Spotlight: Judds kick off Northern Quest’s summer series
The summer concert lineup is rapidly taking shape, beginning with an impressive list of household names in the Northern Quest Resort and Casino’s new outdoor series.
Here’s that lineup, announced last week:
• The Judds (The Last Encore Tour), June 25.
• The Steve Miller Band, July 14.
• Willie Nelson and Family, July 31.
• The Beach Boys, Aug. 6, as a part of their 50th Anniversary Tour.
• Reba McEntire, Aug. 12, with special guest Sunny Sweeney.
• Toby Keith, with special guest Eric Church, Aug. 18.
• Santana, with special guest Michael Franti, Aug. 26.
This new outdoor venue will be in the grassy area between the hotel and the parking garage. It will have a covered stage and seating for around 4,000 or 5,000. It’s still under construction.
All seats will be reserved. Tickets to Keith and the Judds are already on sale. Tickets to remaining shows go on sale May 17 at 10 a.m.
Call (877) 777-5252 or TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
Leon Russell for free
Here’s another legend set to play outdoors, and this show’s free: Leon Russell.
Russell is particularly hot right now, since he is coming off an acclaimed duet album with Elton John, along with a film documentary of the recording sessions.
He will be the big name at Spokane’s Pig Out in the Park festival at Riverfront Park on Labor Day weekend. All of the Pig Out concerts are a ridiculous bargain, considering they don’t cost a dime.
Here are the headliners:
• Charlie Musselwhite, Sept. 1.
• Russell, Sept. 2.
• Marcy Playground, Sept. 3, with Carbon Leaf.
• MarchFourth Marching Band (a big world beat band, complete with circus), Sept. 4.
Also look for reunions (or returns) of acts including Too Slim and the Taildraggers, Ten Minutes Down, The Exploding Fifis and Men In The Making.
Soundgarden at The Gorge
Here’s one with huge appeal to those who came of age in the 1990s: Soundgarden, with Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon and the Meat Puppets, at the Gorge Amphitheatre, July 30, 6 p.m.
This is considered Soundgarden’s “homecoming” concert.
Tickets are $65 and go on sale Saturday, 10 a.m. at www.LiveNation.com or all Ticketmaster outlets, (800) 745-3000.
Fresh garden Korn
And the Greyhound Park at Post Falls is weighing in with Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, All That Remains, Volbeat, Red Line Chemistry and Madlife on Aug. 26.
Tickets are $45, through www.TicketFly.com or (877) 435-9849.
Meanwhile, in the Arena …
Not all the action will be outdoors this summer. Country acts Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker have been booked into the Spokane Arena on July 21, 8 p.m.
Tickets are $19.50 and $29.50, through TicketsWest.
A second ‘Michael’ show
A second show has been added to “ Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 13, 4 p.m.
This is a Jackson tribute and celebration, presented by Cirque du Soleil. The original Nov. 12 show has evidently sold well enough to justify another date.
Tickets range from $50 to $250, through TicketsWest.
A ‘Miracle’ for Interplayers
“The Miracle Worker” is only in its first weekend, yet it is already setting ticket records for the Interplayers Professional Theatre.
It has sold more first-week tickets than any show in Interplayers history, and will likely be extended at least another week, to May 29 (watch for an official confirmation).
The reason? Patty Duke, of course.
She won an Oscar and an Emmy for “The Miracle Worker” and now, for the first time, she is directing the show. It has already made national theater headlines.
Duke’s Oscar and Emmy will be on display in the theater’s Gellhorn Gallery.
For tickets, call (509) 455-PLAY or TicketsWest outlets.
The new SCT lineup
The Spokane Children’s Theatre has announced its 2011-2012 season:
• “Disney’s Aladdin,” based on the popular movie.
• “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” the classic holiday comedy.
• “Go Dog Go,” an Inland Northwest premiere of a Seattle Children’s Theatre favorite.
• “Miss Nelson is Missing!” another Inland Northwest premiere.
• “Narnia,” a musical version of the “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
These shows will be held at Spokane Falls Community College, in either the Spartan Playhouse or the new Music and Performing Arts building.
And don’t forget about this season’s finale, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” a reprise of the SCT’s inaugural production in 1946.
“Snow White” runs Saturday through May 29 at the Spokane Masonic Temple’s Commandery Room, 1108 W. Riverside Ave. Tickets are available through TicketsWest.
While you’re at “Snow White,” you can purchase discounted tickets to the new season. Check www.spokanechildrenstheatre.org for more details.
MAC’s ‘Da Vinci’ mode
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) is operating in minimal mode in May, for good reason: All of the gallery spaces in the museum are being cleared out for installation of “Leonardo Da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius,” opening June 3.
This will be the first MAC exhibit to use every gallery space in the museum. So, yes, you can extrapolate that this will also be the museum’s biggest exhibit ever. It’s a traveling exhibit with more than 60 replicas of Da Vinci’s inventions and his art.
That’s why museum admission is only $2 in May. Visitors will have access only to the Campbell House, the Museum Store and the MAC Café (admission is free with store or café purchase). Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Yet here’s one thing you can do at the MAC this month: buy tickets to “Da Vinci” at the new admissions desk during the above hours.
Tickets went on sale last week, and will cost $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for students (or for members, $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and $8 for students).
Tickets are not limited to a particular time or date. They are also available through TicketsWest.
The above prices might convince you that becoming a museum member is a good idea. Not coincidentally, this month is also “MAC Membership Month.” Go to www.northwestmuseum.org to find an online membership form. You can also join at the admissions desk or by calling (509) 456-3931, ext. 1.
One more thing: The MAC will hold its popular happy-hour event, BeGin!, on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., with live music and drinks.