
exclusive performance
Not Our First Goat Rodeo
Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile
with guest Aoife O’Donovan
Friday, August 13, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Amphitheatre
PERFORMANCE NOTICE: This performance has been rescheduled from its original performance date of Saturday, October 24, 2020. All tickets issued for the original performance date are valid for admission to the rescheduled engagement on Friday, August 13, 2021. Patrons who wish to request a refund or who would like to donate their ticket(s) may contact the Gogue Center box office at gpactickets@auburn.edu.
An astounding group of virtuosos—Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Edgar Meyer on bass and Chris Thile on mandolin—reunite live for the first time in nearly a decade. Joined by featured vocalist Aoife O’Donovan, the lively talents of these exceptional artists come together on stage to create a singular sound that’s part composed, part improvised and uniquely American—music so complex to pull off that the group likens it to a goat rodeo, airplane pilots’ nickname for a situation in which many different things need to go right to avoid disaster. In the words of the Los Angeles Times, this concert presents “unlikely musicians on unlikely instruments in concerts . . . that [are] part blues, part bluegrass and a smidgen of Bach.”
The Grammy-winning Goat Rodeo Sessions (2011) was the first step in this pathbreaking collaboration, producing music that NPR’s World Cafe called “organic yet composed in a way that only four deeply talented, in-tune musicians could make it,” hinting “at Appalachia, Chinese classical, Celtic and jazz influences.” Now, the group reunites this year to perform a collection of all-new music, accompanied by a new album released in June 2020 by Sony Masterworks. These five musicians’ diverse traditions and experiences intersect to create a compelling sound that is at once global and American, a shared voice that speaks powerfully to the American experience.
“Organic yet composed in a way that only four deeply talented, in-tune musicians could make it.”
— NPR’s World Cafe
“Unlikely musicians on unlikely instruments in concerts . . . that [are] part blues, part bluegrass and a smidgen of Bach.”
— Los Angeles Times
Experience Not Our First Goat Rodeo on a variety of streaming platforms.
Did you know you can now pre-order concessions using our new online ordering system? No lines, no wait—just a few clicks and you’re all set. And the best part is your order will be ready for pick-up when you arrive at the Gogue Center.
Concessions pre-orders can be made beginning 72 hours prior to a performance’s start time. All pre-orders must be placed by 4 p.m. on the day of the performance.
In the event this performance is postponed, all tickets issued, including those booked as part of a 2020–21 season, series or Create Your Own subscription package, will be valid for admission to the rescheduled engagement. Patrons will be promptly alerted to any schedule changes should they occur.
Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University
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