Cast aside any and all expectations.

Whether behind the piano on a windswept mountainous cliff, at a hallowed venue such as Carnegie Hall, or playing shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most legendary musicians in history, solo pianist Holly Bowling subverts convention with virtuosic playing, emotional immersion, and a thirst for invention. Acclaimed by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Relix, and more and sought-after by icons such as Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Warren Haynes, she once again flips the script on her 2020 album and second reimagining of Grateful Dead staples entitled Seeking All That’s Still Unsung.

“When you go to see someone play solo piano, you’re not expecting them to stand up, pluck the strings, drum on the frame, hit the strings with mallets, or place magnets and EBows inside of the piano,” she smiles. “It doesn’t fit with the expectations of how you’re supposed to play this instrument. I think it works though.”

Her introduction to the instrument happened at just five-years-old when mom and dad bought a piano from a yard sale down the street. They gave their daughter a choice: ballet or piano. As the sounds of Mozart, Beethoven, and The Grateful Dead piped through their home, she obviously chose the latter without hesitation.

After a childhood dedicated to the instrument, she studied piano performance at SF State University. Intermittent gigs around San Francisco followed before she ended up on stage for an impromptu jam with Marco Benevento. “I paid him a dollar to go up there,” she recalls. “It reminded me that for most of my life I wanted to be on stage playing, and I couldn’’t let that slip away.”

After catching a 2013 Phish show in Lake Tahoe renowned for its extended rendition of “Tweezer,” she transcribed and arranged the entire 37-minute improvisational masterpiece into a nuanced and intricate piano opus. She humbly refers to it as “a nerdy pet project that somehow inspired people to demand Phish on piano.” It announced her arrival as an exciting outlier and paved the way for Distillation Of A Dream: The Music Of Phish Reimagined For Solo Piano in 2015.

As her profile rose, she delivered Better Left Unsung only a year later. For this triple-LP, she rearranged iconic moments from the Grateful Dead on her piano. It bowed in the Top 25 of the Billboard Top Classical Albums Chart. She went on to share the stage with everyone from The Dead’s Weir and Lesh to Haynes, John Scofield, Jim James, Branford Marsalis, Don Was, Robert Randolph, Greensky Bluegrass, and more. Along the way, she graced the bills of Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads and Haynes’s annual Christmas Jam and unveiled the concert recording Live at the Old Church. Simultaneously, she co-founded improvisational rock outfit Ghost Light in 2018. Engaging a faithful audience even in the midst of the “new normal” of 2020, she launched a series of living room livestreams chronicled on the eight-volume Alone Together: The Living Room Sessions highlighted by her innovative re-imaginings of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and many others.

During 2019, she tracked Seeking All That’s Still Unsung at 25th Street Recording in Oakland over the course of just five days.

“Seeking All That’s Still Unsung is a lyric from a Dead song,” she explains. “There was definitely a sense of trying to look for what I hadn’t said on the last album. Having spent a few more years exploring the Dead’s music in the solo piano context, I felt free enough to take more liberties with how I approach the arrangements and improvisation. I can insert myself into the songs more. Given their nature, I realized the way to actually be the truest to them is to throw the rules out the window.”

Under the influence of the Bill Evans album Conversations with Myself, she properly incorporated overdubs for the first time, locking into a “dialogue” with her own playing. She tried her hand at this approach on Better Left Unsung’s “Dark Star,” but truly brought it to life here.

On the opener and first single “St. Stephen,” her fingers nimbly conjure a melody between bass-y root notes. The call-and-response instantly captivates with all of the drama and dynamics of a main stage festival performance.

“It’s like you’re watching a movie,” she explains. “The scene changes, and the colors and lighting just shift. Something new comes into focus, and the improv goes further. It’s not what I expected to come out of the arrangement initially, but it’s a defining moment on the album. It has the intensity of the overdubbing and some light and dark places to showcase a different range of emotions.

Elsewhere, the sprawling near 14-minute “Weather Report Suite” traverses a similar scope as her transcendent playing spirals towards a climactic release. The project culminates on a delicate “Stella Blue,” which she calls “the perfect landing point of the album and an exhale at the end after this emotional ebb and flow.”

In advance of Seeking All That’s Still Unsung, she embarked on The Wilderness Sessions—a virtual concert tour of natural wonders across the United States. Setting up her piano in the heart of national parks and landmarks such as Yosemite National Park, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Bruneau Canyon, the Beartooth Mountains, and the Badlands of South Dakota, she catalyzed the “Interaction between the music and the landscape.”

In the end, Holly consistently redefines what’s possible on her instrument of choice.

“When I play pure stripped-down acoustic piano, it’s like going home,” she leaves off. “I love the nuance, detail, and emotion you can pull out of a piano in a more subtle and quiet setting. The moments I cherish the most happen when I slip outside of myself for a while. If my music gives this to someone else, that would make me happy. There are shades of classical and shades from the Grateful Dead. A lot of classical enthusiasts might not give the Dead a chance. Many Deadheads may not like classical. Personally, I’ve always had two halves of my musical life. When I finally started to bring them together, it was something I’d been building towards for a lot longer than I’d realized. Bringing everything together, I’d love to open up boundaries and help people discover something new.”

www.hollybowling.com

“Over the Shire & Far Away” is a powerful rock n’ roll tribute to the Lord of the Rings & Led Zeppelin. A truly unique storytelling experience that takes listeners on a timeless journey through Middle Earth, Knorrwood’s extraordinary musical adventure seamlessly blends epic themes from the masterful Lord of the Rings trilogy with mystical ballads by Led Zeppelin. The performance also features original material from their debut album released in 2025. The one-of-a-kind cinematic rock show features narration, costumes, and visual projections that aid in the one-of-a-kind imaginative quest. This is much more than a musical performance, it is a transformative experience paying tribute to the greatest musical cinema crossover of all time. One show to rule them all!

Since their formation in 2021, Knorrwood has performed alongside nationally celebrated acts such as Trampled by Turtles, Leftover Salmon, Moe., and Consider the Source among many others. The 2025 release of their debut album embodies the band’s adventurous spirit by fusing acoustic innovation, cinematic textures, and dynamic rhythms into an immersive experience that is as innovative as it is timeless. Enigmatic vocalizing and ethereal explosions from a theremin further transcend listeners into the vibrant, earthy realm of Knorrwood.

Directed and Choreographed by Leslie Goddard
Musical Direction by Steve Goers

WE WILL ROCK YOU is a high-octane, adrenaline-fueled musical featuring more than 20 iconic Queen hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and of course, “We Will Rock You.” Set in a post-apocalyptic future where individuality has been outlawed and music is controlled by algorithms, the story follows two young revolutionaries who dare to defy the system to save rock ‘n’ roll.

This fist-pumping, foot-stomping anthem to freedom and self-expression is a musical for our time—unapologetically bold and filled with the timeless power of Queen’s legendary music. With over seven million fans rocked in its original 12-year West End run, WE WILL ROCK YOU made history as the longest-running show at London’s Dominion Theatre. A global phenomenon, WWRY has been performed in 28 countries and seen by more than 16 million people worldwide.

In the spirit of Memorial Hall’s past productions of TOMMY and RING OF FIRE, this lightly-staged production will include an on-stage, seven-piece band; nearly twenty costumed actors and dancers and scenic, lighting and projection design.

WE WILL ROCK YOU is presented through special arrangement with, and all authorized performance materials are supplied by, Theatrical Rights Worldwide – 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036.  www.theatricalrights.com  

The Eagles Project returns to Memorial Hall for a special acoustic performance of favorites from the catalogues of the Eagles and their solo projects. This special holiday-flavored performance will include the Eagles Project Strings.

It all began with an idea and a love of great music shared by talented musicians. Wanting a creative project to both enjoy and perform for fans became our mission and now we want to share it with you. All of our members have had success in the music industry and performed all over the country. Yet coming together to perform the music of the Eagles, Henley, Frey and Walsh and James Gang has created an explosive dynamic project. One that has been delighting and exciting fans of this music like never before. The Eagles Project presents the music as it should be, true to the originals. Come see for yourself, your ears will thank you!

A Farewell to Kings (AF2K) is a tribute to the iconic Canadian band, Rush. Based in New Jersey, the band is composed of four passionate musicians equipped with the high caliber gear to faithfully recreate the timeless music of Rush: Zack James (Vocals), Aaron Leone (Guitar), Adam Cyran (Bass/Keys), and Johnny Vines (Drums/Percussion). AF2K brings authentic presentations of the musical eras and tours created by the “Holy Triumvirate” Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, back to the stage and to life for Rush fans young and old. From the epics to the hits and deep cuts, AF2K pays precise attention to detail and is a musical experience unlike any other tribute.

Playing the hits and deep cuts spanning the career of Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame group Fleetwood Mac, Tusk has been crisscrossing the country since 2008 as The Classic Fleetwood Mac Tribute. Five pro musicians turned into masters of their trade through decades of individual music study, live performance, creative risk and devotion to the art. TUSK features note-perfect renditions of both the solo and full band songs, with each member specializing in one of the core lineup of Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood). They possess an electric stage presence that can only come from well over a decade touring together. Truly the best at what they do, TUSK is unmatched in their tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time.

The seventh album from Foy Vance, The Wake marks the completion of a decades-long journey defined by tireless soul-searching and life-altering revelation. While playing a gig on the Spanish island of Lanzarote in January 1999, the Northern Ireland-born singer/songwriter experienced a moment of unprecedented transcendence onstage, then learned the next morning that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack that very night. Overcome by grief and a galvanizing clarity, Vance immediately resolved to create seven albums informed by the loss of his father—a traveling preacher who moved their family to the American South when Vance was a baby, and set him on his life’s path by teaching him to play guitar early in his childhood. At turns devastating and ecstatic and wildly illuminating, The Wake reveals an artist highly attuned to the task of preserving the human spirit in an often-unforgiving world.

Produced by Ethan Johns (the Brit Award-winning producer known for his work with Paul McCartney, Ray LaMontagne, and more), The Wake brings Vance’s gritty vocal work to a potent convergence of folk and soul and Southern blues, instilling every moment with an unbridled vitality. In his intimate exploration of the human condition, the Scotland-based artist muses on matters both intensely personal (e.g., fatherhood, heartbreak) and wholly existential (the slippery essence of time, the looming crisis of AI’s unchecked ascent). The final volume in a run of albums that began with his 2007 debut Hope—and also includes standouts like 2016’s The Wild Swan (executive-produced by Elton John), 2019’s From Muscle Shoals and To Memphis (recorded at the historic FAME Studios and Sam Phillips Recordings Studios, respectively), and 2021’s Signs of Life (partly made at Vance’s home in the Scottish Highlands)—the result is the purest distillation yet of his truly singular artistry, imparting a defiant joy into songs of longing and loss and hard-won acceptance. 

$1 per ticket goes to HER Campaign