Texas Tenors trio to perform at Memorial Auditorium on Thursday
As Labor Day heralds the end of another American summer, it also ushers in a new Burlington Civic Music lineup.
"We have a wonderful season this year, as always," BCM president Kay Conrad said.
Leading off this year are the now-traditional Texas Tenors, who return Thursday for their fifth BCM concert.
In their 2014 BCM inaugural, the Tenors showed southeast Iowa that these guys are opera singers, not cowboys. Their 2015 Christmas show provided a set of their trademark standards and a set of Christmas music. In 2017, they got the house to stand for "America the Beautiful" and repeated that again in 2021 after being postponed twice due to river flooding and COVID.
The Texas Tenors have more than a half-million followers on social media and over 20 million views on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. J.C. Fisher, Marcus Collins and Iowa native John Hagen formed the Tenors in 2009 and appeared that year on NBC’s "America’s Got Talent," the highest-ranking vocal group in the show’s history. They are the only Emmy-winning artists to appear on that program.
The Tenors were Billboard Magazine's No. 10 Classical Artist in the World for 2019.
"It is singing, live and in-person, for an audience that loves and welcomes them to our stage," BCM program director Barbara McRoberts said.
Skinny season
This season is truncated, due in part to the construction on the waterfront and scheduling problems — the Auditorium was already booked the month of October and BCM's November group wasn't available — thus there is a large gap between the "Invoke" concert on September 30 and the December 17 "Christmas in the 615" with featured guest David Kroll. Nashville is area code 615.
Kroll's annual Christmas show was cancelled this year due to his Nashville musicians having to back out in favor of broader touring opportunities.
"I worked with Nicole Witt of the 615 Collective — she was formerly with Farewell Angelina, which has also ceased to be — to do our Christmas show with David as the featured guest," McRoberts said.
Gabe Klein, the 615 pianist, was originally part of Kroll's Christmas band and will accompany him in December.
Irish dance production "Wings" is scheduled for February 22; "Cocktail Hour: Ballet with a Twist" is April 12.
"We round out our season with an encore performance from Melissa Errico, a Tony-nominated signer and actress, a favorite of Sondheim," Conrad said.
Errico performed at Civic Music in 2019.
Auditorium parking
"The parking lot is almost complete," Conrad said. "The drop-off area in front of the Auditorium isn't finished; there is a bit of construction yet."
Conrad said the city is once again offering free shuttle service from downtown lots. Do not park at Harmony Bible Church for this event as the church has its own event scheduled for Thursday evening.
The shuttle will run from 6:30 to after the concert, approximately 9:30 p.m.
Concertgoers must enter on the west side of the Auditorium using the handicap door under the canopy.
Summer may be over, but down on the Burlington waterfront, the fun is just beginning.
Tickets and times
The Texas Tenors show begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at Burlington Memorial Auditorium, 200 N. Front St. Doors open at 6:30.
Patrons are encouraged to reserve their seats early by calling 319-752-0336. Single-show tickets are $45 adults, $10 students and are available at the Auditorium box office 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and the night of the show.
The concert is sponsored by the Harry and Virginia Murray Foundation.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Texas Tenors to ring in Burlington Civic Music season
