Door Community Auditorium 2024 Main Stage Season Brochure

Welcome

to Door Community Auditorium

OUR STAGE IS SET FOR ANOTHER EXCITING SEASON of sharing stories and songs! Whether you call Door County home year-round, for a season, or for a brief respite now and again, this is your auditorium and your participation is valued and appreciated! If you are interested in becoming more involved, here are a few ways to play a leading role at DCA:

BECOME A SEASON SUBSCRIBER

Season Subscribers save 10% on DCA tickets –A savings of up to $154. Season Subscribers receive VIP priority ticket processing and get to choose the same seats for every show. Or, create your own 6-pack! Choose tickets to six unique DCA-presented events and save 5%.

VOLUNTEER

Volunteers are the heart and “go power” of DCA! Please visit www.dcauditorium.org/volunteer to find out more about giving back to your community through volunteerism. We currently have a special need for parking attendants and year-round volunteers.

JOIN THE AUDITORIUM SOCIETY

Auditorium Society membership is a way of supporting all of DCA’s programs, concerts, and events through a financial contribution. Auditorium Society Members receive VIP priority ticket processing with a minimum gift of $100. DCA is recognized as a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization and contributions may be tax deductible. ON THE COVER: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, SistaStrings, Lyle Lovett, Madeleine Peyroux, & Angel Olsen.

SPONSOR A SHOW OR ADVERTISE IN THE PLAYBILL

We’re always looking for businesses and individuals to help make great shows happen! DCA offers sponsorship packages and advertising options to suit a variety of needs and budgets.

RENT THE AUDITORIUM

Door Community Auditorium is pleased to serve as both a partner and a venue for several Door County nonprofit groups, businesses, and individuals. If you or your group is interested in renting the auditorium for a concert, event, or presentation, contact the DCA business office at 920.868.2728 for a tailored estimate.

FOLLOW DCA

New events are regularly added to DCA’s calendar. Stay “in the know” by joining us on Facebook or subscribing to our e-newsletter. Subscribers and Facebook Friends receive event news, invitations to free events, and special discounts!

Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/DoorCommunity.Auditorium

Get backstage on Instagram @DCAuditorium

Keep up with us on X twitter.com/DoCoAud

Subscribe to DCA’s E-Newsletter www.dcauditorium.org/newsletter-signup

Door County students watch Dinosaur World Live’s performance as part of DCA’s Passport Program.

Photo by Vinni Chomeau.

Thank you!

We salute the following individuals, organizations, foundations, and businesses for sponsoring last year’s events.

SPONSORS

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik

The Ashbrooke

The Blacksmith Inn on the Shor

EH Barker

Priscilla & Anthony Beadell

Richard & Barbara Board

Carrington Pub

Alice & Bob Chrismer

The Cordon Family Foundation

Cramer Family Fund

Door County Medical Center

The Dörr Hotel

Ephraim Historical Foundation

Five Star Landscape, LLC

FM 106.9 The Lodge / Rewind 97.7

Friends of Gibraltar

Fun in Wisconsin - Close Publications

Carrie & Tyler Goettelman

Grasse’s Grill

Green Bay 7-Up Bottling Co., Inc

Healthy Way Market

Beth Healy & Mike Fordney

James & Nancy Huebner

Charitable Foundation

Donald & Carol Kress

Lake Ledge Naturalist

Landmark Resort

Tina & Rick Lieberman

Main Street Market

Nathan Nichols & Company, Inc.

Nicolet Bank

O’Meara’s Irish House

On Deck Clothing Company, Inc.

The Parkwood Lodge

Duska & Scott Pearson

Peninsula Filmworks

Peninsula Pulse

The Red Putter

Bill & Karen Reifsnyder

Matt & Karla Sagorac

Selenica Family

Solago

Cynthia Stiehl & The MMG Foundation

The Glenn, Barb, & Nate Timmerman Family

Dale & Margaret West

The White Gull Inn

Wild Tomato

Willow & Chris Alexander

Wisconsin Cheese Masters

WPR

Wood Rabbit Acupuncture

Sponsors and Donors Welcome!

If you or your business is interested in sponsoring a 2024/2025 event or advertising in the Playbill, contact Cari at 920.868.2728 ext.107 or director@dcauditorium.org.

Sponsors & potential sponsors receive an invitation to DCA’s Season Launch Party and find out who’s coming to DCA ahead of the general public.

DCA is a 501c3 non-profit organization. An acknowledgment of gifts will be issued for tax receipts.

Season Opener Little River Band

Wednesday, June 19, 8 p.m.

$79 / 89 / 99 plus sales tax & facility fees

“One of the best pop bands to come out of Australia.” – Americana Highways

Glenn Frey, cofounder of The Eagles, knew what he was talking about when he dubbed Little River Band “the best singing band in the world.” The first band ever to have Top Ten hits for six consecutive years, Little River Band has sold over 30 million albums since their founding in 1975. Hits like “Cool Change,” “Help Is on Its Way,” “Lady,” “Happy Anniversary,” and “Reminiscing” introduced Little River Band to music lovers far beyond their native Australia, bringing their top-notch harmonies, earworm hits, and unflagging onstage energy to enthusiastic audiences worldwide.

Watchhouse with Special Guest Charlie Parr

Thursday, June 27, 8 p.m.

$39 / 49 / 59 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Palliative but never boring, sweet but never cloying, worn but never tired.” – NPR

When they renamed their band Watchhouse, Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz (formerly known as Mandolin Orange) retained the same fundamental power: two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing masterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak, and communal joys of modern life. Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina, Watchhouse is a grassroots success story driven by Marlin’s poignant songwriting—music that “redefines roots music for a younger generation” (Washington Post). Special guest Charlie Parr is a Minnesota-born folk troubadour Clunk magazine calls “completely mesmerizing.”

Community Church of Fish Creek Presents Blake & Jenna

Bolerjack

Sunday, June 29, 9:30 a.m. Free Event

Sam Bush

Sunday, June 30, 8 p.m.

$39 / 49 / 65 plus sales tax & facility fees

“When he pulled out the fiddle you could almost hear the angels sing.”

– The Savannahian

Multi-Grammy Award-winning vocalist, mandolin, fiddle, and guitar player Sam Bush pushes the boundaries of traditional bluegrass, incorporating improvisation and diverse musical genres into his unforgettable music. A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bush first rose to fame as a founding member of New Grass Revival, since then making a name for himself both as a solo performer and as a collaborator with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton. Bush’s innovative playing style, marked by lightningfast picking and expressive melodies, captivates audiences worldwide with what Local Spins calls “a kaleidoscope of bluegrass wizardry.”

An Evening with MollyTuttle

Tuesday, July 2, 8 p.m.

$39 / 49 / 59 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Galloping bluegrass as fun as a campfire jam.” – The Guardian

Grammy Award–winning singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Molly Tuttle is a virtuosic guitarist with a gift for insightful songwriting. Tuttle spins spellbinding stories that span time and place: wildly colorful fables populated by gold miners and fortune tellers, true-to-life tales of love and loss, and a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland set in the backwoods of Kentucky, to name a few. NPR Music calls Tuttle “a female flat picker extraordinaire with agility, speed, and elegance who distinctively brings American roots music into the spotlight,” adding that the album “marries the improvisatory solos of traditional bluegrass with singer-songwriter sophistication.

23 Skidoo & THE SECRET AGENCY

Monday, July 8, 6:30 p.m.

$25 All Sections

$10 for Students 18 & Under plus sales tax & facility fees

“I contend that children who listen to Secret Agent 23 Skidoo are 83% more likely to be awesome, and I define awesome this way: unique, confident, mentally and physically strong, and most importantly of all, happy.” – Out with the Kids

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a Grammy-winning, internationally-touring, purple-velvet-tuxedo-wearing family funk phenomenon. Combining the positive, primal power of hip-hop with the surreal storytelling of science fiction, 23 Skidoo has concocted a potent potion that wows family crowds across the planet. The ingredients of his magic spells include reverence for the boundless minds of young children, respect for funk and soul music, and a belief in the power of the imagination to change the world in positive ways, both personal and universal. If you can imagine a band with Jim Henson on guitar, Shel Silverstein on bass, and PIXAR as the lead vocalist, you’ve pretty much got it.

Sunday, July 14, 8 p.m.

$39 / 49 / 59 plus sales tax & facility fees

“The Wood Brothers put their hearts into their craft, and listeners’ hearts can’t help but resonate as they respond to it.”

– No Depression

For the better part of two decades, The Wood Brothers have cemented their reputation as freethinking songwriters, road warriors, and community builders. Ever since Oliver Wood first taught his younger brother Chris to play the bass, The Wood Brothers have made music together, and the results are electrifying. Chris (known for his work with Medeski Martin & Wood), Oliver, and multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix twine their voices into high-lonesome brother harmony blends, shuffling between bluesy country and swampy funk with their spunky acoustic guitar, virtuosic upright bass, and jangling percussion.

JJ Grey & Mofro

Wednesday, July 24, 8 p.m.

$48 / 68 / 78 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Medicine for your soul…like Buddha onstage with a microphone.”

– Tahoe Onstage

From his early days playing cover music behind chicken wire at a west side Jacksonville juke joint while still working at a lumberyard, to playing sold-out shows at some of the largest venues and music festivals in the world, JJ Grey has always delivered soul-honest truths. Since his first album, Blackwater, back in 2001, Grey has been releasing masterful, funkified rock, and front porch Southern soul music. Singing in a gritty baritone dripping with honest passion and testifying with a preacher’s foot-pounding fervor, JJ Grey makes music with the eyes of a poet and a sense of pure, unvarnished soul. Now, with Olustee—his tenth album and first in eight years, and the first he has selfproduced—Grey is back, singing his personal stories with universal themes of redemption, rebirth, hard luck, and inner peace.

Rain Site for Death’s Door Dance Festival

Friday & Saturday, July 26 & 27

DCA is Proud to Serve as The Rain Site for the 2024 Death’s Door Dance Festival.

Keep your eye on the weather app and on social media for updates the day of performance. Please note: rain performances begin at 7pm.

All performances are free and open to the public! Visit the website deathsdoordancefestival.com or scan the QR code for updates on festival events and artist lineup.

The Drifters, The Platters, & Cornell Gunter’s Coasters

Sunday, July 28, 8 p.m.

$48 / 68 / 78 plus sales tax & facility fees

“An indelible part of pop culture.” – The Star Gazette

This nostalgic evening features Cornell Gunter’s Coasters (“Charlie Brown,” “Yakety Yak,” “Poison Ivy”), The Platters (“Only You,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “The Great Pretender”), and The Drifters (“Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” “This Magic Moment,” and “On Broadway”). Combined, these three Rock & Roll Hall of Fame groups have been associated with dozens of the best-known songs in rock and roll/ doo-wop history. From the comedy of Cornell Gunter’s Coasters to the romance of The Platters to the Motown magic of The Drifters, this show has songs to please every palate, delivered just the way you first heard them on the radio.

Eilen Jewell & Chris Smither

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Friday, August 2, 8 p.m.

$40 / 55 / 65 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Flash, swagger, and attitude… well worth the price of admission.” – Billboard

Fifteen-time Grammy Award-winner Ricky Skaggs’s career is among the most significant in recent country music history. If Skaggs’s burgeoning trophy case full of awards wasn’t already enough evidence of that fact, consider that legendary guitarist Chet Atkins once credited Skaggs with “single-handedly saving country music.” Since he first played mandolin onstage with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe at age six, then with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs at age seven, Skaggs’s life’s path has taken him on many musical journeys (including spots in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the National Fiddler Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame), but he’s never strayed too far from his bluegrass roots.

SistaStrings

Sunday, August 4, 8 p.m.

$20 / 35 / 45 plus sales tax & facility fees

“With soulful voices and gorgeous harmonies between violin and cello, this duo is unlike any other.” – Broadway World Milwaukee born sisters Monique and Chauntee Ross spent their entire music education not quite fitting any particular mold. Raised by two ministers, enrolled in conservatory at young ages, Monique (cello and vocals) and Chauntee (violin and vocals) embraced what made them different, combining their classical background with R&B and a touch of gospel influence. Known for a lush, vibey sound, SistaStrings have played in Carnegie Hall and soloed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, as well as recently collaborating with Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Elton John, Allison Russell, and Joni Mitchell. With a new Carlile-produced album in the works, SistaStrings’ star continues to rise.

Community Partner Event

Peninsula Music Festival

August 6–24

Concerts every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Nine different symphonic concerts in three weeks featuring musicians from America’s finest orchestras. Tickets start at $35. Students and children just $10. Full concert details: www.musicfestival.com

Call 920-854-4060 or visit the PMF box office at 10431 N. Water Street, Ephraim.

Sunday, August 18, 8 p.m.

$56 / 76 / 89 plus sales tax & facility fees

Legendary artist Graham Nash, as a founding member of both the Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. He has seen rock history unfold at some of its seminal moments—from the launch of the British Invasion to the birth of the Laurel Canyon movement a year later. An extraordinary Grammy Award winning renaissance artist—and self-described “simple man”—Nash was inducted twice into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, for his work with CSN and his work as a solo artist. Towering above virtually everything that Graham Nash has accomplished in his long and multi-faceted career, stands the litany of songs that he has written and introduced to the soundtrack of our lives for nearly six decades such as “Marrakesh Express,” “Our House,” and “Teach Your Children.” Graham will be joined on stage by Todd Caldwell (keyboards and vocals), Adam Minkoff (bass, drums, guitars, and vocals), and Zach Djanikian (guitars, mandolin, drums, and vocals), performing favorites from across his sixty-year career.

with Special Guest Bombargo

Saturday, September 7, 7 p.m.

$ 59 / 79 / 89 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Anti-cynic medicine.” – HuffPost

Singer/songwriter and poet Michael Franti has spent decades peeling back the layers on what it means to be human, how to be the best version of ourselves and how to follow our hearts. People magazine describes his music as “fueled by optimism and positivity.” Fusing themes of love, community, and social consciousness with a distinctive cocktail of R&B, hip-hop, soul, folk, rock, and reggae, Michael Franti & Spearhead are known worldwide for their magnetic charisma, deep sense of social justice, and high-energy live shows that foster an invigorating sense of community.

Alash Tuvan Ensemble

Friday, September 20, 7 p.m.

$36 / 50 / 60 plus sales tax & facility fees

“Olsen creates a spirit of hard-won knowledge, the feeling of steadiness in a brutal world.” – Pitchfork

Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen delivers her vulnerable songs with a vintage country warble, the reckless energy of rock and roll, and the dramatism of an orchestra. Inspired by JJ Cale as much as Tammy Wynette, Olsen brings a burstingat-the-seams verve to all of her work, whether she’s writing about transformative grief or the expansive power of new love. Rolling Stone raves that to hear Olsen sing is “like stumbling into an empty roadside bar and finding the greatest torch singer the world has ever forgotten.”

Jumaane Taylor’s “Supreme Love”

Meshell Ndegeocello

PRESENTS

NO MORE WATER: THE GOSPEL OF JAMES BALDWIN

Sunday, September 29, Time TBD w/Packer Schedule

$35 / 48 / 58 plus sales tax & facility fees

“An irresistible genre blender… always creating a mood around the music that puts rhythm, harmony, and melody in delicious orbits. It casts a spell on you.” – Pitchfork

Meshell Ndegeocello is an acclaimed multiinstrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, and musical visionary. A Grammy winner and 11-time nominee, Ndegeocello has built a reputation as an uncompromising artist whose deliriously funky and soulful work provides a powerful commentary on race, gender, and LGBTQ+ rights. The Berlin-born Ndegeocello cut her teeth on Washington, D.C.’s explosive go-go circuit in the 1980s; her landmark neo-soul album Plantation Lullabies was released on Madonna’s Maverick

Records label in 1993 and included her blockbuster hit single “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night).”

Ndegeocello’s recent jazz-influenced album The Omnichord Real Book (2023) marks a new chapter in her unpredictable, trailblazing career.

Passport Program: Joy Harjo & Band

Friday, October 4, 7 p.m.

$35 All Sections plus sales tax & facility fees

“US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s poetry is always a moving experience.” – Book Riot

Joy Harjo is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and the first Native American ever to hold the position of United States Poet Laureate. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harjo is the author of ten books of poetry, several plays and children’s books, and two memoirs. As a musician, Harjo has produced seven award-winning music albums including her newest, I Pray for My Enemies. Her album of traditional flute music, Red Dreams, A Trail Beyond Tears and Winding Through the Milky Way, won a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist of the Year.

• Molly Tuttle

• Sam Bush

• Charlie Parr

• Watchhouse

Little River Band

• JJ Grey & MoFro

• Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

• The Wood Brothers

• 23 Skidoo & The Secret Agency

• Eilen Jewell & Chris Smither

The Drifters, The Platters, & Cornell Gunter’s Coasters

• Alash Tuvan Ensemble

• Graham Nash

• SistaStrings

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

• Joy Harjo & Band

• Meshell Ndegeocello

• Jumaane Taylor’s “Supreme Love”

Angel Olsen

• Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Beyond

• Meadows, Walsh, & Friends

Some Enchanted Evening

• 123 Andrés

• Cirque Kalabanté

• Colin & Friends’

• A Ketchup Christmas

Madeleine Peyroux