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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Seth Mulder and Midnight Run.
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Photos courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
The Celtic Angels.
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Photo by Thomas Crabtree.
Beth Neilsen Chapman.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Mac McAnally.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Ciaran Sheehan in “Carousel.”
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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Rissi Palmer
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Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
John Waite
Tickets go on sale Aug. 28 for the 2023-24 Hoover Library Theatre season, which includes power ballad and rock star John Waite and the famous Glenn Miller Orchestra among the season’s eight acts.
Matina Johnson, fine arts director for the Hoover Public Library, said she is excited about this year’s lineup, which is heavy on musicians.
Some years, the lineup has included plays, aerial performers and magicians, but this year, library officials decided to give a bigger embrace to the musical acts, which tend to sell the most tickets in Hoover.
There is a production of Rodger and Hammerstein’s “Carousel,” but it’s a “concert rendition” that is more like an old radio show than a full musical, Johnson said. The actors will be in costume in front of microphones, but there will be no set changes, she said.
Waite, who is best known for his No. 1 hit single “Missing You” in 1984 and his work as the lead singer for Bad English a few years later, has his performance slated for Feb. 18 and will kick off the 2024 Southern Voices Festival.
“This is probably one of the biggest ones [acts] we’ve ever had,” Johnson said. “We were happy to get him anytime we can get him.”
The Glenn Miller Orchestra, which was an American swing dance band led by Glenn Miller from 1938 to 1944, has been led by various conductors over the decades since reconstituting without Miller in 1956.
The orchestra coming to Hoover on Jan. 30-31 is an 18-member ensemble that includes five saxophonists, four trumpeters, four trombonists, three rhythm musicians and two vocalists, Johnson said. The orchestra plays about 300 live shows a year, she said.
“We’re really happy to have them here on our stage,” Johnson said. “I think it’ll be a warm show for a cold time of year.”
The season kicks off Oct. 5-6 with Seth Mulder and Midnight Run, a traditional bluegrass band that had the fourth most-played song on bluegrass radio in 2021. “It will be a high-energy show,” Johnson said.
This season contains two artists with an Alabama connection. The first is Beth Neilsen Chapman on Nov. 2-3. Chapman, whose family moved to Montgomery when she was a teen, recorded her first album in Muscle Shoals and went on to become a Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The other is Mac McAnally, who was born in Red Bay, Alabama, and later became a studio musician in Muscle Shoals, before going on to record 10 studio albums and eight singles of his own and being chosen as Musician of the Year by the County Music Association 10 times. He also is a guitarist in Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band. McAnally will perform in Hoover with Eric Darken on March 21-22.
Rissi Palmer, a country singer and special correspondent for Country Music Television’s “Hot Country Countdown,” closes out the Library Theater season in May. Johnson described her as “very much an up-and-comer” who is “hot on the momentum trajectory.”
There is one Library Theatre show that involves dance this year. A “Celtic Angels Christmas” show is scheduled for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 and combines Irish dancing with vocal and instrumental holiday and Irish favorites.
“It’s just a show that captures the magic of the season,” Johnson said. “Every Celtic show we’ve had has had a wonderful reception from the audience and community.”
It’s one that is designed for people of all ages, she said.
Here’s a bit more about each act in the 2023-24 Hoover Library Theatre season, based on information from the Hoover Public Library, the acts’ websites and other bios:
Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Seth Mulder and Midnight Run.
SETH MULDER AND MIDNIGHT RUN
When: Oct. 5-6, 7 p.m.
Details: This band started in 2015 at the Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and is made up of five members who draw from influences that include bluegrass, country and rock and roll.
It is led by Mulder, who sings and plays mandolin, but also includes Colton Powers on banjo and harmony vocals, Ben Watlington on guitar, Max Etling on bass and Max Silverstein on fiddle.
Their first studio album, “In Dreams I Go Back,” debuted on the Billboard charts at No. 7, and their singles “My, My, My,” “The Mountains Are Calling,” “Carolina Line” and “One More Night” spent multiple weeks on the Top 10 charts. “My, My, My” was named 2023 Song of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America.
Photo by Thomas Crabtree.
Beth Neilsen Chapman.
BETH NEILSEN CHAPMAN
When: Nov. 2-3, 7 p.m.
Details: Chapman, a country and adult contemporary singer, has put out 15 albums of her own and has written songs for elite musicians including Tanya Tucker, Michael McDonald, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, LeAnn Rimes, Lorrie Morgan, Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Rogers, Michael W. Smith, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Jim Brickman, Elton John, Amy Grant and Alabama.
She also helped write “This Kiss,” which was sung by Faith Hill and went on to become the 1999 Song of the Year and receive a Grammy nomination.
In 2015, she joined Olivia Newton-John and Canadian artist Amy Sky to create an album to aid and comfort people experiencing grief and loss and celebrate the power of music to heal. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.
Photos courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
The Celtic Angels.
CELTIC ANGELS CHRISTMAS
When: Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 7 p.m.
Details: This show includes Irish step dancing by the Celtic Knight Dancers directed by Sarah Costello of Belfast and Dublin native Louise Barry; vocals of traditional and contemporary Irish and holiday tunes by Barry, Searlait Ni Caiside, Olivia Bradley, Michaela Groth and Katie Sweeney; and a live band.
The musical arranger is Peter Sheridan of Cavan and Celtic Thunder.
Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.
WORLD-FAMOUS GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
When: Jan 30-31, 2024, 7 p.m.
Details: Glenn Miller and his orchestra was the bestselling recording band from 1939 to 1942 with standout songs such as “Moonlight Serenade,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “At Last,” “Tuxedo Junction” and “In the Mood.” In four years, Miller scored 16 No. 1 records and 69 Top 10 hits, more than Elvis Presley and the Beatles in their careers.
Miller, who volunteered to join the military to entertain troops during World War II and ended up in the U.S. Army Air Forces, also was considered the father of modern military bands, but he disappeared during a flight over the English Channel in 1944.
The present World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra was reconstituted in 1956 and has been touring worldwide under different directors and with various musicians ever since.
JOHN WAITE
When: Feb. 18, 3 and 7 p.m.
Details: Waite, an English musician, started as the lead singer and bassist of a British rock band called The Babys. The band had two songs, “Isn’t it Time?” and “Every Time I Think of You,” peak at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and disbanded in 1980.
Waite then launched a solo career and in 1984 had a No. 1 hit song, “Missing You,” from his “No Brakes” album.
In 1988, he joined up with former Babys bandmates Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips, along with Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo from Journey, to form a group called Bad English. One of that group’s songs, “When I See You Smile,” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and earned a gold single status.
Bad English disbanded in 1992, and Waite went back out on his own.
Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Mac McAnally.
MAC McANALLY AND ERIC DARKEN
When: March 21-22, 7 p.m.
Details: McAnally was born in Red Bay and grew up playing the piano and singing in church in Belmont, Mississippi. He later became a studio musician in Muscle Shoals and launched his career in pop and country music.
He has put out 17 albums of his own and hit No. 14 on U.S. country charts in 1990 with “Back Where I Come From.” But he is perhaps best known for being the guitarist for Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and for writing songs for others to perform, including co-writing “Old Flame” for Alabama and the No. 1 hits “Down the Road” by Kenny Chesney, “Thank God For You” by Sawyer Brown and “Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah.
McAnally was voted Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association 10 times between 2008 and 2018.
Darken is a percussionist who has recorded with artists such as Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Jewel, James Bay, Maren Morris, Bob Seger, Carrie Underwood, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Carly Pearce and Moon Taxi. He also has performed with artists such as Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Faith Hill and Take 6 and currently tours with Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Ciaran Sheehan in “Carousel.”
CAROUSEL – IN CONCERT
When: April 11-12, 7 p.m.
Details: This Rodgers and Hammerstein touring production stars Ciaran Sheehan and tells the story of Billy Bigelow, a swaggering, carefree carnival barker who falls in love with and marries the sweet but naïve Julie Jordan. It’s a tale of hope, redemption and the power of love set in the 1870s and 1880s.
The actors and singers perform the musical in the style of an old radio show.
Photo courtesy of Hoover Library Theatre.
Rissi Palmer
RISSI PALMER
When: May 2-3, 7 p.m.
Details: Palmer was born in Pittsburgh and spent her adolescent years in St. Louis. She was raised in a musical family that loved both country and R&B and had her first label deal by the age of 19.
She released her debut self-titled album in 2007 with singles such as “Country Girl,” “Hold On To Me” and “No Air,” and she since has independently released a Christmas single, her first children’s album, “Best Day Ever,” and an extended play track titled “Back Porch Sessions.” Her most recent album, “Revival,” was released in 2019.
Palmer has performed at the White House and New York’s Lincoln Center and had multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. She has toured extensively and shared stages with Taylor Swift, The Eagles, Chris Young, Charley Crockett, Miko Marks and many more, as well as had national appearances on “Oprah & Friends,” “CMT Insider,” CNN, “CBS This Morning,” “Good Morning America,” “Entertainment Tonight” and Fox Soul’s “The Book of Sean.”
Palmer launched her own radio show, called “Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer,” on Apple Music Country and is a special correspondent for Country Music Television’s “Hot 20 Countdown.”
Get Your Tickets
Tickets go on sale:
Aug. 28: Past season ticket holders
Aug. 31: New season ticket subscribers
Sept. 1: Single-show tickets
How to purchase tickets:
Cost: $35 plus a $3 processing fee
Phone: 205-444-7888
Box office hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m to 6 p.m.
