Texarkana Entertainment Blog

Indie rock band Grey Sky Campaign created a local buzz here in Texarkana several years ago between 2001 and 2003. They had something of a hiatus, it seems, when a few members moved on to the bright lights and big city of St. Louis. Now it appears Grey Sky Campaign may be getting back together in some way. Darin Lavender, guitarist, said the band hopes to write some new material and record it along with some old favorites. I didn’t get to see them when I first moved to town, but listening to a little three-song CD “Rebuilding Year” it’s easy why they captured fans with this fun kind of post-punk emo brew. They’ll be playing a reunion show at Club Next on Saturday night. The show starts at 8 p.m., and both Hank Morris and The Infamous Jaguar Shark will be performing as well. Here’s a photo of the band practicing earlier this week.

- Aaron Brand

Photo courtesy of Chris Ford. Grey Sky Campaign jams before playing a show at Club Next later in the week.

Music City Texas has George Jones in town Sunday. Show starts at 6 p.m. Info: 903-756-9934 or www.musiccitytexas.org. Tickets are $225 for premium seating and $135 for reserved seats.

Just a week after appearing in Linden, Texas, Jones will be honored Dec. 7 at the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. Other honorees this year are Morgan Freeman, Barbara Streisand, Twyla Tharp and both Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who. It’s an incredible honor for Jones to receive.

Here’s what Jones said on his Website:

“I am completely overwhelmed to be the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor,” said Jones. “I can’t believe that I have been included in the same company as previous winners that are country music legends: Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Roy Acuff and Willie Nelson. Since I was a young man, I have just done what I love and that is sing country music, and I never dreamed that something this special would happen to me. I am completely humbled and will be proud to accept the award!” (http://www.georgejones.com/news.php/2008/09/09/george-jones-to-receive-2008-kennedy-cen)

Here’s a statement from the Kennedy Center:

America to Celebrate the Careers of Six Extraordinary Artists,
Sunday, December 7, 2008

Gala will be broadcast on CBS

Washington, D.C.—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced the selection of the individuals who will receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2008. Recipients to be honored at the 31st annual national celebration of the arts are: actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, director, singer, actress, composer and producer Barbra Streisand, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

“With their extraordinary genius and tenacity, the 2008 Honorees have redefined the way we see, hear and feel the performing arts. We will forever be thankful for the great gifts they have shared with us,” said Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman. “Morgan Freeman’s name is synonymous with great screen acting and is one of the most respected performers in American cinema. With his unique voice and extraordinary career endurance, singer George Jones has been instrumental in making country music a vital force in American life. Barbra Streisand’s trailblazing career in music, theater, films, and television is one of the most thrilling spectacles of our culture. Choreographer Twyla Tharp is an American original, whose work has indelibly enriched the vocabulary of modern dance, contemporary ballet, and the Broadway musical. As the heart and soul of the seminal band The Who, songwriters and singers Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey transformed the sights and sounds of rock and roll.” (http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/home.html)

- Aaron Brand

(Submitted photo.)

Here are some snapshots taken during the Meaux Johnson reception at the Regional Arts Center on Friday night. I’ve included two photos of Lee Ruth’s fascinating, up-close-and-personal capture of critters we find in the yard. The Johnson talk didn’t get a big audience, but perhaps that helped create what became a lively, interesting discussion on topics ranging from cooking to great artists and how to live life well. I’ll have a story in Friday’s Accent page talking about both of these exhibits featuring two top local artists.

- Aaron Brand

Lee Ruth:

Meaux Johnson:

That’s the name of artist Meaux Johnson’s exhibit now running at the Regional Arts Center. Johnson’s a familiar part of the Texarkana-area arts scene, and this exhibit shows off some vibrant work. (Alicia Keys, fittingly, is one of his artistic obsessions.) To me, there’s a great sense of playfulness in his mixed media pieces, and not only are they interesting but they’re also just plain fun, an underappreciated quality in great art.

Tomorrow night, Friday at 6 p.m., there will be a reception (free and open to the public) to honor Johnson and his new exhibit. Another area artist, the photographer Lee Ruth, also has an exhibit of his work on the RAC’s third floor. He captures up close the strange shapes of the insects, reptiles and flowers he finds between his front door and the mailbox.

Expect a story on both exhibits for the Friday, Nov. 28, Accent page in the Gazette. And here in Texarkana we can surely give thanks for some fine local artists.

- Aaron Brand

The Texarkana Symphony Orchestra played at the Perot Theatre last night with the concert “Beethoven’s Ode to Freedom: In Honor of our American Veterans.” Here’s a shot of conductor Marc-André Bougie leading the symphony as they perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Staff photo by Evan Lewis.

Tickets are still available for the George Jones concert in Linden, Texas, at Music City Texas Theater. MCT should be a great venue for Jones, one of country music’s most distinctive voices. He’ll play MCT on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. Doors open for the concert at 4:30 p.m. Here’s Jones with one of his songs from the early ’90s: She Loved a Lot in Her Time.

More info: 903-756-9934 or www.musiccitytexas.org.

- Aaron Brand

This Sunday’s matinée of “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Texarkana College’s Stilwell Theatre closed a two-weekend run of the TexRep production. The fast-paced play (presented with no intermission) had the crowd in stitches. Much of the Victorian-era humor translated well for a contemporary audience, judging by the effusive laughter from theatergoers. The play’s satirical send-up of Victorian codes has something of a timeless quality, and the nimble acting by the four leads (really the whole cast) served the humor well. So much so, in fact, there was a hearty standing ovation for the cast and crew.

Kudos to TexRep.

- Aaron Brand

You should check out reporter Ashley Gardner’s story on the Gazette’s Accent page about the appeal of “Twilight,” the Stephenie Meyer novel that tells a teen vampire love story. It’s captured a diverse and devout readership composed of all sorts of folks. It’s coming out next week as a movie and there’s a massive wave of buzz behind this one. The soundtrack is already selling like hotcakes. Here ya go:

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/accent/2008/11/14/unconventional-love-52.php.

Who’s looking forward to the movie out there?

- Aaron Brand

It’s pianos and the Sky for this weekend’s Sunday Accent. That is to say, a profile of 2 Pianos, plus a look at a new downtown club, Skyward Jazz Lounge. The 2 Pianos project is from Josh Lawrence and Paul Whitt, and I got a chance to check out their show at Timothy’s recently. If you haven’t been to Skyward Jazz Lounge (200 block of East Broad Street and just a couple doors down from The Big Easy), you’re missing out on a classy place—simultaneously cool and cozy. Check Sunday Accent for more.

- Aaron Brand

If you like world music, South America, or the flute, tomorrow night is a good chance to catch something interesting. Wayanay Inka have performed all over and appear in Texarkana at the Regional Arts Center on Thursday night starting at 6:30 p.m. If you like, you can catch some of their work on Youtube; they’ve even performed “Amazing Grace” and Pachelbel’s Canon, a Baroque piece. This presentation is part of TRAHC’s Occasional Thursday series of events.

- Aaron Brand