Alicia Olatuja Quintet will bring jazz music to the stage on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center Atrium Lobby. The performance is free and tickets are not required. There will be a free pre-performance talk with the artist from 1-2 p.m. in the Weis Center Atrium Lobby. The performance is sponsored, in part, by David and Clayton Lightman and family. This engagement is made possible through the Jazz Touring Network program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Alicia will be joined by band members: Jon Cowherd on Piano, […]

What a way to welcome the holiday season! Grammy-winning, all-women, African American a capella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock returned to the Weis Center (they performed in 1992) for a December 1 performance that had everyone “Celebrating the Holydays.” Founded in 1973, and with a few member changes over its forty years, Sweet Honey in the Rock has a mission to educate, entertain, and empower through powerful a capella vocal dynamics and American Sign Language. The current lineup consists of vocalists Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil and Shirley Childress, an American Sign Language Interpreter who has […]

In breaking with traditional concert norms, the Weis Center hosted its first ever Hip Hop Happening. This panel-performance brought to attention many of the political issues most commonly discussed in hip hop music in the past to lead the performers to speculate on the genre’s future in social action. Moderated by Manny Faces, a New York City based hip hop journalist and advocate, the Weis Center welcomed artists Amos Lachman, J Pope and two Bucknell University students Mansa K and Amarachi Ekekwe. Keeping with the themes of social action, the panel discussion opened up with a question from Manny surrounding […]

It is very rare to witness a multitude of moving artistic parts come together so ingeniously in the name of creating one body of work. This is just what occurred at the Weis Center on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 9 with an exquisite performance of a piece entitled the “The Blue Hour” by A Far Cry string orchestra and vocals from Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Souza. The piece was a creative collaboration that came to fruition from the works of five notable female composers – Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw and Sarah Kirkland Snider – and featured […]

We welcomed the first dance performance of our 30th anniversary season Thursday, October 12 with a dazzling production by the Alonzo King LINES Ballet company. The San Francisco contemporary ballet company boasts dancers that move with such fluidity across the stage that one number seamlessly blends into the next. The show consisted of two acts that each contained one extended piece choreographed solely by King. The first piece, entitled Biophony, was an exceptional and unique collaboration between King, soundscape artist Bernie Krause, and composer Richard Blackford. The audio played during the piece was from Krause’s recording of various ecosystems and creatures from […]

As part of its 30th Anniversary season, the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University will devote an entire day to the legacy, tradition and craftsmanship of Martin Guitars on Saturday, October 14. The day is entitled, Martin Guitar Gathering: A Celebration of the Legacy of C.F. Martin Guitars in American Roots Music. The day is sponsored, in part, by C.F. Martin & Co. in Nazareth, the News-Item in Shamokin, WXPN radio in Harrisburg and K&S Music Center located in South Williamsport. All of the day’s events are free with the exception of the Del McCoury Band performance […]

As the Weis Center kicks off its 30th Anniversary season and celebration, we wanted to begin an online celebration of our own by exploring the history and stories behind this historic venue. We thought it best to begin by looking into the events leading up the Center’s inaugural performance on April 4, 1988. The Sigmund and Claire Weis Center for the Performing Arts was constructed between 1985 and early 1988 with a projected total cost of approximately $9.7 million. The bulk of the funds came from a generous trust given by the estate of Claire Weis, mother of former Bucknell chairman of […]

Image:  Les Paul, Ralph Gibson, 2000, Gelatin Silver Print on Paper. Gift of Douglas Smith, Class of 1984   The Weis Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with the Samek Art Museum at Bucknell University, will host a free guitar-themed photography exhibit now through Friday, June 22, 2018 in its Atrium Lobby. Entitled State of the Axe, the exhibit includes 30 photographs which were drawn from the collection of the Samek Art Museum by photographer Ralph Gibson. The images depict guitar masters and the intimate relationship they have with their instrument. Richard Rinehart, Samek Art Museum Director and curator of the […]

With glowing reviews from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker, The Bad Plus was welcomed to the Weis Center by a crowd ready to hear some good jazz on an unseasonably warm Saturday evening. The jazz trio based in New York City includes a delightful mix of piano from Ethan Iverson, bass guitar from Reid Anderson, and drums from Dave King. The group began by playing several original songs. Some were melodic and piano heavy while others highlighted rhythm from the drums. Some of the most surprising yet enjoyable moments of the evening occurred in between […]

How much do you know about the Weis Center? Sure, it’s a beautiful space. The Atrium Lobby’s winding staircase and the theater’s high ceilings, wood paneling, and signature light fixtures are immediately recognizable to any student, staff, faculty or alumnus. It’s ranked as one of the country’s most beautiful university performing arts centers for a reason. However, when you dig a little deeper, there are many facts and eccentricities that make the Weis Center even more unique. Here are a few did you know?’s about Bucknell’s home for all things performing arts. The center has a “shoe box” shape. With […]