If your New Year’s resolution includes avoiding getting stuck inside because of the wet weather, acts coming to the Eugene area will help you achieve your goal this winter term.
The WOW Hall will offer plenty of blues this month. On Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., Eugene will get a taste of Southern music when pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball visits the WOW Hall to kick off the release of her new live album, which was recently nominated for a Grammy Award. Tickets are $20, but the live blues and Boogie-woogie talents of Ball – who is nominated for a number of Blues Music Awards, including Entertainer of the Year – should be worth it.
The WOW Hall will also host KRVM’s live broadcast on Jan. 28, which will feature local and regional blues acts including Mary Flower, Jerry and The Stagehogs, Matt Sonnenfelt & The Infamous 145s, and The Strange Tones.
The McDonald Theatre will host a number of acts featuring some big names.
G. Love & The Special Sauce will perform on Jan. 27 before heading to its San Francisco show. Tickets, likely to sell out, are $17.50 in advance to see the all-ages show by a band famous for blending a hip-hop and blues sound with laid-back lyrics.
Another big name to visit the McDonald will be Relient K from Canton, Ohio, on Feb. 25. Tickets to see the Christian punk-pop band are $15 in advance.
Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy and fellow band mate Glenn Kotche will play McDonald on Feb. 4. The duo is also playing at the college towns of Arcata, Calif., and Boulder, Colo. Those interested should purchase advanced tickets; five of Tweedy’s 12 upcoming West Coast shows are sold out. Tickets are $22 in advance for the all-ages show.
If laughing is your thing, Auggie Smith, a 14-year veteran of stand-up comedy, will be at the McDonald Theatre on Jan. 30; tickets are $10 for the 7:30 p.m. all-ages show.
Live theater presented at the Hult Center includes “Mamma Mia!,” a musical based on the songs of ABBA, which will play through Jan. 15 and “Hansel and Gretel” on Feb. 3 and 4, which features the Eugene Opera and the Eugene Ballet Company.
Events to look out for at the University later in the term include the 14th annual Queer Film Festival during February and the Harlem Globetrotters’ performance at McArthur Court on Feb. 27.
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