Cactus Theater presents: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder!
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Doors: 6:50 pm • Showtime: 7:30 pm
Ricky Skaggs
Fifteen-time GRAMMY® Award-winner 
Ricky Skaggs
’ career is easily among the most significant in recent country music history. If Skaggs’ burgeoning trophy case full of awards wasn’t already enough evidence of that fact, consider that legendary guitarist 
Chet Atkins
 once credited Skaggs with “single-handedly saving country music.” His life’s path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact.
Born July 18, 1954 in Cordell, Kentucky, Skaggs showed signs of future stardom at an early age, playing mandolin on stage with bluegrass pioneer 
Bill Monroe
 at 6 and appearing on TV with 
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
 at 7. He emerged as a professional bluegrass musician in 1971, when he and his friend 
Keith Whitley
 were invited to join the legendary 
Ralph Stanley
’s band the 
Clinch Mountain Boys
. Skaggs then went on to record and perform with progressive bluegrass acts like the 
Country Gentlemen
 and 
J.D. Crowe & The New South
, whose self-titled 1975 Rounder Records debut album was instantly recognized as a landmark bluegrass achievement. He then led 
Boone Creek
, which also featured dobro ace and fellow New South alumnus 
Jerry Douglas
.
But Skaggs turned to the more mainstream country music genre in the late ‘70s when he joined 
Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band
, replacing 
Rodney Crowell
. He became a recording artist in his own right in 1981 when his Epic label debut album 
Waitin’ for the Sun to Shine
 
topped the country charts and yielded a pair of #1 hits. Overall, his productive stay at Epic Records would result in a total of 
12 #1 hits
. Additionally, he garnered 
eight (8) Country Music Association (CMA) awards
 - including the coveted 
Entertainer of the Year
 trophy in 1985.
Skaggs, of course, fit right in with young “new-traditionalist” ‘80s artists like 
Randy Travis
, and helped rejuvenate the country music genre after the worn-out “Urban Cowboy” period. But, Skaggs put his own stamp on the country format by infusing his bluegrass and traditional country music roots into the contemporary Nashville sound. His 1997 album 
Bluegrass Rules!
, released on his newly-formed 
Skaggs Family Records
 label, marked a triumphant return to bluegrass—which he’s solidified ever since with a series of GRAMMY® Award winning albums, recorded with his amazing bluegrass band, 
Kentucky Thunder
 (8-time winners of the IBMA ‘Instrumental Group of the Year’). Skaggs’ label has also served as a home for similar bluegrass and roots music-oriented artists including 
The Whites
.
In the past decade, he has been honored with inductions into the Gospel Music Association’s 
Gospel Music Hall of Fame
 and the 
Musicians Hall of Fame
. In 2018, a landmark year, Skaggs was also awarded membership into the 
National Fiddler Hall of Fame
, the IBMA 
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame
 and country music’s greatest honor, the 
Country Music Hall of Fame
. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious 
National Medal of Arts
 in 2020 for his contributions to the American music industry.
Ricky struck his first chords on a mandolin over 60 years ago, and he continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. Clearly his passion for it puts him in the position to bring his lively, distinctively American form of music out of isolation and into the ears and hearts of audiences across the country and around the world. 
Ricky Skaggs
 is always forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas and inspirations. Ricky Skaggs has often said that he is “just trying to make a living” playing the music he loves. But it’s clear that his passion for it puts him in the position to bring his lively, distinctively American form of music out of isolation and into the ears and hearts of audiences across the country and around the world. Ricky is always forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas and inspirations.
Reserved Tickets:
Floor, first 6 rows (A-F)….…$80
Floor, last 6 rows (G-M)……$70
Standard Balcony…………...$60
Balcony Box*
 
(includes concessions)
….$140
* Pick up wristband at ticket booth before proceeding to concession line.
Information Source: Cactus Theater | eventbrite

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