Spotlight Series Events

Vitamin String Quartet – The Music of Taylor Swift, Bridgerton, and Beyond

Long before Bridgerton broke the Netflix algorithm, Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) had helped establish classical crossover as a genuine force in contemporary music. From Billie Eilish to Bjork, Maroon 5 to Nirvana, VSQ approaches their renditions with innovation and care, breathing new life into each. To date, these heartfelt recordings have earned over 2 billion streams. Seven of VSQ’s albums charted on Billboard, peaking at #4 in both Classical and Classical Crossover. At this moment, they are one of the most popular string ensembles in the world.

Tickets $29-$55 | $25 Students

Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs, with Special Guest Woody Platt

Tony Trischka honors the music of Earl Scruggs, pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and one of the most important musicians in bluegrass. Trischka recently came into possession of extremely rare recordings of jam sessions with Scruggs and John Hartford, and he’ll be debuting Scruggs’s note-for-note solos from a few of these. Together with his ace band — Michael Daves on vocals and guitar, bassist Jared Engel, fiddler Brittany Haas and sometimes Maddie Witler on mandolin — they will trace the story of Scruggs from his childhood to his final years.

Special guest and Grammy award winner Woody Platt is best known as the former guitarist and vocalist for the Steep Canyon Rangers, a bluegrass band formed in North Carolina that often plays with comedian/banjoist Steve Martin.

Tickets $29-$55 | $15 Students

Passion for Bach and Coltrane – Featuring Imani Winds, Harlem Quartet, & AB Spellman

The Grammy Award winning Passion for Bach and Coltrane pairs Imani Winds, the poet A.B. Spellman, Harlem Quartet, and a jazz piano trio to synthesize classical and jazz styles, highlighting the gifts of all the performers onstage. Inspired by and featuring Spellman’s poetry, Passion interweaves orated poems with music, in a manner inspired by J.S. Bach’s Passion settings. Jeff Scott selected one masterwork by each composer — Bach’s Goldberg Variations and John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme — and used each as source material to construct a mosaic tapestry around the drama and imagery in Spellman’s text. Pensive, ethereal moments are punctuated by Bach, while the tone for moody, dark passages is set by Coltrane’s work. Winner of the 2024 Grammy for Best Classical Compendium Album.

Tickets $32-$65 | $15 Students

Some Enchanted Evening – Featuring Benny Benack III, Stella Cole, & Jabu Graybeal

Celebrating a century of Broadway magic from Hammerstein to Hamilton, Some Enchanted Evening is a jazz-steeped sojourn exploring a bevy of the American Songbook’s most enduring hits from the golden age to today, combining timeless music and dance. Led by 33-year-old Emmy-nominated trumpeter and crooner Benny Benack III, the performance features the lavishly gifted singer and social media sensation, Stella Cole and North Carolina tap dance phenom, Jabu Graybeal.

Tickets $29-$55 | $15 Students

Makin’ Cake

In her show, Makin’ Cake, Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton uses the history of baking to explore race, culture, and class in a refreshing and fun way. It is multimedia storytelling filled with aha-moments and poignant vignettes, and two on-stage bakers serving engaging audiences in a conversation about equity in America. Part history lesson, part social science revelation, Makin’ Cake is a short story about America’s sweet tooth with a cake reception immediately following the performance.

Tickets $20-$35 | $10 Students

Nobuntu

Nobuntu, the female a cappella quartet from Zimbabwe, has drawn international acclaim for its inventive performances that range from traditional Zimbabwean songs to Afro Jazz to Gospel. The ensemble’s concerts are performed with pure voices, augmented by minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as the Mbira (thumb piano) and organic, authentic dance movements. Nobuntu was nominated for Best Musician of the Year at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards in London in 2015.

Tickets $29-$55 | $15 Students

Rosanne Cash

One of the country’s pre-eminent singer-songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums that have earned 4 Grammys. Cash is also an author of four books including the best-selling memoir Composed, which the Chicago Tribune called “one of the best accounts of an American life you’ll likely ever read.” In addition to touring, Cash has partnered in programming with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Minnesota Orchestra, and won the 2014 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award in the Performing Arts. She is one of only a handful of women to be elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy

Award-winning fiddle virtuosos Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy celebrate all things Celtic in an unforgettable evening of music, dance, and storytelling for all ages. MacMaster is an Order of Canada recipient with 11 albums that have won two JUNO Awards, 11 East Coast Music Awards and a Grammy nomination. Leahy is the former music leader of the internationally acclaimed family group Leahy and is widely recognized as one of the best fiddlers in the world renowned for his high-energy playing style. Both born into musical families, MacMaster and Leahy share the stage with their talented children showing these Cape Breton traditions run deep.

Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience

Terrance Simien and his bandmates create a spicy, authentic blend of New Orleans flavored-world-funk-reggae-blues-American Zydeco roots music that beckons you to your feet and into the groove. A two-time GRAMMY-award-winning artist, Simien’s legendary live performances incorporate spoons on washboards, complex vocal harmonies and a diverse repertoire that feel more like a party than a show. This high-flying Mardi Gras experience is part of their two-day residency at Queens.

VOCES8

The 2023 Grammy-nominated British ensemble VOCES8 is one of the leading vocal ensembles in the world. “The singing of VOCES8 is impeccable in its quality of tone and balance. They bring a new dimension to the word ‘ensemble’ with meticulous timing and tuning.” says Gramophone Magazine. With repertoire that ranges from the Renaissance to jazz to pop, their versatile and diverse musical performances combined with a strong education ethos has compelled legendary artists like Eric Whitacre and Paul Simon to partner with them on their most recent albums. This concert is part of their two-day residency at Queens.

This event is sponsored by the Charlotte Concerts Legacy Fund and WDAV.