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Buffalo Commons staging a full weekend of storytelling, music
McCOOK, Neb. -- Live music and entertainment is back this summer and a full slate of events is set for this weekend during the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival.
Storyteller, singer-songwriter, Kim Weitkamp headlines the lineup this year that also includes Colorado music group FY5 along with Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason and artist Chuck Schroeder, a native of Palisade.
One major change to the 2021 Festival schedule is that the “How the West Has Fun” show at the Historic Fox Theatre will open the weekend and is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Because of scheduling conflicts, the “grand finale” show switches nights from the past several years. The Music and Storytelling Dinner Cabaret at the Bieroc Café will now take place Saturday and tickets for that show have sold out with a waiting list.
Tickets are still available ($15 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under) for the Friday night “How the West Has Fun” show. You can purchase advanced tickets at MNB Bank, Sehnert’s Bakery, the McCook Chamber or you can also buy tickets at the Fox Theater prior to the show.
A number of free and ticketed events are available throughout the weekend. For a full schedule, please visit the Buffalo Commons website at: https://buffalocommons.org/
The weekend begins with the McCook Community College’s “History’s Mysteries Tour,” which, this year will be a walking tour exploring downtown McCook by foot. It costs $22 and includes lunch and begins at 9:20 a.m. Friday at the Keystone Hotel and wraps up at 3 p.m. with root beer floats at the Old Icehouse, Loop’s Brewery.
Friday night’s “How the West Has Fun” show begins at 7:30 p.m. and features humorist, storyteller, singer/ songwriter, Kim Weitkamp and the music by FY5, a Fort Collins band that “digs deep into the traditional roots of Americana music blending original honky-tonk, bluegrass, and country music with a creative, modern contemporary sound of the 21st Century.”
Weitkamp, returns to McCook where she has become a fan favorite at previous festivals. She has produced nine albums -- seven of them award-winning audio collections and has performed at major theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada and has toured the country for the last five years as one-third of the successful comedy group, The Uncalled for Trio featuring Bil Lepp (of Comedy Central) and Andy Offutt Irwin (of Disney) – all of whom have performed in McCook as part of the Buffalo Commons festival.
Weitkamp has performed numerous times on the main stage at the National Storytelling Festival, received the Blue Ridge Excellence in the Arts Award and seven Storytelling World Awards. Her material is played regularly on NPR affiliate stations and on SiriusXM Radio. She is most known for is the characters, comedy, and songs she brings to the stage... “a pleasingly quirky mix of Garrison Keiller, Carol Burnett and, Martina McBride.”
The FY5 band produces songs featuring thoughtful arrangements and strong singing and musicianship. They connect listeners to stories through rich lyrical delivery and songwriting. As they share the stories that drive the songs, FY5’s show leaves listeners not only with tapping toes but thoughtful connections of struggles and big ideas.
On Saturday, Weitkamp and FY5 are part of the lineup at the High Plains Museum starting at 8:45 a.m. All events at the museum are free and open to the public.
Palisade native Chuck Schroder, kicks off the morning at the museum beginning at 9 a.m. with “Human Character Captured Through Art.” After holding positions in politics, industry, Western Culture and higher education, and engaging with people from United States presidents and CEOs to cowboys, scientists, artists, musicians, Schroeder returns to Southwest Nebraska, to share his powerful story of human character and emotion through art.
At 10:20 a.m., Kim Weitkamp continues the museum show with “Building Bridges from Story to Song” and at 11:15 a.m. FY5 will present “Harmonies Crisp as a Mountain Stream.”
At 12:30 p.m. everyone is welcome to the Bieroc Café where host Paul Clark will lead “Stories, Poetry, Music and Fun – Open Mic.”
At 1:30 p.m. Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason will present “Poetry Outloud” at the Bieroc. Mason connects the language of poetry to telling a story. He was named Nebraska State Poet in 2019, and his work can be found in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Ted Kooser’s weekly newspaper column, “American Life in Poetry.” He oversees poetry programming for the State Department, working in Nepal, Romania, Botswana and Belarus and serves as Executive Director of the Nebraska Writer’s Collective.
Also at 1:30 p.m., Weitkamp will present a free event at the McCook City Library, “Kids Fest.”
On Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery, the public is welcome (no admission charge) to enjoy another popular weekend event, the “Heritage Cemetery Tour.” This year’s presentation will be “Angels and Aprons,” which will include gravesides visits as local re-enactors tell stories of inspirational individuals whose strong character helped nurture the development of Southwest Nebraska.