John Hall News

Alabama rock’n’roll sensations The Red Clay Strays are continuing their unparalleled ascent to stardom after their debut British shows sold out in just a couple of days requiring all the venues to be upgraded to cope with the clamour for tickets. Find the new dates here!

Hailing from the red dirt clay of Mobile, Alabama, The Red Clay Strays have spent the past year trailblazing their musical path across the USA. Their debut album Moment Of Truth has become a massive word-of-mouth success Stateside, driven by the breakout hit single ‘Wondering Why'.

The Red Clay Strays, will continue their extensive headline tour through this summer including newly confirmed stops at Fort Myers' Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon, Asheville's The Orange Peel, Columbus' The Bluestone (two nights), Grand Rapids' The Intersection, Salt Lake City's The Complex, Portland's Crystal Ballroom and Seattle's Showbox.

The cast has been set for Upstart! Shakespeare’s Rebel Daughter Judith as the new play by American writer Mary Jane Schaefer will make its UK Premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS), the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina, presents MASTERWORKS: MIGHTY MAHLER featuring Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and Bach's Orchestral Suite No.2 on Saturday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. at P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory.

The opening night had a full house, and closed to a standing ovation.

The latest edition of Mama G’s Horror Camp returns to The Bourbon Room Halloween weekend. Chadd McMillan and Nathan Moore co-direct the large cast of Broadway and Los Angeles Theatre triple threats. I had the chance to chat with Frankie Grande, who’s lighted stages on both the opposite coasts.

This 12-track album blends its unique individualities and influences to create a project that breathes raw honesty. Band members Brandon Coleman (lead vocals/guitar), Drew Nix (vocals/electric guitar/harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), and John Hall (drums) collaborated to create Moment of Truth.

The Blinders have released a cover of the ‘The Killing Moon’ by Echo & the Bunnymen. The track and video were recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool; the same studio the Bunnymen recorded the original track. The Blinders have delivered an exceptional homage to one of their major influences with ‘The Killing Moon'.

Born out of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016, Ben Elton's sit-com Upstart Crow went on to have three series and multiple Christmas specials. It follows William Shakespeare, who's by now rather well-known in London, as he attempts to write his notorious body of work pinching ideas here and there and taking credit for quotes that aren't his, scribbling away whenever his nearest and dearest say something clever for future use.

Full casting for Ben Elton's stage adaption of the critically acclaimed BBC TV sitcom Upstart Crow - which opens at the Gielgud Theatre on 7 February 2020 and will see David Mitchell make his West End debut - has been announced.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) concludes its Fall 2018 season on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 7:30pm with Quodlibet Ensemble: Music by Biber, Martynov + Sharlat at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater (450 W. 37th Street). Quodlibet (Latin for 'whatever pleases') Ensemble is a string chamber orchestra of some of today's most sought-after musicians who come from top string quartets as well as period and new music groups. Highlighting their musical diversity, the ensemble performs an eclectic evening of classical music that spans different time periods and styles.

Palm Beach Dramaworks has announced the cast and creative team of Woody Guthrie's American Song. The musical revue runs from July 13 - August 5 at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, with a specially priced preview on Thursday, July 12.

Huntington Theatre Company board and staff are celebrating the shattering of a fundraising record at the Spotlight Spectacular gala, Monday, May 7. Held at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama, the gala brought in $1.275 million to support the Huntington's operations for the fiscal year, including its broad range of education and community outreach programs.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) presents the American premiere of Link Link Circus, written and performed by the Golden Globe-nominated actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini, for seven performances only, May 16-23, 2018, at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater (450 W. 37th Street, Manhattan). Following Rossellini's widely acclaimed theatrical lecture Green Porno (adapted from the celebrated Sundance Channel series of the same name), which explored the sexual behavior of animals, Link Link Circus addresses the latest scientific discoveries about animal minds, intelligence, and emotions.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) proudly presents the American premiere of Link Link Circus, written and performed by the Golden Globe-nominated actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini, for seven performances only, May 16-23, 2018, at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater (450 W. 37th Street, Manhattan).

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continues its Spring 2018 Music Series on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 7:30pm with a presentation of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg with lighting designed by Jennifer Tipton, performed in BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. An all-star ensemble of instrumentalists - Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello; and Sarah Rothenberg, piano - bring to life this timeless work, which Messiaen wrote and premiered in 1941 while in confinement at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany during World War II.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continues its Spring 2018 Music Series on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 7:30pm with a presentation of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg with lighting designed by Jennifer Tipton, performed in BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. An all-star ensemble of instrumentalists - Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello; and Sarah Rothenberg, piano - bring to life this timeless work, which Messiaen wrote and premiered in 1941 while in confinement at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany during World War II.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) opens its Spring 2018 Music Series with Anton Batagov and the Attacca Quartet on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 7:30pm in the Jerome Robbins Theater. This varied evening of music features the World Premiere of Different Things from influential post-minimalist Russian composer and pianist Anton Batagov, paired with Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6. Batagov's Different Things will be performed by the composer (at the piano) and the Attacca Quartet, one of America's premier young string ensembles, along with Kris Saebo, double bass; Linda Jones, soprano; Luthien Brackett, mezzo soprano; Andrew Fuchs, tenor; and Steven Hrycelak, bass.

Tony Award nominated artist and Top Girls director Liesl Tommy and Huntington Trustee Neal Balkowitsch will be honored with the Wimberly Award at the 2018 Spotlight Spectacular on Monday, May 7, 2018 at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts.