Music & Performances

A community band performs outdoors under a covered pavilion while an audience sits in folding and lawn chairs on the grass. The scene takes place on a sunny day with leafy trees providing shade around the gathering. Several people watch the musicians, and a woman stands near the front of the audience. The building behind the band has light-colored siding, a metal roof, and large windows.

The Parks & Recreation Department offers a variety of music programs concerts throughout the year.

 

 

International Folk Dance

Saturdays; September 12 & 19, October 3 & 17, November 7 & 21, December 5 & 12, 2026
7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. | Black River Beach Neighborhood Center
Registration Fee: $2 per session, pay as you go 
**No Registration Required**

Come experience the joy of movement, dance, community, and a taste of the world through International Folk Dance. Easy line and circle dances will be taught. No experience or partner needed.

Mississippi Melodies and Music Cafe

Are you looking for something to do that will be fun, entertaining, and provide the opportunity to meet new people? Come enjoy a free concert from local musicians as they share their experience and appreciation of music.

Mississippi Melodies are in the summer on the Black River Neighborhood Center lawn, Tuesdays from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.

Music Cafe can be enjoyed in the fall and spring at the South Side Neighborhood Center, Thursdays from 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Current concert listings can be seen in the drop-down menus below.

Blue Bridge Brass Concert

Welcome to the Blue Bridge Brass, a brass ensemble located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The band started playing together in September of 2024 and play music from all styles, both original works for Brass and arrangements. Members include Joshua Beron and Terry Enockson on trumpets, Vickie Rortvedt on horn, John Bausch and Marc Williams on trombones. Profiles of our musicians can be found on the Blue Bridge Brass Facebook Page.

Friday, November 20, 2026 

7 p.m.-9 p.m.   |   Black River Beach Neighborhood Center 

Registration Fee: FREE

This concert will feature highlights from 250 years of American music and American composers from the American Revolutionary War to contemporary arrangements of music from American musical traditions including spirituals, ragtime, jazz, musical theater, and famous marches--all arranged for brass quintet. 

Five brass musicians stand side by side on a wooden stage in a small performance hall. All are dressed in black concert attire and hold their instruments: two trumpets on the ends, two trombones, and a French horn in the center. Behind them are music stands, a decorative screen, and deep burgundy stage curtains.

 

Great River Ringers Concert

Sunday, December 13, 2026

2 p.m.-3 p.m.   |   Black River Beach Neighborhood Center

FREE 

Great River Ringers, a 5-octave community handbell choir, is thrilled to present a Christmas concert this year. We will play some traditional holiday pieces along with a few fun surprises. Let the beauty of handbells add joy to your holiday season. Refreshments are served following the concert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Crosse Community Theater Senior Previews

Seniors ages 62+ are invited to enjoy the dress rehearsal of select La Crosse Community Theater productions at 7:30 p.m. the Thursday prior to the show opening. Tickets must be picked up in person at the Black River Beach and South Side Neighborhood Centers and the Parks and Recreation window at City Hall.  

Please note: Tickets are sold on a first come basis and cannot be held. They must be picked up and paid for in person.  

Arsenic and Old Lace - Tickets available starting July 15, 2026

Arsenic & Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring title card with a martini glass and skull and crossbones motif.

Bad habits can be deadly!

The amusing story of two charming elderly ladies who decide that by poisoning their poor, lonely lodgers and burying the bodies in their cellar, they are saving these unfortunates from the sorrows of this world – however, not everybody shares their views!

Performance: Thursday, September 10, 2026

 

Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Tickets available starting October 7, 2026

 
The image shows the Grinch, a green, furry character wearing a red Santa-style coat and hat, crouched on a curling decorative vine. He reaches one hand toward hanging mistletoe above him. The title text appears in bold white letters on the left side of the circle. Additional text below credits the book and lyrics to Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin.

The holiday classic that will grow any heart!

With a heart "two sizes too small," the Grinch despises the annual Christmas festivities of Who-ville from a solitary distance. Fed up, he carries out a plan to stop them once and for all, only to learn a lesson about opening his heart to the real meaning of Christmas.

Performance: Thursday, December 3, 2026

 

Come Back - Tickets available starting December 21, 2026

A blue and yellow macaw is in the foreground of a poster for the comedy

Life and death from the driver’s seat!

Sky is stunned to learn they’re the sole beneficiary of their best friend Erin’s estate. But there’s a catch—and it’s a whopper: Sky must conquer their paralyzing anxiety and crisscross the country in search of the perfect way to dispose of their friend’s remains. Also, Sky must take their friend’s chatty parrot, Bruce, on the trip with them as well as contend with Erin’s overbearing parent who demands a traditional funeral.

Performance: Thursday, February 18, 2027

 

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - Tickets available starting January 4, 2027

ILY.jpg

The mating game in a musical!

This crowd-pleasing comedy takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship”

Performance: Thursday, March 4, 2027

 

A Piece of My Heart - Tickets available starting February 8, 2027

A Piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro title treatment with dog tags and a small American flag on a camouflage background with names inscribed.

The Vietnam War through the eyes of women who lived it.

This is a powerful, true drama of six women who went to Vietnam: five nurses and a country western singer booked by an unscrupulous agent to entertain the troops.

Performance: Thursday, April 8, 2027

 

Pippin - Tickets available starting March 8, 2027

The title 'Pippin' is displayed in large, light-colored letters against a dark background with a harlequin pattern. A silhouette of a person in a top hat and tails is visible behind the text, illuminated by a spotlight. Text above the silhouette reads 'Book by Roger O. Hirson,' and text below reads 'Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.'

We’ve got magic to do!

Heir to the Frankish throne, the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh and the intrigues of political power (after disposing of his father, King Charlemagne the Great). In the end, though, Pippin finds that happiness lies not in extraordinary endeavors, but rather in the unextraordinary moments that happen every day.

Performance: Thursday, May 6, 2027

 

Mississippi Melodies 

** If the weather is questionable, all cancellations, postponements, and location changes will be posted on our Facebook page and the Senior Program Hotline at 608-791-8956 by 10 a.m. Save time and download our app to receive notifications immediately when there are program changes.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026: Mark IV

Start with hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Then add country songs, jazz standards and one Disco tune. What do you get? "The Mark IV" band. Local musicians Therese Roellich-Bernadot, Greg Bergh, Randy Bartlett and Jon Hetland make up this crew. "We think it's almost like Heaven. We've been going strong since 1967."

Tuesday, September 8, 2026: Grumpy Old Men

The Grumpy Old Men swing band is a 14-piece big band. The band consists of mostly retired musicians who still love to play their instruments and the music of the swing era. The band’s repertoire includes the music of Glenn Miller, Les Brown, and others.

 

Music Cafe

1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

South Side Neighborhood Center

 

September 17, 2026: Tom & Len

More information coming soon!

September 24, 2026: John Pinski & Friends

More information coming soon!

 

October 1, 2026: Spirit and Truth

More information coming soon!

 

October 8, 2026: Rich Pinski

More information coming soon!

 

October 22, 2026: Tom and Len

More information coming soon!

 

October 29, 2026: No Music Cafe

No music today

November 5, 2026: Mike's Music

More information coming soon!

 

November 12, 2026: Rich Pinski

More information coming soon!

 

November 19, 2026: John Pinksi

More information coming soon!