Eddie 9V @ Spearfish City Park Pavilion: March 19

(credit: Grant Ekroth)

By the time Eddie 9V took the stage at the Spearfish City Park Pavilion, the space had already filled in. Beers from Crow Peak in hand, food moving out of Pit 14, people spread across the grass and under the shelter, easing into it as the afternoon rolled on.

Bodhi Linde opened the show earlier in the evening, though not everyone caught it. Grant was still at work and missed him, but the name kept coming up. Seventeen years old, playing anything with strings, already building a reputation for it. By the time Eddie stepped in, the tone had shifted into something looser, that mix of Southern soul and blues settling into a very unceremonious park setting.

The whole thing doubled as a benefit for the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery, with a percentage of sales going back, though no final numbers had surfaced by the end of the night. Still, the crowd stuck around. Kids running, people drifting between the music and the beer line, the kind of show where no one’s really checking the time.

Phillip Daniel & Alex Massa @Hay Camp: March 20

(credit: Orange Ficus)

Sometime between 6:00 and 6:30, Phillip Daniel is already out of his seat. Not for show, just pulled up out of it for a split second before dropping back into the piano. The whole set moves like that. Loops, resets, small bursts of motion that never fully leave the ground.

The stage fills up fast. Drum pads, melodicas, trumpet, keys, percussion scattered everywhere. Alex Massa moves between them while Daniel holds the center, the two of them shifting from tight, controlled passages into something looser. At times it feels precise. Other moments, it feels like they’re just seeing what happens if they push it a little further.

They lean into that tension most when they let things drift. Strange tones, off-center rhythms, stretches that feel like they might fall apart before snapping back into something recognizable. And when they do come back, it’s quiet. Simple. The last song lands there, with Daniel easing into it and staying put this time.

SuperPlex @ Lost Cabin: March 21

It was a two-day slobberknocker of space grooves and pure rock power. From the first bite of Phat Bottom’s $2 tacos on Friday to the awarding of the championship belt to Continuum at Lost Cabin, fans of loud amps, unrelenting grooves, and pro wrestling had a lot to lock into this weekend in Rapid City.

SuperPlex didn’t just play a weekend of shows, they ran it like a wrestling card. Friday night set the bracket. Three bands entered, with Howling Embers getting knocked out of the title picture before Saturday’s final at Lost Cabin. Between sets, the tone stayed in character. Bands traded jabs, called each other out, and kept the crowd in on the bit. By the time Saturday rolled around, it wasn’t just another lineup, it felt like a main event. Continuum closed it out and walked away with the belt.

Photo Credit: Austin Kaus

Brent Morris @The Gaslight: March 21

Brent Morris kept things rooted at the Gaslight on Saturday night, working through a set of classic country and western with a few newer cuts mixed in. The room stayed with him, not much movement, just people settled in and listening.

Kenny Rogers, Townes Van Zandt, Marty Robbins, The Eagles, Sonny James. The kind of set that doesn’t rush. Songs people already know, played straight and given time to breathe.

It felt a little like sitting around a chuckwagon fire. Cozy, good food moving through the room, and an audience that stayed attentive from start to finish.

Sunday Circle @Moonshine Gulch: March 22

Sunday afternoons at Moonshine Gulch have a way of settling into themselves. By the time people arrive, the music is already going. Guitars passed around, names called out between songs, the same loose circle forming week after week.

Roger Severson, Don A, Mike J, Marvin Jones moving through sets, trading songs more than performing them. It’s less about who’s up next and more about keeping it going. People drift in and out, some there for the whole afternoon, others just catching a few before heading back down the road.

The building carries it all pretty easily. Dollar bills pinned overhead, notes and signatures covering the walls, the kind of place where no one’s trying to reset the room. Just adding to it.