Local musicians gather Saturday afternoon to support one of their own
Spearfish Public House / Saturday, April 25 / 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Joel Adams has spent years holding down the low end for Black Hills musicians, most recognizably as the bassist for Camp Comfort and High Rise, where his funk and jazz influences have been getting people moving for years. When Camp Comfort announced last week that Joel had suffered a stroke and spent several days in the ICU, the response from the community was immediate.
Saturday afternoon at the Spearfish Public House, local players are invited to bring their gear and rotate through an informal acoustic session from 3:00 to 6:00. A silent auction runs alongside the music, and everything collected goes directly to Adams and his family. He is recovering, but it will be a while before he is back on a stage, and the bills do not pause for that.
This scene has always moved quickly when one of its own needs something. Saturday afternoon in Spearfish is the proof. If you have ever caught yourself moving and shaking to Joel’s bassline, you know he’s given so much of himself to the music, Saturday is a good afternoon to return the favor.
Susan Drey has spent the last ten years making painting the center of her work. This Saturday, she’s inviting the public to her studio.
The space is on the second floor at 625½ St. Joseph, above the sidewalk downtown, and it will be open for three hours on Saturday afternoon. Inside, the work centers on watercolor. Drey builds compositions through layered washes and loose, expressive lines, landscapes from around the Hills, florals, smaller studies. The medium rewards speed, and the work shows it. Originals will be on the walls alongside prints, notecards, and maps, with most pieces marked down for the afternoon.
Before settling into painting full-time, Drey spent sixteen years in architecture, then more than a decade running a wedding and portrait photography business, then several years in landscape design. Art ran alongside all of it. The last ten years are when it moved to the front.
Saturday is three milestones landing at once: ten years focused on painting, ten years in Rapid City, and a studio that’s usually private opening up for an afternoon with wine poured, food on the table, and people moving through a second-floor space most walk past without looking up.
Thursday night, its curtains up at 7 at both Stevens and Central High Schools in Rapid City. One stage takes you to a bell tower of Notre Dame, the other to a small Alabama town during the 1930s. A few miles apart, two schools start their spring shows, both asking what it costs to push back against a world that decided you don’t belong.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Stevens High School April 23–25 | 7 p.m. | $15
Stevens High School brings The Hunchback of Notre Dame this week, drawing from the Victor Hugo novel with the Alan Menken score, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and script by Peter Parnell. More than 100 students across cast, crew, and pit orchestra are involved in the production directed by Matthew Vidal. The story follows Quasimodo, kept hidden in Notre Dame’s bell tower by Dom Claude Frollo, whose control begins to fracture when Esmeralda arrives during a local festival.
Central High Theatre April 23–25 | 7 p.m. | April 25 | 2 p.m. | $6
Central High Theatre presents Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird this week. Set in 1930s Alabama, the story follows Atticus Finch, a lawyer who agrees to defend a Black man falsely accused by a white family. It is a story about innocence, about prejudice, and about what it costs to do the right thing when the community around you has chosen otherwise. The production features original music by Zander Waddell and is directed by Justin Speck.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the final production Justin Speck and Joey Lore will lead at Central High Theatre. Speck has served as Artistic Director for 22 years. Lore, the program’s Technical Director, has been his partner for the same stretch. Together they guided Central Theatre to 21 consecutive South Dakota State One-Act Championships, a record most believe will not be replicated. The program they built sent students to Broadway, to Shakespeare abroad, to the UK, Ireland, and this spring, on a final 10-day trip through Italy. What they leave behind is not just a trophy case. It is a generation of students who learned that showing up, being prepared, and leading with humility were skills that would follow them well past the stage.
Speck chose To Kill a Mockingbird for this final season deliberately. It was the first production Central staged in the new theater built during his tenure, and closing with it means the room gets to hold the same story twice, once at the beginning of something and once at the end. A story about moral courage and what it costs felt, in his words, like one it was time to tell again.
This weekend, Matthew Vidal is also directing his final show at Stevens High School. In the fall, he moves to Central to take over the program Speck and Lore spent 22 years building. Two directors, both in their last shows at their current schools, on stages a few miles apart, on the same three nights.
Friday, May 1 at 7:30 pm at Performing Arts Center in Rapid City
CeCe Teneal’s Divas of Soul is coming to the Performing Arts Center in Rapid City on Thursday, May 1, bringing a full-scale celebration of fifty years of soul, R&B, and pop built around the voices that defined it. The show pulls from Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston, moving across Motown, disco, and pop without treating any of it as background music.
At the center of it is CeCe Teneal, an award-winning vocalist who has performed the show to audiences worldwide. In 2019 she was selected as the halftime headliner for the Citrus Bowl, and in 2022 both Orlando and Orange County proclaimed September 17th as annual CeCe Teneal Day in recognition of twenty years of arts and entertainment contributions. The show she brings to Rapid City is built around her ability to move between these artists without losing the thread of any of them.
Divas of Soul performs Thursday, May 1 at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City. Individual tickets start at $40.
Friday, May 1 at 7:30 pm at Performing Arts Center in Rapid City
Friday, April 17th at the Matthews in Spearfish, a handful of filmmakers who usually work in their own corners will see their work run back-to-back on the same screen inside the Matthews Opera House.
The Big Screen Film Showcase pulls together seven short films from local and regional makers. The lineup leans dark. Horror, drama, and heavier themes show up across multiple entries, alongside a few documentaries and a sci-fi narrative.
For Anna Robins, who has a film in the program, the shift isn’t just about what’s on screen. It’s about where it’s happening.
“As a participating filmmaker, it’s really great to see a dedicated space to the craft in our town,” she said. “It’s misunderstood that the big screen is only for big budgets, but on Friday, we’re proving that filmmaking can be accessible to any community with some creativity and dedication.”
That access hasn’t always had a clear place to land locally. Filmmakers in the region tend to work separately, occasionally crossing paths on projects, but without a central hub.
“I suspect the audience will primarily be comprised of those who participated in the making of the films, family and friends, but we’ll also see some film enthusiasts,” Robins said. “And I hope some folks who are curious about what it’s like to go to a film festival.”
The screenings run first, followed by a cocktail hour in the same space, giving filmmakers and audience a chance to meet off-screen.
“I’m looking forward to meeting other filmmakers,” she said. “I’ve connected with some in the area online, but I think there’s a general desire to form a more formal community, and I believe this showcase could help us move tow
The showcase is designed as a community gathering for filmmakers, artists, and audiences to come together in a shared appreciation of visual storytelling.
“If you’re on the fence about coming, think about the excitement you feel when you go to the theaters to see a big blockbuster movie,” Robins said. “You can feel that excitement in the air at these kinds of gatherings, plus you might recognize some places or names on the screen!”
The films start at 6:00 pm Friday at the Matthews Opera House in Spearfish.
$10 General Admission Viewer discretion advised (18+), some films contain mature themes such as horror content, Brothel/Prostitute imagery, and use of profanity.
Featured Films & Filmmakers
“The Hands of Another” (25 min – Horror/Thriller) Filmmaker: Steven Cady
“Finding Lucy” (12:26 min – Documentary) Filmmaker: Ginger Johnston
“Perchance to Dream” (7:33 min – Sci-Fi Narrative) Filmmaker: Ted Jacobson
“Fighter” (5 min – Documentary) Filmmaker: Destyn Humann
“Rosha” (1:30 min – Documentary) Filmmaker: Benjamin Chew
Twine, out of Minneapolis plays Friday, April 17 at 9:00 pm at Murphy’s Pub & Grill in Rapid City
The group includes Will Effertz (electric guitar, vocals), Jon Miller (acoustic guitar, vocals), Brian “Snowman” Powers (saxophone), Scott Yonke (bass), and John Hanson (drums). They build their sets in real time, listening closely to each other and letting the room influence where things go.
Their sound sits in that familiar lane. Allman Brothers, Phish, Grateful Dead, with a mix of funk, folk, and blues worked in. They’ve been building a following around the Twin Cities playing late sets and after-shows, the kind of slots where the crowd is already in it and the band can push things a little further than a standard set.
The live show mixes original material with covers that span a few generations, depending on where the night ends up. Word is Johnny Hastings might swing by after Guitar Masters and sit in for a few songs. The pieces are there for one of those unforgettable nights. A band that builds in real time, and a player like Johnny stepping in. You’re either there for it or you hear about it later.
Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at Performing Arts Center in Rapid City
Jennifer Lyn & The Groove Revival are bringing their Electric Eden set to a theater stage, building the night around blues-rock originals and a lineup of reworked classics. The set pulls from artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, but it is not built as a nostalgia run. The focus is on performance, pacing, and keeping the audience locked in from the first note.
Jennifer Lyn & The Groove Revival have been building momentum since their 2021 EP Nothing Holding Me Down, which reached #4 on the Billboard Blues chart. Since then, their releases have consistently landed in the top 20 on blues radio, and the band has picked up multiple Independent Blues Music Award nominations along the way. At the center of it is Jennifer Lyn’s guitar work and vocals, backed by a full band that leans into dual-guitar interplay and a heavier blues-rock sound.
Catch this show Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City.
The Minnesota band has been moving through the Midwest bluegrass circuit for years, building a following the slow way, one room at a time. They show up regularly in the Hills, and each pass through tends to pull a mix of people who’ve been tracking them for a while and others who caught one set and came back for more.
They don’t play bluegrass like it’s background music. The tempo stays up, the transitions come quick, and the sets lean more toward momentum than space. Fiddle, banjo, and mandolin all stay in motion, trading leads without much downtime. It lands closer to a festival set than a quiet seated show, even in smaller rooms.
The Beacon is set up more like a living room than a traditional venue. Garage doors let fresh air drift in, and there are comfortable places to tuck in alongside an often packed dance floor. People settle in where they want, but as the music ramps up, the room easily flips from a relaxed hang to a fully engaged crowd.
Pert Near Sandstone tends to pull that kind of attention. If you’ve seen them before, you know what their sets feel like. If you haven’t, expect a fast, driving bluegrass show with a lot of movement between instruments and a steady pace from start to finish.
Most of what you hear about Pert Near Sandstone comes back to the live show. On the drive home, people talk about how the whole set moves and how locked in the band feels from start to finish. There’s a lot happening around the Hills this weekend, but this is the kind of show that makes the drive to Custer make sense. Spring’s finally here, and it’s a great time to head that direction.
There’s a lot on the calendar this weekend. These are a few shows you can actually check out ahead of time.
Friday brings in a pair of out-of-town lineups, each in a different direction. Logan Mize is at Aby’s in Rapid City with Brandon Jones on the bill, while Cascadel plays the Matthews in Spearfish with My Second Rodeo opening. Both start at 7:00 PM, which puts them directly up against each other, just in different towns.
Saturday in downtown Rapid City there’s lots of options within walking distance of each other. Aby’s hosts The Dirt Road Getaway and Speed City Demons, the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra performs American in Paris at the Performing Arts Center, South Dakota Kids That Rock The Monument, and finish the night off with The Adults at Murphys. It’s a mix of bar shows, a full orchestra performance, and a youth showcase, and some good old outlaw country and greazy rock!
FRIDAY NIGHT
Friday night splits between Rapid City and Spearfish. One is a touring country stop at Aby’s. The other is a seated show at the Matthews.
Logan Mize is on a regional run and stops in Rapid tonight, with Brandon Jones on the bill. The set leans into country songwriting with a mix of original tracks and a few covers worked in.
Fri, Apr 10 • 7:00 PM @ The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center
Cascadel plays indie roots rock with guitar, keys, and vocal harmonies, with My Second Rodeo opening the night. The songs move between folk, country, and more layered arrangements, with some longer sections worked into the set. The Matthews keeps the focus on the music, so it tends to be a more attentive crowd from the start.
Give them a listen…
…and then on Saturday in Downtown Rapid City
Saturday. April 11th, Aby’s stays in a roots and rock lane with a two-band bill, while the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra is at the The Monument with American in Paris. The Adults are on the lineup elsewhere in town, and South Dakota Kids That Rock showcases just how tallented our younger generation is!
Performing Arts Center of Rapid City – Historic Theater in Rapid City
The Black Hills Symphony Orchestra presents American in Paris, an evening of symphonic preludes featuring Liszt’s Les Preludes, Vaughan Williams’ Norfolk Rhapsody,…
LeadCON is setting up inside the Homestake Opera House this weekend, filling the space with tabletop games, cosplay, tournaments, and a full day of panels and screenings.
The event is being put on by the Lead Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Lookout Games in Spearfish and Henry’s Books. It’s the first time they’ve built this, and the goal is pretty straightforward: give people a place to show up, hang out, and lean into the things they’re usually doing in smaller circles or at home.
It started with an idea from Tyler Tillman, owner of Lookout Games, who brought it to the chamber. From there, chamber board president Levi Wilson and executive director Jami Grangaard helped shape it and carry it through planning. Henry’s Books is also involved as a partner, contributing to the writing panel, contest prizes, and an afternoon session of Blood on the Clocktower.
The Homestake Opera House, under executive director Todd Jones, is hosting the event, and Sean Covel is part of the lineup for the midday screening and Q&A.
What to expect…
The first year goal is pretty straightforward: Give people a place to show up, hang out, and lean into the things they’re usually doing in smaller circles or at home.
A lot of the day is structured around participation, not just watching. There are two Dungeons & Dragons sessions specifically set up for people who have never played before, with short “one-shot” campaigns that start and finish in a single sitting. You don’t need to bring anything or know the rules going in. Characters are assigned, and you jump in.
At the same time, there’s a Warhammer 40K tournament, a Magic: The Gathering tournament, and Smash Bros matches happening throughout the day, alongside a board game gallery upstairs where people can step out of the noise and sit down with something slower.
Panels run through the theater space, starting with a DnD discussion with local dungeon masters and players, followed by a writers panel that includes Sean Covel, producer of Napoleon Dynamite. That leads into a midday screening of the film with a Q&A, before the afternoon shifts into cosplay, including a panel and a contest.
There’s also a vendor and art alley set up throughout the Opera House, along with a tattoo flash session running during the day, built around quick, nerd-themed designs. Outside, food trucks will be parked along Main Street, with the expectation that people move in and out of the building instead of staying in one place the entire time.
Cosplay Panel – Kimikyo
Cosplay Panel – MADS
CosPlay Panel – Moth
Cosplay Panel – Scylla
D&D Panel Clover
D&D Panel Kevin
D&D Panel Tahler
D&D Panel Tyler
LeadCON Napoleon
LeadCON Trivia Night
LeasCON Cosplay
Writing Panel – Naomi
Writing Panel Dylan
Writing Panel Ryan
Writing Panel Sean
The whole thing starts Friday night with a trivia event at Lewie’s Burgers & Brews, then runs from 9 a.m. through the evening on Saturday, closing out with a screening of The Princess Bride inside the theater.
Costumes are encouraged, as long as they follow the event guidelines. No real weapons, nothing dangerous, and keep it family-friendly. The rest is open.
Organizers say they’ve already seen strong early ticket numbers for a first-year event, with people coming in from Lead, Spearfish, Rapid City, and likely beyond.
By mid-afternoon Saturday, the Opera House will be running multiple tournaments, panels, games, and conversations all at once, with people in costume moving between rooms, checking brackets, sitting down at tables, and figuring out where to go next.rnaments, panels, games, and conversations all at once, with people in costume moving between rooms, checking brackets, sitting down at tables, and figuring out where to go next.
