The Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo returns Friday for another week of food, music, rodeo action, rides and more at the fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave.
Highlights include concerts by Josh Weathers on Saturday, Jake Hooker on Sept. 24, Hayden Labrier & The Lucky Strike on Sept. 25, and Logan Ellis on Sept. 26; the Whataburger Jalepeño Eating Contest on Sunday; a mutton-bustin’ contest on Sept. 22; PRCA rodeo performances Sept. 24 to 26; and much more.
Don’t forget to sample as many fried foods as your stomach can withstand along the midway, and maybe wait a bit for them to digest before you hop on one of the carnival rides.
The fun kicks off with Celebrate at the Arch Gate at 11 a.m. Friday on the fairgrounds and the Tri-State Fair Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Amarillo.
Ticket prices vary. Call 806-376-7767.
The Amarillo Symphony kicks off its historic 104th season with a pair of concerts Friday and Saturday filled with fireworks.
Not literal ones. That, I’m sure, would be a problem in the golden-hued, wooden concert hall at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts.
George Jackson, the Symphony’s music director and conductor, promised that the concerts—which will feature Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, and Alex Berko’s “Look Up”—will musically represent fireworks.
“It feels like a very natural way to begin a new season,” Jackson said in an email conversation. “[It’s] the feeling of celebration that comes with the beginning of any new symphonic season in Amarillo.”
Chip Chandler: How well do Barber and Tchaikovsky pair together?
George Jackson: The Barber Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth both have incredible final movements, full of energy, virtuosity and drama. But what really interests me about putting them together is that they also both contain some of the most beautiful, intimate and soul-searchingly passionate music in the repertoire. That contrast is something I find incredibly compelling. There is also something fascinating about hearing a 20th-century American composer and a 19th-century Russian composer finding these two very different worlds within the same work. Despite the enormous differences in their backgrounds and musical languages, both Barber and Tchaikovsky understood how powerful that juxtaposition could be.
CC: Anything particularly exciting about Aubree Oliverson that readers would like to know?
GJ: Aubree is a tremendous talent and one of the rising stars of the younger generation of violinists. It’s particularly exciting to have an American violinist playing an American concerto, because I think she will bring a naturally special connection to the intense emotion and lyricism within Barber’s music. You might remember Aubree from our March 2024 concert where she played the Dvořák Violin Concerto!
CC: I would think that the Alex Berko piece would make an exciting opening for a season; am I correct in that assumption?
GJ: Absolutely. Alex Berko is an American composer with a profound sense of drama, energy and imagination when it comes to colour. When he explained to me the visual character of each of the fireworks that the piece depicts, I realized just how masterfully he has translated those images into sound.
Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Globe-News Center, 500 S. Buchanan St. Tickets are $30 to $86. Call 806-376-8782.
This busy September weekend also features an opening reception for two new exhibitions at Amarillo Museum of Art, 2200 S. Van Buren St.
Museumgoers can hear from the featured artists for both Hills Snyder: Strays (which went on view Aug. 29) and Jack Craft: Land Mass (which can be seen beginning Friday) during the 6 p.m. Friday reception.
Craft, a full-time rancher as well as an artist, works both in sculpture and printmaking, and according to a museum press release, each medium informs the other: “His printmaking practice is tied directly to his sculptural objects. He uses the weight and form of his objects as a mark-making tool to create surfaces that can be inked and printed. The monochromatic prints resulting from the sculpture’s interactions with the print matrices often resemble time-lapse images of celestial movement or geologic formations.”
Snyder is a Lubbock native who now lives and works in Magdalena, New Mexico. Strays, said Curator of Art Alex Gregory, brings together examples of his work from public and private collections across the West.
Gregory told me Snyder’s work is particularly influenced by his upbringing in the South Plains.
“There’s something about the starkness of the landscape and the light and the things that protrude from the landscape, things that get your attention, and these kind of subtle shifts that happen throughout light and space and objects changing the way that you see them,” Gregory said. “When you grow up in an environment like that, sometimes that can open your eyes when you go to other places and see things that other people might find familiar but you see as interesting or unique or that stand out more visually.”
Strays is on view through Dec. 13, and Land Mass may be seen through Jan. 3.
Admission is free for AMoA members and $15 for nonmembers. Call 806-371-5050.
This week’s other can’t-miss options:
Bluey’s Big Play: 6 p.m. Tuesday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium, 401 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $41 to $140; 806-378-3096
Casey Berry: 6 p.m. Tuesday; Hummers Sports Cafe, 2600 Paramount Blvd., Suite B2; 806-353-0723
Andy Chase & Friends: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Amarillo Sod Poodles vs. Frisco Rough Riders: 6:35 p.m. Tuesday; Hodgetown, 715 S. Buchanan St.; ticket prices vary; 806-803-9547
The Solano Project: 6 p.m. Wednesday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Wibby Wednesday with James Owens: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; Six Car Pub & Brewery, 625 S. Polk St.; 806-576-3396
Luis Torres: 7 p.m. Wednesday; Pondaseta Brewing Co., 7500 S.W. 45th Ave.; 806-418-6282
Circus Golden Star: times vary Thursday through Sept. 27; Westgate Mall, 7701 W. Interstate 40; ticket prices vary; 800-756-8048
Sandcastle Days: Thursday through Sunday; Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; admission prices vary; 806-335-5644
Jason Hodges: 6 p.m. Thursday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Logan Ellis: 7 p.m. Thursday; Golden Light Beer & Wine Garden, 6014 S. Western St.; 806-221-2337
Miranda Pjesky: 7 p.m. Thursday; Pondaseta, 1001 Second Ave. in Canyon; 806-656-5100
Come from Away: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; Amarillo Little Theatre Allen Shankles Mainstage, 2019 Civic Circle; ticket prices vary; 806-355-9991
Amarillo Wranglers vs. Shreveport Mudbugs: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Coliseum; tickets $22 to $35; wranglers@amarillohockey.com
Dave McNeir and Bergundi Rose: 7 p.m. Friday; Beef O’Brady’s, 7306 S.W. 34th Ave.; 806-358-0997
Jana Pochop with Mike Fuller: 7 p.m. Friday; Chalice Abbey, 2717 Stanley St., Suite A; $15 suggested donation; 806-576-2480
Phora: 7 p.m. Friday; Bliss Horizon, 9700 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; no cover; 806-676-8256
Boss 420: 8 p.m. Friday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Greg Curry: 8 p.m. Friday; Big Jim’s Pizza Co., 3801 Olsen Blvd., Unit 9; 806-352-5050
Love Cuts: 8 p.m. Friday; High Fidelity Records, 2818 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 252-220-4729
KrossThread: 9 p.m. Friday; Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; cover
Tanner Lane: 9 p.m. Friday; Western Horseman, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Velvet Funk: 9 p.m. Friday; Blind Pig, 609 S. Independence St.; cover; 806-412-4251
Canyon Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; continues through Sept. 26; Fourth Avenue and 15th Street in Canyon; 806-567-0746
Sunset Marketown: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; Arts in the Sunset, 3701 Plains Blvd.; 806-354-8802
DFW Card Show: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Regency Room; admission $5; 682-557-7421
Lone Star Reptile Expo: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex North Exhibit Hall; admission $10 adults, $5 children, $9 advance; 214-769-3039
Mullet Contest: 6 p.m. Saturday; Ranch House Bar, 7117 River Road; 806-381-1213
The Chad Feemster Band: 8 p.m. Saturday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Next Stop Comedy: 8 p.m. Saturday; Old Tascosa Taproom and Brewery, 3100 S.W. Sixth Ave.; tickets $27; 806-681-4050
Casey Berry: 9 p.m. Saturday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Karma: 9 p.m. Saturday; Broken Spoke Lounge, 3101 S.W. Sixth Ave.; no cover; 806-373-9149
Relic: 9 p.m. Saturday; The Vault, 5001 S.W. 51st Ave.; no cover
Slade Coulter: 9 p.m. Saturday; Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; cover
Sweater Godz: 9 p.m. Saturday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Ty Blackburn: 9 p.m. Saturday; Blind Pig, 609 S. Independence St.; cover; 806-412-4251
Hill Institute Lecture featuring Kevin O’Leary: 7 p.m. Monday; First United Bank Center at West Texas A&M University; tickets $5; wtamu.edu/HillLecture
Andy Chase & Friends: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Email submissions to info@brickandelm.com.
Movie options:
Opening Thursday: horror game flick Resident Evil and family animated comedy Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square)
Special engagements: The Transformers: The Movie 40th anniversary (opens Thursday, Hollywood 16); Trailer Fest 2026 (Thursday, Cinergy); Batman (1989) (Friday, Hollywood 16); The Lego Batman Movie (Saturday, Hollywood 16); Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Sunday, Hollywood 16); Secret Movie Series (Monday, Hollywood 16)
