By Lauren Daley

When the Sox were headed toward their 2004 World Series win, fans took on the mantra: "Why Not Us?"

Any entertainment fan in South Coast can now say the same.

New Bedford's Zeiterion Performing Arts Center has started to make a habit of hitting grand slams when it comes to creating season line-ups:

Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Garrison Keillor, Whoopie Goldberg, Weird Ai Yankovic, Ed Asner, Etta James and LilyTomlin have all graced the stage of the downtown theater in the past three years.

This season, the Z welcomes more icons, including Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Greg Allman and Bobby McFerrin.

After all: Why not us?

"There is no reason," answered the Z's Executive Director Katherine Knowles.

"New Bedford is what we make it. We can do it if we believe it."

Since 2004, when Ms. Knowles took over the helm, the 1,200-seat theater has been consistently selling out and booking huge names.

Kevin Costner's character in "Field of Dreams" comes to mind when Ms. Knowles talks about turning the Z into a major venue:

"I believe that if we bring these artists, people will come. You just have to be brave. It was a great act of courage, it was a financial risk, for me to believe they would come. And they are.

"The reach of the Z depends on the artists we get. Right now, 20 percent of our audience comes from Providence. We're attracting people from upstate New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Cape Cod, Rhode Island. That's something to celebrate."

Ms. Knowles broke down the season into themes:

GREAT LADIES

The jam-packed 2007-08 season officially kicks off Oct. 6 with Portuguese pop star Mariza -- and she's in good company:

Folk-rock great Emmylou Harris, '60s icon Joan Baez, "Queen of the Blues" Koko Taylor and Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster round out this all-star line-up.

Mariza has been praised for revitalizing fado -- a traditional Portuguese genre -- with her sultry alto.

"In Portugal, her record went to number one on the pop charts, even though fado is not considered pop music; it's more traditional music. Her last two albums went to number one," Yusuf Gandhi, president of Times Square Records told' The Standard-Times.

"She's in Spain now, then she'll play Canada, New Bedford, then Carnegie Hall." As for the "Why us" question, Mr. Gandhi answered: "Because the theater made her an offer and you have a very big Portuguese community there."

Mariza's two-night appearance is followed by Emmylou Harris on Oct. 20.