On Our Radar: Looking ahead to top events in days and weeks to come
Time was, Cody Canada would have been the headliner for a big Texas/Red Dirt show here - and, indeed, his old Cross Canadian Ragweed did put on some big shows here in the day. But since Ragweed split, fans haven't taken as strongly to Canada's new band, The Departed, and shows just aren't drawing the same crowds. So for this trip to Amarillo, Canada's opening for rising stars Turnpike Troubadours in an Okie invasion of Azteca Music Hall. The younger band recently scored raves at a side-stage show at Austin's ACL Fest: "Evan Felker('s) ... voice rises a cut above most aspiring honky-tonkers and reaches toward the realm of classic vocalists such as Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam," Peter Blackstock wrote for Austin 360.
Turnpike Troubadours with Cody Canada & The Departed, 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Azteca Music Hall, 500 N. Farm-to-Market Road 1912. $25. 806-335-9990.
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Tickets for the 19th annual Working Ranch Cowboys Association's world-championship ranch rodeo are flying faster than the cow pucky and mud kicked up by the cowboys' horses. Performances on Nov. 7 and 8 are already sold out, officials said, but tickets are still available for Nov. 6 and 9 performances.
Working Ranch Cowboys Association world championship ranch rodeo, Nov. 6 to 9, Amarillo Civic Center Complex Cal Farley Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan St. $22 to $34, depending on night. 806-378-3096 or www.panhandletickets.com.
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Amarillo Little Theatre's Adventure Space season- always my favorite of their offerings - continues with the uproarious, Tony Award-winning comedy "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" beginning Nov. 6. And I can say "uproarious" with a little authority: I'm reading the script of the Christopher Durang black comedy now and can't wait to see it on stage with Don Washburn, Jo Smith, Holly Czuchna and Joshua Gibson in the title roles.
Amarillo Little Theatre's "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," Nov. 6 to 16, ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle. $13 to $21, depending on performance. 806-355-9991 or www.amarillolittletheatre.org.
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One of country's hottest young stars will perform at this year's Cattle Barons Ball on Nov. 8 - and I'm not just talking about his platinum-level album sales. Headliner Dustin Lynch recently was named one of People Country's Sexiest Men of Country for 2014, which he called "flattering" in our recent interview. A little daunting too, apparently: "Once you make the list, you've got to continue to make the list," he said. "It's a pretty decent sign that you've let yourself go once you fall off that list.
Cattle Barons Ball for American Cancer Society, 7 p.m. Nov. 8, Rex Baxter Building on the Amarillo Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave. $125 or $240 for couples. 806-353-4307.
Features Editor Chip Chandler can be reached at 806-345-3320 or chip.chandler@amarillo.com. His blog appears at amarillo.com. Find him on Facebook: facebook.com/chipchandleragn. Follow him on Twitter: @chipchandler1.