Stars in the park
The Sugar Creek Astronomical Society will present an astronomy program and provide high-powered telescopes for visitors to gaze at night sky at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Hobbs State Park’s Hidden Diversity Trail parking lot on Townsend Ridge Road.
Viewers should see Mars setting in the west, with Saturn trailing. Saturn’s and some of Saturn’s moons should be visible and Jupiter will be rising in the east as the “evening star.”
This is the season when globular clusters of hundreds and even thousands of tightly packed stars can be seen.
Astronomical Society members will answer questions regarding night viewing equipment as well as about the planets and stars. Individuals are encouraged to bring their own telescopes. Binoculars are also excellent for amateur night sky viewing.
The program is designed for beginning astronomers and all ages are welcome.
Bring a flashlight with red material or an uninflated red balloon affixed over the globe, a folding chair and a star chart, if you have one.
To get there take Arkansas-12 from the Second Street intersection in Rogers and travel east for approximately 12.5 miles to Townsend Ridge Road. Turn right onto Townsend Ridge Road and go two miles to the Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail parking lot, which will be on the right. Driving time from the Arkansas-12 and Second Street intersection in Rogers is approximately 20 minutes.
The program will go on even if the sky is partially overcast, however rain will cancel. For information call 789-2380.
Red
Grammy nominated modern rock quintet, Red, will be in town Sunday night for a show at The Music Hall.
The Nashville-based band’s 2006 debut, “End of Silence,” is a maelstrom of metallic riffs and brooding atmospherics that includes the hit, “Breathe Into Me.”
Three of the band members got together in their small hometown in western Pennsylvania. When they came home from college in 2001, the trio headed to Nashville to pursue their musical dream. There they teamed up with the other two band members after discovering a common ground.
After getting together, the band locked themselves into the studio for the next two years, first working on fine tuning their sound and later teaming with producer Rob Graves to develop an orchestral sound.
The band is: Guitarist Jasen Rauch, twin brothers Anthony Armstrong on guitar and Randy Armstrong on bass, singer Mike Barnes and drummer Hayden Lamb.
Also on the bill are three heavy hitters from our town: the internationally revered Spoken, Silverstone, which is hitting it big on the nation tour circuit and up-and-comers Open Addiction.
The Music Hall is at 2147 N. College in Fayetteville. It’s one of those big shows in a little venue, that’s hard to find anywhere else but Fayetteville.
RTX
RTX, is coming to Fayetteville the day after their album RaTX debuts. The new album on the Drag City label out of Chicago, fosters a mix of psychedelia and a bombastic wall of metal. Yep, it’s something you’ve probably never heard before. The California band is fronted by Jennifer Herreman, formerly of Royal Trux. RTX will play the underground house concert series at The New Deli, 503 W. Prospect Ave. in Fayetteville. Sharing the bill will be Imaad Wasif, Two Part Beast, the counterlife and Anchors and Teeth. On July 7, The New Deli will host French Quarter, Trifle Tower and Teenage Cool Kids.
Woody Fest
Lots of NWA folks have become regulars at the free festival that honors the late Woody Guthrie in his hometown of Okemah, Okla. This year the festival opens on July 10, with the only ticketed event, a concert with County Joe McDonald. All of the other musical performances during the four-day festival are free, to honor Guthrie’s philosophy. The music goes from morning to late night, some at indoor venues, but with the biggest array of performers on outdoor stage at the Pastures of Plenty. Among the performers are: John Gorka, Judy Collins, David and Adam Amram, Jimmy LaFave, Ellis Paul and Joel Rafael. For information go to www.woodyguthrie.com. Kids, yes. Dogs, no.
