Guitars & Stars at West Herr Auditorium Theatre | May 20, 2026
WBEE’s Guitars & Stars is one of those nights that reminds you why acoustic music hits different in the right room. The annual country storytelling showcase returns to West Herr Auditorium Theatre on Wednesday, May 20, and the 2026 lineup — Nate Smith, Ashley Cooke, Aaron Watson, Alexandra Kay, and Julia Cole — is worth the drive.
Doors open around 6:30 PM, showtime is 7:30. RBTL has parking at 945 East Main Street, one block from the theater.
The Format
This is a songwriter showcase: five artists, acoustic sets, and the stories behind the songs. Presented by 92.5 WBEE and produced by Rochester Broadway Theatre League, Guitars & Stars went dark during the pandemic and came back in 2023 to a room that had clearly missed it.
Nate Smith headlines. The Sony Nashville artist has put together four consecutive country number-ones — including platinum “Whiskey On You,” the 10-week number-one “World on Fire,” and platinum “Bulletproof.” His songs hold real weight, and an acoustic storytelling format is exactly where that weight lands.
Ashley Cooke (Big Loud) is the current-momentum pick — CMT’s 2024 Breakthrough Female Video of the Year and a debut country radio number-one with “your place.” Aaron Watson is the independent credibility anchor: an Amarillo-based artist who became the first indie male to debut at number-one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Alexandra Kay (8.6 million social followers, Tim McGraw’s 2022 touring partner, and her October 2025 album Second Wind) and Julia Cole — 500 million streams, and both artists recorded “Best Worst Ex” together — round out a lineup that stacks up well on paper and should deliver live.
The Venue
West Herr Auditorium Theatre is a 1930-built room ranked among the top venues in the world by Pollstar. Operated by RBTL, it holds approximately 2,500 and brings exceptional acoustics to a Rochester-area night already built around the songs themselves.
Tickets
On sale now. Get tickets here. If you’re making the trip from Syracuse, it’s about 90 minutes on the Thruway — give yourself time to park before the 7:30 start.