The State Theatre welcomes Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert!
Kieran Kane’s(opens in a new tab) seminal work in The O'Kanes and Kane Welch Kaplin, as well as co-founding the independent label Dead Reckoning Records(opens in a new tab), laid the foundation for the contemporary world of Americana music. A successful solo artist, collaborator, and songwriter (with songs recorded by Alan Jackson, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and many more), Kieran is a musician's musician: his playing is always understated, always groove-oriented, and always serving the song.
If Rayna Gellert(opens in a new tab) seems a preternaturally gifted songwriter, it’s because she’s seen farther into the old songs than most. Growing up in a musical family, she turned to Appalachian old-time music at a young age, becoming a prodigious fiddler and leading a new revival of American stringband music through her work with the acclaimed roots band Uncle Earl. An in-demand collaborator, she has toured and recorded with artists such as Scott Miller, Abigail Washburn, Toubab Krewe, and Robyn Hitchcock.
Kieran and Rayna first met, fittingly, at San Francisco's celebrated Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which led to their cowriting songs for Kieran's solo album Unguarded Moments(opens in a new tab) (Dead Reckoning). They joined forces again for Rayna's 2017 release, Workin's Too Hard(opens in a new tab) (StorySound Records), which they also co-produced. Their first duo album, The Ledges(opens in a new tab), was released in February of 2018 on Dead Reckoning Records, followed up quickly by 2019’s When the Sun Goes Down(opens in a new tab).
In 2022, this “unlikely musical couple”(opens in a new tab) released The Flowers That Bloom in Spring(opens in a new tab), which found the duo digging deeper into their exploration of minimalist writing and production. Their fourth album, Volume 4(opens in a new tab), arrived in the spring of 2025.
Fans of either artist will recognize the musical kindred-spiritedness in their restrained and roots-oriented approach to both songs and arrangements.
You may also like the following events from The State Theatre:
Also check out other
Arts events in State College,
Music events in State College,
Entertainment events in State College.
