Gainesville Florida entertainment listings for Feb. 28

THIS WEEK

Derek Gripper

Renowned South African classical guitarist Derek Gripper will take the stage at the Historic Thomas Center at 7 p.m. Feb. 28. Tickets for the evening of music are available for $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the show. Gripper has made a significant impact on the classical guitar world through his innovative transcriptions and interpretations of kora music. His passion for this West African instrument led him to translate and record some of its greatest works, revolutionizing the classical guitar landscape. The release of Gripper’s debut album, “One Night on Earth,” showcased his groundbreaking approach. The legendary classical guitarist John Williams praised Gripper’s work, stating it was “absolutely impossible until I heard Derek Gripper do it.” Kora master Toumani Diabaté was similarly astonished, even confirming if it was indeed just one guitarist performing. This acclaim opened doors for Gripper, leading him to share the stage with both Williams in London’s Shakespeare’s Globe and King’s Place, and Diabaté at the Acoustik Festival in Bamako, Mali. The Historic Thomas Center is located at 302 NE Sixth Ave. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit tinyurl.com/grippergnv25.

Della Mae

Long regarded as a powerful live band in bluegrass and Americana, Della Mae is a Grammy-nominated, all-women string band reared in diverse musical styles. Organizers say that audiences will get wrapped up in Della Mae’s foot-stomping performances that start at 7 and 9 p.m. March 1 at UpStage at the Phillips Center, located at 3201 Hull Road. Tickets are $55 for the 7 p.m. seating, $35 for the 9 p.m. seating and $12 for University of Florida students. UpStage is an intimate, cabaret-style setting on the Phillips Center Mainstage. The 7 p.m. seating includes heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar; the 9 p.m. seating includes desserts and cash bar. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit performingarts.ufl.edu.

New Works Festival

The Hippodrome Theatre is producing the fifth annual  New Works Festival celebrating Florida playwrights. The theatre received 43 diverse, creative and unique submissions from all over Florida. A panel of artistic directors and theatre professionals selected one play to be read and performed on March 1: “Bionic” by Jenna Jane. In a future where everyone is swapping out their body parts with the latest tech, this full-length sci-fi drama explores the relationship between the body and the self. Bionic tackles the implications of what it means to be human in a future of technology-assisted body modification. Will these “upgrades” bring people closer to their authentic selves or push them farther away? Together with actors and directors, the playwright will develop and workshop their scripts before showcasing it in staged readings in front of a live audience. The patrons will experience a groundbreaking new work while participating in the creative process by sharing their reactions directly with the playwright and the production team at a post-show talk back. The event begins at  7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and advanced reservation is highly recommended. Tickets can be reserved at TheHipp.org or by calling the Hipp Box Office at 375-4477. The Hippodrome Theatre is located at 25 SE Second Place.

‘The Book of Mormon’

The outrageous musical comedy “The Book of Mormon” follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. With standing-room-only productions in London, on Broadway and across North America, “The Book of Mormon” has truly become an international sensation. See the play locally at 7:30 p.m. March 4-5 at the Phillips Center, located at 3201 Hull Road. Tickets are $59 to $109, or $30 for University of Florida students. For more information, visit TheBookOfMormonTour.com. To purchase tickets online, visit performingarts.ufl.edu.

SF Contemporary Pop Ensemble

Students of Associate Professor of Music Edward White will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. March 5. The SF contemporary pop ensemble will be performing arrangements of contemporary pop music. The students also have been writing original music this semester and will perform it for the first time at this concert. They will have an opportunity to record these tunes later in the semester at Pulp Studios. The instrumentation includes guitar, bass, drums, keys, a horn section and vocals. This is a student-led ensemble and a new Santa Fe College music department addition for this academic school year. The concert continues the 2024-25 season of the arts at Santa Fe College, which began last September when The Wire Birds performed at the Fine Arts Hall. Upcoming events include “Jazz Up Spring” on March 7 and “Sing into Spring” on March 14, offering even more chances to experience exceptional live entertainment. Tickets are $16 for adults; $10 for seniors, students and military service members and children 12 and younger; and free for SF students, faculty and staff with college ID cards. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall Box Office at 395-4181 or online from Showpass at showpass.com/music-variety-concert-2. The concert will be held in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College’s Northwest Campus, located at 3000 NW 83rd St.

ONGOING

 ‘The South is not Simple — Prints by Molly Kempson’

The Santa Fe College Gallery is set to present “The South is not Simple — Prints by Molly Kempson” through March 21 at the Northwest Campus, located at 3000 NW 83rd St. Kempson is an artist and educator making relief prints in and about the American South. Her work spirals through architecture, language, flora, fauna, preservation and conservation to highlight the complicated history of the region through artist books, letterpress posters and limited edition reduction linocut prints. She has been awarded several funded residencies, including the Coffey Residency in Book Arts at the University of Florida in 2016, the letterpress residency at Ashantilly Press in 2018, and the In Cahoots Residency in 2024 in Petaluma, California. In this solo show of works from 2018 to 2025, Kempson explores the intersection of traditional block printing and typesetting techniques with the current landscape of wildlife conservation, historic preservation, and Southern identity and history. Her works also address the importance of public support for the arts as a catalyst for addressing the issues that face Floridians as we face our past, present and future. The Santa Fe College Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Sylvia Zerbini’s ‘Liberte’

Equestrian trainer and performing artist Sylvia Zerbiniis bringing her production, “Liberte,” back to her Liberte ́ Equestrian Theater in Williston now through April. The former star and lead trainer of “Cavalia” has performed across the globe for millions of fans. Zerbini’s multidimensional equestrian voyage features more than a dozen horses and world-class equestrian theatrical performers. Blending awe-inspiring horsemanship with imaginative stagecraft, intricate choreography, high-flying aerial stunts, and multi-talented live musicians, this horse lover’s extravaganza expands the definition of equestrian performance into a theatrical experience. Weekly performances will be held every Saturday and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. with both general seating, and VIP upgraded options that include food, beverages and a backstage tour. Located at the Grande Liberté Farms at 18550 NE 81st St. in Williston, the Liberte ́ Equestrian Theater offers an indoor theatrical experience. Tickets start at $35 and are available through SylviaZerbini.com or ordered directly on EventBrite.com.

‘Riding the 33rd Parallel’

“Riding the 33rd Parallel” is a virtual road trip from Florida to California via the Harn’s photography collection. According to the Harn, 48 photographs by 22 photographers were made along the 33rd parallel (more or less) encompassing Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. The time span is 1961 to the present. Some images are grouped by similar or opposing conditions within one or more states while other images follow Ansel Adams’s grand landscape style and still others fuse the picturesque with toxic industries and extreme weather or truly awesome human ingenuity. The photos will be on display in the Rubin Gallery through May 25 at the Harn Museum of Art, located at 3259 Hull Road. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays through Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, or to see what other exhibits are on display, visit harn.ufl.edu/visit.

‘Silver Linings’

The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida will display art from Spelman College — a historically black liberal arts college for women located in Atlanta. The Harn is one of five venues across the United States exhibiting “Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection.” Through 39 works by nearly 30 artists, “Silver Linings” uplifts the legacy of artists of African descent spanning the 20th century through the contemporary moment, many of whom have been overlooked by mainstream art museums. The exhibition will be on view through July 6. “Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection” includes a variety of mediums and techniques such as painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed-media collage, prints and photographs divided into five sections that focus on the Spiral Group, abstraction, early figuration, contemporary photography and contemporary figuration. An artist-in-residence program and special community day are among the programs providing opportunities for the community to engage with the exhibition in multiple ways. Onsite artist-in-residence Jessica Clermont will create works of art inspired by the exhibition Tuesdays through Thursdays from noon to 5 p.m. between March 6 and June 26. Visitors can engage in discussion as the artist works, discuss the influence of the exhibition and create their own work of art. A community day at the Harn, set for noon to 4 p.m. May 31, will celebrate the exhibition with tours, a silkscreen art activity, art creation by Clermont, entertainment, partner information tables and refreshments. Entrance to the museum is free. For more information, visit harn.ufl.edu.

Community Nights

Community Nights are free weekly events hosted by South Main Station and Heartwood Soundstage that include a rotating calendar of jams, skillshares, concerts, arts markets, food and drink specials, and other activities each Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. The event has grown in popularity with families, locals, musicians, and college students since its launch in 2024. The event takes place at South Main Station, an arts, food, and entertainment campus adjacent to Depot Park that spans the Southeast corner of Main Street and Depot Road. Community Nights always feature free live music and drink specials at Heartwood Soundstage’s lawn bar, but any given week can also include skillshares on music and videography, kids’ activities, film screenings, and opportunities to sample local food and drink at South Main’s businesses, which include Humble Pie Pizzeria, Grand Scheme Brewery, Bingo Deli, and Afternoon Coffee. The first Wednesday of every month always features an open air arts market of local makers and an old-time music jam. More information is available at heartwoodsoundstage.com.

COMING SOON

Santa Fe Jazz Ensemble

The Santa Fe Jazz Ensemble will honor jazz composers at the annual “Jazz Up Spring” concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. March 7 in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College’s Northwest Campus, located at 3000 NW 83rd St. The program opens with a student-led jazz combo who will perform a mixture of traditional and modern jazz selections. Their performance will be followed by the SF Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. David Smith, who will perform selections by some of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in the history of jazz — including Oliver Nelson, Benny and Buster Moten, Bobby Troupe and many others. Last year’s concert celebrated the work of jazz trailblazers Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Continuing that tradition, this year’s performance will feature a new selection of classic jazz compositions, showcasing the talent and dedication of Santa Fe College’s student musicians. Tickets are $16 for adults; $10 for seniors, students, children and military service members; and free to SF students, faculty and staff with college ID cards. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall box office at 395-4181 or online from Showpass at showpass.com/jazz-up-spring-3.

The Peking Acrobats

The Peking Acrobats perform daring maneuvers with awe-inspiring acrobatic feats to create a breathtaking, all-ages spectacle with the festive pageantry of a Chinese carnival. Experience their precarious pagoda of chairs, trick-cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting and gymnastics at 7:30 p.m. March 11 at the Phillips Center, loathed at 3201 Hull Road. Rooted in centuries of Chinese history, The Peking Acrobats seek to uphold the rich and ancient folk art tradition, and bring it to new heights while pushing the envelope of human possibility. Tickets for their Gainesville performance are $24 to $45, $12 for University of Florida students. For more information, visit performingarts.ufl.edu.

‘The Alachua Phenomenon: Two Centuries in Florida’s Eden’

Alachua County, by modern standards, is characteristically un-Floridian. It has no beaches, it has no amusement parks, and it presently has no commercial citrus groves — and yet today Alachua County is the beating heart of north central Florida. “The Alachua Phenomenon: Two Centuries in Florida’s Eden,” the newest exhibition at the Matheson History Museum, will examine what made that happen over the last 200 years. In the process, the history of the county will unfold through an examination of the land, environment, agriculture, industry, education and community. The free opening reception for this exhibition will be held at 7 p.m. March 12 at the museum, located at 513 E. University Ave. The Matheson History Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Wednesdays through Saturdays.

‘Sing Into Spring’

The Santa Fe Singers will be joined by the Eastside High School Chamber Singers for the annual “Sing Into Spring” concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. March 14. According to Mitchell Rorick, SF adjunct associate professor of music, the theme for this year’s concert is “United through Song.” The Santa Fe Singers, led by Rorick and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Wendy Gunther, partnered with the Gainesville Youth Chorus for last year’s “Songs of the Season” concert. Building on the spirit of collaboration and shared musical expression, the Eastside High School Chamber Singers, under the direction of Alek Concepción, will join the program with a selection of works by renowned composers John Rutter, Eric Whitacre and Andre Thomas. The concert will end with a brief singalong, and the Santa Fe Singers and Eastside Chamber Choir singing “A Patch of Light” and “Modimo,” according to Rorick. “A Patch of Light” is composed by Jacob Narverud, while “Modimo” is a traditional Sesotho/isiZulu piece arranged by Michael Barrett. Tickets are $16 for adults; $10 for seniors, students and military service members and children 12 and younger; and free for SF students, faculty, and staff with college ID cards. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall Box Office at 395-4181 or online from Showpass at showpass.com/sing-into-spring-3. The concert will be held in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus of Santa Fe College, located at 3000 NW 83rd St.

Time for Three

Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time for Three defies conventions with genre-bending excellence. Their unique instrumentation of two violins and a double bass well matches their extraordinary sound, which merges classical, Americana, modern pop and singer-songwriter styles. Their signature charismatic performances and pushing of creative boundaries leaves audiences captivated worldwide. See a performance at 7 and 9 p.m. March 20 at UpStage at the Phillips Center, located at 3201 Hull Road. Tickets are $55 for the 7 p.m. seating, $35 for the 9 p.m. seating and $12 for University of Florida students. UpStage is an intimate, cabaret-style setting on the Phillips Center Mainstage. The 7 p.m. seating includes heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar; the 9 p.m. seating includes desserts and cash bar. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit performingarts.ufl.edu.

‘Ragtime’

Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, “Ragtime” weaves together the stories of three diverse families as they navigate the challenges and triumphs of a rapidly changing world. From the  immigrant struggles of Tateh and his daughter to the privileged lives of mother, father and their son, and the explosive energy of Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Sarah, their lives intersect in unexpected ways, revealing the interconnectedness of humanity in the face of adversity. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards — including “Best Musical” and winning for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical” — “Ragtime” is a powerful portrait of life during the turn of the 20th century, exploring America’s timeless contradictions of freedom and prejudice, wealth and poverty, hope and despair. Catch a show at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays plus 2 p.m. Sundays March 21 through April 13 at the Gainesville Community Playhouse, located at 4039 NW 16th Blvd. Tickets are $24 for adults, $20 for seniors and $12 for students. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit gcplayhouse.org.