Rob Lowe, Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, Mavis Staples and Darlene Love among the stellar guests
The University of Texas at Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center has scheduled their 2025-26 “Big Names, Big Entertainment” season.
Featuring Broadway hits, family-friendly programming and soaring artists, the season is packed with entertainment legends and legendary performances.
The new season includes Grammy® Award winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Darlene Love and Mavis Staples. Best known for the holiday classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Rolling Stone Magazine calls Love “one of the greatest singers of all time.” Staples, who will perform with Shemekia Copeland, is also a Blues Hall of Famer, Kennedy Center Honoree, and National Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient who is known for such hits as “I’ll Take You There.”
Rob Lowe will be the sole speaker of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Lowe’s iconic career spans four decades in film, television and theater, and he is also an acclaimed author. He has been nominated for two Emmys®, six Golden Globes®, and four Screen Actors Guild awards of which he won two.
Other notable appearances this season include country music legends the Randy Rogers Band, who has spent more than 20 years bringing the Texas Country tradition to fans worldwide, and Robert Earl Keen, with 21 records to his name, a band of stellar musicians and thousands of shows under his belt. Also coming to the Cowan Center is film, TV and stage actress Mandy Gonzalez, who recently performed in Broadway’s Tony®-winning “Sunset Boulevard” and previously played Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked”, Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway cast of “Hamilton,” and Nina Rosario in “In the Heights.”
This season the Cowan Center offers a new Family Series that introduces children to the arts and entertainment for the whole family. Disney’s Moana Live-to-Film Concert features a full-length screening of the beloved movie accompanied by live performances of a unique on-stage musical ensemble of top Hollywood studio musicians, Polynesian rhythm masters and vocalists. Wild Kratts LIVE! 2.0 brings the Kratt brothers, Martin and Chris, live on stage to dive into another classic Wild Kratts adventure. Starring Peppa Pig and her family alongside a live orchestra, Peppa Pig: My First Concert is a fun, interactive introduction to classical music for ages 18 months and older.
The shows start in September. For details, visit cowancenter.org.
