Opera, country & a good ol’ Grub Crawl to light up A&E scene this week

From the launch of the Lyric Opera season to a performance by Carrie Underwood to a good, old-fashioned food crawl, this looks to be titillating and tasty week ahead in the Big Town. Roll the highlight reel for what’s happening in Downtown KC – Monday to Sunday, Sep. 16-22:

City Market, 20 E. 5th St. This week, Grub Crawl, the annual foodie adventure, is baaack, from 6-8 p.m. Saturday. Sample your way through 18 (and counting!) food vendors, and enjoy live music between bites. Tickets must be purchased in advance online at https://grubcrawl2019.bpt.me/. Don’t wait … the ‘Crawl is an annual sell-out!

 

Crossroads KC, 417 E. 18th St. This week, Bow down, mere mortals. The Rock Gods will pay tribute to rock legends who wrote and played the soundtrack to the best times in our lives at 8 p.m. Friday; and Monsters of Mock featuring music of The Cars, Heart and Bad Company will keep the party blazing beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Crown Center, 2405 Grand – Coming, KC Oktoberfest, presented by KC Bier, a celebration of Bavarian heritage modeled after the traditional Munich Oktoberfest in Germany on Oct. 4 & 5. KC’s largest Oktobertfest celebration will feature world-class music and entertainment, menus crafted after the genuine tastes of Bavaria, and family-friendly games and activities inspired by those played in Europe.

Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. – Coming, the 37th annual Folly Jazz Series will present An Evening with Branford Marsalis – one of the most influential and respected figures in contemporary music – at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4. The evening will begin with a JazzTalk at 7 p.m., featuring Steve Kraske of KCUR’s Up-To-Date.

KC Public Library, 14 W. 10th St. This week, continuing a four-part series analyzing America’s involvement in the Middle East, Brian Steed of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College examination, World War II Scars the Middle East, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway. This week, the dazzling center will present four performances and events, including:

• Bassooner Or Later, It’s Elvis! – The Kansas City Symphony presents a free happy hour concert at 6 p.m. Tuesday showcasing Symphony musicians playing works that call for one, three, five, seven and nine players. Hear selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, a Martinů nonet and Michael Daugherty’s Dead Elvis, which features a solo bassoonist as The King. Click here for free tickets in Helzberg Hall.
• Stanislav And Friends – This premiere event – set for 6:30 p.m. Friday – celebrates the world-class talent that is Park International Center for Music. Created as an intimate salon on Helzberg Hall stage, the star-studded line-up includes Park ICM’s own master’s candidate, Kenny Broberg, who is welcomed back to Kansas City after winning the Bronze Medal in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in June. For tickets and complete details, click here.
• The Abduction from the Seraglio – The Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents this risqué rom-com, which transplants Mozart’s trademark melodies to 1930s Tinseltown, where a “legitimate businessman” kidnaps a dishy deb with even prettier pipes and locks her away in his swanky nightclub. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and continue with three showings next week.
• Symphony in Space – Join the Kansas City Symphony for a scientific symphonic exploration at 2 p.m. Sunday in Helzberg Hall, as they blast off in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and discover the planets and solar system through story, song and symphonic space travel.

Knucklehead’s, 2715 Rochester. This week, KC’s hottest honk tonk will be rockin’ with 12 shows this week, including Lee Fields & The Expressions with Neal Francis at 8 p.m. Friday; Ozomatli rockin’ the house with Latin/Fun/Hip-hop and everything in between beginning at 8:30 p.m. Friday; and the Atlantic Express at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Municipal Auditorium, 301 W. 13th St. This week, Gracias Christmas Cantata – the musical event  designed to instill audiences with the true meaning of Christmas – will light up hearts and minds at 7 p.m. Friday. Presented by the Gracias Choir & Orchestra, the local showing is one of 30 performances nationwide. For free tickets, call 816-384-1633 or email kc@iyfusa.org.

Power & Light District – This week, the KC Live! Block will celebrate with POP Social from 5-9 p.m. Friday in the PNC Plaza; Hudson Drive in Big Sky Nights at 7 p.m. Friday; Pop Preachers in Friday Live! at 9 p.m. Friday;

Sprint Center, 1407 Grand. This week, featuring four HUGE nights of entertainment, including:

• Carrie Underwood – The seven-time Grammy winner and Pollstar’s three-time top female country touring artist, will light up the heart of KC at 7 p.m. Thursday with her Cry Pretty Tour 360′, with special guests Maddie & Tae and Runaway June.
• Gloria Trevi – The reigning queen of Spanish-language music, who is shaking up the industry with her audacious and irreverent style, will rock the Big Town at 8 p.m. Friday, alongside the Colombian pop phenomenon Karol G.
• JoJo Siwa – The Nickelodeon superstar and YouTube sensation has aimed her D.R.E.A.M. The Tour to a stop at Sprint Center at 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Jonas Brothers – After building overwhelming anticipation, GRAMMY® nominated multi-platinum powerhouse trio, Jonas Brothers, hit the road for their 40-city Happiness Begins Tour that arrives in Downtown KC at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw will open the night.

The Truman, 801 E. Truman Rd. – This week, Highly Suspect with special guest Slothurst will take the stage at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Union Station – 30 W. Pershing Rd. This week, featuring Stonehenge – this remarkable experience has begun its last few weeks in KC. Guests travel back in time – more than 5,000 years –  to discover remarkable stories of the prehistoric people who lived, worked and were buried in the landscape around Stonehenge.  Open daily  through Sept. 29, click here for ticket information.

LIVE THEATER – This week, a peek behind the curtain reveals four productions happening this week:

• DNR – This world premiere addresses the sensitive subject of DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) with warmth, wit, and bite, DNR explores the complexities of human connection and asks, what does it mean to be alone? What does it mean to be alive? Performances continue through Sunday at The Living Room.
• Flamenco Andaluz – Masters of the flamenco art form, Alfonso Cid and Melinda Hedgecorth perform two nights of guitar, singing and dance from southern Spain at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the MTH Theater in Crown Center. This is an MTH co-production with Ensemble Iberica
• ‘Master Harold’ …And The Boys opens Wednesday on the City Stage at Union Station. Presented by the KC Actors Theatre, the story is a surprising and subtle reflection on how institutional racism and bigotry affects all of those living within it. This production stands to be an classic in its own right. Master Harold will be performed through Sept. 29
• Rise Up! – Told from a modern-day perspective of four students in 2019 who make a class project about 1961’s Freedom Riders – citizens riding buses across Alabama and Mississippi in 1961, to stand up against segregation. Performances begin Tuesday and run through Oct. 20 at The Coterie at Crown Center.

LIVE MUSIC is on tap most nights at these Downtown clubs and joints: Blue Room Jazz Club, Black Dolphin, The Brick, Gem Theater,  Green Lady Lounge, Hush, The Majestic Jazz Club, Mutual Musicians Foundation, The Phoenix, Prohibition Hall , throughout the Power & Light District, The Record Bar and The Ship.

AND, UNIQUE TREASURES are plentiful via Downtown museums and attractions, including the Airline History Museum, Downtown Airport; American Jazz Museum, 18th & Vine; Arabia Steamboat Museum, River Market; Black Archives of Mid-America, 18th & Vine; Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity, Union Station District; Boulevard Beer Hall, Westside; City Market, River Market; College Basketball Experience, Sprint Center; Garment District Museum, Garment District; Kansas City Public Library, Central Business District; Hallmark Visitors Center, Crown Center; Hy-Vee Arena, West Bottoms; Kansas City Museum, Corinthian Hall; Money Museum, Federal Reserve Bank of KC; National Archives, Union Station District; National WWI Museum and Memorial, Liberty Memorial; Legoland Discovery Center, Crown Center; Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 18th & Vine; Riverfront Heritage Trail, River Market area; Science City, Union Station; Sea Life Aquarium, Crown Center; 21c Museum Hotel, Historic 9th District; TWA Museum, Downtown Airport; and Union Station, Union Station.

For more of what’s happening in Downtown and Kansas City, check out ArtsKCGo and VisitKC.com