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ATLANTA—The Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University today announced its 2024-2025 Rialto Series including award-winning musicians, RandB funk, opera, lively jazz and a political comedy troupe.

“We are excited for the upcoming season that features a broad range of artists – from funk, to African dance, to jazz” said Amy Reid, director with Georgia State University’s Office of Educational Outreach who oversees the Rialto Center for the Arts. “Our 2024-25 season is designed to bring audiences from the Atlanta area and beyond to connect with the Georgia State University campus and engage with our world-renowned artists and performers.”

Performers of the upcoming series earned a total of three Grammy Awards from a combined 17 nominations.

The season begins Sept. 21 with the political hilarity of Capitol Fools, the Washington-based musical parody group that emerged from the former troupe Capital Steps. Then on Oct. 6 audiences will experience Cirque Kalabanté – Afrique en Cirque, described as “a trip to African soil where the sets and costumes pay homage to the Guinean diaspora (with) high-level acrobatics, innovative choreography and colorful rhythms.”

The Rialto continues with consecutive award-winning musicians and events including:

Veteran RandB and funk legends since 1968, Tower of Power, on Oct. 19

Newly crowned 2024 Grammy-winners of the all-female jazz ensemble säje on Oct. 26

The 27th Annual Holiday Gala Presented by Georgia State University School of Music on Dec. 8

50th Anniversary of SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK® - Grammy-nominated, all-female African American a cappella ensemble on Jan. 25

Hitmakers of the ’50s with The Drifters, The Platters and Cornell Gunter’s Coasters on Feb. 8

New Orleans Songbook—A Jazz at Lincoln Center PRESENTS Production with Luther S. Allison, Quiana Lynell and Milton Suggs on March 8

The Rialto return of two-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater on March 29

Georgia State University Opera Theater presenting “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss II on April 12 and April 13

Grammy-nominated clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen with the Georgia State University Jazz Band on April 18

A complete list of showtimes, performer descriptions/bios and ticket prices are posted for reference at the base of this press release.

Subscriptions are available now and single tickets go on sale Aug. 22 at Rialto.GSU.edu, the Rialto Box Office or phone via (404) 413-9TIX (9849). Free validated parking is provided for all Rialto Series shows at the 100 Peachtree Parking Garage (formerly the Equitable deck; GPS: 123 Fairlie Street NW, Atlanta, Ga. 30303). Follow the Rialto @RialtoCenter on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In addition to the Rialto Series, the venue continues its popular free lunchtime performing arts series Feed Your Senses performed in person at the Rialto’s lobby at noon on the third Wednesday of most months. Programming features a different artist or speaker each month, providing a casual and fun insider’s look at their craft. Feed Your Senses is sponsored by 100 Peachtree and is supported in part by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Georgia Council for the Arts and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly (a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts) and the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

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2024-2025 Rialto Season Press Release Supplement with Show Descriptions and Ticketing Details

Rialto Center of the Arts at Georgia State University presents its 2023-2024 Rialto Series with subscriptions available now and single tickets on sale Aug. 22 via Rialto.GSU.edu, the Rialto Box Office or by phone (404) 413-9TIX (9849). With artists/dates subject to change, as of July 1, 2024, the season includes:

Capitol Fools on Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.

Cirque Kalabanté – Afrique en Cirque on Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.

Tower of Power on Oct. 19 at 8 p.m.

säje on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.

The 27th Annual Holiday Gala Presented by GSU School of Music on Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK® on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.

The Drifters, The Platters andamp; Cornell Gunter’s Coasters on Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.

New Orleans Songbook—A Jazz at Lincoln Center PRESENTS Production with Luther S. Allison, Quiana Lynell and Milton Suggs on March 8 at 8 p.m.

Dee Dee Bridgewater on March 29 at 8 p.m.

GSU Opera presents “Die Fledermaus” on April 12 at 8 p.m. and April 13 at 3 p.m.

Anat Cohen with the GSU Jazz Band on April 18 at 8 p.m.

CAPITOL FOOLS on Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $81)

Continuing in the spirit of the Capitol Steps, the musical comedy group Capitol Fools elevates political satire while holding a mirror to America’s electoral process, just in time for the 2024 election! Audiences enjoy song parodies and foolish reflections, breakneck costume changes, over-the-top impressions of Washington icons, and fresh, edgy satire of the day’s news: Equal opportunity for laughing at ourselves while celebrating common bonds amid the chaos.

CIRQUE KALABANTÉ – AFRIQUE EN CIRQUE on Oct. 6 at 3 p.m. (Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $81)

Created by Yamoussa Bangoura and inspired by daily life in his native Guinea, “Afrique en Cirque” (Africa in Circus) presented by the Kalabanté acrobats portrays the beauty, youth and artistry of West African culture. The theater will vibrate with energy representing the strength, agility and joys of young Africans through a show that is colorful beyond its costumes, scenery and staging. Acrobats will execute gravity-defying moves and human pyramids accompanied by contemporary Afro-Jazz, percussion and kora.

TOWER OF POWER on Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $59, $69, $89, $120)

With RandB and funk hits including “So Very Hard to Go” and “You’re Still a Young Man,” Tower of Power is an American band and horn section originating in 1968 from Oakland, Calif. Now featuring nine musicians including founding members Stephen “Doc” Kupka and Emilio Castillo, Tower of Power delivers a powerful, horn-drenched sound amplifying the group’s masterful songwriting spanning 21 studio albums achieving eight songs in the Billboard Hot 100.

säje on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $34, $44, $54, $68)

Fresh from their debut for which they shared a 2024 Grammy Award for best arrangement, instrumental and vocals for “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” with songwriter Jacob Collier, the all-female jazz ensemble säje brings together four women creators who are composers, arrangers and vocalists with impressive individual careers. For some selections, they will share the stage with the GSU Treble Choir.

27th ANNUAL HOLIDAY GALA PRESENTED BY THE GSU SCHOOL OF MUSIC Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. (Tickets $17, $24, $36)

Enjoy the highly anticipated concert that is now a tradition of over a quarter-century, featuring the GSU School of Music’s talented students and faculty presenting a joyful celebration of the winter holidays.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK® on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $81)

Celebrating 50 years and three Grammy nominations, this versatile all-female African American a cappella ensemble features five-part harmonies with a sixth member performing as an American Sign Language interpreter. SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK® members express their history as Black women through song, dance and sign language. Their vibrant and ever relevant collective was founded on the triumvirate missions of empowerment, education and entertainment, with socially conscious music taking a stance on civil and human rights, spirituality and making our planet a better place for all.

THE DRIFTERS, THE PLATTERS andamp; CORNELL GUNTER’S COASTERS Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $81)

With legendary status dating back to each band’s foundations in the 1950s, The Drifters (1959), The Platters (1952) and The Coasters (1955) original member and “Yakety Yak” singer Cornell Gunter, music lovers will relish the juke box of favorite rock’n’roll, RandB and doo-wop hits during this special performance. Everyone will sing or hum along to classics including “This Magic Moment,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “Only You,” “The Great Pretender,” “Charlie Brown” and “Poison Ivy.”

NEW ORLEANS SONGBOOK—A JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS PRODUCTION WITH LUTHER S. ALLISON, QUIANA LYNELL AND MILTON SUGGS on March 8 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $81)

Performers from Jazz at Lincoln Center bring the soul of New Orleans and the spirit of Mardi Gras to this amazing celebration of composers and inspired songs of the Crescent City. With hits from Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong to Ellis Marsalis and James Black, audiences will tap their feet to the heartbeat of New Orleans, the longtime apex of jazz innovation. Pianist Luther S. Allison with vocalists Quiana Lynell and Milton Suggs will captivate the audience with the timeless spirit of the vibrant Louisiana city.

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER on March 29 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $59, $69, $89, $120)

With a multifaceted career spanning four decades, two-time Grammy winner and Tony Award-winning jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists. During live performances she puts her unique spin on standards while taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. Ever the fearless voyager, explorer, pioneer and keeper of tradition, she has worked with the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. In 2017, she received the NEA Jazz Masters Fellows Award.

GSU OPERA THEATER PRESENTS “DER FLEDERMAUS” on April 12 at 8 p.m. and April 13 at 3 p.m. (Tickets: $15)

Georgia State Opera Theater presents “Die Fledermaus,” a.k.a. “The Flittermouse Operetta” presenting a comedic revenge by Johann Strauss II unveiled in three acts. The elaborate reprisal scheme eventually yields a lighthearted story of forgiveness and love propelled by flirtation, little lies and too much wine, all named for the victim of a years-earlier prank involving a Viennese ball guest dressed in a bat costume. In recent years, Die Fledermaus ranked in the top 15 operas among hundreds of titles annually performed worldwide. The popular Strauss work has been presented continuously in Vienna since its 1874 premiere. The performance is accompanied by the GSU Symphony Orchestra. Experience an evening filled with lively waltzes, sparkling arias, and a hilarious storyline of mistaken identities and playful pranks. Follow the misadventures of Gabriel von Eisenstein as he is tricked into attending a lavish masquerade ball hosted by the eccentric Prince Orlofsky, all while his wife Rosalinde and their maid Adele join the festivities in disguise.

ANAT COHEN WITH THE GSU JAZZ BAND on April 18 at 8 p.m. (Tickets: $24, $35, $52)

Nominated for three Grammy Awards, clarinetist, saxophonist and bandleader Anat Cohen is known for her acclaimed Latin jazz and world music recordings as well as her large jazz ensemble album “Triple Helix.” The Israeli native-turned-New Yorker will be joined by GSU’s Jazz Band for a lively night of memorable music.