Jan 28, 2025

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder to perform at Stiefel Theatre in April

Posted Jan 28, 2025 5:23 PM
Photo by Olivia Bergmeier
Photo by Olivia Bergmeier

By SALINA POST

Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder, will take the stage at the Stiefel Theatre on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 10 a.m.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office, online at www.stiefeltheatre.org, or by calling 785-827-1998.

Kentucky Thunder

Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder, will take the stage at the Stiefel Theatre on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 10 a.m.
Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder, will take the stage at the Stiefel Theatre on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 10 a.m.

Ricky Skaggs describes his band, Kentucky Thunder, as a group of pickers that “totally amazes me in every show… and that, to me, outweighs any award we could ever win.” The all-star lineup includes Russ Carson (banjo), Jake Workman (lead guitar), Dennis Parker (baritone vocals, guitar), Gavin Kelso (bass), Mike Rogers (tenor vocals, rhythm guitar), and Billy Contreras (fiddle).

About Ricky Skaggs

Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder, will take the stage at the Stiefel Theatre on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 10 a.m.
Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his acclaimed band, Kentucky Thunder, will take the stage at the Stiefel Theatre on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 10 a.m.

Born in Cordell, Kentucky, Ricky Skaggs began his journey in music at an early age, performing with bluegrass legends like Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs before joining Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys in 1971. His career spans decades and genres, from bluegrass to mainstream country, with 12 #1 hits, eight CMA Awards, and recognition as a driving force behind country music’s “new-traditionalist” movement in the 1980s.

In 1997, Skaggs returned to his bluegrass roots with the formation of Skaggs Family Records and the release of Bluegrass Rules!, earning a GRAMMY® and solidifying his influence on the genre. Since then, Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder have won eight International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards for Instrumental Group of the Year.

Skaggs has received numerous accolades, including induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, as well as the prestigious National Medal of Arts in 2020.

Still leading the charge in the roots revival movement, Skaggs is celebrated for his ability to connect audiences to the heart of American music.