Live music scene will light up Downtown all week long

Spring may not be in the air yet, but take comfort in the fact that First Friday returns this week. Roll the highlight reel for an amazing week in arts, culture, music and theater in the Big Town – Monday to Sunday, Feb. 25-Mar. 3:

First Friday – KC’s hippest night of the year returns this Friday with a sizzling collection arts and cultural experiences throughout Downtown, including the Crossroads Arts District, 18th & Vine, Lyric Opera, MTH Theater,Box Gallery and West Bottoms (all weekend).

Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th – This week, I’m With Her – recently nominated for Duo/Group of the year by the Americana Music Association and Vocal Group of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association – at 8 p.m. Wednesday, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Field, featuring pianist Jeremy Denk, in a Harriman-Jewell Series performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Garden Brothers Circus will present a fast paced, 90-minute show in a Theatrical European three-ring setting,  featuring the Human Pyramid, daring aerial, six motorcycles in the Sphere of Fear, the Crazy Cossack Horse Riders and more than 50 performers! The 100-year-old circus will present eight shows on Friday through Sunday at Hale Arena.

Kansas City Public Library, 14 W. 10th, presents Echoes of Grant: The Second World War Leadership of Dwight Eisenhower at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library. The program by John McManus, a Mizzou professor and one of the nation’s top military historians, coincides with the library’s exhibit on Eisenhower’s Middle Road.

Kansas City Tornadoes take on Tampa Bay at 7 p.m. Monday at HyVee Arena.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway. Next up, the Kansas City Symphony presents its a Chamber Music performance on March 5 and its next Classical Series program on March 8-10.

Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester, will feature 13 blazin’ shows this week including Julia Othmer in the Garage at 8:30 p.m. Thursday; Elise Davis with John Goolsby at 8:30 p.m. Friday; and the Boogie Wonderland Disco Party at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Midland, 1228 Main – This week, Lauren Daigle, winner of two 2019 Grammy Awards in the Best Contemporary Christian Music catergory for Album, Look Up Child, and Performance and Song, You Say, will light up Downtown at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Record Bar, 1520 Grand, will feature 7 rockin’ nights this week, including Bart Crow with Stewart Ray and Jesse Harris at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; Glorious Sons with special guest Lilly at 7 p.m. Saturday; and The People’s Liberation Big Band at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Sprint Center, 1407 Grand, will be shakin’ Downtown over three nights this week, including:

• Kiss will rock this town one last time on its End of the Road Tour at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
• Eric Church will perform two unique shows during a two-night gig at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

The Truman, 801 E. Truman Rd. – This week, Kurt Vile and the Violators with The Sadies at 8 p.m. Wednesday; Nothing More featuring Of Mice & Men, Badflower and Palisades at 6:30 p.m. Friday; and Morbid Angel with Blood Incantation and Necrot at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

LIVE MUSIC is also on tap most nights at these Downtown clubs and joints: Blue Room Jazz Club, Black Dolphin, The Brick, Green Lady Lounge, Hush, The Majestic Jazz Club, Mutual Musicians Foundation, The Phoenix, Prohibition Hall, The Record Bar, The Ship, and throughout the Power & Light District.

LIVE THEATER is thriving on Downtown stages, including four productions this week:

• The Green Book Wine Show Train Trip – A twist on the “Negro Motorist Green Book” is presented through the unexpected time travel of five women from Missouri. Performances continue through March 2 at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Penn Valley Park.
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins – In this charming musical adaptation of the beloved book, Mr. and Mrs. Popper’s lives take an adventurous turn when a mysterious box arrives on their doorstep with a penguin inside. Performances begin Tuesday and run through March 31 at The Coterie at Crown Center.
• Polkadots – This new musical follows 8-year-old Lily Polkadot, the first Polkadot in an all Square school.  Inspired by American civil rights history, this Theatre for Young America production runs through March 23 at City Stage at Union Station.
• School Girls – Jocelyn Bioh’s hilarious re-imagining of the Mean Girls story is a loving exploration of the real lives of young African women trying to negotiate the confusion of Western beauty ideals. The fun continues thru March 22 at the Copaken Stage of the KC Rep.

For more of what’s happening in Downtown and Kansas City, check out ArtsKCGo and VisitKC.com