PURSUITS LYNN GOLDSMITH
Hodges joined Toby Keith’s 2011 Locked and Loaded tour and is now riding high on the release of his own first album, “Goodbyes Made You Mine.” LL COOL J 6/22 and 6/23, First Council Casino, Newkirk and Lucky Star Casino, Concho, ticketstorm.com, 877.725.2670 A comeback? Don’t be ridiculous. The artist born James Todd Smith has a resume as varied as it is full: movie actor, TV star, author, clothing designer… oh, and he’s also a Grammy-winning rapper and hip-hop icon. CHUCK NEGRON 6/23, Newcastle Casino, mynewcastlecasino.com, 387.6013 A bit of joy to the world of classic rock fans: the casino’s free outdoor concert series continues to fill the summer sky with great music thanks to special guest Negron, one of the co-founders of Three Dog Night. LITTLE RIVER BAND 6/23, Frontier City, frontiercity.com, 478.2140 While members have come and gone over the course of its 30-plus-year existence, one of Australia’s all-time great musical groups keeps its legacy alive… and fans rocking as Frontier City closes out its busiest month of the summer. LORIE LINE 6/25, OKC Civic Center, okccivic center.com, 297.2264 You think you’ve been busy lately? Pianist and composer Line has released 37 albums in the last 23 years, while finding time to travel alongside old friends and new in the New Age celebration that is her “Live in the Sunshine” tour. RANDY ROGERS BAND 6/28, Riverwind Casino, riverwind.com, 322.6000 The fiery Texas quintet’s most recent release, “Burning the Day,” is a slightly less appealing-sounding prospect in late June… fortunately, their current setlist is loaded with new material from an impending album – and this is a perfect time to hear it.
THEATRE DISTRACTED 6/1-9, Carpenter Square Theatre, carpentersquare.com, 232.6500 That is the cutest kitten. Look at her little – what? Oh, the play. Ahem. Preadolescent males are rarely what you’d call lucid and collected, but Jesse’s behavior might indicate genuine ADD, and if so, his mom must decide her response in this humorously unfocused tale.
Can’t Stop the Music
David Sanborn
June 21-23, Brookhaven Village and Andrews Park, jazzinjune.org, 325.3388
I
t’s practically a force of nature; for 29 years it has recurred like clockwork, proving itself as reliable as the summer heat. As surely as its namesake month arrives on
the calendar, Norman residents have the opportunity to enjoy the giants of the genre at Jazz in June. The free outdoor festival is expected to draw nearly 50,000 listeners during its three days of musical greatness, beginning Thursday night at Brookhaven Village as singer, pianist, guitarist, trumpeter and whistler Carolyn Wonderland headlines Blues Under the Stars. The genre switches to jazz Friday night as the Bert Dalton Brazil Project makes Brookhaven sway with samba sounds, and the exceptionally skilled saxophonist David Sanborn brings down the house (read: pavilion and amphitheatre) Saturday night in Andrews Park. It all adds up to a joyous jam session that’s over too soon… until next year.
38 slice | june 2012
SALVAGE 6/1-10, OKC Theatre Co., okctheatre company.org, 297.2264 A fatal car accident in a small Montana town drags two families into swift, painful and irrevocable changes in award-winning playwright Diane Glancy’s opus; the centerpiece of OKC Theatre Company’s third annual Native American New Play Festival. JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL 6/14-16, Reduxion’s Broadway Theatre, reduxiontheatre.com, 651.3191 It doesn’t really count as prejudice to play favorites, but there is a great deal of pride involved in Reduxion’s newest undertaking: a threeday festival to fete the beloved author through staged readings, artwork, panel discussions and more – you should need no further persuasion. TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA 6/14-30, Myriad Gardens Water Stage, oklahomashakespeare.com, 235.3700 Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park presents of the Bard’s earliest works, but he already has one of his major themes locked down: the course of true love never did run smooth;