University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium announces
2026-2027 season of events

Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa has announced its 54^th season. The new slate of programs offers both familiar and new experiences in a number of settings and on a variety of scales.

The schedule includes a Broadway series, traditional performing arts events, cutting-edge multidisciplinary arts, contemporary touring music and comedy, two festivals—Infinite Dream and Stop/Time —and a groundbreaking celebration of Hancher’s lengthy and fruitful relationship with the legendary Kronos Quartet.

“With every season, we hope to take one step closer to fully activating the enduring creative spirit of the University of Iowa, our surrounding region, and all the artists who visit,” says Hancher executive director André Perry. “At our best, we speak to all interests and curiosities embedded within our thriving community.”

The season officially opens with an August 5 performance by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, a duo at the forefront of modern acoustic music. Their concert joins several early-season, previously announced shows including Grammy winner Ray LaMontagne (September 1), comedian Tig Notaro (September 9), bluegrass masters Punch Brothers (September 16), the iconic Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers (September 30), and jazz-rock-fusion collective Snarky Puppy (October 12).

On August 28, the University of Iowa’s annual free, outdoor Fall Welcome Concert on the Hancher Green will feature country-folk singer Sierra Ferrell as part of her Heavy Petal Tour. Ferrell is among the brightest young luminaries in roots music today. Following the release of 2024’s Trail of Flowers, the West Virginia-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist took home the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year prizes at the Americana Honors & Awards and won four Grammy Awards including Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Performance, Best Americana Performance, and Best American Roots Song.

Amidst an array of modern sounds, classical music—from traditional to new music—has always been an important thread of Hancher’s program. At the heart of the season’s classical presentations is the Fifty for the Future project. In 2015, Kronos Quartet launched Fifty for the Future, a landmark commissioning project wherein the quartet asked 50 living composers from around the world to write new works for chamber performance. For the North American debut of the full project, over four days, Hancher will present all 50 compositions across nine concerts throughout the facility. Kronos Quartet and JACK Quartet will anchor the concerts while ensembles featuring UI faculty, UI students, and Iowa-based musicians will also perform. A 51st composition by Peter Shin will be premiered; the work was co-commissioned in honor of late Hancher executive director and Kronos board member Wally Chappell to celebrate his legacy with both organizations.

“Kronos’ Fifty for the Future represents the most ambitious commissioning initiative for string quartet in living memory, 50 new works from composers spanning six continents,” said Aaron Greenwald, Hancher’s programming and engagement director. “Presenting the entire catalogue over a single long weekend at Hancher felt less like a programming decision than an obligation: this music deserves to be heard as the complete, living argument it is."

Additional classical programming includes a chamber music series co-presented with the UI School of Music in the Voxman Recital Hall, a choral performance by Chanticleer in the Voxman Concert Hall, and a concert in Hancher Auditorium by the Kansas City Symphony under the baton of Music Director Matthias Pintscher. The symphony’s appearance will feature the world premiere of a Chris Rogerson piano concerto performed by Inon Barnaton. Paul Wiancko, cellist of Kronos Quartet and Owls, is Hancher’s 2026-2027 composer-in-residence. He will work with students in the UI School of Music as well as perform with three different ensembles across the season.

The season’s dance programming features the renowned Alonzo King LINES Ballet, a solo work by UI alum and former Martha Graham Dance Company member Jesse Factor, and Ballet Hispánico New York’s new story ballet, Don Q, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

Club Hancher—which takes place in Hancher’s 195-seat Strauss Hall—hosts jazz, cabaret, stand-up comedy, alternative music, and more. Highlights include jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, a cabaret set by Hedwig and the Angry Inch creator John Cameron Mitchell, comedian and UI alum Ethan Simmons-Patterson, and a holiday performance by the Stella Cole Quartet.

More information about the Infinite Dream and Stop/Time festivals will be released in the coming weeks and months.

“Accessibility to the arts is a key part of every season,” says Perry. “Through a series of subsidized and complimentary ticketing programs, we try to open the doors as widely possible to any campus and community member who wants to see a show.”

In 2026-2027, tickets for most Club Hancher events are $20 for adults. Across the season, for most shows, students (any school, any age) and youth can access $10 tickets. The Hancher is for Hawkeyes sale at the beginning of the semester offers even larger discounts for UI students returning to campus.

As a university-based arts presenter, Hancher ensures most of the visiting artists playing public shows are also embedded in UI curricula, spending considerable time with the UI’s Dance, Music, and Theatre Arts departments as well as with students across the creative campus. In the 2025-2026 season, Hancher visiting artists worked directly with UI students, on average, five times per week during the fall and spring semesters.

Tickets for previously announced performances—including this season’s Broadway series—are currently on sale. Tickets for Hancher’s complete 2026-2027 season will go on sale to the public on Monday, July 20, at 10 a.m.

Tickets will be available from the Hancher Box Office, which is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The box office will close at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays through August 21. Tickets can be purchased in person or by phone (319-335-1100 or 800-HANCHER) during those hours. Tickets are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at hancher.uiowa.edu. All ticket buyers are encouraged to make sure they are at the Hancher website—and no other—when purchasing tickets online.