Country heavyweights line up for Arena shows

Spokane will be hip-deep in country music stars this spring.

Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood have all announced Spokane dates on their upcoming spring tours:

• Brooks & Dunn will hit Spokane on April 30 in their Last Rodeo Tour. Yes, they’re breaking up, but first they have to do a giant farewell tour.

They have not announced ticket information or even a venue, but the Spokane Arena would be a good guess for a show this size.

• Tim McGraw is booked into the Arena on May 20.

• Carrie Underwood will appear at the Arena on May 30.

Tickets for the Underwood show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

Watch for official announcements on the others soon.

ReelSpokane film fest

ReelSpokane, a “homegrown film event,” will feature about a dozen locally made short films – none more than five minutes long – on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave.

The films will be chosen from a number of entries submitted to the event’s sponsor, the Film and Video Enthusiasts of Spokane.

Ira Gardner, who helped put this event together, said audiences can expect a wide variety of genres, including “short documentaries, narrative films and music videos.”

It’s a labor of love for Spokane’s film community. There was no charge to submit films; there will be no cost to attend the screening.

Gardner, who teaches photography and documentary filmmaking at Spokane Falls Community College, said they just want to build awareness for FAVES and to build appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

IMAX stats

We learned a few more details about that new IMAX 3-D screen at the River Park Square AMC cinemas.

The screen measures about 53 feet by 27 feet, so don’t expect anything like the Riverfront Park IMAX screen, which is 53 feet by 69 feet. But it’s a lot bigger than a normal multiplex screen.

“Avatar” arrives there on Friday.

MAC, never on Sundays

Wouldn’t today be a great day to go see the excellent new exhibit, “Jumpin’ With the Big Bands” at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture? Or the holiday-decorated Campbell House?

Too bad. You can’t.

Ever since the MAC’s budget crisis last summer, the Inland Northwest’s premier museum has been closed on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays

Mondays and Tuesdays – that’s reasonable. But we have to wonder: Is closing on Sundays a smart idea? That’s one of the two days that most families are free from work and school.

Out of curiosity, I checked the other museums around the state to see whether they are open on Sunday.

Here’s a list of museums that are: The Washington State History Museum, the Burke Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Frye Art Museum, the Maryhill Museum of Art, the Museum of History and Industry, the Museum of Flight, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Museum of Glass and the Tacoma Art Museum.

Yeah. That’s pretty much every other notable museum in the state.

Beethoven’s Ninth

Just to make it perfectly clear, the Spokane Symphony’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on New Year’s Eve is not part of the First Night festivities.

Unlike previous symphony events on New Year’s Eve, a First Night button is not sufficient for admission. This performance, at 7:30 p.m at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, is a separate symphony event, requiring its own ticket.

Tickets are $20 and $25, or $14 for children 12 and under, available by calling (509) 624-1200 or through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

To complicate things just slightly, you can purchase a ticket as part of a package deal in which you get a concert ticket and a First Night button for $27 or $32.

That’s a decent discount for those who want to attend First Night events after the symphony concert lets out.

A Perones benefit

Local musicians will be gathering at Bluz at the Bend, 2721 N. Market St., on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. for what is described as a “monster” benefit show for John and Mark Pieroni of the Perones, to help with medical bills.

The show will start early in order to accommodate the huge lineup of acts donating their services, including Big Mumbo with Robert Vaughn, Sammy Eubanks, Cary Fly, the Fat Tones, Charlie Butts, the Cronkites, Cool Stack and Loose Endz.

The cover is $10, which will go to the cause, and all donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the club’s management.