Black Hills Art Beat

09/29/2026

Get to know: Abbey Leach
Her debut album, The Art of Becoming:, gathers nearly a decade of songwriting into one record. We talked with Abbey about the songs, growing up with music, moving to the Black Hills, learning to be loud again and why preserving these songs mattered.
She celebrates the release Oct. 3 at the The Custer Beacon.
Read Abbey Leach and the Art of Becoming at Black Hills Art Beat.
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09/28/2026

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09/27/2026

Classic Country Sunday Funday with The Wilt Brothers Band | 2-6PM | No Cover

We OPEN for lunch at 11AM 🕚

09/24/2026

Disney’s Frozen opens this weekend at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City (Historic Theater) with a cast of 34, a 16-person live orchestra and a production team that has spent weeks rigging dresses, gloves, staircases, puppets, lights and plenty more behind the scenes.

More than 90 people auditioned for the show, 11 cast members are making their BHCT - Black Hills Community Theatre Mainstage debuts, and the stage version includes more than 10 songs that weren’t in the movie.

We talked with BHCT Development and Marketing Manager Ryan Puffer about what it takes to turn Frozen from an animated film into a live production in Rapid City.

Performances run Sept. 25–Oct. 4.

-> And if you’re going, bring a coat: BHCT is partnering with CASA for a Winter Coat Drive throughout the run. New or gently used coats in infant through young-adult sizes can be donated in the lobby.

Disney’s Frozen opens Friday, Sept. 25, at the Historic Theater in the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City, kicking off BHCT’s 59th season with a production that has drawn more than 90 people to auditions…

09/24/2026

Rapid City is getting a new stage.

The Gate Event Center is taking shape inside the former Northgate Theater on East North. The space has big plans for Rapid CIty and plans to create room for concerts, aerial dance, competitions, weddings, recitals, community events and more.

We got a tour and talked with Breawna Schwartz Ventura about the vision, the response so far, and what a flexible new venue could make possible in Rapid City.

What would you like to see happen on this stage?

Rapid City Is Getting a New Stage Rapid City has plenty of people willing to put on a show and finding the right space may get easier. That is part of what makes The Gate…

09/24/2026

If original music is your thing, Spearfish has a very good weekend coming up.

The Queen City Songwriters Invitational returns Friday and Saturday with free songwriter rounds moving between three downtown venues, a free Friday night showcase at The Matthews, and Jeffrey Foucault closing the weekend Saturday night.

The daytime format is especially good: three writers, one hour, one room at a time. No overlapping sets, so you can actually follow the schedule from stop to stop.

We talked with co-founder Heath Johnson about why they tightened the format this year, how the writers are chosen, and why paying artists was part of the plan from the beginning.

09/24/2026

This week looks smaller on paper than it actually is. A few of the biggest things happening around the Black Hills are hiding a whole lot of activity inside a single listing.

In Spearfish, the Queen City Songwriters Inc. brings songwriter rounds into downtown venues across two days, with regional musicians moving through multiple stages.

And in Rapid City, Gutterfest is basically its own ecosystem: 20 bands over three nights at the Labor Temple.

The Buffalo Roundup takes over Custer State Park with 14 events this week, including live music, arts, demonstrations and everything surrounding roundup weekend.

Then add the opening wekend of Frozen at BHCT - Black Hills Community Theatre, comedy at West River Comedy Club, jazz at The Prairie Dog, gallery exhibitions the Dahl Arts Center, the Black Hills Card Show, drag at the Blind Lion, and a ton more, from the top to the bottom of the Black Hills

The new Beat Drop covers Sept. 24–30. Swipe through for the quick version, then hit the Black Hills Art Beat calendar when you’re ready to figure out where you’re actually going.

What are you heading to this week?