Jun 4

… there are a couple events of note folks may want to check out in the upcoming weeks. 

First, for an event titled “Concert in the Garden,” members of Project String Power, Inc., also known as the Ambassadors of Music from East Texas, will perform to help fund a summer trip to Germany and Austria. It’s a non-profit music education organization, and their concert starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, at House of the Seasons, 409 S. Alley. The conductor, Leonard Kacenja, also leads the Marshall Symphony Orchestra. They request a $5 donation to see the show. If there’s bad weather, the event will move to Christ Episcopal Church at 703 S. Main. More info: 903-665-8000. 

Second, it’s a time to get Western for what’s being billed as Jefferson’s “1st Western Heritage Festival & Rodeo” on June 19 and 20. The festival gives you a chance to meet Cody Hart, who won the Professional Bull Riders World Championship in 1999. Rodeo contestants compete in a bunch of events: bareback riding, saddlebronc, tie-down and breakaway roping, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, mutton-busing, calf and critter scramble, shovel race, and bull riding. Food and Western jewelry and art vendors are on hand. Gate entry fee is $5 with no charge for kids under 6 years old. Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. Saturday. 

- Aaron Brand

Jan 28

At least two Black History Month concerts are coming up soon to celebrate African-American contributions to music—each dealing with different eras and styles of music composition:

1) The Lonoke Baptist Church Choir, the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, and Texarkana Regional Chorale will team up for a concert on Sunday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m. at the Lonoke Baptist Church in Texarkana, Ark. Traditional African-American classical compositions will be performed with music from, among others, Undine Moore, William Dawson, Moses Hogan and William Grant Still. Poetry will also become a part of the festivities. 

2) The “Second Time Around Band” plays Monday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m., at the Pleasant Grove Performing Arts Center. On tap for what’s also known as the Texarkana Community Band is music from Count Basie, Billy Strayhorn, Sonny Rollins, and Earth, Wind & Fire. They’ll also perform a Motown medley. Joining them will be the Josh Lawrence trio; they will get some Miles Davis brewing on stage. 

Both events are free. 

- Aaron Brand