As the leaves fall and temperatures drop, the Vilar Performing Arts Center today announced its initial winter 2026-27 lineup, bringing nearly 40 performances to Beaver Creek between December and April: from rock and Motown legends to international ballet companies, top classical soloists, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, jazz, comedy, and some of the biggest names in the jam scene.
The season opens alongside the biggest Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup festival ever (Dec. 3-13), featuring seven men’s and women’s races across two weeks of competition. During the festivities the Vilar will host back-to-back concerts by Denver-based singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff on Dec. 5 and 6 as part of Birds of Prey, a project of the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation.
The holiday calendar gives visiting families and locals alike plenty of reasons to spend an evening in the village, with Frisson’s Christmas by Candlelight (Dec. 20), two performances of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Dec. 23), and John Oates & The Good Road Band (Dec. 28). The Temptations, the Motown legends behind “My Girl,” close out the holiday week on Jan. 2.
The new year brings a myriad of performances for every taste, including Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Leftover Salmon, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Midori with Festival Strings Lucerne, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and a two-night run of Broadway’s Shucked.
The setting is as much a part of the experience as the lineup. An underground, 530-seat theater beneath the heart of Beaver Creek Village, the Vilar is modeled on 19th-century European opera houses, with a horseshoe design that makes every seat feel like the front row.
“This season reflects the artistic range and ambition that defines the Vilar,” said Cameron Morgan, Executive Director of the Vilar Performing Arts Center. “We’re bringing artists whose work reaches audiences around the world into a 530-seat theater in the Rockies. The opportunity to experience that caliber of performance up close at the Vilar is part of what makes Beaver Creek such a distinctive cultural destination.”
Initial Vilar Winter 2026-27 Lineup
Dec. 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Nathaniel Rateliff
As part of Stifel Birds of Prey (SOLD OUT)
Dec. 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Nathaniel Rateliff
As part of Stifel Birds of Prey (SOLD OUT)
Dec. 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Feature Film Screening Mountains of the Moon*
Presented by The Bindu Memorial Fund
Dec. 20 | 6:30 p.m. | Frisson: Christmas by Candlelight
Dec. 23 | 3:00 p.m. | Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Dec. 23 | 7:30 p.m. | Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Dec. 28 | 7:00 p.m. | John Oates & The Good Road Band
Jan. 2 | 7:00 p.m. | The Temptations*
Jan. 3 | 6:00 p.m. | Mountainfilm on Tour
Co-presented with the Vail Symposium
Jan. 6 | 7:00 p.m. | The Disco Biscuits
Jan. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | The Other Brothers with special guest Bill Nershi of The String Cheese Incident*
Jan. 10 | 6:30 p.m. | Mario! The Maker Magician
Jan. 16 | 7:00 p.m. | The Motet
Jan. 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Whose Live Anyway?
Jan. 23 | 7:00 p.m. | Mat Kearney
Jan. 26 | 6:30 p.m. | Nikolai Lugansky, piano
Jan. 30 | 7:00 p.m. | Leftover Salmon*
Jan. 31 | 6:00 p.m. | National Geographic Live: Wild Cats Revealed with Sandesh Kadur
Co-presented with the Vail Symposium
Feb. 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Sergio Bernal Dance Company
Feb. 4 | 7:00 p.m. | An Evening with Lucius
Feb. 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Big Head Todd and the Monsters*
Feb. 16 | 6:30 p.m. | Midori & Festival Strings Lucerne perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
Feb. 17 | 7:00 p.m. | North Mississippi Allstars*
Feb. 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Radu Ratoi and Alexandra Tirsu
Feb. 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Alonzo King LINES Ballet
Co-presented with Vail Dance Festival
Mar. 2 | 6:30 p.m. | Sounds of California with Simone Porter, Blake Pouliot, and Hsin-I Huang
Mar. 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Mar. 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Oteil & Friends*
Mar. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | 40 Fingers
Mar. 12 | 7:00 p.m. | DanceAspen: Take Me Home
Mar. 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Shucked
Mar. 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Shucked
Mar. 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Grateful Shred*
Mar. 24 | 7:00 p.m. | Fantasy: Earth, Wind & Fire Tribute
Mar. 30 | 7:00 p.m. | moe.*
Mar. 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Napoleon Dynamite LIVE!*
Apr. 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Lightwire Theater: The Adventures of Tortoise and Hare
Apr. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Monophonics*
