Kentucky Arts and Culture

It’s an old joke among musicians.  After a sub-standard performance, one tells the other, you better keep your day job.  It’s advice the women of Sugartree say they’re sure to follow; each has a career outside of music.  And those day jobs limit their travels, a bit.

It’s a busy weekend for culture in central Kentucky. Lexington’s symphony and its ballet are in action, as is Studio Players.  But, perhaps the most popular events will be the region’s fall festivals.  And, Rich Copley, who reports on the arts for the Lexington Herald Leader, says festival goers should experience a beautiful fall weekend.

A story told this weekend at the Balagula Theater in downtown Lexington is about a woman who can’t get away from crazy men.  Here with a preview of “Bug” and this weekend’s other events is reporter Rich Copley.  Rich, who covers the arts for the Lexington Herald Leader, spoke with WEKU’s Charles Compton.

The first weekend during the fall months is set aside for some digging around a historic site.  It’s tabbed ‘Archaeology Days’ at White Hall in Madison County.  White Hall was the home to Cassius Marcellus Clay, a major general in the Union Army, an ambassador to Russia, and a friend to Abe Lincoln.  The archaeological digs there are coordinated by Jon Endonino with Eastern Kentucky University.

The Kentucky Opera announced today that the organization ended the year with a budget surplus. This is the third season under general director David Roth that the Opera has come out ahead. The season was marked by controversy over how the Opera filled its orchestra pit during the prolonged labor dispute between Louisville Orchestra musicians and management. That controversy, which included labor protests during the spring production of "The Merry Widow," apparently had little impact on the Opera's bottom line.  

Chris Rogerson was a musically precocious child, playing church hymns by ear on the piano when he got home from church. His parents got him piano lessons, but they didn't quite go as planned. It's not that they went badly, but "I was not really playing what was on the page," Rogerson says. "I was just making up my own stuff, so my teacher suggested composition lessons."

The Derby Clock (technically called the Louisville Clock) is back on Fourth Street. Barney Bright's kinetic sculpture was first dedicated in 1976 in the Louisville Galleria. Over the subsequent 36 years, the clock has been broken, repaired and moved. It was placed in Theater Square last year and crews have spent the last few weeks making sure the carved figurines that run a mock horse race around the clock are in working order. 

The members of Louisville rock band My Morning Jacket appear in a new campaign by non-profit Earthjustice that opposes mountaintop removal coal mining. Earthjustice's Mountain Heroes campaign includes photos and videos submitted by people who are against the controversial form of surface mining. 

Outdoor activities dominate this weekend’s calendar.  There’s a concert at Keeneland, and, Rich Copley, who covers arts and culture for the Lexington Herald Leader, says some of the region’s finest art will be on display at Woodland Park.  Rich spoke with reporter Charles Compton.

When it debuted on Broadway, “Bye Bye Birdie” was commentary on contemporary life.  Today, the musical-comedy is a period-piece about pop-culture in 1960.  It’s an attitude embraced by the producers who are reviving “Bye, Bye Birdie” in Lexington.  Here with a preview is Rich Copley of the Lexington Herald Leader.  He spoke with WEKU’s Charles Compton.

UFOs and alien abductions are the headliners this weekend as Pioneer Playhouse presents “High Strangeness.”  Rich Copley of the Lexington Herald Leader says the Danville production is based on an unexplained mystery here in the Commonwealth.  Rich spoke about this weekend’s cultural events with WEKU’s Charles Compton.

Hundreds of classic automobiles and thousands of people gathered over the weekend at the Keeneland Race Course for the annual Concours d’Elegance.  Besides celebrating the history, engineering and artistry of vehicles like the Packard, the event was a fundraiser for Kentucky Children’s Hospital.  Staffing the first aid tent was pediatric physician Erich Maul. Maul says the funds will buy high tech mannequins that can be used in training exercises.