Lynne Rothrock celebrates 25 years of Christmas concerts at Opus Concert Café

CEDAR RAPIDS — Lynne Rothrock and her Merry band are taking over Opus Concert Café for their annual holiday concert. This year marks the 25th year of a Rothrock Christmas concert in Eastern Iowa.

Rothrock is an area vocalist with national credentials and a reputation for crafting shows that are high spirited, humorous and poignant. Among many other venues, Rothrock has appeared at Birdland in New York City, The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Davenports Cabaret in Chicago, Sharp 9 Jazz in Durham, North Carolina, and Crooners and the Dakota in Minneapolis.

Rothrock has built a tradition of producing a holiday show in the Cedar Rapids area that features new twists on classic holiday songs and newer songs in a variety of styles. Attendees should expect lots of laughs sprinkled throughout the evening.

Over 25 years, the show has appeared in several different venues but has found a permanent home at the Opus Concert Café. Joining Rothrock this year will be her pianist and musical partner Julia Andrews, bass player Dave Ollinger, accordion and keyboard player Keel Clemmens, and drummer Greg Kanz. There are two special guests returning this year: Marc Janssen, a bluegrass musician and vocalist, and Madison, Wisconsin, based Rachael Brolin adding harmony vocals.