Faulkner Performing Arts Center Announces 2017-18 Season

The Faulkner Center kicks off its 2017-18 season with the Singing Men of Arkansas Friday, Sept. 8.

Jordan’s “musical ambassadress” Farah Siraj performs at the Faulkner Center Thursday, Nov. 9. Photo by Anne Blake.

Celebrate the holiday season with a free screening of Will Ferrell’s Elf at the Faulkner Center Saturday, Dec. 9.

Join Arkansas natives Still on the Hill for Ozark Old Time New Time Friday, Jan. 19, 2018 at the Faulkner Center.

The SteelDrivers bring their Grammy-winning bluegrass music to the Faulkner Center Saturday, March 3, 2018.

The Faulkner Center’s 2017-18 season culminates Saturday, May 5, 2018 with the multimedia show Hard Travelin’ with Woody, about folksinger Woody Guthrie.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center at the University of Arkansas is unveilng its new season line-up this week.

“We are excited to announce our second season of professional events at the Faulkner Center,” said Nicole Cotton, managing director. “The season’s programming aims for inclusive appeal and offers something for everyone: family fun, world music, and folk music as well as bluegrass flavor.”

The Faulkner Center kicks off its 2017-18 season with the dynamic choral group the Singing Men of Arkansas on Friday, Sept. 8.

The Singing Men of Arkansas are now in their tenth year and will perform SING AMERICA!, a rich, musical history of American music that includes barbershop, African-American spirituals and Broadway songs.

The Faulkner Center partners with the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies on Thursday, Nov. 9, to host Jordan’s “musical ambassadress,” Farah Siraj.

Featured in New York Time Out and the Boston Globe, Siraj has performed on such international platforms as the John F. Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Antena de Oro Awards of Spain, MTV and the United Nations. The University of Arkansas Children’s Choir will be accompanying Siraj on select pieces.

On Saturday, Dec. 9, all guests are welcome with free admission to come dressed as their favorite holiday character and donate canned goods to the Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry during the annual holiday film screening of Will Ferrell’s Elf.

Festivities include live music, hot chocolate and more. This holiday extravaganza is sponsored by the Department of Music, Community Music School and its Suzuki Music School of Arkansas, Division of Student Affairs, and University Housing, as well as the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra.

Friday, Jan. 19, 2018 brings “a gale of genius” through folk and bluegrass played by Arkansas natives Still on the Hill with their handcrafted instruments and authentic brand of Ozarks music praised by Sing Out! magazine.

This Ozark Old Time New Time event will also feature Roy Pilgrim and Aviva Steigmeyer of The Ozark Highballers. This showcase of Ozark singing will also include square-dancing with caller Steve Green, and plenty of family fun.

Saturday, March 3, 2018, The SteelDrivers bring their Grammy-winning bluegrass music to Fayetteville for a rare and memorable concert.

With a style described as “‘soul-meets-bluegrass,’” The Nashville Musician calls The SteelDrivers “edgy,” “superb,” and “a band in the truest sense of the word.” Since 2005, The SteelDrivers remain “on the cutting edge of bluegrass while staying true to their deep roots [and] traditions.” The SteelDrivers are currently on tour following the success of their fifth album, The Muscle Shoals Recordings.

Finally, the season culminates Saturday, May 5, 2018, with Hard Travelin’ with Woody. This one-man multimedia show encourages viewers to “hop on a box car through time” with Woody Guthrie and “commune with the spirit, stories and songs of America’s iconic folksinger.”

Writer and performer Randy Noojin pays tribute to Woody Guthrie, and as The Huffington Post acclaims, “Noojin captures the spirit of Woody [with] solid, entertaining work.”

For performance times and ticket information, visit faulkner.uark.edu or email faulkner@uark.edu.

About the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center: The newest performing arts center at the University of Arkansas — a renovation of the historic Field House — is named the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, in honor of the couple’s major gift to the project. Completed in September 2017, this world-class performance venue is 39,400 square feet, with seating for 587, and a stage that can accommodate as many as 250 performers. The center is the main performance venue for the university’s J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Department of Music and hosts guest musical activities for the university and Northwest Arkansas community.

About the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with 19 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students and is named for J. William Fulbright, former university president and longtime U.S. senator.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.