Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center is adding five shows to the 2018-2019 Bankhead Presents season.
The list includes two blues greats, Robert Cray, returning for the fourth time in February 2019, and Keb’ Mo’ who will make his first appearance at the venue in May. Country music stars Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers “Unplugged” arrives this November filled with familiar hits plus the stories behind the songs, “The Choir of Man” brings their rollicking live pub concert to the stage in February and, back by popular demand, Jake Shimabukuro follows his last two sold out shows with a planned return to the Bankhead in late January.
The Bankhead is at 2400 First St., Livermore. Tickets are available at lvpac.org or by calling 925-373-6800.
First of the five additions is Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers on Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $70 while students are $20. Since their debut album in the mid-1970s, the brothers have sent their country harmonies up the charts with such songs as the Grammy Award-winning “Broken Lady” and “All the Gold in California,” which won an American Country Music Award, “I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love,” “Nighttime Magic” and more. Larry, Steve and Rudy will swing through Livermore with an “Unplugged Show,” their natural family harmonies and genuine stage charm filling the theater with familiar country and gospel hits, as well as stories of how the songs came to be.
Considered one of the most innovative players in the history of the ukulele, Jake Shimabukuro was a relative unknown when he appeared as part of the Bankhead’s inaugural season in 2007. He will appear at a date in January with tickets going for $20 to $110 and student tickets for $20. Despite his now soaring popularity, he has returned multiple times to play in the Bankhead’s intimate setting, his last two shows selling out just weeks after going on sale. Shimabukuro’s rich and varied albums have always captured the many moods of the ukulele.
Blues Hall of Fame guitarist Robert Cray will perform Sunday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. with tickets priced from $20 to $80 and students $20. He has been credited with attracting a new generation of fans to the world of blues with a distinctive razor-sharp guitar sound that ably bridges the lines between blues, soul and R&B. Cray has received five Grammy Awards and built a dedicated following around the world.
The Choir of Man appearing Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m. with tickets $20 to $125 and $20 for students has been called the “ultimate feel-good show … 90 minutes of indisputable joy.” Set in a real working pub on stage, the nine male band members sing, dance, and foot-stomp through a range of music, from pub tunes, folk, Broadway, classic rock, all while pulling pints and welcoming audience members to get up close and personal with the show. Featuring the music of Paul Simon, Adele, Queen, Guns ‘n Roses and more, the show is a party and a concert rolled into one.
Four-time Grammy Award-winner and roots storyteller Keb’ Mo’ is considered a modern day standard bearer of the Delta blues tradition. Described as “easy on your ears and good for your soul,” his modern take on the country blues will now close the Bankhead Presents season with a single performance on Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. with tickets between $20 and $100 and students $20.
