Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Play Grateful Dead Acoustic Reckoning
BERGLUND PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings bring The Grateful Dead to Berglund Performing Arts Theatre in Roanoke on October 22, 2026. Celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Dead’s landmark acoustic live album Reckoning, Welch and Rawlings will perform full sets drawn from the album alongside other classic Grateful Dead songs.
About Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are pillars of the modern acoustic music world and their rich and remarkable careers span over twenty-five years. They have been hailed by Pitchfork as “modern masters of American folk” and “protectors of the American folk song” by Rolling Stone and the New York Times says “their combined voices operate beyond simple sonic harmony. There are emotional inquiries at play. If Welch’s voice delivers the good news or the hard news of the world, Rawlings’s voice comes underneath, asking how much deeper the sadness can go or what fresh heights the ecstatic can climb to.”
Their most recent 10th studio album, Woodland, won the 2025 Best Folk Album GRAMMY. Woodland was named for and recorded at Welch and Rawlings’ own Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN. Of the album and studio, Welch said, “Woodland is at the heart of everything we do and has been for the last twenty some years. The past four years were spent almost entirely within its walls, bringing it back to life after the 2020 tornado and making this record. The music is (songs are) a swirl of contradictions, emptiness, fullness, joy, grief, destruction, permanence. Now.” The new 10-song collection mingles full band tracks with intricate duet performances all tied together with the duo’s signature sound and lyricism and cements the pair’s iconoclastic position at the forefront of acoustic music.
After moving to Nashville in the 1990s, Welch was launched into the public consciousness when Emmylou Harris recorded a cover of Welch’s “Orphan Girl.” Her career continued to flourish as her 1996 debut Revival, produced by T Bone Burnett, was released to critical acclaim. Firmly on the roots music map following the release, Welch and Rawlings followed up that GRAMMY nominated album release with 1998’s Hell Among The Yearlings, a stark duet record that further solidified the duo as a force in the folk music scene.
In 2000, Welch was awarded the Album of the Year GRAMMY for her work as Associate Producer as well as a performer and songwriter on the eight times platinum O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack. Welch and Rawlings were simultaneously nominated for Time (The Revelator) which Rolling Stone called one of the best albums of the 2000s and is widely considered by critics and fans to be one of the best albums of all time. Beginning with Time (The Revelator), all of Welch and Rawlings albums have been self-produced and self-released on their own record label, Acony Records, helping to establish the duo’s fierce commitment to independent music.
2003’s Soul Journey was the pair’s first experimentation with a fuller, electric sound, which paved the way for the Dave Rawlings Machine project, and their first release under Rawlings’ name (A Friend of A Friend, 2009), which was accompanied by a time period of heavy touring and headlining major festivals.
The Harrow and The Harvest returned to the duet sound and was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Engineered Album at the 2012 GRAMMYs, and won Artist of the Year (Welch) and Instrumentalist of the Year (Rawlings) at the Americana Honors & Awards. The album garnered glowing reviews and topped multiple year end “Best Of” lists.
Nashville Obsolete, the last project to be released as Dave Rawlings Machine in 2015, showcased Rawlings’ expanding pallet as a producer with more lavish arrangements, strings, and guest musicians. He also produced albums by Willie Watson, Dawes, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Robyn Hitchcock. “Cumberland Gap” from Poor David’s Almanack in 2017 was nominated for Best American Roots Song and was featured in Guy Ritchie’s film The Gentlemen and and has since become one of the duo’s highest streaming songs.
To celebrate the twenty year anniversary of the Welch-Rawlings partnership in 2016, they launched an archival branch of Acony Records, entitled Boots, dedicated to releasing outtakes, demos, bootlegs, and live recordings from their copious vault.
In 2018, Welch was the first musician to receive the Thomas Wolfe Prize for Literature. The award is bestowed by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Department of English & Comparative Literature and recognizes contemporary writers with a distinguished body of work.
2019 saw Welch and Rawlings nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Original Song” where they performed their singing cowboy duet live at the Academy Awards. “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” was written for the Coen brothers’ film The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. In 2020, the duo released All the Good Times, the first album under both their names, and won the GRAMMY for the Best Folk Album. They were crowned with the Berklee American Masters Award and honored by Americana Music Association with a Lifetime Achievement for Songwriting.
Welch and Rawlings continue to tour the world in support of their music while simultaneously writing and lending their talents to countless fellow artists’ projects. They are continuously working to release their acclaimed catalog on vinyl of the highest possible fidelity. The vinyl edition of the new album Woodland is mastered by David Rawlings directly from the original analog master tapes to his own custom lathe. Acony Records is proud to be partnering with the all-new Paramount Pressing & Plating in Denver, Colorado, a joint venture between Rawlings and esteemed plating craftsman Gary Salstrom, to produce superior vinyl records.
Featured Events
Join us for the 38th Annual Stocked Market, the signature fundraiser of the Junior League of Roanoke Valley, at the Berglund Center!
November 13-15, 2026
Friday, November 13
8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Preview Coffee *VIP* Experience ONLY
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. - General Admission
Saturday, November 14
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. - General Admission
Sunday, November 15
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - General Admission
A one-day, General Admission shopping pass is $12 in advance and $14 at the door.
A Preview Coffee *VIP* shopping pass is $35 in advance, availably online ONLY.
For more information regarding ticket availability, show events, and show merchants, visit www.stockedmarket.org and be sure to follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/stockedmarket and on Instagram at instagram.com/stockedmarket.
Stocked Market is the signature fundraiser of the Junior League of Roanoke Valley (JLRV). Stocked Market proceeds are used to further the JLRV's mission.
Roanoke City Tax Sale
The City of Roanoke Delinquent Tax Auction will be held at Berglund Center on November 18th at 11 a.m., featuring a selection of real estate offered through public sale. Bidding will be conducted in a simulcast format, allowing participation both in person and online.
Online bidding opens October 16th at 11 a.m., giving buyers time to review properties and auction materials ahead of the live auction. For property details and the full auction packet, visit www.walkercommercialservices.com or call 540-344-6160.
Berglund Performing Arts Theatre
SHOWTIME: 8 PM
VIP PACKAGE
The magic dance continues. On the heels of a successful global tour to nearly 100 cities, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: In Concert returns in fall 2026 to visit more than 60 North America cities. An unforgettable night of fantasy, music, and nostalgia awaits, as fans celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie’s 1986 release. Fans are invited to step into the magical world of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth in an exciting fusion of film and live music. Watch the cult classic on a stunning HD screen while a live band performs the full soundtrack in perfect sync with David Bowie’s legendary vocals. From iconic songs like “Magic Dance” to Bowie and Trevor Jones’ sweeping score, the music comes alive like never before. Dress in costume, sing along, and cheer for your favorite characters as Goblin King Jareth, Sarah, and the fantastical creatures of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop leap off the screen.
2026 marks 40 years of Labyrinth. The originally musical fantasy film was released on June 27, 1986. It was directed by Jim Henson and stars Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie.
BERGLUND PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE
THE INTERNATIONAL, AWARD-WINNING SMASH-HIT MUSICAL THE BODYGUARD IS BACK! Based on the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, THE BODYGUARD is a thrilling, romantic musical that combines high-stakes suspense with unforgettable music. Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Both expect to be in charge of their situation-what they don’t expect is to fall in love.
A “BRILLIANT” (The Times), breathtakingly romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features a whole host of unforgettable classics including “Queen of the Night,” “So Emotional”, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” "Saving All My Love," and "One Moment in Time," alongside thrilling plot twists and emotional drama. THE BODYGUARD is an electrifying combination of romance, suspense and chart-topping music that will captivate audiences from start to finish.
Celebrate Friendsgiving & our Fall Food Drive on Wednesday, November 25! Roanoke faces the Knoxville Ice Bears in a Thanksgiving warm-up presented by Kroger and K92.3 FM. Enjoy select beers for just $5 all game long and help support our Fall Food Drive by bringing non-perishable items to donate to Feeding America SWVA. Puck drops at 7:05 P.M. We'll see ya there!
Dawgs skate together! Come out Friday, November 27. This is a bring your dawg to the game night. Dawg-friendly sections marked on the ticket map. Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs face the Fayetteville Marksmen on the ice. Specialty jerseys will be worn by the players on the ice and auctioned off after the game. Gates open at 6:00 and the puck drops at 7:05. We’ll see ya there!
Berglund Performing Arts Theatre
SHOWTIME: 7:00 PM
CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE dazzles with a brilliantly breathtaking holiday spectacular for the entire family. As the original cirque holiday theatrical event, this annual tradition wraps a Broadway-style production around awe-inspiring contemporary circus arts. Guests of all ages will be on the edge of their seats as a cast of holiday characters come to life, captivating audiences while defying gravity. Broadway World exclaims, “Lose yourself for 90 minutes and go back to those wonderful dreams you had as a kid.”
On Christmas Eve, young Clara returns home only to learn that a snowstorm may keep her family from joining her. As loneliness begins to settle in, two whimsical singers appear and whisk her away into HOLIDAZE—a fantastical world full of color, wonder, and breathtaking circus acts. As she journeys through this magical realm, Clara becomes part of the adventure, forming unexpected friendships and discovering her own courage. In a joyful twist, Clara is reunited with her loved ones, takes flight in a soaring aerial performance, and joins the entire cast in a heartwarming celebration of imagination, connection, and the true spirit of Christmas.
Reimagined for 2026, CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE features a world-renowned cast of performers including an ensemble of aerial circus acts, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, eye-popping acrobatics, and much more. Singers, dancers, toy soldiers, and reindeer invoke the dreams behind a child’s eye on the most magical of nights. Featuring new music including beloved holiday favorites sung live, new sets, sparkling scenery and stunning costumes, CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE the ultimate holiday gift!
Savvy Events invites you to the 11th Annual Holiday Craft & Vendor Show at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, VA and enjoy FREE ADMISSION AND PARKING and shop with 242 vendors from across the East Coast!
Last year we had over 7,200 customers through the door!
Bring a NEW UNWRAPPED toy for Toys for Tots or consider a cash donation to buy toys for needy children this Holiday Season!
Raffles and 50/50 Raffle will be held to raise money for Tots for Tots!
The Roanoke Grinch and Santa will be at our event both Saturday and Sunday! (Times to be announced later)
Iheart Radio with WROV and SteveFM will be LIVE at our event along with radio commercials advertising our event weeks prior and leading up to our event!
You WON'T want to miss out on this great Annual Event!
Vendor information-
10x10 empty booths are $200 which includes BOTH DAYS! (Must attend both days)
Power is $50 extra
(Includes both days)
8’tables and two chairs- $20 extra (includes both days)
Sponsorship Opportunities are available!
$500 sponsorship will include 1- 10x10 booth in a prime location, 1-8’ table and 2 chairs and electricity. Banner provided by your company to be displayed at entrance of the show, social media shoutouts along with shoutouts over the PA during our event!
Looking for Naming Sponsor, Santa Sponsor, Media Sponsor and Decoration Sponsors. Contact us for more information!
Message us TODAY to inquire and sign up!
Please be advised that SAVVY EVENTS is the ONLY person in charge of this event and no others our working on their behalf! Please DO NOT SEND MONEY to anyone other than SAVVY EVENTS PAYPAL ACCOUNT! If you have questions, please contact me (Jason Lane)
NO REFUNDS FOR ANY REASON!
MORE INFORMATION & OFFICIAL SHOW ART TO COME SOON. TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE BOXES ABOVE