Coconino Center for the Arts

Paula Jean Rice: Transformation & Transcendence
2023-04-15 - 2023-06-18 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 15
Members Preview 5-6 pm
Artist Gallery Talk by Paula Jean Rice 6 pm
Public Reception 6-8
Paula Jean Rice: Transformation & Transcendence is a retrospective exhibition of visionary ceramic sculpture. The collection includes four decades of Rice’s work from public and private collections, offering a comprehensive survey of the artist’s complete oeuvre. Presented as a multi-media exhibition, the three-dimensional sculptures and relief wall-mounted pieces are accompanied with recent audio recordings of Rice sharing the stories and inspirations behind each series. The artist’s captivating recollections provide the audience with poetic insight on her life’s work.
Paula Jean Rice is a nationally renowned ceramic sculptor and educator, whose interests include the nature and mystery of the human body and our place in the cosmos. Rice is Professor Emerita of Art at Northern Arizona University, where she has received myriad awards for excellence in teaching and creative work. Living at 7000 ft elevation in Flagstaff, Arizona—location of the discovery of the dwarf planet Pluto—she is a passionate observer of the clear night skies.

Paula Jean Rice: Transformation & Transcendence Opening Reception
2023-04-15 - 2023-04-16
Members Preview 5-6 pm
Artist Gallery Talk by Paula Jean Rice 6 pm
Public Reception 6-8
Paula Jean Rice: Transformation & Transcendence is a retrospective exhibition of visionary ceramic sculpture. The collection includes four decades of Rice’s work from public and private collections, offering a comprehensive survey of the artist’s complete oeuvre. Presented as a multi-media exhibition, the three-dimensional sculptures and relief wall-mounted pieces are accompanied with recent audio recordings of Rice sharing the stories and inspirations behind each series. The artist’s captivating recollections provide the audience with poetic insight on her life’s work.
Paula Jean Rice is a nationally renowned ceramic sculptor and educator, whose interests include the nature and mystery of the human body and our place in the cosmos. Rice is Professor Emerita of Art at Northern Arizona University, where she has received myriad awards for excellence in teaching and creative work. Living at 7000 ft elevation in Flagstaff, Arizona—location of the discovery of the dwarf planet Pluto—she is a passionate observer of the clear night skies.

Going Up with Sara Schaefer
2023-03-25 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Phoenix)
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In her new solo show, Sara Schaefer teaches you how to unlock your potential in this fake(?) seminar about defeating your hecklers, developing your TS (thick skin) and achieving total perfect comedy success. No matter your walk of life, you can make your dreams come true simply by Going Up!

Going Up is, on its surface, a hilarious recruitment into the cult of comedy. But at its heart, the show is a bold confrontation of a system rampant with abuse, an examination of what it means to be a creative person in today’s world, and Sara’s own reckoning with the tiny voice in her head that tells her she’s not good enough. Combining sharp joke writing, scathing satire, original music and incredibly detailed handmade miniatures, Sara takes the audience on a wholly original journey through the darkness and into the light.
“Spoofing the cult of comedy in the language of Scientology, the wry, incisive stand-up Sara Schaefer adopts the pose, jargon and microphone of a guru in her new solo show about how to make it in the stand-up business…Ambitious and nimble, sneakily personal with enough inside-baseball jokes to make it a must-see…” – The New York Times
“Schaefer herself has done spectacular work in almost every discipline of comedy and almost on every level, and now, with that wealth of experience and acclaim, is doing a perfectly biting satirical solo show on ‘how to become a comedian’.” – The Comedy Bureau

About Sara Schaefer
Sara Schaefer is a critically acclaimed stand up comedian, writer, and artist. Her Comedy Central Stand Up Presents half hour special debuted in November 2019 and she was the co-host of MTV’s late night show Nikki & Sara Live. Sara published her first book, Grand, in 2020 with Simon & Schuster. She has written for numerous television programs including Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Would I Lie To You, and The History of Swear Words. She won two Emmy awards for her work at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In recent years, Sara’s satirical sketches have been viral hits, including Comedy Ad, Quarantine Barbie, How To Sell a TV Show in 3 Easy Steps, and MeResearch. The New York Times called her new solo show Going Up “ambitious and nimble” and “a feat of comedy.” She will be touring the show in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. in 2023.

Save 10% with membership! Members use SS23 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

FREE Visual Journal Youth Workshop
2023-03-25 13:00 - 15:00
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FREE youth workshop instructed by NAU Art Education Students.
Open to youth ages 8-15. Space is limited.
Participants will be provided with a visual journal for this mixed-media workshop.

Greenhouse Productions Presents: An Evening with Dom Flemons
2023-03-23 19:30 - 21:30
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Grammy Award Winner, Two-Time Emmy Nominee, 2020 U.S. Artists Fellow Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in the Chicago area with his family. He has branded the moniker The American Songster® since his repertoire of music covers over 100 years of early American popular music. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian, and record collector. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. In May of 2022, Dom Flemons received an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, Northern Arizona University where he also gave the Commencement Speech at the ceremony.
Save 10% with membership! Members use DF23 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

Thunderstorm Artis
2023-03-14 19:30 - 21:30
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For his entire life, singer/songwriter Thunderstorm Artis has stayed devoted to making music that strengthens the heart and awakens the soul
A multi-instrumentalist who got his start playing in a band with his 10 siblings as a little kid, the 26-year-old Hawaii native has since brought his warm yet powerful vocals and vibrant musicality to such endeavors as touring with Jack Johnson and sharing stages with legends like Booker T. Jones. After years of refining his craft and carving out his singular identity as an artist, the Oregon-based musician has created his most captivating work to date: a genre-bending batch of songs built on both emotionally raw storytelling and incisive soul-searching, offering much-needed insight into living with hope even in the darkest of times.
Born into an exceptionally musical family—his father Ron was a Motown session player who performed on iconic tracks like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” while his mother Victoria toured as a backup singer for the likes of Lena Horne—Artis grew up in Oahu and started playing drums at age nine, later taking up piano, guitar, and harmonica. Although he’d dabbled in songwriting throughout his childhood, he found a whole new sense of artistic purpose after using music to cope with the sudden death of his father. “Once I started really focusing on songwriting, I realized my music could bring healing not only to me, but to other people in pain,” says Artis, who was 13 when his father passed away. Raised on everything from jazz to country to classic soul singers like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, he immersed himself in sharpening his songcraft and soon began touring extensively with his older brother, acclaimed singer/songwriter Ron Artis II. With his debut EP Haunted released in 2018, Artis next emerged as a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2020, in addition to becoming a mainstay at Wanderlust festivals throughout North America.
In bringing his latest output to life, Artis worked in Los Angeles with producers John Alagia (NEEDTOBREATHE, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) and Jesse Siebenberg (Lissie, Blue Sky Riders) and in Nashville with producer Dan Agee (Jessie James Decker, The Cains). Spotlighting the stunning range of his voice more fully than ever before, each song matches his nuanced reflection with a newly expanded sound. “There’s been a lot of change for me over the last few years, and this music is an embodiment of who I am now,” notes Artis, who married his wife Faith McMaster in 2020 and welcomed their first child into the world in 2022. One of the first tracks penned for his new project, “Take Me to the Fire” unfolds in soulful piano work and moody guitar tones as Artis speaks to the profound transformation that often follows times of struggle. “As I was writing that song, I was looking at it from the perspective of my religion,” explains Artis, who’s dedicated much of his life to working in ministry. “There’s a lot in the text of Christianity about letting go of what doesn’t belong, and stepping into the person you’re truly meant to be.” Another song deeply informed by his faith, “Stand Up Eight” arrives as a bold and urgent anthem graced with potent beats and a searing guitar solo. “The idea of falling down seven times and standing up eight comes from the Scriptures,” says Artis. “It’s about how no matter how much life knocks you down, you’ve got to have the strength to keep getting back up.”
A prime showcase for his extraordinary versatility, Artis’s new body of work also encompasses the cascading folk of “Oh Little River” and the brightly soaring alt-pop of “Surprise” (a gorgeously expressed outpouring of love for his wife). And on “Wildfire,” Artis sets his introspection to a spellbinding backdrop of tender acoustic guitar and delicate piano melodies. “Of all my new songs, ‘Wildfire’ really shows a piece of my history,” he says. “At some point in my life, I realized I’d put up these walls to protect myself from the pain I felt after losing my dad. But as I got older, the walls had become more like a prison. ‘Wildfire’ is about how we all need someone to help us burn those walls down, so that we can find healing instead of hiding from the world.”
For Artis, the work of writing such revelatory songs has become its own form of sustenance. “From a very young age, music has been like an anchor for me; I really don’t know where it’d be without it,” he says. “At this point I don’t go anywhere without my guitar—because if I do, I feel like there’s a part of me that’s missing.” But for all the fulfillment he finds in songwriting, Artis always keeps an eye toward the potential impact on his audience. “I believe that artists have a responsibility to explain what they’re feeling and put it into their art, so that others can understand themselves better,” he says. “So even though I hope my songs give people a better sense of who I am as a person, I also hope the music makes them feel stronger and helps them to grow. I hope it shows them how to love one another, and how to love themselves.”
Save 10% with membership! Members use TA23 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

POSTPONED - Your Time, Your Place - FREE Youth Media Workshop
2023-03-11 11:00 - 17:00
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DUE TO LOW ENROLLMENT THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN POSTPONED. PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON FOR RESCHEDULED DATES. TENTATIVELY PLANNED FOR EARLY JUNE.
FREE Four-day intensive workshop. Participants will learn essential production skills to make stunning short videos.
Open to youth ages 14 – 18, no previous experience necessary!
Space is limited.
All participants must be able to attend each day:
Monday, March 13th, 11am – 5pm
Wednesday, March 15th, 11am – 5pm
Friday, March 17th, 11am – 5pm
Saturday, March 18th, 11am – 5pm
What is your perspective on your time and place in the world?
If you could make a short movie sharing your perspective on your time and place in the world, what would it be about? In this hands-on intensive workshop, participants will learn essential production skills to make stunning short videos. This workshop will cover pre-production, production, and post-production processes with an emphasis on collaboration, narrative development, and professional audio and video editing.
The workshop will conclude with a youth media and film festival on Mar 26, 2023, of the finished work and a selection of short films. A prize (or prizes) will be given out for audience favorite.
We ask that participants please fill out a brief questionnaire, found here: Questionnaire
Masks are required during all instructional time.
Please bring a packed lunch to each session.

Youth Battle of the Bands 2023
2023-03-04 18:00 - 20:30
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Coinciding with YOUTH ARTS 2023: Time, Place & Perspective, Coconino Center for the Arts will host the 2nd annual Battle of the Bands exclusively featuring youth performers (ages 14-18, living in Coconino or Yavapai counties). Bands submitted their best song to be reviewed by music professionals, for the chance to perform in the Battle of the Bands for a chance to win an array of promotional opportunities.
Finalists bands include:
NPA Advanced Jazz Band – 2022 Battle of the Bands 1st Place Winner winner
Thick Brass
FHS Jazz Band
BASIS 6th Grade Choir
Join us for the performance on March 4th to vote!
For more info on Battle of the Bands please visit https://coconinoarts.org/exhibitions/battle-of-the-bands-2023/

From Darkness to Light Radiation Mask Exhibit
2023-03-04 - 2023-03-26
“From Darkness to Light,” an exhibit of cancer treatment radiation masks transformed into artistic sculptures of courage, determination, and beauty. Each custom-mesh mask was molded to the face of a cancer patient for use during radiation treatment of the head and neck. These masks, which held the patients’ heads and bodies still for treatment, have been reworked by local artists and made into symbols of resolve and endurance in the face of adversity. There is a Wonder Woman mask, a Harvest Warrior mask, and masks which honor prayer, the act of “pushing through,” light, and the path of healing. Each mask honors an individual’s great effort to heal their body and every mask also honors the challenges faced by all cancer patients.
The exhibit was organized by the Cancer Support Community of Arizona, a local non-profit which provides free services to cancer patients, their families, and caregivers. Services include support groups, social activities, mind/body therapies, nutritional counseling, and educational seminars among others. Photos of the masks and information about the artists and patients who inspired them can be found at https://buff.ly/2LMM7XV.

Traveler: A Journey of Adventurous Global Music
2023-02-25 19:30 - 21:30
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Traveler: A Journey of Adventurous Global Music with a special guest appearance by LED performer and hula hoop extraordinaire Serene Isabelo.
Traveler brings a high-energy performance of world music using a unique mix of instruments collected from their global travels. The music of Traveler is deeply rooted in ethnic sounds ranging from fiery Celtic reels and Arabic tunes of the desert to fast-paced Romanian Gypsy and sounds of South Asia, and everything in between. Through their performance, Traveler brings its audience along with them on a journey, with unexpected combinations of cultural fusion and a variety of musical styles.
Traveler has headlined festivals in the western United States, Alaska, Canada, Turkey, England & Wales. Local to the Phoenix area, the members of Traveler have journeyed to all corners of the globe. With songs composed during their travels, Traveler brings home the sights and sounds of faraway places for their listeners to enjoy.
Save 10% with membership! Members use TR23 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

FORE! Open Play - LAST CHANCE
2023-02-25 13:00 - 15:00
Register Tee Time
GOLF THE GALLERY – LAST CHANCE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1-5 PM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1-3 PM
$16 Adults
$12 CCA Members
$8 Children ages 5-15

NEW DATE - FORE! Closing Celebration and Best in Show Award Presentation. NEW DATE: February 24th 5-8 pm
2023-02-24 17:00 - 20:00
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Postponed due to weather. NEW DATE: February 24th 5-8 pm.
Come out and celebrate one last evening of artist created miniature golf and find out which artist won Best in Show. Music by DJ LRY, drag performance be Revelucien. Last chance to putt the 9-hole course – FORE! for $14!

FORE! Open Play - LAST CHANCE
2023-02-24 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-02-19 13:00 - 18:00, 2023-02-18 13:00 - 16:00, 2023-02-16 13:00 - 20:00, 2023-02-15 13:00 - 20:00, 2023-02-12 13:00 - 20:00, 2023-02-11 13:00 - 18:00, 2023-02-10 13:00 - 20:00 and 1 more date
Register Tee Time
GOLF THE GALLERY – LAST CHANCE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1-5 PM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1-6 PM
$16 Adults
$12 CCA Members
$8 Children ages 5-15

FORE! Family Day
2023-02-17 13:00 - 20:00
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Join us for Family Day on Friday, February 17th sponsored by North Country Healthcare. Families play FREE during open play from 1-8 pm.

POSTPONED - FORE! Valentine's Day
2023-02-14 17:00 - 21:00
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RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER. NEW DATE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd, 5 – 9pm
Join us for Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 14th. Music by DJ Tam Taco, Drag performance by Revelucien. Golf the gallery with your sweethearts… FORE! for only $14 on the 14th!

David Huckfelt & Howe Gelb with special guest Dirt Rhodes
2023-02-10 19:30 - 21:30
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David Huckfelt is a singer / lyricist / activist and founding frontman of Minneapolis indie-folk cult favorites The Pines. An Iowa native and former theology student, Huckfelt attended the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop undergrad program before turning his attention to songwriting and performing. With musical roots in the same fertile Midwestern soil that produced legendary folk singers like John Prine and Greg Brown, Huckfelt has shared stages with artists from Mavis Staples & Emmylou Harris to Bon Iver, Calexico and Trampled By Turtles. His work with The Pines received record of the year accolades from Mojo & Q Magazine, and garnered Huckfelt praise from David Fricke (Rolling Stone) as one of the finest songwriters of his generation. In 2018 he received the Artist-In-Residence award at Isle Royale National Park on Lake Superior, where in sixteen days he wrote the fourteen songs that would become his breakout solo debut “Stranger Angels”. In 2012 he met American Indian Movement leader & poet John Trudell on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and their subsequent collaboration resulted in the song “Time Dreams”, hailed by Democracy Now! and the last recording Trudell made before passing. Since then, Huckfelt has partnered with an impressive array of Native American artists and activists including Keith Secola, Quiltman, Winona LaDuke and novelist Louise Erdrich in the fight for social justice and protection for Mother Earth. In thousands of shows across the United States, Canada & overseas, Huckfelt’s grassroots following has grown from small-town opera houses, Midwestern barn concerts, and progressive benefit events to national tours and festival stages like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Edmonton and Calgary Folk Fests, and the legendary First Avenue club in his beloved Minneapolis home. His live performance is both improvisational and masterful, with a rugged optimism that blasts through layers of darkness in real time with songs that speak volumes, soft & clear.
Howe Gelb, a Tucsonian. Begat scene there in 1980. Went on to everywhere for a minute. Said it was ok. Further: Hasn’t played Flag since Monsoons.
Dirt Rhodes is a Diné musician from Fort Defiance, Arizona, located on the Navajo Nation. He released his second EP “Dirt Rhodes Sings Indian Country” in October of 2023. With influences from Texas, Nashville, and The Navajo Nation, Dirt Rhodes aims to highlight Indigenous peoples’ long history with country and western music.
Save 10% with membership! Members use DH23 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

FORE! Senior Day
2023-02-08 13:00 - 20:00
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Join us for Senior Day on Wednesday, February 8th sponsored by The Bluffs of Flagstaff. Seniors (age 55 and over) play FREE during open play from 1-8 pm.

Tasha Miller Griffith presents “Stitching as Expression”
2023-01-21 13:00 - 16:00
Register Here

NIGHTCAP: Art Social - Evenings at Coconino Center for the Arts
2023-01-19 18:00 - 19:00
Coconino Center for the Arts is now open for a twilight viewing experience 6-9 pm on select Thursdays.
Evening hours enable viewing of exterior video installations at dusk, as well as an intimate exhibition experience in the gallery.
$10 suggested donation, free for CCA members.
Refreshments available for purchase.

Greenhouse Productions Presents: The Senators & Nolan McKelvey
2023-01-14 19:30 - 22:30
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The Senators were recently listed on Billboard’s Next Big Sound charts.
According to the band’s website, The Senators describe their style of music as “blending sophisticated songcraft with humble pastoral sympathies, featuring poetic lyrics, uplifting harmonies and complex instrumental layers, lending to a more melodic branch of indie rock.”
The group recently recorded their sophomore album in the Catskill Mountains – an upstate New York country that folk legends like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell call home. With musical influences all around, band member Quinn Scully recollects his love of music from his parents.
“My dad ended up running the Orpheum Theatre in Flagstaff,” Scully said. “I grew up going backstage, hanging out and watching a bunch of soundchecks for all these cool bands. And then I started playing music myself when I was about nine and I haven’t stopped since then.”
Lead singer Jesse Teer describes his music venture as a “late transition into songwriting.” He played cello as a kid, only beginning to play folk music and acoustic guitar in college.
Through performances, both artists beam at the band’s ability to come together and influence an audience through music.
“I think the goal of the night is to create this connection and at that moment, everyone is on the same page. I think performing live music is that connection at the end of the day.”
Currently, the band is in the studio self-producing their third album for release next July and plan to hit the road in the U.S. and Europe next year.
Over the course of his twenty-five-year career, Nolan McKelvey has covered nearly every corner of the country and traversed all roads of Americana. From the pavement of alt-country, to the dusty trails of bluegrass, to the gravel roads of classic-country, to the interstate highway of rock-n-roll. Nolan has received critical acclaim along the way from magazines like No Depression, Country Standard Time, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, and Performer Magazine among many others.
Nolan has opened for luminaries of Americana like Greg Brown, Peter Rowan, Odetta, Fred Eaglesmith, Los Lobos, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, and Leon Russell. He has also opened for contemporary artists like Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, Cowboy Junkies, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jack Johnson, Infamous Stringdusters, Jeffrey Foucault, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Son Volt, Josh Ritter, David Grisman and the list goes on and on…
Nolan performed in several bands in Boston, including The Benders, The Resophonics, with Kris Delmhorst, Ry Cavanaugh, The Vinyl Avenue String Band, Jabe, Bow Thayer, and his own 33. He was dubbed “Central to the (Boston) roots-rock revival” by WBUR radio. His bands won two Boston Music Awards (BMA) and were nominated for BMA’s 7 times in his 5 years in the city. Since returning to Arizona, Nolan was named “Best Musician” by the readers of the Arizona Daily Sun and has been dubbed “One of the best songwriters in the southwest,” and “Flagstaff’s Poet Laureate.” (FlagLive)
Nolan’s studio credits include recording with grammy-winner Levon Helm (The Band), Dana Colley and Billy Conway (Morphine), Paul Q. Koldrie (Pixies, PJ Harvey, Radiohead and more), Jennifer Kimball (The Story, Wayfaring Strangers) among many others. Nolan’s songs have appeared on 21 cds to date, he released five solo albums, five albums with The Benders, six with Muskellunge, four with former band Onus B. Johnson and a duo disc with Dave Desmelik. Nolan’s work as a bass player and harmony singer pushes the release list over 75 recordings.
Nolan has performed at the Newport Folk Festival (RI), Cambridge Folk Festival (MA), Boston Folk Festival (MA), Telluride Bluegrass Festival (CO), Sedona Bluegrass Festival (AZ), Tweed River Music Festival (VT), Roots on the River (VT), Tilted Earth Music Festival (AZ), Musical Instrument Museum Music Festival (AZ) and Pickin’ in the Pines Acoustic Music Festival (AZ) among many more. His music has aired on nationally syndicated radio shows like World Café, Nashville Bluegrass Breakdown, and Car Talk.
Nolan currently performs his own songs solo, with Nolan McKelvey Trio, with Muskellunge, and he is the bass player in Tramps and Thieves. He performs regularly in the Southwest, and occasionally on the east coast.
Save 10% with membership! Members use SN22 as their promo code prefix. Household members receive two tickets at a discount and individual members receive one. To learn more about membership and how to find your discount code, visit: https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/member-discount

Erika Hess, Ph.D. and Robert Neustadt, Ph.D. present “Learning On-Site: Service Learning and Experiential Education with Refugees in Greece”
2023-01-12 19:00 - 20:30

Tasha Miller Griffith presents “Mindful Mending” workshop for adults and seniors
2023-01-07 13:00 - 16:00
