In our listings of the past few issues of this publication we have listed a Neil Diamond tribute show as playing the Riverside Resort for a two week run starting this week. Well, the star of that show, Rob Garrett is indeed bringing his take on Diamond to Don’s Celebrity Theatre but he will have a couple of other guys helping him out. Instead of just Neil, now you will get Frank and Elvis to boot.

Dirk Arthur didn’t invent the magic act. That was probably accomplished in some prehistoric cave shortly after fire was discovered. What Arthur has done is take the magic act, as it evolved from a political and religious practice to an entertainment realm, and put his own imprint upon it. That is, he gravitated toward the big cats of Siegfried and Roy; the grand illusion of David Copperfield; touches of danger from the Houdini school of magic; and the subtle hand work of Blackstone; and blended them into his own tour of magic and illusion.

Styx was one of the most successful bands in the 1970s and ’80s mostly because of their theatrical approach to the rock forum, expanding that three chords and the truth sound into something much bigger. They utilized synthesizers, hard rock guitars, strong ballads to create an international feel and concept albums like Kilroy Was Here. They were ahead of their time in many ways, yet very much a part of it, as they helped take rock to another level.

The last time Terry Fator came to Laughlin he rode in on a pretty big thunder cloud. After years and years of work, he finally earned a front row seat to see his life long dream come true. He came to Laughlin just after signing his mega deal with the Mirage in Las Vegas that made him a headliner on The Strip with his own theater. He fulfilled his commitment to the Laughlin booking and then soared into mega stardom. This makes it a bit satisfying for Laughlin audiences to see him return to town and tuck in a one night stand at the Edgewater between his regular shows in Vegas.

With the mounds and mounds of tribute bands throwing their collective hats into the musical ring, a band has to elevate their game to earn a place in a showroom instead of a barroom. That means they not only have to honestly love the music of the group they are giving tribute, but they have to have the musical chops to deliver it, both vocally and instrumentally.

With over 50 years in show business, Little Joe y La Familia has been one of the most popular Tex-Mex bands in the music industry with Little Joe proclaimed by one writer as the “King of the Brown Sound”. That sound helped define the mix of traditional Mexican “norteño” music with American country, blues and rock styles that came to be known as “Tejano” music.