DECATUR -- Kirkland Fine Arts Center is proud to present Grammy award-winning Rhonda Vincent, live in concert, Saturday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. This will be a return visit for the bluegrass sensation, fresh from a stellar performance at Dolly Parton’s 77th Birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry last month.
Described by the Wall Street Journal as the “Queen of Bluegrass,” Vincent began her career as a child in the family band, Sally Mountain Show, but went solo after being discovered by Grand Ole Opry Star Jim Ed Brown. She released her first solo album New Dreams and Sunshine in 1988 to positive reviews. In the 1990s, she left her bluegrass roots for mainstream country music, releasing two albums on the Giant Records label, but by 2000, she was recommitted to bluegrass.
Winning female vocalist of the year six years in a row (2000-2006) from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), plus entertainer of the year in 2001, she had found solid footing. Since those first wins, her and her band The Rage have continued to rack up award after award, including one Grammy (two nominations), nineteen IBMA awards (total), and 89 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPGMA) awards, making them the most award-winning artists in bluegrass music history.
Her album Taken, the first released on her own record label Upper Management Music, debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums Chart in 2010. She has continued to record and perform across genres, including collaborations with Dolly Parton and Elton John. In 2021, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry after a 2020 invitation from longtime member Jeannie Seely. Seely, Dierks Bentley, Riders in the Sky, Mark Wills, Don Schlitz, and Park McCollum joined Vincent for the induction concert, fulfilling a lifelong dream of Vincent’s.
Selections for the evening at Kirkland Fine Arts Center will include a mix of classics and works from Vincent’s 2021 album Music is What I See, available from Upper Management Music. The Decatur community is invited to join us at Kirkland for a night of rousing song and fellowship.
Tickets are $20 // $25 // $30, with tickets for children under 12 available for $10.* To buy tickets and for a full schedule of events, please visit kirklandfinearts.com.
*Discount tickets for children, seniors, and veterans are not available online. Please call or visit the ticket office:
Kirkland Fine Arts Center
1215 Kirkland Drive
Decatur, IL 62522
Ticket Office: 217.424.6318
Hours: Tues-Fri, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Support for Kirkland Fine Arts Center has been provided by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
About Kirkland Fine Arts Center
Kirkland Fine Arts Center is located on the Millikin University campus in Decatur, Illinois. Since its grand opening in 1970, Kirkland Fine Arts Center has played an integral part in continuing the arts in Decatur and central Illinois. The center is home to a 1,903-seat auditorium and houses several music and choral facilities, lecture halls, art galleries and other multipurpose rooms. Kirkland Fine Arts Center has brought in many nationally acclaimed musical tours including Rent, 42nd Street, Grease, Godspell, Side by Side, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats and many others. World-renowned entertainers such as Trace Adkins, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Vicki Lawrence and others have also performed at the center. Visit kirklandfinearts.com to learn more.
For further information, please contact LJ Pemberton, Marketing and Patron Relations Manager at Kirkland Fine Arts Center, at 217.424.3931 or lpemberton@millikin.edu.
