KU Presents! lineup set, with The Wallflowers leading the way [Spotlight]

Jul. 23—KU Presents!, the performing artists series at Kutztown University, has announced its 2023-24 lineup, beginning Sept. 27 with the rock band The Wallflowers. The season will include seven evenings of music, dance and theater in a variety of genres, as well as the recently revived Family Series with four Sunday afternoon events, all in Schaeffer Auditorium on campus.

Season tickets are available now and single tickets will go on sale beginning Aug. 1 at www.KutztownPresents.org or by calling the box office Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 610-683-4092.

Here is the lineup for the evening concert series:

—The Wallflowers (Sept. 27): The opening performance will feature singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan, who created The Wallflowers as a roots rock band in 1989. The son of Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Jakob Dylan has forged his own path as a gifted artist, not only as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the band, but as a soloist. The Wallflowers' breakthrough 1996 album, "Bring Down the Horse," produced the No. 1 single "One Headlight," which won two Grammy Awards in 1998.

—The Mark Morris Dance Group (Oct. 11): Morris is one of America's pre-eminent modern dance choreographers, having created more than 150 influential works for his own company, founded in 1980 and based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and for other dance companies.

—The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players present "The Pirates of Penzance" (Nov. 9): For close to 50 years, this renowned company has given more than 2,500 performances of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

—Emmet Cahill and Chloe Agnew (Feb. 13): Irish tenor Emmet Cahill is a member of the popular singing group Celtic Thunder, founded in 2007 in Ireland. Singer-songwriter/actress Chloe Agnew was an original member, at age 14, of Celtic Woman; after 10 years with the group she left to pursue her own solo career.

—tenThing Brass Ensemble (March 5): Founded in 2007 by Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth as an all-female, all-Norwegian 10-piece ensemble, tenThing has performed on all six continents to wild acclaim. The unusual combination of four trumpets, four trombones, a tuba and a French horn produces gorgeous performances of custom-arranged works of music ranging from Baroque to modern, and original pieces Helseth has commissioned.

—The Del McCoury Band (March 20): Born in York County, McCoury started out playing banjo, inspired by the legendary Earl Scruggs. In 1963, he joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, switching to guitar and lead singer under Monroe's tutelage. By 1967 he had his own bluegrass band, The Dixie Pals, which later morphed into his current Grammy-winning band (including his sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo, bassist Alan Bartram and fiddler Jason Carter).

—Lakecia Benjamin (April 10, in partnership with Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest): Alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin fuses jazz, hip-hop and soul. The New York City native has performed with Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliot, Clark Terry, Christian McBride and many others. She is also an arranger and horn section leader for various artists.

The Family Series performances, all on Sunday afternoons, will include:

—"Sugar Skull: A Dia de Muertos Musical Adventure" (Oct. 1): This touring bilingual/bicultural musical for young audiences and families uses traditional regional music and dance from Mexico to tell a story that focuses on the Day of the Dead, in which ancestors are honored.

—The Okee Dokee Brothers (Nov. 19): Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing are childhood friends who grew up in Denver, Colo., and were always exploring the outdoors. They perform and record Americana music with the goal of inspiring children and their parents to enjoy the outdoors and be creative. The five-time Parents' Choice Award winners have been called "two of family music's best songwriters."

—"Janet's Planet: A Tour Through the Solar System" (Feb. 4): This 45-minute interactive presentation by Janet Ivey-Duensing, creator of the award-winning TV show "Janet's Planet," introduces the wonders of the galaxy to families and young audiences. It engages and challenges students and their parents, and is designed to inspire an interest in STEM subjects in elementary school-age kids.

—Lightwire Theater presents "The Ugly Duckling" (April 7): Lightwire Theater combines theater and technology to bring stories to life in darkness, using electroluminescent artistry. Founders Ian Carney and Corbin Popp met while dancing in Twyla Tharpe's "Movin' Out" on Broadway, and decided to experiment with puppetry-based neon creatures. Along with their wives, Eleanor and Whitney, they bring this unusual experience to families throughout the world.

Music

Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment are coming to the Santander Arena, Reading, on Nov. 22. They will be joined by special guests Avatar and New Years Day for the "Kiss of Death Tour."

Ice Nine Kills combines intense metalcore aggression with a theatrical flair inspired by classic horror films and the occult. Hailing from Boston, they debuted in the early 2000s, switching through styles before focusing on a melodic hardcore sound that helped push the breakthrough 2015 LP "Every Trick in the Book" onto the Billboard 200. They continued to see chart success with ghoulish subsequent efforts "The Silver Scream" (2018) and "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood" (2021).

Initially conceived as a metalcore counterpart to Evanescence, In This Moment moved into more melodic territory with its fantastical 2008 breakthrough album, "The Dream." The band has received three nominations for Alternative Press Music Awards, including two for Best Hard Rock Artist and one for Best Live Band, and has received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.

Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.

Books

Berks County author Andrew J. Farrara has just completed his third set of books entitled "The 1896 Grand Tour of Italy and Sicily," in seven volumes, published through KDP.Amazon.com.

The series is about a group of late 19th-century international tourists who arranged to participate in an eight-week grand tour, with many of them attempting to discover the link in Southern Italia with the mysteries of the Holy Grail and the Holy Secrets of Early Christianity when Saints Peter and Paul traversed the ancient Roman lands amid a backdrop of an emerging People's Revolution.

Previously, Farrara wrote "Around the World in 220 Days: Notes of an American Traveler Abroad," published by Infinity Press in 2004, about his 22-country personal voyage.

In addition, in 2022 he wrote an eight-part series entitled "The Modern Divine Comedy," about an American journalist who in a dream takes a guided tour of the afterlife within the Celestial Kingdom, the Limboland, the Purgatorio and the Inferno with Zarathustra, his Persian prophet guide, in 1896.

Farrara has operated an independent insurance agency in Reading since 1988 and spends his free time writing, observing, traveling, painting and learning.

Art

The exhibition "Love Saves the Day," by Linda Flora, has opened in the Holleran Gallery at Yocum Institute for Arts Education, West Lawn. It will run through Aug. 25.

Despite not having a formal art education and only a basic sewing class in home economics, Flora's professional artistic journey started out with a whirlwind career as a successful children's clothing designer and manufacturer. Her artsy line, "Honey Bear," was sold throughout the United States and abroad and was regularly featured on trendy TV sitcoms including "Full House"

and "Punky Brewster."

Throughout her life, Flora has always been involved in the arts, which included acting and theater, voice and dance, creative writing and design, along with her current and longtime passion for drawing and painting.

Her book "Healing With Art, Love Saves the Day" is the prelude for her unique visual arts program for hospitals and medical offices.

Her current interests include painting, graphic arts, jewelry design, sculpture and teaching intuitive painting workshops.