Theatre 605 Brings 1776 to the Black Hills Playhouse

The Black Hills Playhouse heads into Fourth of July season with a production that explores the debates that shaped the nation’s founding.

Theatre 605 opens 1776 on June 28, bringing the Tony Award-winning musical to the Black Hills Playhouse stage in Custer State Park for a two-week run that continues through July 12. The production features 15 performances, including a special Fourth of July matinee.

Set during the summer of 1776, the musical follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the members of the Second Continental Congress as they wrestle with the decision to declare independence from Great Britain. Rather than presenting the founders as untouchable historical figures, 1776 focuses on the arguments, compromises, rivalries, and political maneuvering behind the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Originally premiering on Broadway in 1969, 1776 ran for more than 1,200 performances and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Songs such as “Sit Down, John,” “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men,” and “He Plays the Violin” have remained staples of the show’s score for decades.

Director Dan Workman leads this Black Hills Playhouse production, joined by Music Director Vonnie Houchin and Choreographer Katie Gutmann. The cast includes Bryan Curtis as John Adams, Erik K. Larsen as Thomas Jefferson, Dave DeChristopher as Benjamin Franklin, and Romell Johnson III as Edward Rutledge.

Like several recent productions of 1776, the Black Hills Playhouse cast does not attempt to replicate the appearance of the historical delegates. Instead, performers of different genders and backgrounds step into the roles, following a casting approach that has become increasingly common in modern revivals of the musical.

Audience members attending the 2 p.m. opening matinee on June 28 are invited to stay for a post-show reception with refreshments and an opportunity to meet members of the cast and crew.

A pay-what-you-can preview performance takes place June 27 at 7:30 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-served.

1776 runs June 28 through July 12 at the Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park. Park entrance passes are required. The production is recommended for ages 9 and older and contains some suggestive humor.

Black Hills Renaissance Festival Heads to Sturgis

Knights, fairies, mermaids, musicians, artisans, and costumed guests will gather in Sturgis this weekend as the Black Hills Renaissance Festival returns to Kickstands Campground for two days of entertainment, demonstrations, shopping, and family-friendly activities.

The festival takes place Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kickstands Campground just outside Sturgis.

Visitors can expect a full weekend of Renaissance-inspired attractions, including jousting exhibitions, sword-fighting demonstrations, live entertainment, artisan vendors, themed contests, food, drink, and interactive experiences throughout the festival grounds. Many attendees arrive in costume, though festival organizers emphasize that costumes are encouraged, not required.

The Black Hills Renaissance Festival began in 2021 and has continued to grow each year, drawing visitors from across the region. What started as a small local event has expanded into one of the Black Hills’ largest themed festivals, bringing together performers, craftspeople, merchants, historical enthusiasts, fantasy fans, and families for a weekend unlike any other on the local calendar.

In addition to live entertainment, guests can browse vendor booths, meet costumed characters, enjoy festival food and drinks, and explore attractions inspired by both history and fantasy. Organizers promise a weekend filled with knights, fairies, music, merchants, mermaids, mead, and turkey legs.

Camping is available on-site through Kickstands Campground for visitors looking to spend the entire weekend at the festival.

Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for youth ages 6–12 for a single-day pass. Weekend passes are available for $35 for adults and $25 for youth. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free.

The Black Hills Renaissance Festival takes place June 27–28 at Kickstands Campground near Sturgis. Tickets are available online and at the gate.

Black Hills Renaissance Festival

Sat, Jun 27 • 10:00 am

@ Kickstands in Sturgis

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Featured Attractions

• Jousting Arena
• Sword Fighting Demonstrations
• Mermaid Encounters
• Live Music
• Costume Contest
• Children’s Activities
• Artisan Marketplace
• Food & Mead

Know Before You Go

• June 27: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
• June 28: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Costumes encouraged but not required
• Free parking
• Rain or shine
• Tickets available online and at the gate
• Camping available through Kickstands
• No pets (service animals only)

StardustFest returns with live music, vendors, and wellness offerings

Founded by Black Hills musician and event organizer Bobbie Jo Kuhl, StardustFest returns to Hill City on Saturday, June 28, bringing live music, more than 50 vendors, wellness services, local artisans, and metaphysical businesses together for a one-day festival at Eras Event Center and Cohort Craft Brewery. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and welcomes all ages, with free admission for children 15 and under.

This year’s lineup includes Johnny Hastings, Chris Graves, Devon Sants, Abbey Leach, Zac Conger, Sundown Messiah, the Wambli Ska Drummers, Sultry Shimmy, and Bobbie Jo Kuhl.

Visitors can browse handmade artwork, jewelry, candles, herbal products, honey, baked goods, canned goods, crystals, and other locally made items while exploring a variety of wellness and spiritual offerings throughout the day. Attendees will also find massage services, tarot and psychic readings, energy work practitioners, and a wide range of local businesses and makers.

According to Kuhl, the name StardustFest was inspired by the idea that many of the elements found in the human body were formed in stars long before Earth existed. The festival uses that concept as a starting point for a day centered around creativity, personal expression, and sharing talents with others.

Advance tickets are available online for $12. Admission at the door is $25. Food and drinks will be available for purchase throughout the event.

StardustFest takes place Saturday, June 28, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Eras Event Center and Cohort Craft Brewery in Hill City.

StardustFest

Sun, Jun 28 • 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

@ Cohort Craft Brewery – Black Hills in Hill City

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StardustFest Schedule

11:00 AM
Wambli Ska Drummers

12:00 PM
Sultry Shimmy Belly Dance

1:15 PM
Singer-Songwriter Round featuring:

• D.T. Buffkin
• Johnny Hastings
• Maddy Elwanger
• Bobbie Jo Kuhl

2:45 PM
Sundown Messiah

4:15 PM
Bobbie Jo Kuhl

5:00 PM
Johnny Hastings

Stand-Up Is Taking Over Rapid City

More than 25 comedians will take over stages across Rapid City this week, with nine shows scheduled at West River Comedy Club, the Hotel Alex Johnson, Uplifted Winery, and Robbinsdale Lounge.

What began as a local comedy festival has settled into a rhythm. Touring comics fly or drive into western South Dakota, local comedians join the lineup, and for one long weekend the Black Hills gets a concentrated dose of stand-up without anyone needing to leave town.

This year’s festival runs June 24-27 and features performers from across the country alongside several familiar faces from the regional comedy scene.

Opening night begins Wednesday at West River Comedy Club with local comedians and The Unrehearsables. Thursday’s show moves to the Hotel Alex Johnson, where comedian Zac Maas headlines an evening with festival guests. But by Friday, the schedule spreads across the city.

An early show at West River Comedy Club features Matt Cobos, Brett Hiker, Sam Miller, Hannah Popkin, AJ Grill, George Delgado, Gabby Gutierrez-Reed, and Trevor Ryan. Across town at Uplifted Winery, Christie Buchele, BK Sharad, Kelsey Rosen, Tyler Corbine, Tyler Mathieson, and Zac Maas take the stage before the evening shifts to the Alex Johnson for the festival’s main showcase.

Friday wraps up the same way many comedy festivals do: everybody ends up back at the club. The 10:30 p.m. late show at West River Comedy Club brings the entire festival roster together for one lineup.

Saturday follows a similar path with shows running simultaneously across venues before another late-night all-comics performance closes the evening.

Festival headliner Sam Miller makes his Black Hills Comedy Festival appearance during Saturday’s main show at the Hotel Alex Johnson. Miller, a Washington-based comedian known for his appearances on national podcasts and comedy festivals around the country, joins a lineup that includes Matt Cobos, Kelsey Rosen, BK Sharad, Hannah Popkin, Gabby Gutierrez-Reed, and Tyler Corbine.

One of the things that makes the festival work is that no two shows are the same. A crowd at Uplifted Winery will see a completely different lineup than the audience gathered inside the Alex Johnson Ballroom. Someone attending only Friday night will have a different experience than someone who bounces between venues all weekend.

Joyce Jefferson brings the story of author Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman to the performing Arts Center for a free performance

Black Hills Community Theatre and the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City will host An Afternoon with Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman on June 13 in the Historic Theatre at the PAC. The performance was created by local performer and historian Joyce Jefferson and will feature additional community performers.

Tillman moved to Yankton in 1882 at the age of 12. She attended school there before later studying at the State University of Kentucky. During her career, she produced a large body of work that included poetry, essays, and plays.

Among her works were Thirty Years of Freedom and Fifty Years of Freedom, two plays that addressed the experiences of Black Americans in the decades following emancipation.

According to organizers, Jefferson has portrayed Tillman and other South Dakota “Sheroes” during previous Juneteenth celebrations. This year’s presentation was created specifically for the 2026 event.

The performance is part of the fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration hosted by BHCT and the PACRC. Doors open at 1 p.m. for fellowship, coffee and cookies, educational displays about the holiday and local Black history, and a community quilt project where attendees can contribute a paper quilt square.

The performance begins at 2 p.m. Admission is free.

The event takes place Saturday, June 13, at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City.

Abbey Leach at 2:00, Chris Mangione at 4:00, Johnny Hastings at 6:00 and The Moon Cats at 8:00

No Bad Days Campground is bringing full day of live music, local craft beer, food, camping, and bluegrass to the Black Hills this weeknd.

The event takes place Saturday, June 13, at No Bad Days Campground, where Highway 385 meets Highway 44 south of Rapid City. Music runs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., but the day gets started much earlier. Festivalgoers can grab breakfast burritos and Bloody Marys beginning at 10 a.m., and anyone looking to loosen up before the bands take the stage can join beer yoga at 1 p.m.

Live music throughout the day, will give attendees a mix of original music and homegrown talent. Abbey Leach at 2:00, Chris Mangione at 4:00, Johnny Hastings at 6:00 and The Moon Cats at 8:00

Cold beer will be flowing from the campground’s Tap Wagon, which specializes in South Dakota craft brews, while Franki’s Diner will be serving pizza, burgers, smoked wings, tacos, and other festival fare.

For those who want to make a weekend of it, a limited number of campsites remain available. The campground offers full hook-up sites with 30- and 50-amp service, including back-in, pull-through, and pull-in options.

Music Schedule

• Abbie Leach at 2:00
• Mangione at 4:00
• Johnny at 6:00
• Mooncats at 8:00

A comedian, a DJ, jugglers, flow artists, vendors, walk into a bar…

That’s not the setup for a joke. It’s what West River Comedy Club will look like Saturday night when THE DOSE rolls into Rapid City.

THE DOSE, a touring comedy production created by comedian Steven Gillespie, arrives in Rapid City on June 13 with a format that stretches well beyond a traditional stand-up show.

The event blends nationally touring comedians with live DJs, projected visuals, performance artists, and a festival-style atmosphere that begins before the first comic takes the stage.

Gillespie, whose comedy credits include CONAN and Amazon Prime, describes THE DOSE as a psychedelic comedy experience built around the idea of “set and setting” — a phrase often associated with psychedelic culture. Rather than focusing solely on stand-up, the production aims to create an environment where comedy, music, visual art, and audience participation all overlap.

The Rapid City stop will feature Gillespie as host alongside comedian and juggler Nic Dean and DJ N3ilFace. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the pre-show portion becoming an attraction of its own on many tour stops.

That early portion of the evening often includes live music, visual artists, vendors, flow performers, dancers, hoopers, and other festival-style acts. Organizers actively encourage local artists and performers to participate, turning each stop into something shaped partly by the community hosting it.

The concept arrives at a time when comedy audiences are increasingly looking for experiences beyond a comedian standing under a spotlight. Across the country, comedy has been moving into breweries, music venues, festivals, and unconventional spaces. THE DOSE pushes that idea even further by borrowing elements from music festivals, psychedelic art gatherings, and immersive events.

Whether audiences show up for the stand-up, the music, the visuals, or simply curiosity, they’ll find something a little different than the typical Saturday night comedy lineup.

June is Pride Month, and communities across the Black Hills are marking the occasion with a mix of live entertainment, community gatherings, fundraisers, art, and celebrations throughout the month.

Whether you’re looking for a family-friendly event, a night of live music, a drag show, an art exhibit, or simply a place to connect with others, you’ll find Pride events happening across the region all month long.

This guide brings together Pride-related events from around the Black Hills in one place. Check back throughout June as new events are added to the calendar.

Hosting a Pride event that isn’t listed? Submit it to the Black Hills Art Beat calendar so we can help spread the word.

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Now entering its third summer season, BHCT Summer Stage returns June 5–14 with a touring production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Rather than performing inside a traditional theater, the company will take the show on the road with stops in Hill City and Rapid City, bringing live theater directly into parks, community spaces, and outdoor gathering spots around the region.

Directed by BHCT Artistic Director Merlyn Q. Sell, this year’s production has been specifically designed for touring. A small cast of local performers takes on Shakespeare’s tale of mischievous fairies, confused lovers, and magical mishaps using a streamlined production that can travel from venue to venue throughout the week.

Part of what makes Summer Stage different is the atmosphere. Audiences are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and even a picnic dinner. Before each performance, members of BHCT’s Apprentice Company lead theater games and activities for younger audience members, including opportunities to create magical flowers and learn songs that may become part of the evening’s performance.

The production features local performers Anna Auchampach, Brady Jones, Jess Zemlicka, and Apprentice Company members Delanee Dame, Charlotte Grey, Willa Lecy, Leah-Anne Kjerstad, and Vienna Waby. Assistant directors Marissa Fosberg and Charlotte Grey, both former Apprentice Company participants themselves, join Sell’s creative team.

Summer Stage has become a different kind of theater experience than audiences might expect from a night at the Performing Arts Center. There are no rows of fixed seats, no lobby, and no curtain call inside a darkened auditorium. Instead, Shakespeare unfolds in parks, breweries, and community spaces where families can settle onto the grass, children can move around when they need to, and passersby sometimes discover a play simply by wandering into the park.

All performances are free and open to the public. This year’s tour includes stops at Cohort Brewery in Hill City, Robbinsdale Park, Roosevelt Park, the Dahl Arts Center, Raider Park, and the Performing Arts Center.

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The annual fundraiser fills The Custer Beacon on June 6 with live performances, local artists, a vendor fair, raffles, and support for programs serving women and girls.

The event runs from 4:00 to 8:15 p.m. and remains free to attend, with free-will donations encouraged. Proceeds from the evening help fund programs and initiatives that benefit women and girls both locally and through Zonta International.

Throughout the evening, visitors can browse a vendor fair featuring regional artists and community organizations. Wildlife photographer Deb Wallenberg, textile artist Rachel Haynes Pogorelski, stained glass artist Susan Scheirbeck, ceramic artist Emily Spencer, artist Jamie DeNoma, the Black Hills Film Festival, WEAVE, and several other organizations will be represented.

The Black Hills Film Festival will also offer a preview of upcoming films, including the South Dakota premiere of Catching Pinecones, a documentary about Jan and Herb Conn. Festival organizers are also partnering with the Custer Area Arts Council and Crazy Horse Memorial to present a series of Native American films connected to the Native American Tourism Summit.

Live entertainment begins with the Siouxland Youth Chorus, followed by performances from belly dance troupe Sultry Shimmy, South Dakota favorites Gumbo Lilies, The Abbey Leach Band, and Spearfish-based funk and soul group Betty Get Down.

A raffle held throughout the evening features prizes donated by local businesses and supporters, including Crazy Horse Memorial tours, theater tickets, artwork, jewelry, and other items. Winners do not need to be present to claim their prizes.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase through The Custer Beacon during the event.