Single tickets go on sale Aug. 18 for the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Cultural Arts season.
“It’s exciting to be back in the theater,” said Paul Crook, executive director of the Etherredge Center, where the performances will be held.
The season begins with the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra, a band whose members call Savannah and New York home.
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Crook said the band visited Aiken last fall. The theater was closed, so they set up the parking lot with a stage and a projector screen. About 400 people attended the drive-in concert.
But this year, patrons will be able to experience the full sound of the band in the theater.
The band directors “are making their own revisions to the Great American songbook. This recipe for 100% audience approval includes the favorite melodies from recent history–a dash of Motown, a shot of country, some folk and rock sprinkled on top–and the stories behind them, serving up a musical banquet that feeds every soul,” according to the band’s website.
The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, 2022, “Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till” will come to the stage. This one-man show depicts the life of Till, who at 14 was brutally killed by a group of white men in Mississippi in 1955. The production is rescheduled from last year.
It’s being staged through a partnership the university has with the Center for African American History, Art and Culture, Crook said.
The American Ballet Theater Studio Co. will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 7, 2022.
The season rounds out with Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo Duo in another rescheduled concert which is now set for 7:30 p.m. April 29, 2022
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All of the concerts will be held in the Etherredge Center.
The season also includes a special dinner and performance with the Swingin’ Medallions, at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 10 at the Convocation Center.
“Our 60th anniversary is this year, and this is one of our anniversary events,” he said. “Their (the band’s) 60th anniversary is 2022.”
Known for its song “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love),” the band has been a beach music favorite, he said.
“It will have a catered dinner,” he said. “It’s going to be fabulous.”
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Crook said he’s not only glad to have the cultural series returning, but for the theater to be open to community performances and rentals. Groups such as the Aiken Civic Orchestra and Aiken Civic Ballet use the space for their performances
In July, the university announced the theater had received a shuttered venue operators’ grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“It helps us recoup some of our losses,” said Crook.
The theater received $100,000.
For additional information on the cultural series as well as community events, visit usca.edu/etherredge-center.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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