ANNISTON, Ala. — The Knox Foundation announced Tuesday the revival of the Knox Concert Series, which concluded its 74th and final season in 2019 after more than a century of classical programming in Anniston. The inaugural revival season will open in September with a professional wrestling card. Two wrestlers were present at Tuesday's press conference and performed a demonstration hold for photographers.
The series, originally founded in 1917 by Carrie McClure Knox and devoted throughout its history to chamber music, classical recitals, and orchestral performance, will return under what Foundation board chair Brenda Colquitt described as "a new vision for what the Knox name can mean to this community."
"Knox has always stood for excellence," Colquitt said at a podium in front of the assembled ring. "What excellence looks like has to evolve. We are committed to bringing the community in, and that begins with programming the community can connect with."
The two wrestlers, who were not introduced by name, held their demonstration pose for approximately forty-five seconds before disengaging at Colquitt's signal.
The fall 2026 season will open the weekend of September 18–19 with a two-night professional wrestling card presented in partnership with Southeast Championship Wrestling, a Gadsden-based regional promotion. Colquitt described the event as "a study in athletic choreography and narrative tension." The promotion's materials describe it as "an action-packed night of hard-hitting professional wrestling."
Ticket pricing will be "comparable to previous seasons." Premium seating will range from $35 to $90. The Knox Foundation confirmed that alcohol service at the venue would not be expanded.
The October slot, which the series historically devoted to a major orchestral performance, will be filled by an Elvis tribute artist from Cullman who performs under the name Just Elvis. His website lists a setlist that includes "Burning Love," "Hound Dog," and what is described as "an extended in-character monologue on the state of modern country music." The performance is scheduled for October 31.
November will feature a two-night engagement by Wet Concrete, a cover band from Talladega. The band will perform two ninety-minute sets nightly with a fifteen-minute intermission. Wet Concrete's lead singer, reached at his home Tuesday, said the booking represented "a step up for us" and that the band intended to prepare "a slightly more polished setlist than what we usually do at Hooters."
The December holiday slot, previously occupied for 46 consecutive years by the Alabama Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker, will be filled by what the Foundation is calling the Knox Holiday Spectacular: a themed professional wrestling card. The Alabama Ballet, reached for comment Wednesday, did not respond.
The Knox Foundation's longstanding subscriber base, which a 2023 internal report identified as 87 percent over the age of 60, was notified of the revival season by mail last week. Colquitt said the Foundation anticipated "some natural transition" in the subscriber list but expected the new programming to attract audiences the classical series had not reached.
Fourteen subscribers have already renewed.
The Knox Concert Series was established with support from the family of Carrie McClure Knox and has been sustained in part by a longstanding endowment contribution from the Knox family. The family declined to comment for this story.
Subscriptions for the 2026–2027 Knox revival season are available through the Foundation's website. The Green Tomato will continue to monitor programming developments.
