The Triangle will see more live performing arts shows this fallย with the return of a full lineup from Carolina Performing Arts (CPA)โ€”the first since early 2022. NC State Live! also released its season announcementย this weekย as it heads into its 50th season.ย 

โ€œThis season we reconnect and move forward. We are excited to welcome back longtime artistic partners and introduce a few surprises,โ€ Alison M. Friedman, the James and Susan Moeser executive and artistic director at Carolina Performing Arts, wrote in a press release. โ€œAfter such a long period of disruption and detachment, we look forward to reviving our shared sense of belonging here at Carolina.โ€

CPA’s season kicks off on September 23 with a performance by The Soul Rebels, accompanied by special guest Big Freedia; other season highlights includeย Carolinaโ€™s Africa Fest 2022 in October, two nights of performances of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s latest work, What Problem?, and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in December.ย 

Southern Futures, an initiative that CPA has run since 2021, will enter a new season led by artist-in-residence Rhiannon Giddens; next spring will see a performance of Giddens’s new opera, Omar.ย 

NC State LIVE, meanwhile,ย kicks off the season with a 50th-anniversary block party on September 18. The event, which is free to the public, will feature performances byย larger-than-life puppeteer companyย Squonk.

Season highlights include musical performances by Gullah band Ranky Tanky and Ukrainian folk groupย DakhaBrakha; NC State LIVEย is also joining forces with the American Dance Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, and Duke Arts for a presentation ofย Emanuel Gat Danceโ€™sย LOVETRAIN2020 at Memorial Hall.ย 


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Sarah Edwards is culture editor of the INDY, covering cultural institutions and the arts in the Triangle. She joined the staff in 2019 and assumed her current role in 2020.