Hear live roots music, or tap into a thriving cultural scene
By Walter Tunis | Contributing music writer
Visitors to the Bluegrass State might assume that the native musical tongue here is the string-driven, warp-speed stepchild of country music that Kentucky native Bill Monroe forged into a sound of his own in the 1940s.
True, bluegrass thrived in Lexington clubs up through the mid-'70s. That's when J.D. Crowe's first band, New South, sported such future country and grass celebrities as Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Jerry Douglas. But the roots music menu available around these parts has become a bit more diverse in recent years.
Here are five of the top roots-music locales in Central Kentucky:
The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour (call (859) 252-8888; reservations a must; usually $10): HHaving celebrated its 500th broadcast last year, WoodSongs’ “celebration of grass-roots music” is now very much an international event. A PBS-distributed television series and live Internet broadcast, the program also airs on more than 400 radio stations around the world. But it tapes with host Michael Johnathon almost every Monday at 7 p.m. at the Kentucky Theatre (214 East Main Street). In the summer of 2009 alone, WoodSongs featured live performances and interviews with Neko Case, BeauSoleil, The Flatlanders, Steve Wariner, Maura O’Connell and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.
Renfro Valley Entertainment Center (1-800-765-7464, just off Interstate 75 in Rockcastle County): Just 45 minutes from Lexington, Renfro Valley has been a prized musical haven for nearly 70 years. Today, it is a country music entertainment complex named after the town where it resides. The emphasis is on performances by local, regional and nationally recognized country artists along with weekly bluegrass and gospel programs, barn-dance variety shows and jamboree sets that mix traditional country, string music and homegrown humor. Through October, there also will be featured concerts by such esteemed country names as George Jones, Ronnie Milsap and Kentucky’s own Loretta Lynn. Renfro Valley’s prime performance facilities are the New Barn, a 1,500-seat theater, and the Old Barn, with more intimate seating for 600.
Meadowgreen Park Music Hall ((606) 663-9008, 303 Bluegrass Lane in Clay City): On Saturday evenings from October to April, the wonderfully unspoiled venue comes alive with world-class string music. But bluegrass is only half the fun. The hall offers an atmosphere that approximates a barn dance with seating on the floor and in secure rafters above and around the stage. The feel is inviting, intimate and informal. An adjoining café serves country diner-style eats (burgers, soup beans and the like), and the staff treats patrons like neighbors. Meadowgreen Park is worth a visit any time. But in the dead of winter, nothing warms the spirit like Saturday night bluegrass in Clay City. Most concerts begin at 7 p.m. with ticket prices usually between $12 and $15.
Red Barn Radio (tapings 7 p.m. most Wednesdays, except in summer, at ArtsPlace, 161 North Mill Street, Lexington; $5): For six seasons, Red Barn Radio has taken indigenous Kentucky music to the airwaves. After bouncing about through several local broadcast homes, Red Barn Radio has settled into a comfortable performance residence at ArtsPlace. Red Barn's eighth season began in mid-September.
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.; 1-877-356-3263): Here is where Kentucky music history lives and breathes. A spacious facility just up the road from Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, the Hall of Fame honors every aspect of Kentucky-bred music, from the artists who designed it to the songwriters they relied on to the very instruments they played. The Hall of Fame inducts members every two years, with the next class due in 2010. Country and bluegrass icons understandably dominate. But inductees like pop empress Rosemary Clooney, jazzman Lionel Hampton, opera singer Todd Duncan and folk icon Jean Ritchie underscore the hall’s diversity.
Arts community offers classics and forges ahead
By Rich Copley | rcopley@herald-leader.com
If you run into someone on the way to a theater on Friday or Saturday night in Lexington, don’t assume you know where they’re going. While you might be set for a night of music at Rupp Arena, they might be heading to a Broadway show at the Lexington Opera House. Your night at the theater might be the same night as someone else’s evening at the ballet. The Lexington cultural calendar has gotten that busy over the past decade.
The major venues in Lexington are the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts and the Lexington Opera House.
The Singletary Center is home to the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Central Kentucky's flagship arts organization. The Philharmonic has its most intriguing season in decades coming up as it will be the first under a new music director in 38 years. Scott Terrell’s debut season highlights will include Irish tenor Ronan Tynan (Oct. 10) and violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (April 17).
The Singletary Center also presents the Singletary Signature Series, which features jazz and rock violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (Nov. 14); and rockers The Decemberists (Oct. 6).
The UK Symphony is one of several university groups making the School of Music one of UK’s signature schools. The UK Percussion Ensemble has national cachet and boasts graduates that include Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche.
The UK Opera Theatre has become Lexington’s de facto opera company. Among the opera’s performances this year will be River of Time, an original opera about Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky, Oct. 8-10 at the Lexington Opera House.
The Opera House also has a series of its own, Broadway Live, which this season will feature recent hits such as Avenue Q (April 9-11) and The Drowsy Chaperone (Jan. 22-24) as well as Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (May 7-9). Several are ensembles, including Paragon Music Theatre and Lexington's two primary ballet troupes: Kentucky Ballet Theatre and the Lexington Ballet.
The Lexington Children's Theatre has a national reputation for launching new works.
Theatre is the primary attraction at the Downtown Arts Center. Its main resident is Actors Guild of Lexington.
Studio Players, a community theater troupe, performs downtown in a carriage house turned into a theater.
Balagula Theatre operates at Natasha's Bistro and presents offbeat material along with dinner.
Among the premier community theaters in the area is Woodford County Theatre. In Boyle County, Pioneer Playhouse is the commonwealth's original and longest running summer outdoor theater. Danville's Centre College boasts the Norton Center for the Arts, which presents a lineup of touring artists that usually rivals bigger-city arts centers.
In 2007, the Norton Center introduced the Chamber Music Festival of the Bluegrass, which brings the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill for a series of concerts over Memorial Day weekend. The Chamber Music Festival of Lexington closes out the summer with a weekend of concerts.
In summer, arts fans can indulge in Shakespeare at Equus Run; SummerFest in July; and Ballet Under the Stars in August.
Woodland Park also hosts the Woodland Art Fair each August.
In winter, the biggest arts event also belongs to the Lexington Art League: The Nude International, touted as the largest exhibited devoted to nude art in the nation. It comes around each January.
