A Bird Dogs album release, comedian Jamie Kennedy & MUCH more at Rialto
Downtown Bozeman’s Rialto serves as a cultural hub for locals and those visiting our town, and in that spirit, barrels toward summer with a busy calendar. The historic theater continues to bring an exciting lineup of top-tier talent from around the country to its event space(s) this spring. Here’s a look at just a few of the upcoming happenings.
The Rialto will host the celebratory Give Big Finale on Friday, May 3rd at 4:30pm. This 18+ event is free of admission and will conclude at 6:30pm.
Join to celebrate Gallatin County nonprofits with a performance by Paige & the People’s Band, prizes, photo booth, cash bar and treats. There will be free champagne for the first 50 attendees with proof of donation.
Following the Give Big celebration on May 3rd, funny man Dusty Slay will take the stage. Local comedians Danielle Rovira and Ryan Cassavaugh will get things started at 9pm. Tickets to this 18+ event are $15. Doors at 8:30pm.
Dusty Slay is a stand-up comedian with a baritone voice so smooth it’s like champagne in the ears. He walks audiences through a childhood in the trailer park, his adult years in the workforce and as an occasional blackout drunk. He thinks skunks smell like weed and leaves the serious topics like race, religion and politics up to someone who, unlike him, hasn’t drank gas out of a water hose. Slay has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, popular program Laughs on FOX and he was a featured comedian on TMZ. He’s regularly showcased on nationally syndicated radio programs including Sirius XM, Pandora Radio and “The Bob and Tom Radio Show.”
Local darlings Laney Lou & the Bird Dogs bring their Sweet Little Lies album release show to the Rialto on Saturday, May 4th. Wyoming-based Americana band The Two Tracks will open the show at 8:30pm. General admission tickets to this 18+ show are $16. Doors at 7:30pm.
The Bird Dogs’ live shows are highlighted by unbridled energy, punctuated by songs performed with fervor and swagger. Fusing old time folk songs with a rock n’ roll attitude, the group push the envelope of what a string band would generally be described as. Having shared stages with Corb Lund, Hayes Carll, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Mavericks, Wynonna Judd, Mark Chesnutt, and The Lil’ Smokies, they released their eponymous debut in the spring of 2016. Recorded live at Basecamp Studio, the album is one that reflects their live show and makes you want to stomp your feet and crack open a beer. The new album follows 2017’s Vigilante Session and features lead-off single “Carolina.”
Check out Bass Drum of Death on Sunday, May 5th at 8:30pm. Tickets to this 16+ show are $12. Doors at 7:30pm. The lo-fi project of Mississippi artist John Barrett is known for its bluesy garage rock. Bass Drum’s latest album, Just Business, released last summer.
On Friday, May 10th, the Burn Box will host an Art Reception with local photographer Jessica Hays at 6pm. This event is free of admission and will conclude at 8pm.
Hays is an artist and curator from Bozeman whose work focuses on human relationships, issues of mental health, loneliness, trauma, loss, and places of healing. She works in a variety of processes, including historic and alternative photo processes, experimental darkroom techniques, pigment printing, and handmade artist books.
Enjoy A Night of Comedy with Jamie Kennedy on Saturday, May 11th. The evening of laughs will begin at 8:30pm. Tickets to this 18+ show are $22.50. Doors at 8pm.
Kennedy, an actor and producer as well as a comedian, just wrapped James Gray’s sci-fi epic Ad Astra opposite Brad Pitt. His other recent work includes starring roles in the latest installment of the Tremors film franchise for Universal, as well as Riley’s Peak with Jon Voight, and the thriller, Spinning Man, opposite Guy Pearce and Pierce Brosnan. Prior, he appeared in Chris Carter’s (The X-Files) Amazon drama pilot The After, and NBC’s medical dramedy, Heartbeat. He is also voicing multiple characters on the new Comedy Central animated series, Legends of Chamberlain Heights, and portrayed legendary music manager Jerry Heller in the Lifetime movie Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge, & Michel’le. Jamie can also be seen performing his stand-up show around the country.
Houston-based blues and soul singer Annika Chambers is set for a show on Thursday, May 16th at 8:30pm. Tickets to this 18+ event are $16. Doors at 7:30pm.
Chambers, like so many powerful vocal artists, traces her love of music back to early childhood when she sang in church. She cites the gospel of Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Dottie Peoples and Whitney Houston as early and continued influences. Throwing herself into the heart of a song, it was during her two tours of duty in the US Army that Chambers realized her gift and became their first choice for music events, joining the gospel choir and even winning the talent show on her base. Chambers went on to win the 2015 Blues Music Award for “Best New Artist” and has released two successful blues albums, Making My Mark and Wild & Free. Her follow-up project, Kiss My Sass, releases this month. The record and supporting performances will further showcase her ever-expanding abilities to sing across multiple genres.
Looking to Saturday, May 18th, check out a local Bluegrass Showcase at 8:30pm. The evening will feature the talents of the Bridger Creek Boys, the Lazy Owl String Band and The Fresh Boys. Tickets to this 18+ show are $15. Doors at 7:30pm.
Also on May 18th, Seattle-based singer/songwriter Norman Baker will be busking in the Burn Box. Rooted in Americana and “lumber rock,” his performance begins at 8pm and is free of admission.
The Rialto is located at 10 W Main St. in the center of historic Downtown Bozeman. Learn more about the venue at www.rialtobozeman.com, where you can also peruse current happenings and buy advance tickets. Follow the Rialto on Facebook for the most up to date event announcements. •
