Jeffrey Dean Foster, Piedmont Opera, Dale Pollock, and Declan O'Rourke

Jeffrey Dean Foster

Jeffrey Dean Foster is a world-class songwriter who calls Winston-Salem home. He has a new album coming out on November 4th, called The Arrow. Its somewhat of an outlier in the modern music world – the variety of styles, and warm sounds of The Arrow harken back to a time when albums were crafted with care, yet executed with confident abandon. There are traces of The Replacements, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, even the Rolling Stones on The Arrow. Jeffrey's stellar songs were ably assisted by Kernersville's star citizen and Fidelitorium Recording Studios boss-man Mitch Easter.

There will be a Winston-Salem release party benefiting The Shalom Project on Saturday, November 15th, at SECCA. You can catch Jeffrey Dean Foster solo at Triad Arts Live at HanesBrands Theatre, on Thursday, November 6th at noon. David Ford & Eddie Garcia will be chatting with Jeffrey, and chowing down on some tacos from area food trucks. We'll do our best to make it the most entertaining lunch break you've had in a while.

http://youtu.be/gvK1tiPNKZU

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Piedmont Opera and Madama Butterfly

Puccini's dramatic masterpiece Madama Butterfly comes to the Triad this weekend courtesy of Piedmont Opera. The incredible story of love, betrayal, faith, pain, sacrifice, death and redemption has few equals in any genre. With its bold, three-dimensional characters, clever, and poetic dialogue and some of the most beautiful music ever composed, Puccini's opera will truly bowl you over with emotion. Butterfly is a 15 year old Japanese girl whose family comes across hard times. Through a marriage broker she agrees to marry an American Navy Lieutenant, Pinkerton with the hopes of starting a new life and finding love and happiness. Pinkerton, the young, adventurous sailor has other things on his mind, like living his life to the fullest while in Japan, taking advantage of Japan's lax divorce laws, and eventually, returning to the states for an American bride.

“Man's love is of his life a thing apart; ‘Tis woman's whole existence.” It's a quote from Don Juan but it's also been used to summarize the joy and tragedy that's everywhere to be found in Madama Butterfly.

Tobaccoville, North Carolina native and nationally renowned soprano Jill Gardner sings the role of the Japanese teenager Butterfly. She's joined by tenor Isaac Hurtado who sings the role of Pinkerton the young Naval Lieutenant.

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Behind the Scenes with Dale Pollock

Dale celebrates 25 years of The Simpsons, the longest running series in American television history.

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Declan O'Rourke

Irish singer/songwriter Declan O'Rourke is currently on tour for the US release of his third album Mag Pai Zai. On Saturday, November 1st, he'll be playing his first show in North Carolina at the Community Arts Cafe in Winston-Salem.