The Riley Center at Mississippi State University’s Meridian campus is set to have a wide range of performances from world famous acts for their 2023 season.
The Riley Center is home to the 950-seat Grand Opera House that will host the events.
Morgan Dudley, the center’s director of conferences, events and operations, said the team has a diverse line-up through July.
“From theater and comedy to a variety of musical acts, we’re providing something for a range of audiences,” Dudley said. “I think that’s the most important thing is providing an experience for everyone.”
Saturday, St. Paul and The Broken Bones will perform at the Grand Opera House before the season officially begins. The Birmingham, Alabama, soul group are making a stop at the Riley Center during their tour following their 2022 album “The Alien Coast.”
Soon after, London-based Aquila Theatre Company, will officially open the season with Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” Thursday, Feb. 9. The cast will hold a public performance and a school performance for students in the area.
With multiple Grammy wins under her belt, country singer Tanya Tucker will bring “Delta Dawn” to Meridian March 9.
British gospel group, The Kingdom Choir will offer its sound to the Grand Opera House stage March 18. Most notably, the group performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding in 2018.
Jennifer Haught manages the box office for the Riley Center and said she is most excited for Tucker and The Kingdom Choir. She said she receives feedback sharing the audience’s love of hearing music at the center. 
“Someone said, ‘I want the best seat for sound,’ and I said, ‘Welcome to the Riley Center,’” Haught said.
Aside from music, Mississippi native Tig Notaro will bring a sprinkle of comedy to the stage April 13.
In May, 1960s rock band The Beach Boys will abandon their surfboards for the Grand Opera House stage as summer quickly approaches.
The country singing “American Patriot” Lee Greenwood will take up the June performance.
Smokey Robinson will be the final act in the line-up for the season. Robinson is a Motown artist and producer who will be“Cruisin’” down to Meridian to fill the historic Grand Opera House with his soulful rhythm and blues sound.
Built in 1889, The Grand Opera House at the Riley Center sat vacant between 1927 and 2006. This season’s artists are just a few that bring the arts back to life in this building.
In the early 2000s, Mississippi State University and the Riley Foundation came together to fund a full restoration of the historic performing arts center. The doors opened back up to the public in September 2006.
Benjamin Sills, a sophomore animal and dairy science and pre-veterinary major, is from Meridian. He said he looks forward to hearing a few artists this season in the historic venue he has visited many times before.
“Inside you walk in and you immediately step into this,” Sills said. “It’s like you’re transported to another world. I don’t know how to describe it other than that.”
The February performances and the season mini ticket packages are on sale now on the Riley Center’s website. All other tickets and packages will go on sale Feb. 6.