Take a Trip Back in Time!

Join my band and me for a lively night of great music, creative collaboration, and fantastic conversation.

Our live radio taping from the Reeves Theater is a great way to spend some time, explore, and discover new artists!

The Reeves is the original theater and has been beautifully renovated and reimagined. Historic downtown Elkin is also a great place to visit, with shops, restaurants, cocktail bars, and outdoor adventures. Visit Explore Elkin and Elkin Main Street to learn more.

Side Door serves delicious food at the Reeves Cafe, and Three Trails is a fantastic boutique hotel steps from the theater.

We hope to see you soon, and when you visit, please say hello and chat with us in the lobby after the show!

Love, mb

Dana Cooper

Dana Cooper's musical journey began at the young age of 2 when his father would prop him on the bar to sing along with the jukebox. Coming from Missouri, Cooper was surrounded by the sounds of classic country and folk music from an early age. He quickly became enamored with the guitar and taught himself to play and to harmonize vocally by listening to records. By his teenage years, Cooper was performing in coffee houses and clubs around Kansas City, honing his skills as a singer, songwriter and guitarist.

In the 1970s, Cooper landed a record deal with Elektra Records and released his acclaimed self-titled debut album in 1972. Backed by renowned LA studio musicians "The Section," including Leeland Sklar and Russ Kunkel, the album showcased Cooper's lyrical depth and virtuoso guitar playing.

For over a decade, he was half of the highly acclaimed duo - The Shake Russell/Dana Cooper band, who garnered a large following in Texas as well as appearing on Austin City Limits. Through the 70s and 80s, he built his reputation on the club circuit while also collaborating with artists like Lyle Lovett, Kim Carnes, Susan Werner, Kim Richey, Hal Ketchum & more.

Over his 50+ year career, Cooper has amassed a catalog of 30+ albums and continues to tour actively. He is set to release his highly anticipated 32nd studio album, “The Ghost of Tucumcari”, on May 17, 2024. Featuring an All-Star lineup of guest artists, the album marks a major achievement for the veteran musician. Artists lending their voices to this project are Lyle Lovett, Hayes Carll, Susan Gibson, Mando Saenz, Darden Smith, Shake Russell, Libby Koch and more.

“The Ghost of Tucumcari” takes listeners on a stirring musical journey across genres from Folk and Rock to Country and Americana. His critically acclaimed 2022 release, "I Can Face the Truth," encapsulates his evolution as a consummate storyteller. The album mixes his signature fingerpicking guitar and harmonica with poignant lyrics on love, loss and the current state of the world.

Central to Cooper's unique artistry is his ability to connect with audiences through his authentic stories and warm stage presence. His decades of experience shine through in the ease and humor he brings to both his playing and storytelling. Though he's performed with Folk and Americana greats, Cooper has always followed his own musical vision.

"Few artists can claim to make music for 50 years and still do so with the same eagerness and enthusiasm that marked their initial efforts." Lee Zimmerman, American Songwriter.

Dana Cooper remains driven by his pure love for songwriting and performing, bringing people together through songs. From coffee houses to major concert halls, his singular mix of virtuosity and vulnerability has earned him a lifetime of devoted fans.

During his years as a Troubadour, Dana has received many Accolades:

In the Spirit of Folk Award - Folk Alliance International
Heritage Musician Award - Pilgrim Center for the Arts Kansas City
Best Male Songwriter Award - Indie Acoustic Project
Best Record - The Tennesseean
Nashville Music Award Nomination - Best Pop Album
Veteran of the Kerrville Folk Festival

Learn more at https://www.danacoopermusic.com/

Catastrophe Journal

Catastrophe Journal is a rock/pop/folk band from Winston-Salem, NC. Fueled by friendship, a love of music, and the occasional IPA, CatJo has been playing in & around WSNC since late 2020. In 2022, they began peppering their sets with the occasional original tune, eventually amassing enough original material to release their debut EP - Catastrophe Journal - on May 2, 2025. Touchstones would be Sister Hazel, Gin Blossoms, and Life In General, with a dash of Foo Fighters.

Learn more at https://catastrophejournal.com/

Jill Gardner

Noted for her “effortlessly produced, rich voice,” American Soprano Jill Gardner has established herself among today’s leading operatic heroines in the industry. With nearly 25 years of professional experience and recognized as a “lyrico spinto, Puccini girl through and through”, her repertoire consists of the title roles of Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Manon Lescaut as well as Minnie (La Fanciulla del West), Georgetta, Suor Angelica and Lauretta (Il Trittico), Liù (Turandot), Mimì and Musetta (La Bohème), Nedda (Pagliacci), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Leonora (Il Trovatore), Lady MacBeth (MacBeth), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Margherite (Faust) with such notable companies as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Carolina, Detroit Opera, Madison Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Hawai’i Opera Theater, Toledo Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Maryland Lyric Opera, Fresno Grand Opera, Eugene Opera, Inland Northwest Opera and Piedmont Opera, among others. Equally at home in the operetta and musical theater traditions, Ms. Gardner gave the first inaugural opera house performances of the role of Margaret Johnson in Adam Guettel’s Light in the Piazza with Piedmont Opera and most recently, reprised the role of Margaret Johnson in the Italian premier of Light in the Piazza at the Medici Palace in Florence in collaboration with Elon University and the Accademia Europea di Firenze.

Ms. Gardner has also enjoyed success as Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene (Virginia Opera), the title role in Lehar’s The Merry Widow (Syracuse Opera) as well as Desiree and Countess Charlotte Malcolm in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (Hawai’i Opera Theater).  She has appeared on the concert stage with such ensembles as the Washington Chorus, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Wichita Symphony and the Syracuse Symphony as well as the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Fresno Philharmonic. An alumna of the Young Artist Programs of Glimmerglass Opera Festival and Tri-Cities Opera in upstate New York, Ms. Gardner has a B.M. in Piano Performance from Centenary College of Louisiana and a M.M in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. 

Ms. Gardner was a Co-Founder and Voice Teacher alongside her beloved late husband, Bass-Baritone Jake Gardner, of A Singing Actor’s Studio which they created together in 2004. Together, the Gardner’s traveled nationally presenting Masterclasses and Workshops in addition to staged opera scenes programs and fully staged operatic presentations to great acclaim.

Today, Ms. Gardner maintains a small private voice studio where she now primarily teaches voice, role preparation and acts as a mentor to emerging singers in the operatic industry.

Ms. Gardner currently resides in Kernersville, NC with her beloved pups — Bear, Frida and Polly and is currently the Director of Music Ministries for Main Street United Methodist Church in downtown Kernersville.

Learn more at http://jillbowengardner.com/