Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer. For more photos, click on the link below

In spite of having a hard time getting from their native Sinola, Mexico, to Durant,  Calibre 50 got onto the Grand Theater stage a short time after arrival and gave the performance of a lifetime, Friday, Oct. 1.

Calibre 50 is the primo Tejano band from Mexico, having stayed on the charts with their “El Immigrante” much of 2014, and making themselves further known this year with “Amor del Bueno” and “Prestameia a Mi.” The sold-out theater was resplendent with fans who knew the words to every one of those and the other songs Calibre 50 belted from all four corners of that huge stage.

Back and forth, forth and back went Edén Muñoz with his accordion, Armando Ramos on guitar, and Alejandro Gaxiola on tuba, while Erick García kept them in sync and inspired with his drums.

Their agent, who lives in Texas, kept up via telephone with the band, and explained that they were detained for six hours at the Laredo border crossing bridge, then ran into stand-still traffic once they got to Texas. Meanwhile, Overdrive Entertainment’s crew, Smoke Signal Productions, had the stage, the lighting, sound, and every little detail in place for their arrival. And a small bonus to the whole night was that this concert began at 9 p.m., rather than the usual 8 p.m. start-time. Calibre 50 quickly changed into their stage clothes, then headed for their Meet n Greet before dashing up the ramp and onto the stage.

The band often, but not always, used the incredible Grand Theater screen behind them to accent their performance, and many of the videos seemed to be telling the stories in the songs.

AllMusic.com describes Calibre 50 as “An award-winning Sinaloan quartet known for an intense work ethic and a fierce dedication to fans.” Perfect!

For Calibre 50 photos, click here

Click here to follow al the Choctaw Casinos’ venue entertainment.

Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, and Hillary Scott — the trio that is Lady Antebellum.  Photos (click on link below) and short story by Mary Jane Farmer

Now in their 9^th year together, this Nashville-based group called Lady Antebellum has established themselves as a leader in great music. Whether it’s called “country” or “pop” or “pinochle” music, who cares — just call it “great” and the description will fit. Their choice of songs is extensive as a family’s grocery list and varied as zebra stripes, vocals are so clear one can hear every word as if the singers were in the listener’s own living room, their stage presence is enjoyment deluxe and crowd-friendly, the band behind them is obviously part of the gang, not just hired guns.

No wonder they remain on the ladder’s top rung, Lady A combines professionalism with entertainment.

Choctaw Casino’s Grand Theater was packed with Lady A happy fans August 19.

To keep up with this remarkable group, click on their Website: LadyAntebellum.com

And for everything happening at the various Choctaw Casinos, click on this Website: ChoctawCasinos.com

For Lady A photos, click here

For Lady A photos, on Facebook, click here.

Click here for photos

Pam Tillis played on August 20, 2016, at the Grand Theater, sharing billing with classic country artist John Anderson (whose photos are in another equally short story.

It was an acoustic set, featuring her on guitar, and her two sidekicks on keyboards and fiddle.

For photos, click here

John Anderson and his band played immediately following Pam Tillis at the incredible Grand Theater inside Choctaw Casino in Durant. Sept. 20, 2016. Two great classic country artists on the same bill — how good is that!

The title of his last CD is “Goldmine,” in case you missed that. It came out in May of this year. He sang many songs off of it, including “Freedom Isn’t Free” along with twelve other cuts, such as the Merle Haggard penned “Magic Mama.” Most he wrote or co-wrote himself, having worked with John Rich, Jimmy Fortune, Josh Turner and the ilk.

Watch the Live Music Calendar here on SceneInTown for a possible re-surfacing of John Anderson in early 2017.

All photos by Mary Jane Farmer

The band Lynyrd Skynyrd wowed the crowd at a packed Grand Theater Aug. 5, with the 8-piece plus 2-girl singer band that is keeping the original Lynyrd Skynyrd alive.

They were kind and caring at the Meet n Greet that happened before they went onto the stage, with some photographs being taken by Tom, their road manager, of their special fans and others being taken by moi, Choctaw’s Meet n Greet photographer. Those are on the venue’s Website, ChoctawCasinos.com and each person involved is given a special online link to redeem/download their own photos. And they were exciting, dynamic, fun to watch and listen to on stage.

While on that Website, be sure and check for all upcoming entertainment, whether it be Grand Theater or Gilley’s in Durant, or at any of the other Choctaw locations.

Mostly, people like to view the photos — so — ‘nuf said.

Click here for photos — on Flickr for computers

Click here for photos — For FB and cell phone viewers 

(Please let me know if that Cell Phone viewers mode works —

MJFarmer.Music@gmail.com)