A rumor involving Combat Corduroy and the Black Crowes!

There's a rumor that our friends Combat Corduroy will open for the Black Crowes at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids on Sunday, July 27! The show is for ages 16 and up. Tickets are $35 in advance, $38 on the day of the show. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Also playing: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Don't ask where I hear these things . . . I just do.

Theater camps

It's summer, so it must be time for summer camp! Why, yes, as it happens: There are two great summer camp weeks coming up for kids aged 8 to 13, all about theater. Gull Lake drama and storytelling teacher extraordinaire Robin Nott and his able assistants are running two great camps this summer, and there's still time to sign up. Kids will experience ensemble theater technique, including creative movement, improvisation, and story theater, and they'll apply those techniques to classic literature to create theater pieces.

The camps will be held:

July 21 - 26, Monday through Friday, 9 - 11:30 a.m., at the Gull Lake Country Club. $100 per child. Call the Country Club to register: 269-629-9714.

August 4 - 8, Monday through Friday, at Sherman Lake YMCA. Call the Y for information: 269-731-3000.

Thursdays at Clocktower Green

The beautiful new Clocktower Green is nearing completion--most of the stores and the restaurant have opened already--and their free Thursday night outdoor concerts are in full swing. Head up to 8860 North 32nd Street (M-43, just north of the village of Richland), sit a while, and enjoy the tunes from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Here's the schedule of upcoming concerts:

July 3 – Mossy Mountain Band
July 10 – North Point Combo
July 17 – Martha Reid Quartet
July 24 – Lana Hawkins & Steve Kamerling
July 31 – Mark Duval & Traci Seuss
August 7 – Swing City
August 14 – Brothers Kalamazov
August 21 – Earlier Braggs Quartet
August 28 – Tim Collins Group

Hair and more

I'm trying to resist the apparently irresistable urge that salons seem to have to name themselves with a hair pun . . . I've made it past the title . . . just barely . . . and I'll try to make it through to the end of the posting with my dignity intact.

And yet I must urge you (adults, that is) to go see the Whole Art Theatre's production of the 1968 musical Hair, which continues Fridays and Saturdays, June 20, 21, 27, and 28 at the Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall. Adam Carter choreographed the show, and they do a great job with all the songs that you had forgotten came from Hair. (Okay, I'm the one who forgot that "Easy to Be Hard" was in there . . . I did remember "Aquarius.") Tickets are $22, seniors $18, students $14. Check the Whole Art's website for more info.

By the way, auditions for the one-woman show Bad Dates are being held June 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. at the Whole Art Theatre at the Epic Center. That show will play at the Whole Art September 11 to 27. More info on that at the website.

The musical Les Miserables is at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, now through July 6. Tickets are $29. Their website has details.

You can catch Richland area musicians playing in Kalamazoo on Saturday, June 21, as part of the worldwide Fete de la Musique. And it's all free! Fractal will be at the Union at 2 p.m. and at Bell's at 6, and the Gull Lake Jazz Orchestra will be playing on the North Kalamazoo Mall at 3 . . . Again, check the website for more and better info.

Speaking of local musicians, you can usually catch Tim Tillbury playing at the Richland Pub, 8253 N. 32nd Street, of a Friday night, starting about 8 p.m.

And a great new venue, the Clocktower Green, has live music outdoors on Thursday nights. Check their website for the calendar of events.

There's more live music from time to time at the Richland Farmers' Market, which has outgrown its original site and is now at the Richland Area Community Center, 9400 East CD Avenue (that's the post office road), from 4 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday. June 25 will feature a visit by a calf from a local farm, but live music will return from time to time--including the wonderful Hoot Owls.

Okay, that should keep you busy for a while, and you've been spared a single hair joke! What a lucky day! Enjoy.

Thanks, Hoot Owls!

The Richland Farmers' Market got off to an amazing start on a beautiful day . . . and it was all made more festive by the music of the Hoot Owls. Thanks to them for the great tunes! They've promised to return from time to time . . . Meanwhile, come on down to the Farmers' Market at the Clocktower Green, 8860 N. 32nd Street (M-43) every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Hoot Owls at Farmers' Market

The new Richland Farmers' Market opens this Wednesday, June 11, and the Hoot Owls will bring their old time - bluegrass - gospel sounds to celebrate. The Market will be open this and every Wednesday through October, from 4 to 8 p.m., and this week the Hoot Owls will start playing around 6. Come on out to hear them--and to buy your fresh, healthy, locally-grown produce! The Market is held at the new Clocktower Green, 8860 North 32nd Street (M-43), just north of the village and south of the Blackhawk.

And if you grow food or flowers you'd like to sell at the Market--or if you know someone who does--click here to download a vendor application.

Meanwhile, come out on Wednesday for great fun, fresh food, and music. Big thanks to the Hoot Owls for donating their talent and time!

Many, many May marvels

It's been so mesmerizing to gaze back at the photos from recent arts events that we've been remiss in providing reminders about some great upcoming events. So now you must run, not walk, to the following:

Wednesday, May 21, 6 p.m., Shaw Theatre, Western Michigan University: Marley in May, an evening with John Grogan, author of the bestseller Marley & Me. Tickets are $10 and benefit the Gull Lake Community Schools Foundation; check their website for more info.

Wednesday, May 21, 7 p.m., Gull Lake High School: GLHS Band concert

Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m., Gull Lake High School: Spring Choral Concert

Thursday, May 22, through Saturday, May 31, Civic Theatre in Kalamazoo: Little Women the Musical continues, with Lisa Watson working behind the scenes. The show goes on at 7:30 on Thursday nights, 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. More info at the Civic's website.

Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m., Whole Art Theatre at the Epic Center: Last chance to see The Playboy of the Western World, the great play by Irish writer J. M. Synge . . . and you can spot Mary Teutsch amongst the cast. Tickets are $20 general admission, $14 seniors, $10 students. More at Whole Art's website.

June 5 - 28, Whole Art Theatre at the Epic Center: Hair, the classic 1968 musical, is back, and this time it's choreographed by Adam Carter. You might want to get your tickets now . . . which you can do via Whole Art's website.