A lot has been happening at the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center at the University of Arkansas. And now the Box Office is pleased to announce new, additional hours of business for an increased season line-up that includes the Singing Men of Arkansas, Friday, Sept. 8; Farah Siraj, Thursday, Nov. 9.; an annual holiday film screening of Will Ferrell's Elf and canned food drive, Saturday, Dec. 9; an Ozark Old Time/New Time folk and bluegrass event, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018; the Grammy-winning The SteelDrivers, Saturday, March 3, 2018; and Randy Noojin's Hard Travelin' with Woody on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

"We have definitely seen an uptick in pre-sales for this season's shows compared to this time last year," said Eric Dreggors, one of the GA's who works at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center while learning valuable skills about the business side of the performing arts. "But we'd like to see even more people come out for these shows—for example, with our first event of the new season."

The first event that the Faulkner Center kicks off the 2017-2018 season with is the dynamic choral group the Singing Men of Arkansas.

The Singing Men of Arkansas are now in their tenth year and will perform SING AMERICA!, a rich, musical history and guided choral tour through America's distinct musical styles. Singing Men of Arkansas will perform 16 songs in 16 different styles that trace the story of America through its unique musical contributions. SING AMERICA! provides the audience with historical context by way of illuminating video & narration about each song in order to connect our country's complex history to each musical style. Songs include barbershop, African-American spirituals, Broadway, cowboy, and big band. Audiences will be surprised at the sheer variety of American musical contributions.

Singing Men of Arkansas will be joined by elite musicians, featuring the University of Arkansas Department of Music's own Jeffrey Allen Murdock as guest conductor/tenor.

SING AMERICA! begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, preceded by an annual donor gala.

For improved patron convenience for tickets to this and other shows, the Box Office will now maintain hours of operation of 1:30 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday during the regular, fall 2017 academic term.

Season tickets are also still on sale with prime seating available in limited supply. For more performance times and ticket information, visit faulkner.uark.edu or email faulkner@uark.edu—or stop by the Box Office in person.

About the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center: The newest performing arts center at the university of Arkansas—a renovation of the old 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.