For Vandal Athletics Tickets, please visit GoVandals.comEVENTS & SHOWS
OCT 13
International Ballroom
U of I Pitman Center
The midwest, particularly the part of the midwest Eric D. Johnson hails from, is a largely flat expanse. Zipping through it on the highway, you'll see cities and towns rise up in the distance, but blink and you'll miss other man-made rejoinders to horizontal living dotting the landscape, hill after hill, built from the refuse of the past: landfills. Some of these hills make for great sledding spots, parks, and trails. Others turn organic waste into compost. The Landfill, Fruit Bats' June 12, 2026 album from Merge Records, is something else entirely: a mountain dominating the landscape of Johnson's heart.
This being a Fruit Bats record, one scales that mountain to take in the view, to see the future spread out as wide and endless as the midwestern plains. "But the mountain that gives us this vantage point," Johnson says, "is made out of the trash that we've created, the collective weight of the past ad where it's taken us." When he details that view on title track and lead single "The Landfill" - "a holy vision / of what could be / and couldn't be / and could have been" - it's thrilling to hear him sent soaring by a full complement of instruments. But what's truly stunning is how, in his recontouring from could to couldn't to could have been, he has lost none of the vulnerability that was brought to the foreground of his songwriting by 2025's solo outing, Baby Man.
Theater Arts Season
Pass 2026-2027
New this year! The 2026-2027 Season Pass provides discounted admission for general audiences, seniors and military. The pass includes tickets to six plays and musicals on stage in Moscow:
Dates and Locations:
• “1984” adapted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr. & William A. Miles Jr. from the novel by George Orwell
Oct. 8-18 — The Forge Theatre
• “Urinetown” by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
Nov. 5-15 — The Hartung Theatre
• “Meet Me at Dawn” by Zinnie Harris
Dec. 3-6 — The Pocket Playhouse, Shoup Hall
• “A Year with Frog and Toad” — Music by Robert Reale, Book & Lyrics by Willie Reale, based on the books by Arnold Lobel
Feb. 25 to March 7 — The Forge Theatre
• Spring Pocket Play (Title TBA)
April 8-11 — The Pocket Playhouse, Shoup Hall
• “Sense and Sensibility” by Kate Hamill, based on the book by Jane Austen
April 29 to May 9 — The Hartung Theatre
Every Brilliant Thing
SEPT 12 & 13
Forge Theatre
Life is full of momentous events, highs and lows, triumphs and losses, but rarely has such a broad range of universal emotions been captured so lovingly and humorously in such a brilliant, tiny package.
This life-affirming play will make you grin from ear to ear, move you to laughter and at times bring you to tears. By the end, you will want to hug your neighbors, call your loved ones, and then put on your favorite piece of music and recount all your blessings.
Free for U of I students (use the student tickets portal)
General Admission $10 (benefitting suicide awareness on campus)
NOV 7
International Ballroom
with Special Guest
GATLIN
Since first releasing music in 2017, The Aces have grown into one of pop music’s most exciting and authentic voices.
Sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez, joined by Katie Henderson and McKenna Petty, are hitting new creative heights with their fourth album, “Gold Star Baby.” The release builds on a career that already includes three albums, more than 250 million streams and an international following drawn to the band’s infectious melodies, sharp songwriting and electric live performances.
The Aces have toured with 5 Seconds of Summer, X Ambassadors, The Vamps, COIN, Goth Babe and Louis Tomlinson. They have also appeared at major festivals around the world, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Sziget, Pukkelpop, Summerfest, All Things Go, OUTFEST and New York Pride.
Fresh off Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 North American arena tour, The Aces are returning to the road for their own fall headline tour, bringing a bold new chapter of their music directly to fans.
Auditorium Chamber Music Series
The mission of the Auditorium Chamber Music Series is to bring outstanding performances of a wide variety of chamber music to the region and to offer high-quality musical experiences and education.
Join us this season, featuring GRAMMY- and award-winning artists.
Rachel Barton Pine & Matthew Hagle
Sept 17
7:30 p.m.
U of I Admin Auditorium
Rachel Barton Pine
“Striking and charismatic… she demonstrated a bravura technique and soulful musicianship.” ~ The New York Times
The acclaimed American violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills international audiences with her dazzling technique and lustrous tone. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms the audience’s experience of classical music. Pine performs with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and the Chicago, Atlanta, and Vienna Symphony Orchestras. She has worked with renowned conductors that include Teddy Abrams, Marin Alsop, Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Stéphane Denève, Neeme Järvi, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Tito Muñoz, and John Nelson. As a chamber musician, Pine has performed with Jonathan Gilad, Clive Greensmith, Paul Neubauer, Jory Vinikour, William Warfield, Orion Weiss, and the Pacifica and Parker quartets.
Matthew Hagle
Pianist Matthew Hagle is a musician of great versatility and depth, whose performances are a rare mixture of musical understanding, imaginative programming, pianistic command and beauty of sound. In solo performance, he often tries to shed new light on the piano repertoire, using thoughtful programming and committed performance to present lesser-known works and to illuminate the traditional canon. In a more conventional vein, he has also performed all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas and the complete later piano music of Brahms in a series of live radio recitals. Mr. Hagle is also highly valued as a collaborator by many other artists. With violinist Rachel Barton Pine, he has released three acclaimed CDs on the Cedille label and performed many recitals in North and South America. His piano duo performances with Mio Isoda-Hagle have been highlights of the annual Chicago Duo Piano Festival. Other chamber music partners have been the Parker Quartet, the Avalon Quartet, Quintet Attacca, and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Canadian Brass
A combined total of 24 GRAMMY and Juno nominations and the recipient of the German Echo Award.
NOV 13
7:30 p.m.
U of I Admin Auditorium
The legendary Canadian Brass guarantees to delight with its winning blend of exceptional sound, engaging wit, popular programming, and top-notch showmanship. The hallmark of any Canadian Brass performance is entertainment, spontaneity, virtuosity and, most of all, fun – but never at the expense of the music. Their masterworks approach to repertoire includes their signature takes on Baroque hits, traditional jazz, big band, Broadway, opera, and popular songs by artists ranging from Leonard Cohen to Deadmau5 to The Beatles. Whatever the style, the music takes center stage, performed with dedication, world-class skill, and excellence, and their connection with their audiences remains unparalleled. As the Toronto Star puts it, “Nothing proclaims celebration and festivity like the sound of brass instruments. And if those instruments are played by Canadian Brass, there is even greater cause for celebration.”
With a discography of over 130 albums and an extensive world-wide touring schedule, Canadian Brass is an important pioneer in bringing brass music to mass audiences everywhere. They have sold well over 2 million albums worldwide, with 1.2 million sold in the Nielsen Soundscan era alone (since 1991). They continue to score Billboard chart positions — like with their rousing recording of patriotic songs and marches, Stars & Stripes: Canadian Brass Salute America, which spent 8 weeks in the Top 25 on the Billboard Classical Chart, peaking at #2! Touring legends with an enthusiastic fan base, the Canadian Brass play to packed houses everywhere throughout the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe.
Juilliard String Quartet
Recipient of the GRAMMY & the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Awards
“The most important American quartet in History.” ~ The Boston Globe
JAN 22
7:30 p.m.
U of I Admin Auditorium
With unparalleled artistry and enduring vigor, the Juilliard String Quartet – Areta Zhulla, Leonard Fu, Molly Carr, and Astrid Schween – continues to inspire audiences around the world. Founded in 1946 and hailed by The Boston Globe as “the most important American quartet in history,” the Quartet draws on a deep and vital engagement to the classics while embracing the mission of championing new works, a vibrant combination of the familiar and the daring. Each performance by the Juilliard String Quartet is a unique experience, bringing together the four members’ profound understanding, total commitment, and unceasing curiosity in sharing the wonders of the string quartet literature.
The Quartet continues to honor its rich legacy of innovative commissions with Letters to Ludwig, a deeply personal, multi-year commissioning project that invites living composers to engage with Beethoven’s late quartets. The first chapter featured two evocative new works by German composer Jörg Widmann, inspired by Op. 130, including its original ending, the Grosse Fuge. In the 2025-26 season, the journey continues with a new quartet by Iraqi-American composer Michelle Barzel Ross, reflecting on the profound spirit of Op. 132. These commissions were made possible with the generous support of The Juilliard School, Chamber Music in Napa Valley, and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music.
Curtis on Tour: Dohnányi Sextet
The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music
April 6
7:30 p.m.
U of I Admin Auditorium
Presented by the Curtis Institute of Music, cellist Nicholas Canellakis leads a program centered around Ernst von Dohnányi’s sextet for the unique combination of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet, and horn. Canellakis and emerging artists will open the program with virtuosic duos by Schumann and Halvorsen (variations on a theme by Handel) and the lyrical Brahms Clarinet Trio. Extraordinary emerging artists share the stage with celebrated alumni and faculty. Canellakis is one of today’s most sought-after and innovative cellists, whose career seamlessly blends traditional classical performance with boundary-pushing creative ventures. He performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and is also a composer/arranger, artistic curator, teacher, and filmmaker, with comedic digital content that has reached millions of views worldwide. Canellakis is on the cello faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, his alma mater. A long-time artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he appears regularly in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and on international tours.
OCT 31
BANDS OF AMERICA
Idaho Regional Championships
P1FCU Kibbie Dome
LEARN MORE
Presented by Yamaha and Sweetwater
Join us this fall for the Bands of America Regional Championships, presented by Yamaha and Sweetwater, America’s most exciting marching band events! This Regional Championship features outstanding high school marching bands from around the region in Preliminary competition. The top 12 scoring bands advance to the evening’s Finals and the naming of the 2026 Bands of America Regional Champion.
FEB 24
UI ADMIN AUDITORIUM
Legendary singer-songwriter Judy Collins is celebrating more than six decades of music with her “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes” farewell tour.
A seven-time Grammy nominee, Collins has released 55 recordings throughout her remarkable career and remains one of folk music’s most distinctive and enduring voices. Her acclaimed body of work spans traditional folk, contemporary songwriting and orchestral pop, including her Grammy-nominated 2023 album, “Spellbound,” her first collection of entirely original songs.
Beyond music, Collins is an accomplished author, filmmaker, mental health advocate, keynote speaker and podcast host. Her career has been defined by artistic reinvention, powerful storytelling and an unwavering ability to connect with audiences across generations.
