In partnership with venues and organizations across Little Rock and North Little Rock, the ACANSA Arts Festival of the South is back for over two weeks worth of music, dance and theater performances from Sept. 5-21.
Founded in 2014, the festival will be celebrating its 10th birthday, though a pandemic pause in 2020 and 2021 means that this year’s iteration of ACANSA is only the ninth annual event. Venues include The Rail Yard, The Studio Theatre, Argenta Plaza, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, The Joint, Argenta Contemporary Theatre, CALS Ron Robinson Theater and UA Pulaski Technical College’s Center for Humanities and Arts.
Passes for the entire festival are $250, but tickets to individual performances are available starting at $15 (and free to kids 18 and under), and many of the events are free for everyone. Here’s what on the docket:
The Big Dam Horns
Thursday, September 5
7:30 pm
Tickets: $15
The Rail Yard
1212 East 6th Street, Little Rock, AR 72202ACANSA is celebrating big with a birthday party featuring The Big Dam Horns al fresco at The Rail Yard. With hits from the 1960s through today, The Big Dam Horns deliver a horn infused, one-two punch of jazz, blues, soul, R&B and a knockout blow of rock & roll. Beverages and the area’s finest food truck fare will be available for purchase.
The Heart Collectors
Friday, September 6
7:30 pm
Tickets: $25
The Studio Theatre
320 W 7th St, Little Rock, AR 72201Traveling from Australia to Arkansas, The Heart Collectors are known internationally for blending inspiration from 1960s and 1970s folk and roots music with tight vocal harmonies and enchanting melodies. Performing with cello, guitar, mandolin, banjo and bodhran, their music spans harmony-led ballads to Bowie-esque soundscapes.
Family Arts Day in partnership with UA-PTC
Featuring Buckets N Boards
Saturday, September 7
10am – 2pm / Stage Performance at Noon
Tickets: FREE TO ALL AGES
Argenta Plaza
510 N Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114In partnership with UA-PTC, ACANSA welcomes all ages to a fun-filled arts exploration featuring creative, hands-on activities for the young and young at heart. Buckets N Boards – a hilarious and high-energy show chock-full of amazing percussion, ridiculous songs, spectacular tap dancing, inventive instrumentation and an incredible variety of musical talents – takes the stage at 12 noon.
Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway
in partnership with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA)
Saturday, September 7
7:30 pm
Tickets: $35
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ Amerine/Calhoun Glass Box
501 E 9th St, Little Rock, AR 72202
Acclaimed cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf has performed in 21 Broadway shows. In Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway she graces the AMFA Glass Box with exquisite arrangements for cello and piano, coupled with captivating stories about her life as a musician.Bassist John Hébert in partnership with Jazz at the Joint
Monday, September 9
7:30 pm
Tickets: $30
The Joint
301 Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114
Bassist John Hébert, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and leader of Byzantine Monkey, is known for his unique playing style and lush compositions. His Blue Note Records release, Time Lines, was awarded “Record of the Year” by Downbeat’s Jazz Critics Poll. Performing around the globe with world famous artists, John now calls New York home, where he has performed at such venues as Village Vanguard, Blue Note, The Jazz Standard, Birdland, and The Iridium.Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys
in partnership with Argenta Contemporary Theatre (ACT)
Wednesday, September 11 – Saturday, September 21
Various showtimes and ticket prices
Gold Passes attend Opening Night Reception & Show
ACT II, 315 Main Street, North Little Rock 72114Al and Willie as “Lewis and Clark” were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years. Now they aren’t even speaking. When CBS requests them for a “History of Comedy” retrospective, a grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries, and laughs. Directed by Vincent Insalaco.
tripliciti in partnership with Potluck & Poison Ivy
Thursday, September 12
7:30 pm
Tickets: $30
The Joint
301 Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114
From the collective minds of virtuoso musicians Andy McKee, Calum Graham, and Trevor Gordon Hall, tripliciti is a bold, new musical experience showcasing three of the foremost acoustic guitar composers in the world today.The Other Mozart
Friday, September 13
7:30 pm
Tickets: $35
CALS Ron Robinson Theater
Library Square, 100 River Market Ave, Little Rock, AR 72201
Sylvia Milo’s stunning and award-winning play, THE OTHER MOZART, tells the true, forgotten story of Nannerl, Amadeus Mozart’s sister. Nannerl was a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer who performed throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work faded away, lost to history.Gangstagrass in partnership with Argenta Arts District
Saturday, September 14
7:00 pm headliner during Argenta’s Dogtown Throwdown
Tickets: FREE
Argenta Arts District
406 Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114
Gangstagrass is the Emmy-nominated, Billboard-charting band known for its dynamism and spontaneity – and the theme song for Justified, the FX television show. Led by Rench, these MCs and pickers are the pioneers of an authentic, paradigm-shifting bluegrass and hip-hop genre. Gangstagrass. It’s not what you think.Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams
Thursday, September 19
7:30 pm
Tickets: $30
The Joint
301 Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114
Written and performed by Jacob Storms, and originally directed for the stage by Alan Cumming. Tennessee Rising sheds light on the unexplored, formative years (1939-1945) of Tom Williams. He metamorphoses into his most iconic character – America’s acclaimed playwright, Tennessee Williams. – while grappling with first love, professional triumph and torment, heartbreak, and ultimately “the catastrophe of success.”3rd Friday Art Walk
Friday, September 20
5:00 – 8:00 pm
Tickets: FREE
Argenta Arts District
Main Street, North Little Rock, 72114
Curated by Will Hogg, a new exhibit by Arkansas artist Sergio Valdivia opens in ACANSA Gallery at 413A Main Street. Grab an Argenta Arts District “Passport” and visit up to a dozen venues to see new works and public murals throughout Argenta’s arts and entertainment district.Ryan & Ryan: Kickin’ the Clouds Away
Friday, September 20
7:30 pm
Tickets: $35
CALS Ron Robinson Theater
Library Square, 100 River Market Ave, Little Rock, AR 72201Ryan & Ryan, a dynamic father-son duo, are Kickin’ the Clouds Away with classic and contemporary music played four hands on two grand pianos. Barron and his dad, Donald, perform jazz, ragtime, classical, and even gospel song arrangements. Barron Ryan’s solo performance was a 2017 Festival favorite, and this concert, too, is sure to strike a chord with audiences.
Hispanic Heritage Festival
Saturday, September 21
Afternoon
Tickets: FREE
Argenta Plaza
510 N Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114Presented by Seis Puentes, Hispanic Heritage Festival celebrates our local Hispanic community, artists, music, and culinary scene. Join ACANSA as we explore authentic food vendors, arts and crafts, kids activities and live entertainment.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s DBDT: Encore!
Saturday, September 21
7:30 pm
Tickets: $35
UA-PTC CHARTS Theater
3300 West Scenic Drive, North Little Rock, 72118
The #ACANSA2024 Festival comes to a close with a diverse mix of modern dance exuding the grace, strength and cultural flair of DBDT: Encore!, previously known as Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, as they perform contemporary and lyrical works including world premieres and revivals of the Theatre’s repertoire.