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Acrobats from Gravity & Other Myths throw another across stage, performing a stunt. Photo by Darcy Grant.

2026/27 Season

Arrive curious. Leave inspired.

Explore connection, joy, and well-being with our most international lineup since 2020, featuring returning favorites and exciting NC State LIVE debuts.

Create Your Own Series

Save up to 25% when you Create Your Own Series package. Subscriptions on sale now through September 30.

Single Tickets

Single tickets for our Mainstage performances on sale now.
Well-Being Concert tickets go on sale November 5, 2026.

Digital Brochure

Still deciding what shows you want to see? Flip through our digital brochure to plan your season.

Michelle Pearson, Black Box Dance Theatre's artistic director, sits while members of the company pose outdoors around her, using black boxes to support dynamic poses. Photo courtesy of artist.

Artist Residency: Black Box Dance Theatre

In residence with NC State LIVE for the 2026/27 season, Black Box Dance Theatre will lead classes, forums and community-based workshops with local veterans, military families, students, and community members to develop PATRIOT, an evening-length, community-informed dance work to be performed on March 5 and 6, 2027 in Stewart Theatre.

Explore all residency events.

NC State live | special events

Back view of Michelle Pearson, Founder and Artistic Director of Black Box Dance Theatre, as she stretches her arms wide and leads a circle of performers on stage.

Wolfpack Welcome Weeks
We Lift Each Other
August 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Kickoff the new season with a moving documentary about veterans and dance presented by Black Box Dance Theatre, who will be in year-long residency with NC State LIVE.

Info and Tickets
Lakota John sings on stage holding his guitar, illuminated by blue light. Photo courtesy of artist.

Lakota John
September 3 at 6 p.m.
Gregg Museum

NC State LIVE joins forces with the Gregg Museum of Art & Design to present a free outdoor concert by John “Lakota John” Locklear, a North Carolina-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with Lumbee and Oglala Lakota roots.

Info and Registration

NC State LIVE | 2026/27 Mainstage PERFORMANCES

Paul Beaubrun lays on his back in the grass with his locs and arms reaching out around him. He looks up at the camera through sunglasses. Photo by Cuba Tornado.

Paul Beaubrun
September 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Paul Beaubrun is a captivating Haitian singer and guitarist. As a touring member of the world-renowned band Arcade Fire, he has performed with legends like Ms. Lauryn Hill and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Info and Tickets
Two acrobats throw another across a backlit stage towards a group of five who are waiting to catch her. Photo by Darcy Grant.

Gravity & Other Myths
Ten Thousand Hours
October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Australia’s mind-blowing circus company, Gravity & Other Myths, is coming back to Stewart Theatre with Ten Thousand Hours, a production that celebrates the dedication and perseverance required to achieve greatness.

Info and Tickets

Artist Residency: Hank & Pattie featuring Brek

September 27 – October 3

Presented in partnership with PineCone’s Raleigh Wide Open Music Festival, bluegrass visionaries Hank Smith (banjo) and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw (fiddle) return to NC State LIVE for a week-long artist residency with Icelandic folk band Brek – including a FREE concert on October 1 at The Corner.

Explore all residency events.
Hank and Pattie. Photo by Josh Potter.

NC State LIVE | 2026/27 Mainstage PERFORMANCES

Lucía stands in front of a warm, moody spotlight and looks directly to camera while draping her arm across her forehead. Photo by Shervin Lainez.

Lucía
October 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

With a voice that transports you across cultures and time, Lucía is a young vocalist from Veracruz, México whose singular artistic vision bridges the gaps between jazz, Latin and pop music.

Info and Tickets
Lakecia Benjamin stands backlit in a gold sequined ensemble while holding her engraved saxophone horizontally out in front of her. Photo by Elizabeth Letizell.

Lakecia Benjamin
January 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Six-time Grammy nominee Lakecia Benjamin is a force of nature. An alto saxophonist, composer and educator with a fiery stage presence, she melds R&B, jazz and funk into something magical.

Info and Tickets
Alfredo Rodríguez sits on a velvet couch to the left of Pedrito Martinez in front of a grey, marbled background; both look to camera. Photo by Anna Webber.

Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez
February 13 at 3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Titmus Theatre

Pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and Grammy-winning percussionist Pedrito Martinez are a high-energy Afro-Cuban jazz duo known for their fearless and virtuosic collaborative style.

Info and Tickets
Two Yamato drummers stand center stage in front of other performers while energetically playing taiko drums that hang from their chests and shaking their heads in sync. Photo by Rakuda.

YAMATO
February 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Audience favorite, YAMATO, turns the ancient Japanese art of taiko drumming into a heart-pounding spectacle of athleticism, precision and exhilarating musical expertise.

Info and Tickets
Two Black Box Dance Theatre dancers squat and help keep each other balanced with a firm hand grip, demonstrating strength and connection. Photo by Matt Kesterson.

Black Box Dance Theatre’s
PATRIOT
March 5 & 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Black Box Dance Theatre has been working with service members and veterans for over a decade. In residence with NC State LIVE for the 2026-27 season, they will bring our military, veteran and student population into the creative process with the multimedia dance performance, PATRIOT.

Info and Tickets
A Manual Cinema actor illuminated by red light uses props to create a fantastical shadow puppet. Photo by Katie Doyle.

Manual Cinema’s
The 4th Witch
March 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Theatre

Told through breathtaking shadow puppetry, Manual Cinema’s latest theatrical experience is an inversion of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Don’t miss their Emmy Award-winning mix of low-fi technology (think vintage overhead projectors and handmade puppets), cutting-edge multimedia techniques and rapturous live music.

Info and Tickets
Nnenna and Pierce Freelon sit together; Nnenna leans forward, resting her chin on her palm while Pierce shrugs playfully. Photo by Chris Charles.

Well-Being Concerts featuring Nnenna and Pierce Freelon

December 5 & April 10 at 4 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
in the Gregg Museum

Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts combine world-class musical performances with elements of self-care and mindfulness. NC State LIVE and the Gregg Museum of Art & Design are partnering to present Well-Being Concerts locally, featuring a family with rich connections to the university and the museum.

Tickets for these events go on sale November 5.

Info and Tickets

LIVE at Lake Raleigh
April 8 & 22 | May 6 & 20

Accessibility

NC State LIVE strives to make our programming accessible to everyone. If you have an access need or an accommodation request, please email Liza Green, director, at [email protected]. Learn more about accessibility at NC State LIVE.

It Takes a Village

NC State LIVE is supported in part by grants from the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. Our State Magazine is our official media sponsor.