Photos and very short story by Mary Jane Farmer — Click on the links below for more photos

The Choctaw Casinos have hosted four incredible concerts in their event centers in the past few weeks. Inside the new Grand Theater at the Durant casino facility was: Kid Rock on Sept. 26; Loretta Lynn on Oct. 3; and The Band Perry on Oct. 16. Meanwhile, at their Grant event center, also on Oct. 3, was Pam Tillis in a dynamite acoustic set with two other females on stage, one on keyboards and the other on fiddle.

Here’s the photos from three of those four shows. (Being only one person, I could not cover both the Loretta Lynn show and the Pam Tillis show at the same time.)

Only one little aside – Luke Bryan (who appeared earlier this year at Choctaw and brought a dynamite concert, along with Easton Corbin on the same bill) could take concert genuine entertainment lessons from Kid Rock. The man held the audience all night long!

Lots of photos here — take your time, open up each separate folder, and have fun!

For Kid Rock photos, click here

For The Band Perry photos, click here

For Pam Tillis photos, click here

The popular Norteno band based in California, Los Tigres Del Norte, played two nights inside the Choctaw Grand Theater. Saturday night’s show had thousands in the audience, Sunday’s show had fewer than 1,000. But, it didn’t stop this dynamite family 5-piece Gramny-honored  group from giving their fans their very best.

The four front men, Jorge Hernandez on lead vocals and accordion; Hernan Hernandez on bass and vocals; Eduardo Hernandez on accordion, saxophone, 12-string guitar, and vocals; and Luis Hernandez on 12-string lead guitar and vocals, ambled — no, more like slow danced their way back and forth across the stage, untethered by conventional microphones and guitar wires. They took turns on lead vocals, sometimes in duet with one another. They switched instruments often, picking up lead guitars, accordions, saxophones, bass guitar, as if they were much-adored babies.

Meanwhile, Oscar Lara kept the beat moving on his drums, accompanied at times by an unnamed musician sitting in on another drum kit that included some hand-drums.

For two hours, Los Tigres Del Norte kept the crowd enthralled with their unique (at least to this area of the country) music. From time to time, they accepted notes from fans, reading them, usually silently but occasionally out loud, between songs. 

The light show — provided by Choctaw’s own system strongly supplemented by the band’s own lighting system they brought with them — was beyond compare. The only distraction/drawback was the continually-flashing live video feed on a big screen behind the band. Usually, the live-videos are shown on jumbotrons on both sides, and that happened with this show, as well, but the feed also included a third showing underneath all those artistic lights.

The next show in the Grant Theater will be Thursday, Aug. 27, when Boston graces the stage. However, that show is already sold out. Check Choctaw’s Website for the concerts that follow Boston. ChoctawCasinos.com. And don’t forget their live music every Friday and Saturday night in Gilley’s Saloon.

Links to 4-dozen photos, click here

For lots of photos, click on the links below. Photos and short story by Mary Jane Farmer

Talk about a great show – entertaining; full of good musicianship and classic country songs; great backdrops, sound and lighting; and all in a place where the staff is so accommodating. The Grand Theater, the new event center at Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla. Hosted two country music icons — Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd — on Aug. 8.

Wynonna went on first, saying between songs that she first met Kenny Rogers when she was 15 and now she’s working with him. She told tales of growing up a Judd with her famous mom and sister, of her husband (who is also her drummer) having been badly injured in a motorcycle wreck and recovered so well, of her own, and other such personal things that the crowd felt like they knew her personally when they left.

Kenny Rogers explained a lot, too, such as that he was sitting on the barstool (which he usually doesn’t do) because of a recent knee replacement — “And I think they got the wrong knee,” he laughed. He had overhead lights illuminating the first few rows, saying he just likes looking into the faces of those listening to him. He teased the crowd as they sang along to his song. He handed out ten-dollar bills to a man on the front row for every song of his that the man could name, and he handed out tambourines for the crowd to play along with the band.

Both artists were generous with their fans’ desires to snap photos using their cell phones, posing and cutting up for the photos.

Catch the complete line-up coming to Choctaw’s Grand Theater on its Website: www.choctawcasinos.com, and follow the ‘Destination’ link to ‘Durant’ and then ‘Entertainment.’

For 42 more photos of Wynonna, click here

And there’s 24 more photos of Kenny Rogers, click here

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer. Many photos linked below

It was a sell-out, Aaron Watson’s concert at the Event Center, Choctaw Casino, at Grant, Okla., Friday night (July 24, 2015) Sell-outs are rare there, but not unheard of. Casino staff greeted the attendees at the entrance, offering each of them help in locating their reserved seats. The standing-room crowd had their good time in the back of the large room, and management maintained its no-moshing at the stage policy.

Aaron Watson showed the packed house his very best side. Full of good stories to go along with his good songs. He opened with his No. 1 song on the Texas charts, “Freight Train,” which is his second hit off the new CD The Underdog, on the heels of the hit, “That Look.” The Underdog set a record on its own, too, premiering at the No. 1 spot on Billboard chart, unique for an independent artist.

One of those songs, “Fence Post,” explains why Watson remains independent, even after more than a decade of recording and performing. The repeat line is a quote from Sam Houston, “I’d rather be an old fence post in Texas than the king of Tennessee.”  He explained why and when he wrote his earlier hit, “July in Cheyenne,” about Lane Frost. One song dedicated to a passed-on relative. Another, he explained as the dimple showed up big-time, he wrote when he was in college and it has absolutely no personal meaning whatsoever. He told stories of having to have his clothes dryer repaired, of the extreme feelings when he and his wife lost one of their children, of family military members… stories of life.

There is a tiny tidbit of Nashville in Aaron’s shows — he often uses the same point-at-someone-in-the-crowd motion that Luke Bryan and Dustin Lynch and other of the Nashville ilk use. But, then, who knows — maybe Bryan and Lynch are copying Watson’s “commercial appeal” stage actions.

It was K95.5’s Will Payne and Barry Diamond who brought Aaron and his band on stage with their genuine charm and enthusiasm. Later in the show, Aaron invited Payne’s young son, Hayes, to the stage, where the two of them had a good time together.

The band consisted of the usual four instruments — guitars, drums, bass— plus a fiddle. All well orchestrated and animated to make it all more fun for everybody. (Sorry, tho Mr. Watson gave their names several times, this photographer/reviewer was without pencil and so didn’t get those names.)

Watson explained that he doesn’t do encores, but would be at his merch table as long as it took for everyone to say hello. The show ended, and Aaron stayed on the stage for a while, giving everyone who came forward one of his guitar picks, inscribed on one side with his name and on the other side are the words “Pick Jesus.” He shook hands, high-fived and knuckle-bumped, and posed for selfie pix with his fans, the band members continuing to play behind them. Then, that done, Aaron headed to the merch table at the far end of the room. The queue of fans lined up reached back to the stage, while the Choctaw crews began their clean-up, put-up, and break-down of the room to include all the individual chairs and all the equipment on stage.

For a link to a lot of pictures, click here

Luke Bryan

Fourteen 18-wheelers, like big ducks all in a row, out back of Choctaw Casino’s new Grand Theater — there last week with all the equipment needed for the Luke Bryan/Dustin Lynch Kick Up The Dust concert Thursday night (July 9). And, once the concert kicked off, it was apparent why — the lighting and backgrounds were a show in themselves.

Bryan, the current Entertainer of the Year, got most of the glitzy backdrops, as compared with Lynch’s, but, frankly, they were equally talented. And both were incredible performers, along with their great music, and both had kick-it bands behind them.

The new Grand Theater, which holds about 3,000 people, if I’m right about that, is also a sight to behold. On the second floor of the new Grand

Dustin Lynch

Towers, the ticket booths set facing the escalator. People were waiting outside as early as 5 p.m., having fun while lined up to get inside for the concert. There are numerous meeting and banquet rooms, along with the three-sided, stadium-style concert all.

Both artists took time out before their shows for photos, autographs, and chit-chat with the fans who had purchased the ‘meet n greet’ privileges.

More photos will be added over time. This is just a starter. And don’t forget, Flickr (where I store my photos) is dropping their own advertisement photos in the mix, so just ignore or pay attention there, as you wish.

Go to ChoctawCasinos.com for entertainment calendar for all their venues, and most are listed here on the Live Music Calendar

Dustin Lynch photos, click here

Luke Bryan photos, click here