News Roundup, Aug. 9, 2024
August is relatively quiet month, especially for classical/art music but there are exceptions. One chamber music group, The Olmos Ensemble, has a Summer Concert Series which started Aug. 4. The next concert on Aug. 11, will be focused on Baroque music, highlighting the works of Bach and Vivaldi. No specific works are listed. (Aug 18, 3-5 p.m., Shepherd King Lutheran Church, 303 West Ramsey Road, 78216; 210-344-5881; to contact the ensemble call 210-269-1925; free but donations welcome; a reception will follow the concert.) The summer series will conclude on Aug. 25. www.olmosensemble.com.
As part of its 50th anniversary season, URBAN-15 is presenting “Tribute to la Musica Chicana, the History and Influences on Music by Mexican American musicians.” The event will feature Robert Rivera Ojeda and his Bronze Band. The band will play a series of musical genres, including indigenous, Tex-Mex , Chicano, blues, swing, cumbias, boleros and more, and Ojeda, a respected musician, educator and historian, will introduce each song with historical information. (Aug. 10, 5-7 p.m.; 2500 S. Presa, 78210; 210-736-1500; http://urban15.org)
Country singer and songwriter, Drake White, oftenmixes country, blues, funk, rock and reggae at his “foot-stomping live shows.” In August 2016, he released his debut album “Spark” which debuted at number four on the Top Country Albums chart. He will perform in San Antonio this weekend.
(Aug. 9 at 8 p.m.; Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, 78215; contact info@stablehall.com for more information. To learn more about White, visit his website: https://www.drakewhite.com/)
The American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions is presenting a special theater production in celebration of its 30th anniversary. Assisted by the city’s department of Arts and Culture,
the organization has produced a unique version of the “Jungle Book.” The announcement states:
“This extraordinary production, which has traveled the world over and graced international arenas, is the testament to the global appeal of indigenous cultures. (Aug. 22, at 6 p.m.; Carver Community Cultural Center; 226 N. Hackberry, 78202; 210-207-7211; tickets – $25-$30 – via https://ticketmaster.com or at Carver’s box office.)
At the Whitewater Amphitheater you have a chance to see Billy Currington on Tour. He has topped music charts for two decades. Among his hits are “People are Crazy,” “Must be Doin’ Something Right,” and many other songs. (Aug. 17 at 6:30 – 8 p.m.; 11860 FR 306. New Braunfels 78132.; tickets are
$51.89 to $95.50 at www.tixr.com)
The Japanese rock band FLOW is on tour, too. It’s a world tour that will stop in San Antonio in a few days.
Its full name is FLOW WORLD TOUR- ANIME SHIBARI, 2024-25. The group will perform songs that have been featured in several anime and Japanese drama series. Anime is the style of animation that originated in Japan, featuring colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots.
(Aug. 15 at 8 p.m., Charline McCombs Empire Theater, doors open at 7; tickets are $48-$61 at
www.majesticempire.com/events/)
Barry Manilow, who hardly needs an introduction after decades in show business, will perform his “last San Antonio Concert” at the Frost Bank Center. (Aug. 15 at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. tickets are $19-$499+ at www.ticketmaster.com/event/
On August 10 the Frost Bank Center will host Bulls, Bands and Barrels, a modified rodeo with live entertainment provided by Dylan Gosset and Treaty Oak Revival.
San Antonio poet laureate, Eddie Vega, will read poems from his collection “Somos Nopales” today at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Latino Bookstore. (6-8 p.m. today; 1300 Guadalupe St.; free; )
Several theaters are presenting new shows. At Jump Start, they have come up with a format for their 8×8 Cabaret Du Jump. The program will present 8-minute performances in an 8-foot cube, featuring a diversity of styles and forms, while dealing with the same theme: the supernatural. The show is produced by company members Sheila Sister-Currie and Kim Corbin. Originally, the cabaret was a means for company members to experiment with ideas, which often led to the development of full-length productions. Artist for this year’s 8s include Anthony the Poet, Karavan Dance, Daniel Jackson, Dragonfly, Stephen Gaeth, Lilla Robin, Carlos Bernal, and others. (Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m.; at the Jump-Start Theater, 710 Fredericksburg Rd., 78201. Tickets $8 or free.)
The Overtime Theater has a new play: “Judgement of the Eye,” a new award-winning historical drama by Simon Bowler Khan. The story revolves around an art forger who must prove his paintings are fakes or be executed as a traitor. The time is end of World War II. (Performances run August 16 to September 7, 2024; Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m., with one Sunday show on Sept. 1 at 2 p.m.; 5409 Bandera RD., Suite 205; general admission $18; 210-577-7562; www.theovertimetheater.org)
At the San Pedro Playhouse, they are getting ready for a new, bilingual adaptation of “The Fantastikos”
(The Fantasticks), which will open Sept 12. More about that closer to the opening date.
The Visual arts are alive and well in our city, though summer slows things down a bit.
A new exhibit, “Cultural Bounty: The Beckstead – Lerma – Annala Collection is a showpiece of the UTSA Art Collection. It features 48 artistic pieces from internationally renowned artists, such as Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe, and emerging local and Texas artists, such as Sara Vanderbeek, Fernando Andrade, and UTSA alum Richard Armendariz. Presented by UTSA Arts in partnership with the UTSA libraries and the UTSA School of Art. The exhibit opened Aug. 1. On Sept. 5, there will be an official opening reception with all three donors in attendance. (Russel Hill Rogers Galleries, open every day through Nov. 2, 2024. (1201 Navarro St., 78205; for more info call 210-458-7830 or write to art.events@utsa.edu.