Live at The Fitzgerald Theater - Provention: A Concert for People, Peace and the Planet, on Tuesday, September 2nd at 7:00 p.m. The Republican National Convention is coming to the Twin Cities, and wouldn’t it be a shame if there was no one to play some deafening power chords in celebration? The line-up will offer relief from the constant trumpeting and stampedes of agitated elephants. Maybe you should come down and do some trumpeting yourself!

The concert roster is building into a monstrous, grinning behemoth of Provention power! It seems like everyone is excited to say "Hello" to the partying patriots of the GOP! The list of performers will include… Nellie McKay, Dan Wilson, The Honeydogs, The New Standards, Haley Bonar, Matt Wilson and John Munson are "The Twilight Hours", Jeremy Messersmith, and many more.

Provention is a project by the music and arts communities of Minnesota dedicated to making sure that the Republican National Convention is not written off as just a big party with balloons. “We’ve got some issues we’d like to put front and center”. The goals are peace on earth, health care and education for all Americans, and a transparent United States government that represents the interests of people and the planet over the interests of corporations. And while the national spotlight is pointing at our state, we want to make sure that no one glosses past these important issues.

Ticket will go on sale Wednesday, August 20th at noon. All tickets are $20.00.

Square Peg Concerts present Suzanne Westenhoefer at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, September 12th at 8:00 p.m. Fearless. Bold. Sparkly. Hilarious. That’s Suzanne Westenhoefer in a nutshell. She’s made a career out of telling the truth. And, the truth is, life is funny (and no one is off limits). From her sister’s obsession with “Passion of the Christ” to her girlfriend’s Herculean thighs, Suzanne tells stories that leave audiences in stitches. Suzanne works mostly unscripted, so when she hits the stage it’s an unpredictable, original night of comedy magic. Since winning her first comedy competition on a dare in the early 1990s, Suzanne’s career has taken off.

The first openly gay comedian in New York, Suzanne did gay material to straight audiences in mainstream comedy clubs. She was the first lesbian comedian to garner an HBO Comedy Special, which earned her a Cable Ace Award nomination.

Tickets are $32.50 and $27.50 in advance or $35.50 and $ 30.50 day of show. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket.

Minnesota Public Radio presents Cokie Roberts at the Fitzgerald Theater on Tuesday, September 23rd at 7:00 p.m. Host Kerri Miller talks with Cokie Roberts about her latest book, Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation. The book is a look at the remarkable women who helped build our nation by facing challenges and becoming reformers and advocates for education, orphans and abolition. Roberts will also speak about the contemporary American political scene that she knows so well in her roles as senior news analyst for National Public Radio and as a regular roundtable analyst for ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

In her work at NPR and for ABC News, Roberts has won numerous awards including the highest honor in public radio, the Edward R. Murrow Award. She was also the first broadcast journalist to win the highly prestigious Everett McKinley Dirksen award for coverage of Congress. In 1991, Roberts won an Emmy for her contribution to the ABC News special, "Who is Ross Perot?"

In addition to Ladies of Liberty, Roberts is the author of the national bestseller We Are Our Mother's Daughters as well as Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. Along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, a professor at The George Washington University and contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report, Roberts writes a weekly column syndicated by United Media in major newspapers around the country. Her op-ed columns have appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and she has also written for The New York Times Magazine, USA Weekend Magazine and The Atlantic.

All tickets are $20.00. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.

Sue McLean and Associates present The Robert Cray Band at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, September 26th at 8:00 p.m. Robert Cray is one of a precious few active blues artists with the talent and vision to successfully usher the idiom into the future without resorting either to slavish imitation or simply playing rock while passing it off as blues. Just as importantly, his immensely popular records helped immeasurably to jump-start the contemporary blues boom that still holds sway to this day. Blessed with a soulful voice that sometimes recalls '60s great O.V. Wright and a concise lead guitar approach that never wastes notes, Cray's ascendancy was amazingly swift -- in 1986 his breakthrough album, Strong Persuader, won him a Grammy. Unlike too many of his peers, Cray continues to experiment within his two presiding genres, blues and soul.

In the title track to his fourteenth album, Twenty, Cray takes aim at the Bush administration. While Twenty echoes the political sentiments of its predecessor, Time Will Tell, the album finds the bluesman venturing into new musical territories. Cray's soul-infused blues has become the bridge between traditional and contemporary blues. Cray's influences can be heard throughout the new songs, including the ska-reggae fused "Poor Johnny," a funky tune "about a guy who gets caught cheatin'," and the rock-tinged "Does It Really Matter." But it's the lowdown ballad "It Doesn't Matter," that reflects Cray's affection for the blues.

All tickets are $44.00. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.

A Prairie Home Companion kicks off their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, October 4th at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.

A Prairie Home Companion’s Annual Supper and Street Dance returns to Exchange Street in front of The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, October 4th at 6:00 p.m. Join Garrison and the gang for Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, live music with The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, and contests for valuable prizes. Come at 5:00 p.m. grab a seat on the street and listen to the live broadcast from inside the Fitzgerald Theater. A $5.00 meatloaf supper will be served at 6:00 p.m. and there will be music and dancing in the street from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo joins host Kerri Miller for Talking Volumes at the Fitzgerald Theater on Tuesday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m. His book Nobody's Fool was made into a film starring Paul Newman. Russo's latest novel, Bridge of Sighs, will be out in paperback in the fall. Like many of his tales, it takes place in a deteriorating blue-collar town in the Northeastern United States. Publisher's Weekly says the book is "is large-hearted, vividly populated and filled with life from America's recent, still vanishing, past."

Author Richard Russo knows small towns well. He writes about them and grew up in one — Gloversville, in upstate New York. The town was named for the local industry, but by the time he lived there, much of the glove manufacturing work was being done in Asia and Europe. For Russo, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Empire Falls, seeing the town change in such a big way influenced the way he saw the world and how he writes. In his latest book, Bridge of Sighs, what happens in a small town changes the lives of two men in very different ways. "Bridge of Sighs is a book about somebody who stays and somebody who leaves," Russo sees that dilemma reflected in his own life. He says "I've always had the feeling that part of me left. I mean, the Richard Russo who grew up and became novelist is one person. But I've always had the distinct feeling that there was a ghost version of myself still living back in that place that's still so real in my imagination and that I've been telling fibs about all this time."

Talking Volumes is a partnership of Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune in collaboration with The Loft Literary Center.

All tickets are $20.00. Minnesota Public Radio Members receive a discount.

Sue McLean and Associates present singer/songwriter David Wilcox at the Fitzgerald Theater on Thursday, October 9th at 7:30 p.m. For over fifteen years, David Wilcox has been making music that bravely navigates a path through the emotional static of modern life towards a better place. He writes songs that are wake up calls to the heart; balm for the soul. Through yearning melodies and direct lyrics, they dare us to remember the promises we made to ourselves of who we want to be. They offer us a guiding hand, along with the hope and courage to go forward.

His songs travel. Like a drive across America in an Airstream trailer; they offer up fascinating new places and ideas, along with time to drink in their meaning. That's no coincidence, by the way: the highly regarded singer-songwriter recently returned from two years of traveling with his wife and son in an Airstream trailer.

Tickets are available for $25.00 and $23.00. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.

American Public Media presents Friday Preview performances of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, October 10th at 7:30 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a preview of Saturday's live broadcast.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. All tickets for the Friday preview performances are $21.00. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount. Special $10.00 student tickets for the Friday preview performances will be available the week of the show.

A Prairie Home Companion continues their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, October 11th at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.

Sue McLean and Associates present The Taj Mahal Trio at the Fitzgerald Theater on Sunday, October 12th at 7:30 p.m. Describe legendary musician Taj Mahal in a single word or phrase? Impossible. You could call him a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, ethnomusicologist, two-time Grammy-winner, world-class musical collaborator, musicians' advocate, world traveler, fisherman, or cigar aficionado. These titles are all accurate, yet none convey the warmth, humor, and soulfulness of Taj and his music. Taj has been playing his own distinctive brand of music -- variously described as Afro-Caribbean blues, folk-world-blues, hula blues, folk-funk, and a host of other hyphenations -- for more than 40 years. Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, Latin, and Cuban sounds and rhythms mix with folk, jazz, zydeco, gospel, rock, pop, soul, and R&B, all layered on top of a solid country-blues foundation.

What ties it all together is Taj's abiding interest in musical discovery, particularly in tracing many American musical forms back to their roots in Africa and Europe. Following his passion, Taj has spent time in the Caribbean, West Africa, Hawaii, Europe, the South Pacific, Australia, South America, and all over the continental U.S. His music reflects his global perspective, incorporating sounds from everywhere he's lived and traveled. A self-taught musician, Taj plays more than 20 instruments, including the National Steel and Dobro guitars. His remarkable voice ranges from gruff and gravelly to smooth and sultry.

Tickets are available for $37.00 and $35.00. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.

American Public Media presents Friday Preview performances of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, October 31st at 7:30 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a preview of Saturday's live broadcast.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. All tickets for the Friday preview performances are $21.00. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount. Special $10.00 student tickets for the Friday preview performances will be available the week of the show.

A Prairie Home Companion continues their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, November 1st at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.

Sue McLean and Associates present Martin Sexton at the Fitzgerald Theater on Thursday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. Renowned as a die-hard road warrior, Sexton has traveled the globe with his guitar slung on his back and a heart full of soul. His songs are intricate and spirited...His fans range from teenage students to jocks to musicians, from the East Village to Wall Street, tradesmen to doctors, black, white, young and old, all singing together in three-part harmony. Hailed by Billboard as "the finest new male singer/songwriter of recent memory," as well as "a vocalist of amazing proficiency and sensual conviction." The Boston based troubadour‘s records distill soul, gospel, R&B, country and blues... in short, the American musical landscape into archetypal rock n roll.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Martin Sexton grew up on the timeless sounds of '70s radio, from Stevie Wonder to Led Zeppelin (who led him toward blues legends like Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon). Sexton eventually migrated to Boston, where he began to build his following singing on the streets of Harvard Square and gradually working his way into the club scene. His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, IN THE JOURNEY, was recorded on a old 8-track in a friend's attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case busking. Sexton recalls, "All those one-dollar bills I saved to make that record was the best eight-hundred bucks I ever spent." His captivating performances led to a bounty of Boston Music Awards and the National Academy of Songwriters "Artist of the Year" award.

Tickets are available for $29.00 and $27.00. There will be an additional $2.50 facility fee added to the price of each ticket. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.

American Public Media presents Friday Preview performances of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, November 7th at 7:30 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a preview of Saturday's live broadcast.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. All tickets for the Friday preview performances are $21.00. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount. Special $10.00 student tickets for the Friday preview performances will be available the week of the show.

A Prairie Home Companion continues their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, November 8th at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.

American Public Media presents Friday Preview performances of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, November 14th at 7:30 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a preview of Saturday's live broadcast.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. All tickets for the Friday preview performances are $21.00. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount. Special $10.00 student tickets for the Friday preview performances will be available the week of the show.

A Prairie Home Companion continues their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, November 15th at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.

Talking Volumes returns to the Fitzgerald Theater on Thursday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m. Host Kerri Miller talks to Wally Lamb about his first novel in 10 years, The Hour I First Believed. Lamb's two previous novels, She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, topped the New York Times fiction charts.

Lamb lead a writing workshop at the Connecticut women's prison for the past eight years, and his work with those inmates influenced the plot of his eagerly anticipated new book. The protagonist of the new novel grew up on a farm next to a women's prison that's intertwined with his family's history.

Talking Volumes is a partnership of Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune in collaboration with The Loft Literary Center.

All tickets are $20.00. Minnesota Public Radio Members receive a discount.

American Public Media presents Friday Preview performances of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater on Friday, November 21st at 7:30 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for a preview of Saturday's live broadcast.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. All tickets for the Friday preview performances are $21.00. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount. Special $10.00 student tickets for the Friday preview performances will be available the week of the show.

A Prairie Home Companion continues their season of shows at The Fitzgerald Theater on Saturday, November 22nd at 4:45 p.m. Join Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band for two hours of live radio fun. Musical guests for this show will be announced soon. A limited number of Rush Seats will be available at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 27th at noon. Saturday broadcast tickets are available for $48.00, $38.00, and $32.00. There is a limit of 4 tickets per order for all the Saturday Broadcast performances. All ticket prices include a $2.50 facility fee. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a $2.00 discount.