Roanoke, Virginia’s Jefferson Center Announces 2024-2025 Season Schedule
Roanoke, Virginia’s Jefferson Center Announces 2024-2025 Season Schedule
Season Preview by Jason Jones
July 7, 2024
The Jefferson Center has announced the 2024-2025 season, featuring a provocative lineup, running the gamut from veritable legends, in Emmylou Harris, Garrison Keillor, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band, to chart topping stalwarts, like The Wood Brothers, Rickie Lee Jones, and The Steeldrivers, to regionally connected talents, such as JSTOP Latin Soul, Stimulator Jones, and Tina & Her Pony. The Jefferson Center is slated to bring an unparalleled program to the region that offers something familiar and something fresh for everyone, including the best in contemporary and classic country, Americana, jazz, folk, blues, comedy, R&B, and hip-hop. In keeping with tradition, regional concertgoers will be served top shelf bills highlighted by a robust roster of performers.
One thing that they have going for them, the Jefferson Center has a fantastic asset in programming director Jamie Cheatwood. Spend some time with Jamie and you will soon realize that you are in the presence of a true music aficionado, and one who makes booking decisions with intention and creativity, all while maintaining a Roanoke regional orientation within the wider world of entertainment. As a music centric publication, we cannot voice it loudly enough, but people like Jamie are vital in cultivating a healthy music ecosystem in our region. While there are likely a handful of artists on the roster who are heretofore unknown to you, you can rest assured that they are worthy of inclusion, as they are handpicked by a bona fide music-loving expert. If you are like me and have yet to see live performances by the likes of Nicholas Payton, Chief Adjuah, and Hamilton De Holanda, consider taking a leap of faith into some brave new music this season. You’ll find me there, probably in amazement, thanking my lucky stars for the opportunity to see a hometown show with world moving implications. Not every small town is so fortunate to have such people in it.
One of the ways that the Jefferson Center increases opportunity is by offering series subscriptions. This season they are running three subscription packages, the Star City Series, Big Lick Vibes, and the Jazz Club. Each option gives purchasers the ability to score deals on tickets to multiple shows. The Star City Series features Emmylou Harris, The Wood Brothers, Michael Cleveland, Kathy Mattea, and Larry McCray. A Big Lick Vibes subscription will get you in to see Nicholas Payton, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Chief Adjuah (okay, you have my attention). Finally, the Jazz Club package puts you stagefront for six jazz concerts, featuring the Bria Skonberg Quintet, G. Thomas Allen, Tatiana Eva-Marie & The Avalon Jazz Band, the Sarah Hanahan Quartet, the Pat Bianchi Trio, and the Julius Rodriguez Quartet.
Raphaël Feuillâtre, David Cross, and Garrison Keillor top an eclectic treasure trove of standalone shows on the docket this season. At the Jefferson Center, you are not likely to see the same performers year in-year out: last season played host to some whales in my personal music catalog, who we were fortunately able to cover in The City Salt, including Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers Band, Butcher Brown, and Lettuce. This upcoming season appears poised to repeat that effect, just with a refreshingly unique lineup. With any luck, we will be able to bring you interviews with some of this season’s stars.
Tickets and subscriptions are available, starting July 9 (for subscribers and donors) and July 22, 2024 (for the public). Visit www.jeffcenter.org for tickets, donor benefits, artist-led workshops, and information regarding the Harry & Lavon Webb Education Center, including the Music Lab, all at Roanoke’s Jefferson Center. Install The City Salt events app, use the Venue View, and scroll to The Jefferson Center for the full 2024-2025 schedule. <>