Livermore Valley Arts

Contact: Ruth Egherman (925) 583-2306 [email protected]

Bankhead Theater Announces 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents Season Spectacular Line-Up Includes Acclaimed Stars of TV, Music, Comedy, and More

LIVERMORE, CA – (April 9, 2025) – Livermore Valley Arts has announced the 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents season through February, which will start officially on August 23, 2025, with the Brilliance at The Bankhead gala fundraiser starring Grammy® Award-Winner LeAnn Rimes, international multi-platinum-selling acclaimed singer, and ASCAP award-winning songwriter. The three dozen events include live performances, from international stars to local Tri-Valley favorites. Among the varied performers in the Bankhead Presents series will be concert delights Pink Martini, The Filharmonic, Uptown, and The String Queens, nostalgic thrills 90s Mix Tape Live and Top of the World—A Carpenters Tribute, comedy funnymakers Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery and Jon Lovitz, special one-of-a-kind experiences Wheel of Fortune Live and Moana Live-To-Film Concert, returning favorites Dustbowl Revival, Luca Stricagnoli, and Keiko Matsui, world gems for the season Irish Christmas in America and Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in México, and iconic evenings through Rae Dorough Speaker Series with Jason Alexander and Peter Hillary. Livermore Valley Arts Members have exclusive presale access to the new season from April 9 through April 23 at noon, with general public on-sale set for Wednesday, April 23 at 12 pm. The 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents series will be at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore.

“In this day and age, it feels as if we all need to make an effort to treat others better, but how do we go about this?” expressed LVA Chief Executive Officer Chris Carter. “Research suggests that people who engage in the Arts are more eager to help others, form stronger bonds, and feel a greater sense of community. If you want to be a better person, the prescription is Art…There is so much power in the Arts.” The Bankhead may as well be a pharmacy, because whatever genre of that ‘prescription,’ there is something for everyone’s needs! From familiar ‘comfort food’ artists who return to Livermore every couple of seasons, to starry debut artists from the worlds of TV and music, to even a past International Guitar Night star and a Brilliance at The Bankhead artist who loved this Tri-Valley venue and audience so much they had to come back again, this season is a perfect mélange of genres that continues to bring only the highest-quality Arts programming to the Tri-Valley. Carter and the entire staff at The Bankhead are thrilled to share this star-filled season with the Tri-Valley and the greater Bay Area, continuing their aim to bring even greater star artists and performers up close and personal right here to the beautiful Bankhead, an intimate space that performers and audiences both treasure dearly.

The range of events for the new season is truly varied, covering a broad range of musical genres, plus comedy, nostalgia, holiday shows, and more—there is something for everyone. As always, music will come front and center in the new season. Kicking things off with a bang, September will bring Emmy Award-winner Jane Lynch and the hilariously charming Kate Flannery (of The Office fame) with their show The Trouble with Angels, an evening of mischief and music from two very familiar faces. ‘It’s like the Rat Pack… but with a couple of broads!’ At The Martin Sexton Abbey Road Show, the American singer-songwriter, who has released 9 studio albums blending soul, gospel, country, rock, blues, and R&B, will put his signature style on his rendition of this iconic Beatles album, combining what Rolling Stone calls his “soul-marinated voice” with his inventive guitar prowess, followed by a set of mainly original music. Born and raised in Italy, Luca Stricagnoli, who previously enchanted Bankhead audiences as part of International Guitar Night, will be back for his own acoustic performance, where he will display his unique style and innovative playing techniques. Another returning artist, the always sensational Keiko Matsui, internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, and humanitarian, who has worked with everyone from Miles Davis to Stevie Wonder, will once again set foot on the Bankhead Stage.

At A Celebration of 60 Years of Bob & Willie, Dustbowl Revival (who previously enthralled Livermore in 2024’s ArtWalk After Dark) and The Hot Club of Cowtown will play classics and deep cuts from Bob and Willie’s catalogue, and share their own originals too, paying tribute to how Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson changed how we listened to traditional folk music and rock ‘n’ roll, and created their own free-spirited brand of Americana soul. In the New Year, The Stage Door Lounge will come alive with Andy McKee, one of the world’s finest acoustic guitarists, and the annual Bankhead favorite performance and Tri-Valley staple, International Guitar Night will return on its 26th Anniversary tour, this time bringing global guitar stars Taimane Gardner, Lucas Imbiriba, Stephanie Jones, and Alexandr Misko direct to Livermore to wow audiences.

While all Bankhead Presents concerts are legendary, there are a few more evenings of music that warrant special mention in the upcoming season. ‘Wowing audiences with their almost superhuman a cappella abilities’ (SOULTRAIN), The Filharmonic, the LA-based a cappella group of Filipino-Americans who were featured in NBC’s hit musical competition The Sing-Off, will be making their Bankhead debut in 2025. The 5-piece vocal group has kept the momentum rolling with countless national and international shows, was featured in the Universal Pictures hit movie Pitch Perfect 2 and set off a viral sensation with their Late Late Show appearances. Having performed with artists like John Legend, Shawn Mendes, and more, The Filharmonic will bring their unique blend of hip-hop, pop, and R&B right to the Tri-Valley. Another unforgettable night of music, the men of Uptown fuse Bruno-Mars-caliber stage presence with top-tier vocals and wall-to-wall choreography, combining the smooth stylings of R&B with the fresh hits of today in a unique and modern show that gets every crowd on their feet. This group exudes unparalleled energy with their blend of contemporary radio hits and classic Motown music, with every single member a world-class soloist, with frequent comparisons to the artistry of icons like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Having shared the stage with the likes of Rod Stewart, Andrea Boccelli, Willie Nelson, and Christina Aguilera, The Ten Tenors, the Australian music ensemble that has toured extensively nationally and internationally and released more than 20 albums, will drop by The Bankhead for their 30th Anniversary World Tour. The String Queens praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine, with a vibrant sound with fresh takes on the music of contemporary soul legends and pop icons. These music stars will all be gracing the Bankhead Stage in the coming season, truly thrilling Livermore audiences in their Tri-Valley debuts.

Nostalgia lovers will get their fill in 2025 and 2026. The creators of Bankhead’s favorite The Doo Wop Project have created a new, ‘da bomb’ show that will turn back the clock to all your faves at 90s Mix Tape Live, a love letter of a concert for the TRL generation. The Rocky Horror Picture Show will come alive in Livermore with its 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour, where audiences will join the original ‘Columbia’—Nell Campbell—for a screening of the original unedited movie with a live shadow cast and audience participation, featuring a costume contest, and more! The new year will bring “100 Years of Hank Williams” starring Jason Petty, celebrating Hank Williams’ 100th birthday with this critically acclaimed tribute. Top of the World—A Carpenters Tribute, the world’s premier tribute to The Carpenters, will also play The Bankhead, fronted by singer Debbie Taylor, whose Karen Carpenter vocal resemblance is absolutely astonishing. For family time at the theater, following in the footsteps of LVA’s 2023 sold-out Coco in Concert, the North American Tour of Moana Live-To-Film Concert will be dropping by the Tri-Valley, featuring the beloved film audiences and families fell in love with in 2016, accompanied by a live Polynesian Orchestra. This show will be perfect for all ages!

From around the globe, making a return visit to Downtown Livermore, Bankhead favorite Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno, acclaimed in both the United States and México, will enchant the Tri-Valley once again during the Día de los Muertos season. Peking Acrobats will be back at The Bankhead, redefining audience perceptions of Chinese acrobatics by performing daring maneuvers atop a precarious pagoda of chairs, among other impressive feats. Theatre enthusiasts can relish in the return of Selected Shorts, the live version of the popular podcast. Once again, a new crop of to-be-selected stars from stage and screen (again revealed to us in the weeks before the show) will be on the Bankhead Stage, to bring to life the magic of storytelling with live readings of everything from heartwarming dramas to hilarious comedies, short stories selected specifically for Livermore.

Comedy offerings in the 2025—2026 season include the always-a-favorite San Francisco Comedy Competition, the requested return of Funny Women of a Certain Age, providing our favorite girl-power-fueled evening of side-splitting laughs, and Jon Lovitz, one of the best-known comedians for the last thirty years, best known for his time on Saturday Night Live. Additionally, The Bankhead is excited to sprinkle in new types of events for the Tri-Valley, continuing to expand the types of programming and shows LVA offers: Livermore will get a chance to live out that game-show fantasy, buy a vowel, and win prizes up to $10,000 at Wheel of Fortune Live, and Psychology of Cults, hosted by renowned cult interventionist Ashlen Hilliard, this gripping live show takes audiences deep inside the world of cults—how they form, why people join, and what it takes to break free. Additionally, “Stop Making Sense”: A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads will be a thrilling live event, screening one of the greatest concert films of all time, hosted by Jerry Harrison from the Talking Heads.

Rounding out this star-filled season, The Bankhead will again be presenting the Rae Dorough Speaker Series (RDSS) as part of its Bankhead Presents lineup, filled with stars from a variety of fields. The speaker series honors the late Rae Dorough, a respected Livermore resident and strong supporter of cultural events. Members of her family and friends were the initiating sponsors in 2008. The series features provocative, entertaining, and enlightening presentations on a wide variety of topics. Past speakers have included engineers, scientists, fiction and non-fiction writers and historians, entrepreneurs, comedians and entertainers, diplomats, astronauts, journalists, and even a former secretary of defense. Sponsored in part by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, Sandia National Laboratories, the Alameda County Arts Commission, Towne Center Books, and ImageSetters, the Rae Dorough series also partners with the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District and Las Positas College to provide free or reduced-price tickets to students and educators. LVA began presenting the RDSS series in fall of 2023. The new 2025—2026 RDSS Bankhead Presents series hits the ground running with a return from a past Gala star artist at As Long As You’re Asking—A Conversation with Jason Alexander, an evening of comedy, music, and conversation with the award-winning star of stage and screen, in which the audience determines what they want to know the most from the man of Seinfeld fame. The season continues with the former head of the Pentagon’s UFO Investigation Unit for a discussion on humanity’s greatest existential questions with Luis Elizondo’s Universal Truth, The Evidence is Clear: We Are Not Alone, followed by National Geographic Live with A Pirate’s Life, where audiences will hunt for some of history’s greatest treasures and the pirates who ruled the ocean with archaeologist Lisa Briggs. Paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey will have audiences Digging for Humanity’s Origins, and at 70 Years of Everest, adventurer Peter Hillary will share how he carries on the legacy of adventure and purpose, as crafted by his father Sir Edmund Hillary, part of the first climbing team to summit the world’s tallest peak. From entertainment, UFOs, and pirates to humanity’s origins and the world’s tallest heights, it will truly be another wow year for the Rae Dorough Speaker Series, whose guests at The Bankhead will regale, inspire, and enchant Tri-Valley audiences.

In looking at the warm season of jolly at The Bankhead, the 2025 holiday season is chock-full of music and dance, tradition and family, returning favorites and Livermore debuts: kicking things off after a smash hit last New Year’s Eve, powerhouse in jazz and beyond and Bay Area fave Jeff Bordes, known for his electrifying performances and ability to connect with audiences through music, is back after Thanksgiving with his Jeff Bordes & Friends: A New Orleans Christmas.

Though not a holiday show, Pink Martini, the globe-trotting, genre-defying little orchestra, will be back in December to enchant in a sure-to-sell-out engagement, fresh off 2024’s celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band, and another demanded-return, the rhythmic Celtic music and dance at the moving Irish Christmas in America will also play Livermore once again. One of the most exciting artists of her generation, Stella Cole (with Strings Holiday Show) has become a global viral sensation for simply doing what she has been passionate about her whole life—singing songs from the Great American Songbook—and she will bring that charm and nostalgia to life during the Christmas season. Rounding out our global holiday celebration, Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in México is a vibrant show that weaves cherished Mexican traditions into a magical story of the season, and will bring to life on the Bankhead Stage an unforgettable program where every note and dance step embodies the rich cultural tapestry of Christmas in México.

The 2025—2026 season follows a star-studded 2025 summer season, which now includes two new thrilling additions, the comedy podcast that’s funny for everyone, Dry Bar Comedy, and Livermore-favorite, inspired by the music of Poco and the Eagles, the fabulous Mustangs Of The West. These 2 new additions join the previously announced summer roster of return favorites and exciting Tri-Valley debuts. Beginning on June 21, the Bankhead Presents summer season also includes Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Maria Bamford, Are You Ready For It? A Taylor Experience, The Great Dubois: Masters of Variety, and not one, but two performances from Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show.

In addition to Bankhead Presents shows, the Resident Companies of The Bankhead — CYT

Tri-Valley, Del Valle Fine Arts, Livermore-Amador Symphony, Livermore Valley Opera, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Tri-Valley Theatre Company, and Valley Dance Theatre — will offer dozens of events of their own during the season.

Of exciting note, Fremont Bank has joined Livermore Valley Arts as a Leading Sponsor in the upcoming season, sponsoring ten 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents performances. The partial list of shows Fremont Bank is sponsoring in part includes Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery, Jon Lovitz, Colin Hay, The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary, Moana Live-To-Film Concert, Stella Cole with Strings Holiday Show, Andy McKee, and The Peking Acrobats (additional shows to be announced). Members of Livermore Valley Arts have exclusive priority ticket presale access now and receive a discount on Bankhead Presents shows year-round, in addition to other benefits. To become a Member, contact 925-373-2305 or visit LivermoreArts.org. Tickets for all shows in the 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents season are available online, by calling 925-373-6800, or at the Box

Office windows Wednesday through Saturday from 12 pm noon to 6 pm at 2400 First Street in Downtown Livermore. For a complete list of events, visit LivermoreArts.org.

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Livermore Valley Arts is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit offering wide-ranging programs that provide access to the Arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. The Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center are home to eight resident performing arts companies and over 40 studio artists and cultural arts instructors. LivermoreArts.org

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LIVERMORE VALLEY ARTS

2025—2026 BANKHEAD PRESENTS SEASON 

AUGUST

23     Brilliance at The Bankhead

starring LeAnn Rimes

SEPTEMBER

• RDSS: Jason Alexander
• Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery

The Trouble with Angels

• San Francisco Comedy Competition
• 90s Mix Tape Live

18     RDSS: Luis Elizondo

19     Funny Women of a Certain Age

26     Jon Lovitz

OCTOBER

11     The Filharmonic

12     Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno

18     The Martin Sexton Abbey Road Show

24     The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary

NOVEMBER

10     Wheel of Fortune Live

13     RDSS: Lisa Briggs

14     Uptown

15     Luca Stricagnoli

16     Dustbowl Revival & The Hot Club of Cowtown

A Celebration of 60 Years of Bob & Willie

19     Moana Live-To-Film Concert

21     Keiko Matsui

23     Psychology of Cults

29     Jeff Bordes & Friends:

A New Orleans Christmas

DECEMBER

• Pink Martini
• Irish Christmas in America

18     Stella Cole with Strings Holiday Show

22     Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in México

JANUARY

2       Stage Door Lounge: Andy McKee

4       “100 Years of Hank Williams” starring Jason Petty

• STOP MAKING SENSE:

A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads

Live Event Hosted by Jerry Harrison

• Top of the World—A Carpenters Tribute

29     RDSS: Louise Leakey

FEBRUARY

2       Peking Acrobats

5       The Ten Tenors

30th Anniversary World Tour

13     The String Queens

15     Selected Shorts

20     International Guitar Night

MARCH

5       RDSS: Peter Hillary

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BUY TICKETS

Online: LivermoreArts.org or Call: 925-373-6800