Tim’s Picks: For your post-Valentine's entertainment
Five of the best ideas heading into your Greater Lafayette weekend and beyond.
Thanks today for ongoing help from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette. For tickets for these and other shows, go to longpac.org.
With five of the best ideas heading into your weekend and beyond, here’s …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
Rodney Atkins and Easton Corbin with Nate Venturelli and Wyatt Hare, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, Neon Cactus, 360 Brown St., West Lafayette — With about a quarter-century of hits and awards to back him, Rodney Atkins was ruling pop country radio when much of today’s singers were in short Wranglers. The Country Music Association named him Top New Male Vocalist, and the Knoxville, Tennessee, native has six No. 1 singles to his name. Atkins was signed to Curb Records in 1996 and has since released several albums for the Nashville label. His latest is titled “Caught Up in the Country.” One of Atkins’ openers is Florida’s Easton Corbin, who charted two No. 1 singles for Mercury Records from his 2009 debut self-titled album. “A Little More Than Country” and “Roll with It” helped propel Corbin to more than a half-million in album sales. His 2015 effort, “About to Get Real,” was another No. 1 on the charts. $35. Tickets.
“Bright Star,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 15-17, and Feb. 22-24, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, and Feb. 25, Hansen Theatre-Pao Hall, Purdue University — Purdue Theatre presents a show featuring music and script by Steve Martin. Not our Steve Martin, writer of many plays produced near and far and veteran improv performer, but an up-and-coming comedian that’s sold more than 3.5 million albums, starred in classic films like “The Jerk” and has a hit streaming show on Hulu called “Only Murders in the Building.” In 2013, that Steve Martin teamed up with hit musician Edie Brickell (New Bohemians, “What I Am”) to produce a bluegrass album, “Love Has Come for You.” The collaboration spawned story songs that provided the basis of a 2014 musical called “Bright Star.” The show takes place in 1946 and focuses on newspaper editor Alice Murphy (played by Cecelia Jaskel) and a child she lost in her youth back in the 1920s. The music and story are full of humor and somber moments with a big cast of Purdue Theatre’s top talents. $14.50-$21.50. Tickets.
The Kickback with Purdue Black Voices of Inspiration, Sheeza, Chef Coldy Styles, JMack and DJ Sunn, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, Rat Pak Venue, 102 N. Third St., Lafayette — Hip-hop, gospel, rock and soul will highlight the latest Kickback event in downtown Lafayette. Produced by Claire Tchoula of Sheeza, this show will welcome the cherished Black Voices of Inspiration, a choir housed in Purdue’s Black Cultural Center with a decades-long history of gospel and soul music performances. Chef Coldy Styles cooks up tasty beats and rhymes and has performed in Chicago as well as his current home base in Indianapolis. JMack, a Purdue alumnus, is an occasional collaborator with Styles and a longtime Indy emcee that returns to Lafayette for the occasional set. Boneheadz BBQ will also be in the house with its signature smoked meats and sides. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Tickets.
Ian Gould, 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, Nine Irish Brothers, 119 Howard Ave., West Lafayette — The countdown to St. Patrick’s Day starts this weekend in West Lafayette. Belfast, Ireland, singer-songwriter Ian Gould has toured internationally around Europe and the U.S for more than 20 years. The veteran musician even performed for Irish President Michael D. Higgins. These days, Gould often performs in America and Nine Irish Brothers is the perfect venue for his Indiana engagements.
Death Hex with Salivus and The Black Order, 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, Guac Box, 308 State St., West Lafayette — Progressive metal mashers Death Hex will make the epic journey from Toledo, Ohio, to West Lafayette for another heavy metal Saturday night at The Guac. Expect intricate and wild riffs under brutal vocals. Opening will be Monticello moshers Salivus and The Black Order, another Ohio band set to release its new single “Empty Every Vein” next week. $10
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Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
Thanks, again, for ongoing help from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette. Check out the lineup and get tickets at longpac.org.
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