Ayla Brown & Rob Bellamy

Spend a Sunday afternoon at the Coggon Opera House listening to the country sound of Ayla Brown and Rob Bellamy. They will perform a wonderful musical set full of original songs, the stories behind them, and other country and classic songs that the listeners will know and can sing along to.

Brown was an American Idol finalist while in high school (2006) in Massachusetts and music has always been a part of her life, as well as sports. She played 4 years of women’s basketball on scholarship at Boston College. After graduation she returned to music and launched a singing/songwriting career.

Bellamy, also from Massachusetts, is a professional hockey-player-turned-singer-songwriter. Rob loved music from a young age and many of his influences derive from artists like Dave Mathews and The Eagles. On his 23rd birthday he received a guitar, and from the minute he picked it up he was hooked.

They met in Nashville where they both now live. They clicked together musically and began writing songs together, recording demos, and uploading videos on Facebook and YouTube of their songs.

TONIGHT’S PERFORMANCE IS CANCELLED BECAUSE OF SNOW & RAIN. Please stay safe today.

Be prepared to be transported back to the folk rock era of the 1970s when AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli return to the Coggon Opera House on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at 7 p.m.

It will be a heart-filled evening of folk rock favorites from Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce, James Taylor, The Eagles, Carole King and more. Listen to songs like “Landslide,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” 1970s folk rock is even better this time around, especially in the expert hands of Swearingen and Kelli!

This will be the second time Swearingen and Kelli have been on the Coggon Opera House stage. In October 2017, they performed the well-received “Music of Simon & Garfunkel.”

Dubbed after James Taylor’s hit song, they will feature music from classic 1970s-era singer-songwriters, as well as a few hand-picked Swearingen & Kelli originals.

Swearingen and Kelli, have been together as musical partners for seven years and officially hitched since 2014. Mother Church Pew describes this Americana singer-songwriting duo as the “delicious blend of Swearingen’s smooth baritone and Kelli’s smoky vocals…inspired by great songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s.”

Seating at the Coggon Opera House is by general admission only. Tickets can be purchased at the door or can be reserved for will call by leaving a message at (319) 435-2071 or 319-721-1350. Payment by cash or check only. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand.

 

Lynne Rothrock, of Cedar Rapids, is bringing her cabaret performance style to the Coggon Opera House. With her accompanist, Julia Andrews, they will premiere “The Divine Miss R,” a show dedicated to the music of Bette Midler.

Rothrock is known in the Cedar Rapids Area for her Christmas Cabaret concerts, other singing and acting performances, and for sharing her talents as a voice educator. This spring, she played the lead role in Giving Tree’s production of “Tiny Beautiful Things.” Being compared to Bette Midler is not new to Rothrock. Marcel Smith of the Nashville Scene wrote “Recalling both Diana Krall and a prettier Bette Midler with sassy red hair, . . . .she can sing anything, and she can grab and shake a house.”

Lynne is an Iowa-born singer who has performed around the country at venues including Birdland (NYC), Bluebird Cafe (Nashville), Davenports (Chicago), Hell’s Kitchen (Minneapolis), Manhattan Vocal Jazz Festival, International Cabaret Conference at Yale University and many others. She works with Michael Feinstein at The Great American Songbook Foundation and is an active arts educator. She and her late husband, acclaimed blues guitarist Ron DeWitte, entertained all over the world with Holland American and Princess Cruise Lines.

Julia Andrews is an active performer of chamber music and jazz piano. She met Lynne in 2014 as a substitute pianist for Lynne’s Cabaret class at Theater Cedar Rapids. Julia is still giddy with the excitement of collaborating with her friend and favorite musician. She has served on the music faculty at Monmouth, Knox, and Cornell Colleges and owns Piano Works Piano Studio in Mount Vernon.

Seating is by general admission only. Tickets can be purchased at the door or can be reserved for will call by leaving a message at (319) 435-2071. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand. Payment by cash or check only.

Gordy and Debbie, the highly popular husband-wife entertainment act from Branson, Missouri, are returning to the Coggon Opera House for a third time! This year they are bringing their new “Country Legends” show to Coggon on Saturday, August 17 at 7 p.m.

They will feature songs from Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Barbara Mandrell, Mickey Gilley, Dolly Parton, George Strait and Trisha Yearwoo, among many others. The show will be enhanced by a backdrop of spectacular vintage video footage that brings the artists and songs to life in “Country Legends.”

Seating at the Coggon Opera House is by general admission only. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door or reserved for will-call by calling (319) 435-2071. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand and payment is by cash or check only.

Be prepared to be transported back to the folk rock era of the 1970s when AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli return to the Coggon Opera House on Sunday, November 24, 2019, at 2 p.m.

It will be a heart-filled afternoon of folk rock favorites from Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce, James Taylor, The Eagles, Carole King and more. Listen to songs like “Landslide,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” 1970s folk rock is even better this time around, especially in the expert hands of Swearingen and Kelli!

This will be the second time Swearingen and Kelli have been on the Coggon Opera House stage. In October 2017, they performed the well-received “Music of Simon & Garfunkel.”

Dubbed after James Taylor’s hit song, they will feature music from classic 1970s-era singer-songwriters, as well as a few hand-picked Swearingen & Kelli originals.

Swearingen and Kelli, have been together as musical partners for seven years and officially hitched since 2014. Mother Church Pew describes this Americana singer-songwriting duo as the “delicious blend of Swearingen’s smooth baritone and Kelli’s smoky vocals…inspired by great songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s.”

Seating at the Coggon Opera House is by general admission only. Tickets can be purchased at the door or can be reserved for will call by leaving a message at (319) 435-2071 or 319-721-1350. Payment by cash or check only. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand.

“Buddy and Beyond: The History of Rock and Roll” covers the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and is a tribute to the music of the legends of Rock & Roll. Johnny Rogers will transport you back in time to malt shops, drive-ins, and cars with fins. The show starts with Johnny’s uncanny portrayal of the late Buddy Holly and goes on with tributes to the legendary Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson and Chuck Berry, and many more. The show will climax with Johnny’s portrayal of the late Elvis Presley.

From Branson to Las Vegas, Rock ‘n’ Roll showman Johnny Rogers is in the business of bringing yesteryear’s music and history of Rock ‘n’ Roll to life. This show is a crowd-favorite and appeals to just about everyone.  Johnny is an outstanding musician, and can pull off guitar licks that would make Jimi Hendrix proud!  That’s why people say with Johnny Rogers, you get “Buddy and Beyond!” He was inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and will be inducted into the Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame on October 5.

Seating at the Coggon Opera House is by general admission only. Tickets can be purchased at the door or can be reserved for will call by leaving a message at (319) 435-2071. Payment by cash or check only. Doors open 30 minutes beforehand.

In honor of Valentine’s weekend we are trying something a little different. It’s a Cabaret Night featuring the music of four different musicians. Instead of being in the Opera House, we are setting up tables in the Opera House Annex across the street. We’ll have appetizers and beverages (plus sweets, of course!), included in the ticket price of $10. Our musicians will be Tammi Reed, Aaron Warner and Laura Kittrell from Cedar Rapids and Cameron Stephenson from Coggon. And we have some Valentine’s Day fun planned between the musicians. Seating is limited to 40 persons. You can make your reservation by calling 319-435-2071.

Join us as we celebrate all things Irish. This Cedar Rapids based band is known for their authentic Irish sound and will feature all the familiar Irish favorites. And there will be Irish storytelling too! Whether you are a lot Irish and or only a wee bit, you will think you are in the old country. Band members include violinist Carlis Faurot, Joe and Debbie Byrd, and John O’Connell.

General admission seating. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. Call (319) 435-2071 to learn more and to reserve will call tickets.

In accordance with CDC recommendations, we have postponed the March 28 Bluegrass Night at the Opera House. The new date is tentatively Saturday, November 7.

It’s going to be another great BLUEGRASS NIGHT at the Opera House! If you like great banjo playing, fiddle playing or just good bluegrass music, then you need to be at Coggon Opera House that evening. Banjoy headlines the show with Bob Black playing a wicked banjo. Also performing are The Great Bluegrass Herons, and Straightback Chair. This will be their third time to perform here.

General admission seating. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. Call (319) 435-2071 to learn more and to reserve will call tickets.