By Chip Chandler — Producer
Here's a quick take on your 10 best entertainment bets in the next 10 days.
1. Sounds of Summer
Outdoor concert season continues to burn bright. Amarillo Botanical Gardens' annual Music in the Gardens series will roll on at 8 p.m. July 18 with Amarillo favorites Anderson, Flesher & Key and at 8 p.m. July 25 with Amarillo party band Velvet Funk at the gardens, 1400 Streit Drive. The Starlight Theatre series will continue at 7 p.m. July 23 with Amarillo country singer Lindsey Lane at Sam Houston Park, Line Avenue and Western Street. Center City of Amarillo's High Noon on the Square will continue its 25th anniversary with performances from Lone Star Ballet & Dance Academy and sack lunches from Schlotzsky's at noon July 24 on the lawn of the Potter County Courthouse, 501 S. Fillmore St.
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Listen up, you outcasts. Amarillo Little Theatre Academy's production of this darkly gorgeous Disney musical will run July 19 to 21. Also on stage: ongoing performances of long-running outdoor musical Texas at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays through Aug. 17; spiritual drama Daddies' Home by Amarillo playwright Kissey Cummings on July 20 and 21 in Ordway Auditorium; a live recording of the comedy podcast Hot Pod Pie at 9 p.m. July 18 at Zombiez Bar & Grill, 711 S.W. 10th Ave.; touring comic Ranney at 9 p.m. July 20 at Off the Hook, 626 S. Polk St., Suite 200; and Amarillo playwright Jason Driver's These Scenes, This Order beginning July 25 in the Amarillo College Experimental Theatre.
3. Cut Up / Cut Out
Celebrate the official opening of this Amarillo Museum of Art exhibition of decorative piercing and cutting at a party with an artist talk from Mark Wagner. The artistically inclined also should check out Amarillo College's third-annual Chalk It Up sidewalk art competition on July 27.
4. Tex Randall Birthday Bash
Canyon's big, grinning cowpoke will celebrate his 60th birthday with a July 20 party featuring headliner Randall King and Amarillo band Young Country. Also in Canyon that evening: the Texas vs. Kansas City Barbecue Showdown at 5 p.m. July 20 at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, 2503 Fourth Ave. Limited tickets are available.
5. Amarillo Bombers
The soccer squad will face off against FC Lubbock in a 6 p.m. July 20 playoff game in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan St. Plus, the Amarillo Sod Poodles have games scheduled July 18 against the Springfield Cardinals and July 19 to 22 against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
6. Familia
Amarillo musicians Vamping, Badgrammar, DJ Fish Lips, Maggie Burt, Keitha Jones and Rupert the Duke will perform at this 3 p.m. July 21 fundraiser for Border Kindness and RAICES, both of which provide services for migrant families, at The 806 Coffee + Lounge, 2812 S.W. Sixth Ave. The charitably minded should also look out for Amarillo Branch NAACP's A Night at the Esquire at 7 p.m. July 23 at Esquire Jazz Club, 626 S. Polk St., and the 25th annual Original Harley Party at 5 p.m. July 27 at 10th Avenue and Polk Street, benefitting Family Support Services.
7. Savor the Goods
Chefs Sam Blackburn, Rory Schepisi and Albert Vargas will present a meal with Asian, Mexican and Italian inspirations in each of its four courses in the latest installment of Panhandle PBS's award-winning dinner series. The event will begin at 6 p.m. July 25 at Hugo's on the Square, 407 16th St. in Canyon.
8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino explores Tinseltown in the Charles Manson era in his latest film, opening July 26. The July 18 weekend will be dominated by Disney's photo-realistic remake of The Lion King. Special engagements will include This Changes Everything, a documentary on gender discrimination in Hollywood, on July 22; anime film Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon: Arrow of the Orion on July 23; a 30th anniversary screening of Glory on July 24; and a 40th anniversary screening of The Muppet Movie on July 25. Also look for From Selma to Stonewall by Amarillo native Marilyn Bennett at 7 p.m. July 19 at Panhandle PBS, 2408 S. Jackson St.; a family-friendly feature for South Georgia Baptist Church's Movie in the Park at 7:30 p.m. July 19; and Canyon Main Street's Movie Night on the Square featuring The Incredibles 2 at 9 p.m. July 19 in downtown Canyon.
9. National Day of the Cowboy
Saddle up your young cowpokes for this July 27 celebration at American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, 2601 E. Interstate 40. Those in a Western state of mind might also enjoy the 61st White Deer Rodeo on July 26 and 27 or the third annual Oliver Cowboy Celebration 3-in-1 Ranch Rodeo and Open Ranch Bronc Ride at 6 p.m. July 27 at Will Rogers Range Riders Arena, 313 W. Loop 335 South.
10. The Josh Abbott Band
The red-hot Lubbock act returns to the area for an 8 p.m. July 27 show at Starlight Ranch Event Center, 1415 Sunset Drive. Other live music offerings of note: the Esquire Jazz Huge Band at 7:30 p.m. July 18, jazz harpist Jenny Miller at 7 p.m. July 19 and Austin Brazille Trio at 7 p.m. July 26 at Esquire Jazz Club, 626 S. Polk St.; metal bands Flaw, Sons of Texas and September Mourning at 8 p.m. July 18 and rockabilly band Johnny Chops & The Razors at 10 p.m. July 19 at Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; indie-blues band Creatio at 10 p.m. July 18, Amarillo blues-rock band Touching Voodoo at 10 p.m. July 19, rockabilly band The Rocketz at 10 p.m. July 24 and punk band Franks & Deans with The Bastard Sons of David Hasselhoff at 10 p.m. July 26 at Leftwoods, 2511 S.W. Sixth Ave.; Mary Lyn Halley and Dean Yates of Insufficient Funds at 7 p.m. July 19 and Amarillo party band The Tweeks at 7 p.m. July 20 at Bar Z Winery, 19290 Farm-to-Market Road 1541; Lubbock jazz artist D.G. Flewellyn at 8 p.m. July 19 and 20 at Metropolitan — A Speakeasy, 9181 Town Square Blvd., Suite 1201; Lubbock country favorites Flatland Cavalry at 8 p.m. July 19, Journey tribute band Escape at 8 p.m. July 20 and Fleetwood Mac tribute band Forever Mac at 8 p.m. July 26 at Starlight Ranch Event Center; rock bands Send Help, Lonestar Massacre, Occupied, Sevity and Visions Scarred at 8 p.m. July 19 at Zombiez Bar & Grill, 711 S.W. 10th Ave.; Texas singer-songwriter Drew Kennedy with Amarillo country star Matt Martindale at 6 p.m. July 20 at Hotel Turkey, 201 Third St. in Turkey; a Songwriters in the Round show featuring Amy Coffman, Danny Dobervich, John Dennis Garvey and Mike Fuller at 7 p.m. July 20 at Chalice Abbey, 2717 Stanley St.; Pampa rockers A Special Case and Amarillo blues-rock band Touching Voodoo at 10 p.m. July 20 at Skooterz, 4100 Bushland Blvd.; rock band Shred Flintstone at 9 p.m. July 25 at The 806 Coffee + Lounge, 2812 S.W. Sixth Ave.; a CD release party for Americana singer Chuck Hawthorne at 8 p.m. July 26 at Long Wooden Spoon Brewing, 4098 Business Park Drive; and Tejano artist Michael Salgado at 8:30 p.m. July 26 at Tejano Wild West, 1200 S.E. 10th 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.
