museum piece. What they did not realize at the time was that they would be doing the same thing 40 years later. Ranger Doug, Too Slim, Woody Paul and Joey the Cowpolka King…40 years on, “The Cowboy Way.” www.ridersinthesky.com
“ The drummer of Bon Iver (S. Carey) collabs with Golden Valley’s GRAMMYnominated jazz trumpeter (John Raymond) to create magic in their forthcoming album.”
–Mpls
St Paul Magazine
Shadowlands
feat. S. Carey + John Raymond
Fri. Sept 26 • 7:30pm
John Raymond and S. Carey have been playing music together for close to twenty years since their time studying music at the University of Wisconsin— Eau Claire. While they both received training in jazz and classical music, their careers would soon head in very different directions. Carey would become the right-hand man to Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) and Raymond would become a GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter and composer.
In 2019, the two reunited and began experimenting on what their artistic voices would sound like together. The result is their new album, Shadowlands (Libellule Editions), a stunning, genre-bending collection of songs that combines the warmth and beauty of Carey’s aesthetic with the improvisational, spontaneous nature of Raymond’s. The music ranges from intimate and meditative to soaring and anthemic, with electric moments of musical interplay throughout. It’s the kind of collaboration that feels as if it were years in the making. www.scarey.org/discography
House of Waters
Sat. Sept 27 • 7:30pm
Nominated for the Best Contemporary Instrumental album at the 2024 GRAMMY® awards, House of Waters is at the forefront of jazz innovation. House of Waters has scored an Emmy-winning documentary (ESPN), and recently rescored three 100+ year-old French Dadaist-Era silent films in partnership with GroundUP Music and Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. They have received the South Arts Jazz Road Grant and have an extensive touring history around the world. Having shared the stage with influential musicians including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Victor Wooten, Tinariwen, Snarky Puppy, Karsh Kale, and more: “House of Waters is a band that is bending the very fab-ric of the musical universe as we know it.” (Onstage Review) www.houseofwaters.com
“One of the most unique groups you will ever come across. . . I can only describe their sound as being a sound which one has longed to hear without truly realising it.” –The Bubble
“House of Waters is a band that is bending the very fabric of the musical universe as we know it.”
–Onstage Review
Mavis Staples
Thurs. Oct. 2 • 7:30pm
“I’m the messenger,” Mavis Staples says on the eve of her 80th birthday. “That’s my job–it has been for my whole life—and I can’t just give up while the struggle’s still alive. We’ve got more work to do. So I’m going to keep on getting stronger and keep on delivering my message every single day.” That message—a clarion call to love, to faith, to justice, to brotherhood, to joy—lies at the heart of We Get By, Staples’ spectacular twelfth studio album and first full-length collaboration with multi-GRAMMY® Award-winner Ben Harper. We Get By is a timeless appeal to the better angels of our nature that’s universal in its reach and unwavering in its assurance of better things to come. Hailed by NPR as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace,” Staples is both a Blues and a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer; a civil rights icon; a GRAMMY Award-winner; a chart-topping soul/gospel/R&B pioneer; a NationalArts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient; and a Kennedy Center honoree. “I sing because I want to leave people feeling better than I found them,” Staples concludes. “I want them to walk away with a positive message in their hearts, feeling stronger than they felt before. I’m singing to myself for those same reasons, too.” Even the messenger needs a reminder every now and then. www.mavisstaples.com
Bob Mould Solo Electric
Here We Go Crazy
Wed. Oct. 8 • 7:30pm
Bob Mould’s 15th solo album, Here We Go Crazy, is a distillation of the unfailing melodic skill, the emotional lucidity and dynamic fluency he’s developed over more than four decades. Its turbulent vignettes are scored by Mould’s familiar bruised tunefulness, but the sound is pared back to its fundamentals, 11 songs blistering past in just over 30 minutes. “I’ve stripped things back to what excited me as a young guitarist,” he explains. “The energy, the electricity.” Mould knows Here We Go Crazy is an album freighted with darkness; “There’s soothing melodies, and there’s lyrical discomfort,” he deadpans.“ It’s manic, frantic, complex.” But no one ever came to Bob Mould for good news, for the easy answers. Pop music runs through his veins, as surely as the electricity that drives his chiming hooks into the realms of distortion, but he’s here to give you the truth, his truth. To give you songs that ring true when howled against a tornado of guitar, that compress all that “lifetime emotional content” into some kind of sonic diamond. There’s eleven of those precious gems here, sculpted to make the heaviness easier to bear, somehow. Treasure them. www.bobmould.com
Marc Cohn & Shawn Colvin
Together On Stage
Sat. Oct. 11 • 7:30pm
Spend an unforgettable evening with GRAMMY® winning musician Shawn Colvin and platinum selling singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, performing together as a duo and sharing their songs and stories. In her nearly 30 year career as a solo recording artist, Shawn Colvin has won three GRAMMY® awards, released twelve albums and written a critically acclaimed memoir. Marc Cohn is a GRAMMY® Best New Artist winner who has solidified his reputation as one of his generation’s most compelling and admired singer-songwriters.
www.marccohnmusic.com
www.shawncolvinmusic.com
Davina & the Vagabonds
Sat. Oct. 18 • 7:30pm
Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Sowers’ commanding stage presence. With influences ranging from Fats Domino and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Aretha Franklin and Tom Waits, the band is converting audiences one show at a time, from Vancouver to Miami and across Europe.
Davina and the Vagabonds shine every time they play. They’ve earned feverish acclaim from the Chicago Tribune, NPR, and more in addition to performing on BBC’s international favorite latenight program Later… With Jools Holland and appearing on PBS’s Bluegrass Underground. www.davinaandthevagabonds.com
Fruit Bats (Solo)
Wed. Oct. 22 • 7:30pm
Baby Man, the new album by Fruit Bats, is like nothing else in GRAMMY®-nominated songwriter Eric D. Johnson’s catalog. Little in the arc of his career—including Fruit Bats’ evolution from home recording project to rollicking roadshow, his solo output, and his work with Bonny Light Horseman—points the way to this album, in which his only accompaniment, aside from the occasional blush of synthesizer, is a guitar, banjo, or piano. Save for producer Thom Monahan, reuniting with Johnson for the first time since Fruit Bats’ 2019 breakthrough Gold Past Life, it’s just Johnson in the room, meaning that when the turntable’s needle meets Baby Man’s groove, it’s just him and the listener, mutually in for a reckoning. There are no Fruit Bats albums like Baby Man. None until this point have demanded this kind of attention. It’s a linchpin in Johnson’s career, one that not only opens Fruit Bats up to a thrilling future but recontextualizes his past, arguing that he is one of his generation’s great singer-songwriters and will be for some time to come.
www.fruitbatsmusic.com
Music Appreciation Series
A dazzling array of musical talents will be showcased throughout the season during these hour-long programs, organized by John Beutel and sponsored by the Stoughton Area Senior Center.
Sept. 15
Trevor Stephenson, Pianoforte
Trevor Stephenson–harpsichordist, fortepianist, and pianist–is the Artistic Director and founder of the Madison Bach Musicians. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Historical Performance of 18th-Century Music from Cornell University, where he studied fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson. With his colleague, Norman Sheppard, he has made and refurbished a series of historical keyboard instruments ranging from Italian Renaissance harpsichords to Victorian pianos. He has released sixteen recordings on the Light & Shadow label and tours throughout the United States as performer and lecturer.
Sept. 22
The Wisconsin Brass (UW-Madison Faculty)
Regarded as one of the “superb brass ensembles in the USA” and praised for “remarkable musicianship and versatility”, the Wisconsin Brass Quintet has held a position at the forefront of brass chamber music since it’s founding. In addition to its regular concert series at UW-Madison, the Quintet performs extensively throughout the Midwest and nationally, including appearances in New York at Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Concert Hall.
Sept. 29
Christopher Allen.
Classical Guitar
Christopher Allen, (B.A., M.A. and PhD in classical guitar performance) has studied with Javier Calderon, and Joseph Breznikar, performed in masterclasses and private lessons with world renowned artists. He’s founded the Madison Classical Guitar Society, competed in international guitar festivals, and is currently on the faculty at Madison College, and the Monroe St. Arts Center in Madison, WI.
Oct. 6
Brazil Meets Stoughton (University of Iowa)
Dr. Maurita Murphy Marx, Emeritus Professor of Clarinet at the University of Iowa, is a native of Middleton, Wisconsin and taught middle school band in the Stoughton public schools from 1976-78. Her passion for Brazilian music was introduced to her by Dr. Rafael Dos Santos, Campinas, Brazil. In this lecture/performance, she will be joined by former student Kim Carr, performing famous Brazilian Choros. The Brazilian “choro” (to cry), the national music of Brazil, emerged in the late 1800s in Rio de Janeiro. The music is a fusion of African-based rhythms and European forms along with representing both the social and racial diversity in Brazil.
Oct. 13
Eric Tran, Piano
Pianist and Lecturer Eric Tran presents Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony—Transcribed by Franz Liszt for Solo Piano. UW-Madison lecturer, pianist and composer, Eric Tran returns to perform a concert with engaging commentary. In this unique musical journey, he performs and discusses Franz Liszt’s solo piano transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. With commentary illuminating Beethoven’s nature-inspired themes, Liszt’s daring vision, and Tran’s personal connection to the piece, this event offers the rare opportunity to experience a timeless masterpiece in an intimate and powerful new light. Tran has performed in Italy, Korea, China, Canada, and in 20 US states. His knack for designing engaging programs with relatable commentary makes him a Music Appreciation favorite.
Oct. 20
The Wingra Wind Quintet
(UW-Madison Faculty)
The Wingra Wind Quintet is one of three faculty chamber ensembles in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter
School of Music. Deeply committed to the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the group travels widely to offer its concerts and educational services to students and the public in all corners of the state
Oct. 27
The Shauncey Ali Quartet
At the intersection of tradition and innovation, the Shauncey Ali Quartet crafts evocative melodies and arrangements that feel timeless, adventurous and refreshingly new. Ali draws from the deep wells of American and Celtic fiddle music, a love of improvisation and sensibilities shaped by pop, rock and Scandinavian music. Featuring Hans Holzen (guitar), Nicholas Vanhaute (mandolin) and David Havas (bass), the ensemble delivers chamber-style interplay that is virtuosic yet accessible, rooted in tradition yet unbound by convention.
Nov. 3
Aaron Fried, Cello
Aaron is currently working on his Doctorate at UW-Madison. He’s been a scholarship member of the Rabin String Quartet and he is back to present a solo recital as part of our series.
Nov. 10
The Rabin String Quartet (UW-Madison)
The Rabin Quartet is the Graduate String Quartet at UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. Its members are working towards master’s & doctoral degrees and serve as teaching assistants, leading orchestral sectionals, teaching string fundamentals, and performing as representatives of UW-Madison. The group is funded by generous donors and named in honor of Dr. Marvin Rabin, an internationally acclaimed music educator and Professor Emeritus at UW-Madison. As the father of the youth orchestra movement in the US, his work continues to positively impact countless young musicians to this day.
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x On the Local and National Registers of Historic Places xGreat WI-FI
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xGenerous dining area and kitchen xFree washer & dryer in unit xPrivate patio
xOne of the last all-wooden buildings remaining in Stoughton — completely renovated and up-to-date.
Just steps away from the Opera House in the heart of Stoughton’s Downtown Historic District, “Bees on Main” is a lovingly renovated upstairs apartment airbnb. Book your stay NOW! www.airbnb.com/h/beesonmain
Norwegian Heritage Center
“Whereimmigrant storiescome alive”
We invite you to come in and see the new, limited time Vesterheim exhibit, “200 Years of Norwegians in America”. This exhibit will only be featured until year end. It tells important stories featuring 20 objects with themes that range from WWI to living traditions and higher education. Students from Luther College helped choose the artifacts and wrote in-depth information on their place in Norwegian American History. Experience the other interactive state-of-the-art technologies to learn about all facets of Norwegian life and culture.
• Tues-Sat 9:30am-12:00 & 12:30-5:00pm • livsreise.org • 608.873.7567 • Free admission & parking • 277 W. Main St. Stoughton, WI • Please see our website or Facebook for upcoming events
Albert Cummings
Thurs. Oct. 23 •7:30pm
Albert Cummings is a distinguished American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose commanding guitar work and soulful voice have made him a standout figure in the contemporary blues scene. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Cummings developed a passion for blues music at an early age. His dynamic playing style seamlessly blends elements of blues, rock, and a touch of Texas flair, earning him recognition for his ability to deliver both raw energy and deep emotion through his music.
With his signature blend of heartfelt storytelling, fiery guitar solos, and undeniable passion, Albert Cummings continues to captivate audiences around the world. He remains a vital force in modern blues, carrying the torch for the legends who came before him while pushing the boundaries of the genre with each new album.
www.albertcummings.com
Rhonda Vincent
Fri. Oct. 24
•7:30pm
Rhonda Vincent is a firecracker of talent that powers one of the hottest bands in any genre of music today. From humble beginnings in the tiny town of Greentop, Missouri, Rhonda’s musical heritage traces back 5 generations of the Vincent family. Her life of music evolved into a successful career in bluegrass music; after being discovered by Grand Ole Opry Star “Jim Ed Brown,” later spending what she calls her musical college years recording for Giant Records; and learning about the music business from Nashville’s best like James Stroud, Jack McFadden, and Stan Barnett. It was her pivotal bluegrass album Back Home Again that transformed Rhonda Vincent into the All American Bluegrass Girl, and crowned her the New Queen of Bluegrass by “The Wall Street Journal” in 2000.
www.rhondavincent.com
Väsen & The Fretless
Sat. Oct. 25 • 7:30pm
Väsen
Väsen-Duo, Mikael Marin and Olov Johansson have, after almost 40 years of interaction and touring, refined their sound and their stage presence to the extent that today they are unique in their kind. With their playful and perfect interplay, they seem to defy the laws of physics in what appears to be a telepathic communication. The music is intense and full of humour. With the foundation firmly rooted in the traditional music of Uppland, they have always looked curiously at new musical goals. Olov & Micke have played together since 1983 when they met at Oktoberstämman in Uppsala and discovered that they had a large common repertoire and a similar way of playing. Olov & Micke started playing intensively together and released their first recording, “Det rister i Örat,” in 1985. Now they go on adventures among old fine musicians, stories and trad tunes, at the same time they continue to break new ground. They perform on a variety of stringed instruments, including kontrabasharpa, oktavharpa, three-rowed nyckel-harpa, violoncello da spalla and a blue electric bassviola.
www.vasen.se
The
Fretless
Four ferocious players, masterful composition, and a genre-bending sound—Juno award-winning
The Fretless is a Canadian quartet that has firmly taken its place on the map to a progressive form of “trad”.
As The Fretless, Trent Freeman (Fiddle/Viola), Karrnnel Sawitsky (Fiddle/Viola), Ben Plotnick(Fiddle/Viola), and Eric Wright (Cello) are a supergroup of celebrated solo artists, They have been creating a singular and signature sound that dares to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be—transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements that have quickly gained a dedicated following and accolades from around the world.
www.thefretless.com
Tab Benoit
Thurs. Oct. 30 • 7:30pm
I Hear Thunder marks the long-awaited return of four-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Tab Benoit. Renowned for his distinctive guitar tone and Otis-Redding-esque voice, Benoit has been a captivating figure in the roots music world for over thirty years. Tab’s personal growth and advancement as a songwriter and musician have culminated in a benchmark recording. His new self-produced album, I Hear Thunder, for his imprint, Whiskey Bayou Records, is a testament to his fiery exuberance that first marked his career in 1992. The record not only showcases his artistic brilliance but also his profound commitment to environmental advocacy, a legacy that extends beyond the stage into the heart of the land that inspires his bluesy soul. On Benoit’s forthcoming national tour, fans will be delighted to hear the new songs and selected tracks from his vast catalog. Benoit does more than play the blues; he defines its future while paying homage to its rich past.
www.tabbenoit.com
Steve Poltz
Fri. Oct. 31 • 7:30pm
It might’ve even been last night, but Steve Poltz just played the greatest show of his life. Guess what? The next show will be even greater, making that show the greatest show of his life. Are you starting to notice a trend?
He isn’t shy about it either. Even after most likely thousands of shows (but who’s counting?), he hits the stage with the same amount of energy and always makes sure to declare, “This is the greatest show of my life.”
It’s why he’s quietly emerged as the kind of live phenomenon celebrated passionately by a diehard fanbase worldwide and renowned as a festival favorite everywhere from Bluesfest in Byron Bay and High Sierra Music Festival in California and Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado to Cayamo Cruise (where he actually got married). It’s why his music has crept into pop culture via collaborations with everyone from Jewel and Billy Strings to Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Nicki Bluhm, Oliver Wood, and even the late Mojo Nixon. It’s why after over a dozen albums, he’s still creatively firing on all cylinders and critically acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Billboard, and many more. Nevertheless, the next gig will be the greatest show for him (and maybe for you too)… www.poltz.com
Sam Grisman Project
Thurs. Nov. 6 • 7:30pm
A Note From Sam—The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. My goal in starting the Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, we will also show the impact that this music has had on our own individual musical voices. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than playing great songs with my best friends and my hope is to share that happiness with audiences all over!” www.samgrismanproject.net
Del McCoury Band
Fri. Nov. 7 • 7:30pm
Even among the pantheon of music’s finest artists, Del McCoury stands alone. Helming the Del McCoury Band, with sons Ronnie and Rob, the ensemble did, and continues to, represent in a larger growing musical community as a peerless torchbearer for the entire sweep and scope of bluegrass history.
Their latest release, Songs of Love and Life, is a glorious 15-song collection. The album follows 2021’s celebrated and GRAMMY-nominated release, Almost Proud, and once again features Del touching down on a diverse set of tracks—vintage and contemporary—as he and his crackerjack band nod to icons like Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley, as well as welcomes next-generation talent, Molly Tuttle, to the party. Across his six decades of making classic albums, Del knows what he’s looking for in a song. “I like a challenge. I’ve always liked a challenge,” says Del. “I like to learn different things. Doing the same things is boring to me.”
One listen and it’s clear as crystal. There is Del. www.delmccouryband.com
Caitlin Canty
Sat. Nov. 8 • 7:30pm
Caitlin Canty’s new record, Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove is her fifth studio release and marks a return to her roots, a grittier and more electric Americana sound with echoes of her critically-acclaimed 2015 album, Reckless Skyline. Recorded live in the studio while nearly 8 months pregnant with her second child, the songs can be seen in the light of major shifts in Canty’s life, from preparenthood city life in Nashville to her present day filled to the brim with family and nature, living on top of a mountain in southern Vermont.
Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove finds Canty in the producer chair for the first time. Co-produced alongside Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter), the album was recorded live at Great North Sound Society in rural Maine over 4 days with Rich Hinman (guitars), Jeremy Moses Curtis (bass),Ray Rizzo (drums) and Kassirer (keys). Matt Loren (The Suitcase Junket) joins on backing vocals. All songs on the record are entirely from Canty’s own pen, with the exception of “Heartache Don’t Live Here” written with Jamey Johnson, which serves as both the coda and encore of the album. www.caitlincanty.com
“A beautiful voice both strong and deliberate. Her stage presence is radiant and her songs pack a big lyrical punch”
–No Depression
Molly Tuttle
Sat. Nov. 15 • 7:30pm
On the heels of two GRAMMY-winning albums in succession, with her band Golden Highway—2022’s Crooked Tree and 2023’s City of Gold—plus a nomination for Best New Artist, Molly Tuttle returns with a solo album that’s her most dazzling to date: So Long Little Miss Sunshine. Recorded in Nashville with producer Jay Joyce, the fifth full album from the California-born, Nashvillebased singer, songwriter, and virtuoso guitarist features twelve new songs—eleven originals and one highly unexpected cover of Icona Pop and Charli xcx’s “I Love It.” Tuttle’s career, which began at age fifteen, has charted a course between honoring bluegrass and stretching its boundaries. On this album—a hybrid of pop, country, rock, and flat-picking, plus one murder ballad— she goes to a whole new place.
Tuttle also conceived the artwork for So Long Little Miss Sunshine, which features multiple Mollys, each wearing a different wig except for one with nothing on her head at all. She acts as a spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. One album track, “Old Me (New Wig),” is “about leaving all these things behind that don’t serve you anymore,” she says. “Parts of yourself that really aren’t in your best interest, like low self-esteem, anxieties, and not feeling confident. Learning to own these different aspects of my personality but not letting them control me is another theme of the record that inspired the album title and the cover art... I like singing this song because there are days when I still have to tell myself to leave that stuff behind.”
Looking back on her own career, Tuttle admits that she also has pursued what interests her: “It has never been a cookiecutter thing where I’m just going down a straight road. I always had this crooked path.”
www.mollytuttlemusic.com
The Cactus Blossoms
Thurs. Nov. 20 • 7:30pm
At its best, harmony duo singing can transform simple math into a magic trick. One plus one, instead of equaling two, suddenly yields an unexpected third thing. An uppercase ONE.
A universal hum. A deep vibration that encompasses two different points of view. On their latest release, Every Time I Think About You, brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum, aka The Cactus Blossoms, once again prove themselves to be among the most adept – and distinctive – modern practitioners of that magic. But like any great magician, The Cactus Blossoms can’t—or won’t—fully explain the illusion they create. There’s all kinds of magic happening on Every Time I Think About You, a record that sounds more like a band than any other in the Cactus Blossoms discography, thanks to contributions from Jeremy Hanson (drums), Jacob Hanson (guitar) and Phillip Hicks (bass). “There She Goes” casts its romantic regret against a danceable bop beat, and the title track is a heart-wrencher about loss and letting go. www.thecactusblossoms.com
Kruger Brothers
Fri. Nov. 21 • 7:30pm
Born and raised in Europe, brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger started singing and playing instruments at a very young age. Growing up in a family where music was an important part of life, they were exposed to a wide diversity of musical influences. The brothers were performing regularly by the time they were eleven and twelve years old, and they began their professional career in 1979. Since their formal introduction to American audiences in 1997, the Kruger Brothers’ remarkable discipline, creativity and their ability to infuse classical music into folk music has resulted in a unique sound that has made them a fixture within the world of acoustic music. In their ever-expanding body of work – Jens Kruger (banjo and vocals), Uwe Kruger (guitar and lead vocals), and Joel Landsberg (bass and vocals) – the Kruger Brothers personify the spirit of exploration and innovation that forms the core of the American musical tradition. www.krugerbrothers.com
Enjoy the show.
Enjoy the show.
Enjoy the show.
Thomas M Fendrick
Thomas M Fendrick
Financial Advisor
Harp Twins Rockin’ Holiday Concert!
Fri. Dec. 5 • 7:30pm
Jacob Fendrick
1609 Hwy 51/138 Ste 102 Stoughton, WI 53589
Thomas M Fendrick
Thomas M Fendrick
Financial Advisor
608-873-8502
Financial Advisor
www.edwardjones.com
1609 Hwy 51/138 Ste 102 Stoughton, WI 53589
608-873-8502
1609 Hwy 51/138 Ste 102 Stoughton, WI 53589 608-873-8502
www.edwardjones.com
www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Member SIPC
Member SIPC
If you are looking for restaurants before or after the shows, we encourage you to visit these fine establishments who support the Stoughton Opera House by advertising in this guide!
Restaurants & Bars
Argo Craft Tavern— 317 S. Division Street, Stoughton
Culvers 608-873-6635, 916 Nygaard Street, Stoughton
Dairyland 608-886-6226, 176 E. Main Street, Stoughton
Viking Brew Pub—719-5041, 211 E. Main Street, Stoughton
Water Street Tavern—608-480-4001, 324 S. Water Street, Stoughton
Wendigo—877-1544, 121 E. Main Street, Stoughton
Identical twin harpists Camille and Kennerly Kitt, known as the Harp Twins, have achieved extraordinary success by taking Electric Harps and Concert Grand Harps to unprecedented levels and smashing boundaries between different genres of music. Join the Harp Twins for a family-friendly concert full of magical winter music,
Christmas classics, comedy, stories, and classic rock favorites – and you won’t want to miss the show finale featuring Volfgang Twins on double drums! Free meet & greet with the Harp Twins and Volfgang Twins immediately following the concert. www.harptwins.com
“Rather than turn their attention to obvious, classically grounded territory, The Harp Twins have made a name for themselves covering the likes of Iron Maiden, offering classics a fascinating new lease on life.” –Metal Hammer Magazine
Susan Werner
Sat. Dec. 6 • 7:30pm
Over the course of her twenty five year career, Susan Werner has earned a reputation as “one of the most innovative songwriters working today” (Chicago Tribune). With formidable chops on guitar (she began playing at age 5) and piano (she was a guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), along with a graduate degree in voice performance, her shows are a one-woman master class in musicianship. Although best known as an acoustic songwriter that came up through coffeehouses and folk festivals, the Chicago-based artist has written songs in the style of Gershwin and Cole Porter (I Can’t Be New, 2004), gospel music (The Gospel Truth, 2007), traditional Cuban “son” (An American In Havana, 2016), and New Orleans junk piano (NOLA, 2019). In 2014 she composed the music and lyrics to the musical theater score Bull Durham, The Musical (MGM). Her songs have been recorded by Tom Jones, Michael Feinstein, and Shemekia Copeland, and her latest recording of originals, The Birds of Florida, took flight in 2022. www.susanwerner.com
City Band & Festival Choir
Sun. Dec. 7 • 4:00pm
Come celebrate the community in the spirit of the Christmas season. Both the Festival Choir and the Stoughton City Band will dazzle with a variety of sacred music, plus a carol singalong. A wonderful tradition for the whole family! www.stoughtonfestivalchoir.wordpress.com
Volunteering at the Opera House
You
too could be an Opera House Volunteer!
The Stoughton Opera House owes a lot to the vision and tenacity of its volunteers. From the moment the idea of restoration first began forming to the ushers we work with every season, volunteers have been key in making the Opera House vital and strong.
Because we’re always adding new performances to our listings, we’re also always welcoming new volunteers to our ranks. Ushering with the Stoughton Opera House provides the opportunity to see your favorite first-class acts free of charge, as well as the chance to discover new artists that will blow you away.
To join our team and get started, contact becky@stoughtonoperahouse.com or call the box office Tuesday–Friday from 9am–4:30pm at 608.877.4400.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Squirrel Nut Zippers Christmas Caravan
Fri. Dec. 12 • 7:30pm
The Squirrel Nut Zippers bring their joyous, raucous Christmas Caravan Tour back again performing all of the hits from Holidays past. From heartwarming ballads to boisterous dance tunes, the band conjures an atmosphere nestled somewhere between the wondrous lights of Christmas and the backroom din of a speakeasy. This show is a must-see for any true music lover. The Christmas Caravan features holiday hits and classics, selections from the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ holiday album Christmas Caravan, and the finest new and old Squirrel Nut Zippers catalog music. Inspired by 1920s jazz, klezmer and old time music, SNZ’s endlessly curious and innovative leader Jimbo Mathus has concocted a show truly unique and original. This unique blend is on full display with the Holiday Caravan show, which has increasingly grown in popularity, selling out venues throughout the United States. www.snzippers.com
Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show
Sat. Dec. 13 • 7:30pm
Aimee Mann and Ted Leo began collaborating, under the inconspicuous band name the Both, in 2013. The pairing revealed two artists with more in common than one might suspect. Mann, a generational singer-songwriter, was, in her formative years, a punk, before coming up playing in the New Wave favorites ’Til Tuesday, and eventually turning to the wry ballads for which she is revered. Leo, a New Jerseybred punk hero, is a biting lyricist attuned to the nuances of pop songcraft. Both are fiercely independent artists, free to follow their muses where they travel—even if that happens to be a holiday variety show that mixes jovial Christmas classics with piquant original songs. A seasonal tradition for Mann since 2006, the concert includes sketches and guests from both musical and comedic realms.
www.aimeemann.com
Madison Area Concert Handbells
Sun. Dec. 14 • 3:00pm
Madison Area Concert
Handbells (MACH) continues a legacy of nearly 30 years of sharing the unique musical art of handbell ringing with the greater Madison area. An auditioned choir, MACH performs with over 7 octaves of handbells and 7 octaves of handchimes, making the group one of the largest and finest choirs in Wisconsin. MACH is currently led by Music Director, Nicholas Bonaccio, who also performs with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. MACH is a non-profit organization committed to bringing the unique art of handbell ringing to our communities with high quality affordable concerts, and outreach/education/accessibility for children, elderly and other area nonprofits.
madisonhandbells.org
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121 E. Main Street, Stoughton
Stoughton Opera House: Spring 26
The Infamous Stringdusters
Sun. Feb 1 • 7:30pm
The Infamous Stringdusters are a celebrated American progressive bluegrass band known for their virtuosic musicianship, innovative arrangements, and genre-blending style. The GRAMMY® Award-winning Americana quintet—Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]—have musical influences that truly run the gamut, but their common denominator is certainly bluegrass— the sound that has in essence defined the course of their career.
The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes.
Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) in a variety of categories. Known for their energetic live shows and improvisational prowess, The Infamous Stringdusters continue to push the boundaries of bluegrass while honoring its roots, captivating audiences across the country and around the world.
www.thestringdusters.com
Leftover Salmon
Thurs March 5 • 7:30pm
Few bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix, stirring any number of highly combustible styles into their sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to elder-statesmen of the scene, casting a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon is a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly unique style.
The band now features a lineup that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn, and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and dobro player & keyboardist Jay Starling.
They continue the storied history of Salmon, which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world, coming of age as one the original jam bands, rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass.
www.leftoversalmon.com
Steely Dane
Fri. March 6 • 7:30pm
Winner of the MAMA award for best cover band and Madison Magazine’s Best Cover Band, Steely Dane is dedicated to not only faithfully reproducing the Steely Dan and Donald Fagen songbook, but to bringing an energetic live-show experience to the crowd. Fifteen of Dane County’s best jazz and rock musicians have banded together around their passion for Steely Dan music, playing in the same configuration as the Steely Dan touring band including a four piece horn section and three background singers. Shows consist of hits and deep cuts and sometimes even complete albums and are sure to have you out of your seats singing along. www.steelydane.com
The People Brothers Band
Fri. March 27 • 7:30pm
The People Brothers Band’s unique brand of rhythm and soul features some of the most talented vocalists and musicians in the region. The vibrant group of longtime friends, collaborators, and multi-dimensional artists formed in 2008 as an open mic songwriting outfit and hasn’t looked back since. The band has cultivated a captivating musical alchemy through collective dedication to their craft, the Midwest music community, and each other. The People Brothers Band is united by their shared vision of uplifting friends and fans through music. www.peoplebrothers.com
Sam Bush
Sat. March 28 • 7:30pm
There was only one prize-winning teenager carrying stones big enough to say thanks, but no thanks to Roy Acuff. Only one son of Kentucky finding a light of inspiration from Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys and catching a fire from Bob Marley and The Wailers. Only one progressive hippie allying with like-minded conspirators, rolling out the New Grass revolution, and then leaving the genre’s torch-bearing band behind as it reached its commercial peak. There is only one consensus pick of peers and predecessors, of the traditionalists, the rebels, and the next gen devotees. Music’s ultimate inside outsider. Or is it outside insider? There is only one Sam Bush.
Americana Music Association awarded Bush the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Greensky Bluegrass are just a few present-day bluegrass vanguards among so many musicians he’s influenced. His performances are annual highlights of the festival circuit, with Bush’s joyous perennial appearances at the town’s famed bluegrass fest earning him the title, “King of Telluride.” www.sambush.com
BoDeans
Thurs. April 9 & Fri. April 10 • 7:30PM
With countless tunes you know from the first note, rip-roaring gigs you can count on, and a whole lot of energy you’ll take home with you, BoDeans continue to contribute to the American songbook as a tried-and-true institution. Founded and led by original frontman, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, and producer Kurt Neumann, the band’s catalog consists of generational anthems such as “Good Things, ”You Don’t Get Much,” “Idaho,” and “Closer To Free,” just to name a few. However, they still reflect the soul and spirit of the modern American experience on their fourteenth full-length offering, 4 The Last Time
“The music of BoDeans has defined much of my life,” muses Kurt. “I consider myself fortunate to be able to do what I enjoy. I wanted to creatively do something positive for the world instead of just taking from it. So, this is what I’ve chosen to do with my life. The music was always about the blue-collar dream of a better life, and it still is.”
www.bodeans.com
Suzy Boguss
Fri. April 17 • 7:30pm
During the creative explosion that was country music in the 1990s Suzy Bogguss sold 4 million records with sparkling radio hits like “Outbound Plane”, “Someday Soon”, “Letting Go”, “Drive South”, and “Hey Cinderella”. But you can’t peg Suzy that easily… In the midst of her country popularity she took time off to make a duets album with the legendary Chet Atkins. In 2003 she made an album of modern swing music with Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel. An album of original music in 2007 landed her at number 4 on the jazz charts. Her folk music roots show through in the GRAMMY® she earned for her work on Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, and in her critically acclaimed album and book project from 2011, American Folk Songbook. In 2014 she released Lucky, a collection of songs written by Merle Haggard and interpreted through Suzy’s crystal vocals from the female point of view. Her latest offering, Prayin’ For Sunshine, is an Americana tour de force with all songs written by Bogguss. She continues to tour the world, both on her own and with fellow country radio divas Terri Clark and Pam Tills as “Chicks With Hits” and more recently, with Kathy Mattea on their Together At Last tour. So yes, you can call her a country singer if you want, but really that’s just the beginning. suzybogguss.com
Michael Perry
Thur. April 23 • 7:30pm
Michael Perry returns to the Stoughton Opera House with fresh stories, a few favorites, and the same relaxed roughneck vibe that has steadily grown his fanbase for two decades. If you’ve ever seen Perry live, you know to expect an evening of laughter punctuated with soulful moments, surprise tangents, and steel-toed boots. www.sneezingcow.com
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Sat. April 25 • 7:30pm
After fifteen years, six albums, innumerable sold out shows, and countless libations, Americana mavericks Horseshoes & Hand Grenades appropriately consider themselves a “family” on a wild, wonderful, and often whacky roller coaster. The bond between the quintet— Adam Greuel [guitar, vocals], David C. Lynch [harmonica, accordion, vocals], Collin Mettelka [fiddle, vocals], Russell Pedersen [banjo, vocals], and Samual Odin [bass, vocals]— fuels their creativity and chemistry on stage and in the studio.
“Sometimes, it feels like we’re modern day cowboys on some kind of strange journey,” Adam affirms with a laugh. “We always joked about making a “new time, old time” album. At some point we realized it was a pretty good idea and things fell into place for it to happen. Man, we just love making music together…We really do our best to honor one another’s musical curiosities, and it feels like that’s what makes us sound uniquely “us”. It’s also just a joy to be able to be yourself, and that’s been something we’ve always tried to keep at the forefront of this band.” www.hhgmusic.com
Music Appreciation Series
A dazzling array of musical talents will be showcased throughout the season during these hour-long programs, organized by John Beutel and sponsored by the Stoughton Area Senior Center.
Spring 2026
All Music Appreciation events are free and open to the public.
Spring 2026 Music Appreciation events will take place on the following Mondays at 3:00 pm: March 16, 23, 30 April 6, 13, 20, 27 May 4, 11
Madfiddle
Sun. April 26 • 4:00pm
With fiddles in hand, Madison’s premiere youth violin ensemble, MadFiddle, gears up for its annual Stoughton Opera House performance. Drawing on music extracted from Scandinavian folk, bluegrass, Celtic songs, Eastern and blues folk tunes, Appalachian, Brazilian, ragtime, as well as modern acoustic artists, MadFiddle brings students between the ages of six and seventeen together for a romping, stomping, good time. MadFiddle is directed by the Madison Area Music Association’s 2016 “Teacher of the Year,” Shauncey Ali, and accompanied by the energetic adult backing band, Highway 151. Thriving on its mad enthusiasm for the instrument, MadFiddle shows up with that blast of inherent joy that comes along with playing music with friends.
www.madfiddlelessons.com
Them Coulee Boys
Fri. May 1 • 7:30pm
Soren Staff and Beau Janke—co-founders of folk/rock/Americana outfit Them Coulee Boys—met as camp counselors in northern Wisconsin in 2011. Their weekend work-shopping of Avett Brothers and classic country tunes led to original songs and adding Soren’s brother Jens on mandolin. As the years grew, the band turned into a more rol-licking outfit, adding Neil Krause on electric bass and Stas Hable on drums. The band’s name is a nod to the glacial melt-carved river valleys they call home, known by early French fur trappers as coulees. Known for wild swings of emotion during sets, it is not unusual to see fans in tears and minutes later dancing with abandon. The honesty and ability to talk and sing about the feelings and emotions that shape them has endeared them to a growing group of fans and friends.
www.themcouleeboys.com.
Steep Canyon Rangers
Fri. May 8 • 7:30pm
Hailing from both the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the Rangers have long held traditional bluegrass paramount, while possessing an exceptional ability to bring it down the mountain, and to incorporate accessible influence from all walks of the region. With the band’s last few albums, they have gained recognition from well beyond the world of bluegrass, earning a reputation as some of the most influential songwriters in Americana today.
Newcomer to this ship, Aaron Burdett, brings a soul-stirring element to the Rangers’ mastery of mountain music. Burdett is an award-winning singer-songwriter, and a student of folk tradition. Steep Canyon Rangers is made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals.
Over the band’s esteemed career, the three-time GRAMMY® nominees have released 14 studio albums, three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and appeared on some of music’s biggest stages. In 2013, Nobody Knows You won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Bluegrass Album, while 2012’s Rare Bird and 2020’s North Carolina Songbook garnered nominations in the same category. www.steepcanyon.com
Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes
Sat. May 9 • 7:30pm
The son of a small-town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Pro-foundly inspired by fellow Midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small-town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80. He listened to punk rock and grunge as a kid before discover-ing a friend’s dad playing Hank Williams, and it was a revelation. Prine and Guthrie quickly followed. He writes music for “the kind of people that come to my shows. Whether in Chicago or Delavan, everyone has a story, and everyone puts in a long day and works hard the same way,” he says.
www.chicago farmer.com
“You can smell the dirt in the fields, hear the wind as it blows across the plains, and see the people that Chicago Farmer sings about. ”
— Honest Tune
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25 26
FRIENDS OF STOUGHTON OPERA HOUSE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS PRODUCERS
In Memory of John Vorndran 1935–2018
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DIRECTORS
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Linda Harrison
Scott Haumersen &
Jessica Ace
Linda Hill
Barbara Sather
Martha Hitt-Buettner
Larry & Susana Holland
Walt House
Erin Huebschman
Brad Hughes
Ken Martin & Roxanne Gorbach
Duane & Peggy Marxen
Jody McCann & Peg Smelser
Mark & Jana McCluskey
Craig Shelton
Carmen & Elizabeth Stout
Amanda Vander Venter
Dale & Christine Vertstegen
Peter & Lori Vogel
Jayne & Phillip Schauer
Mari Schmidt & Dan Dettmann
Eric & Heidi Smedal
Margaret & Richard Straub
Jeffrey Millard
Jim Moeser
John Fahrney and Anne Nack
Martha Nawratil in memory of Richard
Nancy & David Nedveck
Jane Nee
Steve & JoMarie Oakeson
Dave & Cathy Olig
David Page & Ann Sarnecki
Paul Pellett
Tom and Shai Pellett
Julie & Joel Peters
Doug Peters
Patrick Pfeiffer
David Puglielli
Douglas and Mary Quaak
PARTNERS
Mary Huston
Wayne Jenson
Benjamin Johnson
Bruce Johnson
Rita Jones
Jim Jordan
Deb Jurmu
Roger Kamps
Russ & Joyce Kaping
Carol & Michael Keller
William Kerwin
Russell Kilker
Jane Kindlon
Tom & Judi Kinney
Gloria & Bob Knipschild
Diane Knutson
Beth Kubly
John & Gail Kuech
Thomas Kuehn
Robert Lang
Richard Larson
Kathy & Mark Larson
Paul & Laurie Lata
Elizabeth Lawrence
Teresa & Kevin West–Lentz
Deborah & Greg Lofgren
Mark Luetkehoelter
Del & Tammy Madsen
Diane Maloney
Douglas Marklein
Patrick McBride
Stanley McCord
Tom & Mary Kay McDermott
Georgiann & G. Peter McDonald
Marie McDowell
Arthur McEvoy & Kristine
Thome
John & Susan McKendry
Gary Mecklenburg
Steven Midthun
Virginia & Marilynn Miller
Jeff Moravec
Suzette and Bert Mullooly
Daniel Myers
Jennifer Mhyre
Eva Ndavu
Tom & Michelle Neeb
Karen & Jim Nemke
Lin & Kerry Nielsen
Dale & Chris Nodolf
Brian O’Day
Carol Olsen
Robert & Carol Olson
Steve & Deanne Olson
Elisa Onellion
Carol Otterson
Tommie Ouverson
Kay Palmer
Daniel & Carol Paretsky
Deborah Parker
Bob Pellegrino
Bruce Penny
Patricia Peterson
Ernest Peterson
David Radcliffe & Nancy Froncek
Stephanie Ramer
Candy Renard and Mike Rein
Robert Rice & Kay O’Connell
Jonathan Cooper and Jane
Richard
Rockne & Diane Rodenberg
Nita Rosenblum
Robert and Barbara Rottman
Frank & Rhonda Schmitt
Ted & Polly Schnese
David and Margaret Sharpe
Patrick Slavens and Dr. Laurie Larson
Matt & Barbara Smith
Scott Sperl
Bob & Chris Phillips
Kevin Pomeroy
John Purcell
Sharon & Richard Quale
Jeff & Victoria Raymond
Glen Reinl & Sara Krebsbach
Thomas Remington
Tom Robertson
David Robertson
Matt & Laura Roethe
Nita Rosenblum
Kelly Roth
Lloyd Rowley
Pete & Pat Sammataro
Thomas Sandquist
Linda Schaack
Rebecca Schaffer
Gerald Schneider
Jerry Schremp
Laura Keith-Shwartz & Mel
Jayne Seibel
David and Margaret Sharpe
Terry Sherven
Thomas Shevlin
Jim Sirianni
Alfred Skerpan
Elliott Smith
Heather Smith-Way
Adam Spain
Ray & Linda Spatt
Marcia Standiford
Vana Steffen
Scott Travis & Colleen Carroll
Steven & Kristine
Vaughn
Jill Wheeler & Peg Close
Robin Stroebel and Allan Bachmann
Gale Stone
Josh Sveom
Mike & Tracy Swanson
Gregg Topoleski
Monica Usrey
Josh Voss - Stark Company Realtors
Brian & Diane Wagner
Peter and Mary Wallace
Tom & Kim Walz
Jeffrey Wiesner
Virginia Wilson
Gary & Terri Wunder
Joseph Zirneskie
Steve & Jacqui Suleski
Roman Szymberski
Gail Gail & Michael
Raymond Triebold
Tim Tyson
Deborah Umstead
Pamela Van Doren
Dave Verban
Luigi Vitiritti & Michelle Donofrio
William Volk
Jon & Linda Walters
John Weber
Bruce Weber
Paul Whalen
Joe & Katie Wholean
Stan Willen
Daniel & Barbara
Eliot & Jane Williams
Anthony Wittrock
David Wood
Mark Mark Wurl & Julie Thies
George Zahora
Mike & Shelley Zalewski
Joey Zarda
Thomas Zaremba
Catherine Zdeblick
Chris Ziemba
Rich & Andrea Zietko
Bill & Mary Zimmerman
Irene Zimmerman
When you become a Friend of the Stoughton Opera House, your donation helps to ensure success for our beautiful facility —through programming and continued maintenance. Your support also helps to keep ticket prices affordable for all our patrons. If you are already a Friend, please consider increasing your tax-deductible donation.
Friend–$25–49 • Patron–$50–$99
Members at all levels are invited to participate in the Member Presale, starting on the first Monday in August, two weeks ahead of the general public. Members receive advance notice and early ticket-buying privileges for all added shows throughout the season.
Partner–$100–$249
In addition to enjoying all the benefits of Patrons, Partners’ names are listed in the annual Arts & Culture Guide in recognition of their contribution.
Ambassador–$250–$499
Director–$500–$999
In addition to enjoying all the benefits of Partners, Ambassadors receive two complimentary tickets to any show in the regular Opera House series, and Directors receive four.
Producer–$1,000–$1,999
As well as all other member benefits, Producers receive two complimentary tickets for any ten regular series performances.
Executive Producer– $2,000+
As well as all other member benefits, Executive Producers receive 20 pairs of tickets for a $2000 contribution, 30 pairs for $3000, 40 pairs for $4000, and a pair of tickets to EVERY show with a $5000 contribution.
Home Coffee Roasters for Every Budget
Green Coffee Beans from Over 24 Countries
Bulk Tea, Coffee & Accessories
FRIENDS OF STOUGHTON OPERA HOUSE
Use coupon code COL22 and receive one FREE pound of Colombian green coffee with your order.
Opera House Policies
Box Office Information
Contact: 608-877-4400 • boxoffice@ stoughtonoperahouse.com
Hours: Check our Facebook page or website for the most up-to-date box office hours before coming by to visit. Hours before and after shows: Tuesday—Friday 1:00pm–5:00pm and 90 minutes before shows
Guided tours available by appointment during business hours
The house opens at least one-half hour before the curtain. Parents should exercise discretion in deciding which events are appropriate for children (aisle seats are recommended). Regardless of age, a seat must be purchased for everyone attending an event, unless otherwise noted.
Programs and events are subject to change without notice. Patrons arriving late will be seated at a suitable pause in the performance. Concessions are sold on the first floor; food and drink are not permitted in the theatre. Please refrain from cell phone and camera use … Enjoy the moment!
Accessibility
The opera house has an elevator, handicap parking, wheelchair seating, and a two coil hearing loop system. Contact us for special requests.
Obstructed Seats
The sight line from certain seats at the back of the main floor is slightly obstructed by one of two 7-inch wide poles holding up the balcony. The seats in this section are only available when availability for regular seats becomes limited. Obstructed seats are sold at a rate of 25% off regular ticket price.
Tickets on sale August 4 at 9 am for Stoughton Opera House Members. General Public Ticket Sales Begin August 18!
= Obstructed Seat
Opera House Show Schedule
6
6
6 Ray Wylie Hubbard
7
7 Shadowlands—feat S Carey + John Raymond
8
House
Shows sell out quickly! Go to www.stoughtonoperahouse.com to become a member. Tickets go on sale to members first! Visit our website to listen to samples of the music, purchase tickets, see what’s new at the Opera House and link directly to the performers’ websites for more information.
Bryan, a Stoughton resident, continues to serve the Stoughton, Madison, and the central U.S. through the Greater Dane Financial Advisors, a financial advisory and investment advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC.
Smith provides financial and retirement planning services for individuals and families, plus 401(k) services for business.
Bryan, a Stoughton resident, has more than three decades’ experience providing comprehensive financial and retirement planning services. He practices in the Ameriprise Financial office in Middleton, and the Greater Dane Financial Partners office in Stoughton.
Bryan comes to Ameriprise Financial with more than three decades of financial planning and industry experience. Smith holds a B.B.A. in Investment, Finance, Banking and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin—Madison School of Business.
As a financial advisor, Smith provides financial advice that is built on a solid understanding of client needs and expectations and provided in one-on-one relationships with his clients.
Bryan, a Stoughton resident, has more than three decades’ experience providing comprehensive financial and retirement planning services. He practices in the Ameriprise Financial office in Middleton, and the Greater Dane Financial Partners office in Stoughton.
For more information, please contact Bryan at (608) 841-4336 or Bryan.R.Smith@ampf.com.
