Arlington, VA; October 17, 2024 – This fall, PBS continues to fulfill its mission as “America’s largest stage” with an exciting slate of arts and performance programming. From October through December, PBS will present programming spanning many musical genres, theater, dance, and art, making these programs accessible for all Americans to enjoy.
From programs honoring Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrating a country legend in GREAT PERFORMANCES “Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight,” to a tribute to service members in SALUTE TO SERVICE 2024: A VETERAN’S DAY CELEBRATION hosted by Mickey Guyton, and an unforgettable night with Sara Bareilles in NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER “Sara Bareilles: New Year's Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra & Friends,” this fall will present the best of the performance arts on PBS.
“As a trusted, constant home for the arts, we are thrilled to present such a wide variety of performance programming to our audience this fall,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, PBS General Audience Programming. “We take pride in being able to provide the American people with the best and brightest of the staged arts, making unique and once in a lifetime productions accessible to the public from coast to coast.”
Check out the full list of programs below. Listed in airdate order (check local listings), these programs will also be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
37TH HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS
Now streaming on PBS.org & PBS app
Celebrate the recipients of the 37TH HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS. The evening commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month includes performances and appearances by some of the country's most celebrated Hispanic artists and visionaries, including Designer Carolina Herrera, Beautyblender Creator Rea Ann Silva, and NBA Legend Carmelo Anthony.
VOCES “Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends”
Now streaming on PBS.org & PBS app
The Mambo Legends Orchestra is committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations. Comprised of several former members of these legendary orchestras, The Mambo Legends provide a link to the golden era of music in New York in the early 1940s, when the Machito Orchestra fused the big-band sound of popular music with the rhythms of Africa, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to create an enduring musical genre beloved around the world.
NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER “Snarky Puppy: The Family We Make”
Now streaming on PBS.org & PBS app
Snarky Puppy, the acclaimed Grammy Award-winning band, brings their genre breaking sound to a sold-out show at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall. When one of the main guest artists, Afro-Peruvian icon Susana Baca, falls ill the band quickly come up with a new plan to transform the concert into a loving tribute to her music and influence. Joined on stage by stars from several Spanish-speaking countries – Silvana Estrada (Mexico), Gaby Moreno (Guatemala), Silvia Pérez Cruz (Spain), and Fuensanta (Mexico) – they perform a special “Family Dinner”-style concert playing their own songs along with Susana’s.
NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER “Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet: Deep River”
Premieres: Friday, October 18, 10 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
Alonzo King LINES Ballet performs the elegant piece “Deep River” in collaboration with Grammy Award®–winning vocalist Lisa Fischer and Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran. Founder and choreographer Alonzo King invites audiences to look at human beings as the pinnacle of creation in this deeply soulful work. The San-Francisco-based, celebrated contemporary dance company is recognized for its impeccable technique, captivating dancers, and rich visual works that challenge the way we look at ballet.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “Émigré: A Musical Drama with the NY Philharmonic”
Premieres: Friday, October 25, 9 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
Enjoy this semi-staged oratorio, featuring the New York Philharmonic and an international cast telling the story of Jewish refugees during World War II. Following Kristallnacht in 1938, two brothers are sent halfway around the world to Shanghai to escape the threat of Nazis. Otto cherishes his heritage, while Josef seeks a new path, and falls in love with Lina, a Chinese woman recovering from the loss of her mother in the Nanjing Massacre. A sweeping tale of love and loss, “Émigré” is set to music by film and concert composer Aaron Zigman with lyrics by Grammy-winning librettist Mark Campbell and additional lyrics by Brock Walsh. Long Yu conducts this New York Philharmonic co-commission with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “Land of Gold”
Premieres: Friday, November 1, 9 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
This documentary explores the making of John Adams and Peter Sellars’ San Francisco Opera premiere of their latest collaboration, “Girls of the Golden West,” dramatizing the turbulent history of the California gold rush. With the new opera’s title referencing Puccini’s 1910 romantic favorite “The Girl of the Golden West,” Adams and Sellars’ work tells a harsher and more complex story through the letters of writer Louise Clappe, who lived in a miners’ settlement for a year and a half. “Land of Gold” examines the historical characters of 1851 on a cultural collision course and goes behind the scenes at San Francisco Opera with the cast and creatives excavating that same history within today’s cultural turmoil. Amid the backstage hubbub, composer Adams, singers Julia Bullock, Paul Appleby, J’Nai Bridges, and director Sellars wrestle their bittersweet opera onto the stage.
SALUTE TO SERVICE 2024: A VETERAN’S DAY CELEBRATION
Premieres: Friday, November 8, 9 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
On Veterans Day, Country Music superstar Mickey Guyton hosts SALUTE TO SERVICE, a musical celebration of our nation's heroes past and present. Country music legend Craig Morgan joins jazz bassist Christian McBride and pop trombonist Aubrey Logan with the United States Army Field Band for this hour-long special, which also shares inspiring stories of distinguished veterans such as General Patrick Brady, our nation’s most decorated living veteran and Colonel Danielle Ngo, who escaped Saigon just before its fall and went from refugee to Army Colonel. This program unites the nation in gratitude and serves as a reminder that servicemembers represent the American ideal of unity, regardless of backgrounds or beliefs.
A WU-TANG EXPERIENCE: LIVE AT RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE
Streaming Premiere: Monday, November 11, 2024, on PBS.org, PBS app, and YouTube
This feature documents the extraordinary concert at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre featuring Wu-Tang Clan, backed by the 60-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Combining performances, interviews, and revealing insights from group members, classical musicians, and concertgoers, the film captures the legendary hip-hop group performing songs from their vast discography of group and solo albums, including their groundbreaking debut album “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).” Through exploring whether hip-hop has earned the legitimacy of more established and prestigious musical genres, “A Wu-Tang Experience” delivers answers that inform, reveal, and inspire.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight”
Premieres: Friday, November 22, 9 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
With her music transcending generations, country music legend Patsy Cline was a crossover trailblazer in her genre, paving the way for artists who followed in her footsteps. Featuring commentary from fellow artists and those who knew Patsy Cline, the star-studded concert filmed from the Ryman Auditorium celebrating her life, legacy and music includes performances by Annie Bosko, Ashley McBryde, Beverly D'Angelo, Crystal Gayle, Grace Potter, Home Free, The Isaacs, Kellie Pickler, Kristin Chenoweth, Mandy Barnett, Mickey Guyton, Natalie Grant, Rita Wilson, Pam Tillis, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Reyna Roberts, Tami Neilson, Tiera Kennedy, Tigirlily Gold, Wynonna and more. Music legend Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline’s husband Charlie Dick, and other personal friends also share anecdotes about her life and music.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “Henry Mancini 100 at the Hollywood Bowl”
Premieres: Friday, November 29, 9 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, along with special guests, celebrate the centennial birthday of Henry Mancini, the peerless composer for film, television and popular song. The four-time Oscar and 20-time Grammy-winning composer of “Moon River” and the “Pink Panther” made 29 conducting appearances on the iconic Bowl’s stage. Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, saxophonist Dave Koz and Mancini’s daughter Monica Mancini gathered to perform classic renditions of Mancini’s signature songs, interspersed with clips from Mancini’s beloved movies and TV shows. In addition, behind-the-scenes documentary footage captures the recording sessions for “The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions - Henry Has Company,” a new, all-star album featuring a diverse range of artists including Gustavo Dudamel, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Pat Metheny, Take 6, Snarky Puppy, and more.
VIOLENT FEMMES: 40TH ANNIVERSARY WITH THE MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY (w.t.)
Premieres: Friday, December 13, 10 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album, the folk punk group Violent Femmes invited the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra to be their “back-up band” in this electrifying concert which mixes classical and rock. Violent Femmes formed in 1981 playing on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their first album, “Violent Femmes,” amplified teenage angst and alienation with such songs as “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone,” written by lead vocalist and guitarist Gordon Gano before he’d even gotten his driver’s license. Today, that debut release stands as a pillar of an American underground movement, and this concert pays homage to the band’s lasting influence.
JOY - CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR
Premieres: Tuesday, December 17, 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square join with Broadway's Michael Maliakel and Downton Abbey's Lesley Nicol for JOY – CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR, a spirited, heartwarming Christmas special. Filmed before a live audience at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, JOY will lift your spirits with stirring renditions of classic and popular Christmas music and a true story about French novelist, poet and dramatist, Victor Hugo at Christmastime.
TOO HOT TO HANDEL: THE GOSPEL MESSIAH
Premieres: Tuesday, December 17, 9:30 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
Handel’s 18th-century masterpiece “The Messiah” is reimagined by Conductor Marin Alsop and colleagues Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson. Handel’s arias, choruses, and orchestration are infused with gospel, jazz, and R&B, creating an uplifting reinterpretation of this seasonal favourite. TOO HOT TO HANDEL: THE GOSPEL MESSIAH has been seen regularly across the United States since its premiere in New York in 1993. This performance in front of nearly 5,000 people at London’s Royal Albert Hall marks its European premiere. Presented by choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone, the program sees The BBC Concert Orchestra joined by The BBC Symphony Chorus and The London Adventist Chorale, along with soloists Vanessa Haynes and Zwakele Tshabalala.
NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER “Sara Bareilles: New Year's Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra & Friends”
Premieres: Tuesday, December 31, 8 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org & PBS app
Acclaimed singer, songwriter and actress Sara Bareilles takes the stage at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra for an enchanting evening of song and celebration in this New Year's Eve special. From her first smash hit "Love Song" to her Broadway songwriting and later performing debut with the musical "Waitress," Bareilles' amazing artistry has been recognized with multiple Grammy and Tony awards and nominations. She will be joined by special guests Rufus Wainwright, Emily King, and David Ryan Harris for this career-spanning night.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.