Many of the hottest names in country music are joined by entertainment legends on the stage at Riverwind Casino in the coming weeks. Acts will include country stars Walker Hayes and Ashley McBryde and legendary names such as Penn & Teller and Goo Goo Dolls.
In late summer, Riverwind Casino’s Beats & Bites Festival returns for a concert duo that includes live music, local food trucks and community partner booths and retail shopping.
Upcoming shows at Showplace Theatre include: Walker Hayes – 8 p.m., Saturday, July 27 Monument Records recording artist Walker Hayes is a singer/songwriter originally from Mobile, Alabama. In 2021, his smash hit “Fancy Like” topped every country music sales and streaming chart, spent more than six months at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, hit the top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs, hit No. 1 at country radio, and gave Hayes his first GRAMMY Award nomination as an artist for Best Country Song.
Hayes has performed his music, including the Double-Platinum RIAA certified hit “You Broke Up With Me,” to national audiences on Good Morning America, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and TODAY, and he was profiled for CBS Sunday Morning.
Hayes just announced his next headlining tour, The Same Drunk Tour, which follows his last arena tours, The Duck Buck Tour, and the Glad You’re Here Tour.
Ashley McBryde – 8 p.m., Saturday, August 24 GRAMMY, CMA and ACM award winner Ashley Mc-Bryde cut her teeth playing country songs in biker bars – and it shows. The Grand Ole Opry member’s 2018 major label debut Girl Going Nowhere (Warner Music Nashville) charmed The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Paste, The Washington Post and more, all en route to landing a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album.
McBryde closed out 2019 with ACM New Female Artist, CMT Breakout Artist, a New Artist of the Year win at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards and two nominations for the 2020 GRAMMYs for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.”
Her follow-up Never Will was tagged by Rolling Stone as one of the most anticipated of the year alongside NPR, who also ranked her Top 10 RIAA Platinum-Certified single “One Night Standards” as one of the best songs of 2019. The album earned McBryde a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album, making Never Will the only album nominated for Country Album of the Year by the ACMs, CMAs and the Recording Academy in the same award season.
McBryde was also honored with the 2022 CMA International Artist Achievement Award for the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the country music industry outside of the United States. With 11 songs all co-written by the Arkansas native, The Devil I Know is available now, featuring chartclimbing lead single “Light On In The Kitchen.”
Dogstar – 8 p.m., Saturday, August 31
Dogstar epitomize the quintessential Southern California storytelling rock band they’ve always been in their hearts, making deeply resonant music that literally comes from Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees – the name of their new album which arrived on October 6, 2023, via their own label Dillon Street Records (distributed through ADA).
Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose, drummer Robert Mailhouse and bassist Keanu Reeves, Dogstar was born in 1991 as a band of friends who came together in a garage in Southern California and simply dreamed of playing music together and making a little noise. Now, all these years later, Domrose, Mailhouse and Reeves took some time at the tail end of an historic lockdown to create this collection of songs that fully encompasses who they are as artists today.
The happily reunited rock trio’s official return came in May 2023 — more than 20 years since their last performance together — with their first public performance at the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival with a set that sparked fan and critical praise alike, including the live debut of their lead single “Everything Turns Around,” which was officially released July 19.
Goo Goo Dolls – 8 p.m., Thursday, September 5 Formed by John Rzeznik and Robby Takac in Buffalo, NY, during 1986, Goo Goo Dolls have quietly broken records, contributed a string of staples to the American songbook, connected to millions of fans, and indelibly impacted popular music for three-plus decades.
Beyond selling 15 million records worldwide, the group has garnered four GRAMMY Award nominations and nearly a dozen platinum & gold singles combined, and seized a page in the history books by achieving 16 number one and Top 10 hits.
As a result, they hold the all-time radio record for “Most Top 10 Singles.” Their music continues to reach new audiences around the world and rack up platinum & gold statuses — including the recently platinum-certified “Slide,”“Black Balloon,” and “Better Days.”
They have been covered by everyone from Taylor Swift to Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers.
Penn & Teller – 8 p.m., Friday, September 6 For nearly 50 years, Penn & Teller have captivated audiences with a dynamic stage show and a distinct brand of entertainment that combines elements of magic, comedy and commentary.
As the longest-running headlining act to play at the same hotel in Las Vegas history, this duo has garnered international acclaim for their continued act at The Rio Hotel & Casino.
They have also been nominated for an array of awards, including 11 Emmy Awards, for television shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us. In 2013, the magicians were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for excellence in Live Performance, just steps from the star of their primary influence Harry Houdini.
Don’t miss your chance to catch Penn & Teller for an evening of magic, laughter and can’t-miss moments.
Cole Swindell – 8 p.m., Friday, September 20 Country music superstar and multi-award winner Cole Swindell recently released his new single “Forever To Me,” the first single from his upcoming fifth studio album for Warner Music Nashville.
His fourth studio album, Stereotype, charted three back-to-back, Platinum-certified, multi-week No. 1 hits: “Single Saturday Night,” “Never Say Never” (with Lainey Wilson) and the fiveweek 3x Platinum chart-topper “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” that garnered three ACM Awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year (as songwriter and artist), an iHeart Music Award for Country Song of the Year and received a nomination for Musical Event of the Year for “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” with Jo Dee Messina for the 57th CMA Awards.
In the 10 years since his debut on Warner Music Nashville, Swindell has racked up 12 No. 1 singles as an artist — 13 as a songwriter — each of the 12 singles are certified Platinum (including two singles at 3x Platinum and four at 2x Platinum), a Platinumcertified debut album (Cole Swindell), a Platinum-certified sophomore effort (You Should Be Here), a Gold-certified third entry (All Of It), and a Gold-certified fourth album (Stereotype). Swindell will headline in 2024 on his Win The Night Tour.
Jamey Johnson – 8 p.m., Thursday, September 26 Eleven-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson is “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” according to the Washington Post. He is one of only a few people in the history of country music to win two Song of the Year Awards from both the CMA and ACMs.
His 2008 album, That Lonesome Song, was certified platinum for 1 million in sales, and his 2010 ambitious double album, The Guitar Song, received a gold certification. He has received tremendous praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and other publications, many of which have hailed his albums as masterpieces.
The remaining 2024 Beats & Bites Festival includes:
Saturday, August 3 Eli Young Band & Casey Donahew
Eli Young Band is a celebrated “antidote” to overdone cliches in country music with 15 Billboard charting singles, four No. 1 hits and the ACM Award for Song of the Year with tracks like “Crazy Girl,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” “Love Ain’t,” and “Drunk Last Night.”
Casey Donahew hails from the Texas music scene amongst the likes of Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen and Randy Rogers Band. He quickly rose within the ranks of popular country music with hits like “Stockyards,” “One Star Flag,” and “Nowhere Fast.” This Burleson-based act has drawn acclaim from across the spectrum of critics and fans alike.
Sunday, September 1: Dylan Scott & Conner Smith Dylan Scott is a multi-platinum country songwriter and singer with no. 1 singles such as “My Girl,” “Nobody,” “New Truck,” and “Can’t Have Mine.” With over 2.5 billion career streams, the Louisiana native is beloved for his role as an old-soul songwriter with a fiery, young spirit.
Conner Smith has emerged as a new voice with a blend of bluegrass and ‘90s Country styles to make for an instantclassic sound with modern appeal that moves the genre forward.
His debut album “Smoky Mountains” arrived in late January 2024.
Breakout hits like “Creek Will Rise” define Smith’s modern-traditional style and heartfelt delivery that is reflected throughout the album.
Gates will open for Eli Young Band & Casey Donahew at 5 p.m., one hour prior to showtime. Gates for Dylan Scott & Conner Smith open one hour later at 6 p.m., one hour prior to showtime. All events are held in the casino’s west parking lot.
