By Chip Chandler — Producer
Here's a quick take on your 10 best entertainment bets in the next 10 days.
1. Good Times Celebration Barbecue Cook-Off
Downtown will be fired up at the 24th annual Amarillo Chamber of Commerce festivities at 5 p.m. Sept. 12 around the chamber offices, 1000 S. Polk St.
2. Yellow City Sounds Live
Matt Martindale (of Cooder Graw) and Charlie Shafter will swap songs and stories in an intimate concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Panhandle PBS studios, 2408 S. Jackson St. Can't make it? Watch live on our website or Facebook page, or listen live on Amarillo College's FM90.
3. Legally Blonde: The Musical
Amarillo Little Theatre will open its Mainstage season with this bubbly musical adaptation of the Reese Witherspoon comedy, to be staged Sept. 12 to 29.
4. Songs for a New World
West Texas A&M University Theatre will open its 2019-20 season with this song cycle featuring works by the great Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years), to be staged Sept. 12 to 22.
5. Brittany Runs a Marathon
Jillian Bell gets a long-deserved moment in the spotlight as a woman determined to, you guessed it, run a marathon in an effort to turn her life around in this film opening Sept. 13. This smart, engaging comedy subtly avoids body-positivity landmines, making clear that Brittany's problems have little to do with her appearance. Also opening this weekend are star-studded drama The Goldfinch, stripper drama Hustlers and yachting documentary Maiden. Opening the weekend of Sept. 20 are the Brad Pitt-starring sci-fi drama Ad Astra, a feature-film continuation of Downton Abbey and new franchise entry Rambo: Last Blood. Special engagements will include Blink of an Eye, a NASCAR documentary screening Sept. 12 about the friendship between racers Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Sr.; 40th anniversary screenings of Star Trek: The Motion Picture on Sept. 15 and 18; a 35th anniversary screening of immigration drama El Norte on Sept. 15; sports documentary The Game Changers on Sept. 16; Rob Zombie horror film 3 from Hell on Sept. 16, 17 and 18; and anime film Promare on Sept. 17 and 19.
6. Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo
The annual kick-off to fall returns Sept. 14 to 21 at the Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave., featuring food on a stick, bucking broncs, vendors, midway games and tons of hand-crafted goodness. The annual parade will begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 14 in downtown Amarillo. Fair concerts will feature Red Dirt pioneers The Great Divide at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 14, Ameripolitan star Dale Watson at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and rising country star Randall King at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 21. Other autumn-time family fun will include the opening of Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm on Sept. 21; the attraction will be open weekends through Oct. 27.
7. Chamber Music Amarillo
The classical ensemble will open its 2019-20 season with a "Celebrating Women in the Arts" concert at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Fibonacci Space, 3306 S.W. Sixth Ave., featuring works by female composers performed by the trio of Natalia Korenchuk, Jayson Bishop and Lucy Tan. Orchestral music fans should also note the Amarillo Symphony's 95th season-opening concerts at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and 21 in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.
8. Savor the Goods
Enjoy cultural tastes, down-home favorites and fresh ingredients in a family-style dinner and tribute to the pioneer women of the Texas Panhandle at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at Resplendent Garden, 11701 Truman St.
9. HooDoo Mural Festival
A family friendly party featuring food trucks, children's art activities and the reveal of a new mural will begin at 4:11 p.m. Sept. 21 at 411 S. Fillmore St. in this new event tied to Center City of Amarillo and Amarillo Cultural District. Other murals will be seen at 509 S. Tyler St., 300 S.W. Seventh Ave., 406 S. Polk St., 2411 S.W. Sixth Ave., and 212 S.W. Sixth Ave. An after-party will begin after sunset at Crush, 627 S. Polk St.
10. Los Angeles Azules
The cumbia superstars will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 21 in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium, 401 S. Buchanan St. Other concerts of note: former Amarillo rock band Mind Plays at 6 p.m. Sept. 12 and 19 at Smokey Joe's, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; folk band The Threadbare Skivvies at 10 p.m. Sept. 12, Canyon country band The RagTown Chiefs at 10 p.m. Sept. 13 and rock band Jay Statham & The Tokie Show at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Golden Light Cantina, 2908 S.W. Sixth Ave.; Americana singer-songwriter Chris Knight at 10 p.m. Sept. 12, Texas country band The Powell Brothers at 10 p.m. Sept. 13, Texas country star Josh Grider at 10 p.m. Sept. 19 and Queensrÿche rocker Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 and Texas country star Sunny Sweeney at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 at Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; former Amarillo rock band Mind Plays at 10 p.m. Sept. 13, Amarillo country act The Jack Cryver Band at 10 p.m. Sept. 14 and Amarillo party band Velvet Funk at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 at Whiskey River, 4001 S.W. 51st Ave.; Polk Street Jazz at 9 p.m. Sept. 14, Diana Barr at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Esquire Jazz Club, 626 S. Polk St.; Texas country stars Roger Creager and Sam Riggs at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 at Starlight Ranch Event Center, 1415 Sunset Drive; Amarillo rock band Hangman at 10 p.m. Sept. 14 and Amarillo '80s rock band Inside Out at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 at Skooterz, 4100 Bushland Blvd.; experimental rockers Jakob Battick, Andrew Weathers and Hayden Pedigo at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Mariposa Eco-Village, 1501 N. Soncy Road; Jennifer Westwood & The Handsome Devils at 10 p.m. Sept. 15 and Clyde & The Milltailer's Clyde McGee with Jonathan Guidi and Touching Voodoo at 10 p.m. Sept. 20 at Leftwoods, 2511 S.W. Sixth Ave.
Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS and a member of GALECA. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
