The Germantown Performing Arts Center’s annual season series gets into full swing this week with a concert from six-time Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin.The season will continue through the end of the year and into 2027 with a total of 10 shows, including five Center Stage Series performances and five Jazz Series concerts.
In mid October, one of the “most powerful, enduring figures in American music,” former Stax Records star Mavis Staples will return to GPAC to perform songs off her latest LP, “Sad and Beautiful World.” Staples, a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center Honoree and multiple Grammy winner, will play GPAC on Oct. 17.
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With 2026 marking the centennial birthdays of jazz icons Miles Davis and John Coltrane, eight-time Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard will honor both men with a special GPAC concert on Nov. 7. As part of the “Miles Davis + John Coltrane Centennial” concert, Blanchard will perform with his band the E-Collective.
Also, in November, GPAC will welcome the comedy institution Second City, as it celebrates its 65th anniversary. The launching pad for top comedy talent — including alums like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell and Keegan-Michael Key — “The Best of Second City” show will present a mix of “improv comedy, hilarious songs, classic characters, and timeless sketches” at GPAC on Nov. 14.
The year will close out with a performance by "Glee" star and Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony winner Darren Criss on Dec. 5. Criss was originally scheduled to launch the GPAC season with a show in late September, but was forced to reschedule.
The GPAC series will resume in 2027 with a performance by The Count Basie Orchestra on Jan. 9, while dance troupe Step Afrika! brings “The Evolution Tour” to GPAC on Jan. 31.
Fiddlers Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland — who have amassed 18 Fiddle Player of the Year Awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association between them — will bring their joint Carter and Cleveland tour to Germantown on Feb. 27.
Rising jazz star Samara Joy has already garnered six Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2026 and Best New Artist in 2024, at the age of 26. She will return to GPAC for a concert on March 4.
Great American Songbook singer Stella Cole will reimagine the classics as part of a concert on March 20, closing out the 2026-27 season.
Season passes and tickets to individual shows for GPAC’s 2026-27 season are available at GPACweb.com.
Bob Mehr is the music writer at The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at bob.mehr@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Darren Criss, Samara Joy among headliners for GPAC's new season
