Reno/Tahoe

Grand Exposition Hall: LeAnn Rimes, Saturday; the Fray, Feb. 18; Larry the Cable Guy, Feb. 25.

Ironically and somewhat sadly, the Las Vegas Strip has little room these days for Mr. Las Vegas.

Chinese New Year is as big a holiday in the casino market as Christmas, sometimes bigger.

"Bugeyes" and "Paper Bag" are two of the segments listed for "ZooZoo," the first presentation of Reno's winter Artown Encore series.

When it comes to defining metal, musical experts rarely agree.

This week's entertainment events around the Reno/Tahoe area.

January very often brings a reckoning, usually in the form of bills to pay. Consequently, the midwinter months have become notorious in past years for offering very little major entertainment in casino showrooms.

A celebration next weekend of Elvis Presley's birthday allows a few lucky and select people to recall when the King performed in northern Nevada.

This week's entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe area.

New Year's Eve in Northern Nevada casinos is usually a pretty good barometer of the state of the economy.

This coming holiday weekend, Reno-Tahoe offers plenty of parties with usually minimal admission prices.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

This time of year, you'll hear many renditions of "Jingle Bells" and "Joy to the World" on stages, but Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" is a relative rarity.

For one week every December, Reno becomes a destination for lovers of chamber music when the Reno Chamber Orchestra plays host to the Nevada Chamber Music Festival.

This week's entertainment at Reno-Tahoe area casinos.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

Brandi Carlile grew up in the small community of Ravensdale, Wash. It was hardly a hotbed of contemporary music, but it was not without its inspirations.

Singer Shawn Stockman acknowledges that Boyz II Men hasn't changed much over the past 20 years. Given their success, why should they?

"Mind of Mencia" ran on Comedy Central for three years. Its combination of stand-up and sketch comedy proved perfect for the time, and Carlos Mencia was establishing himself.

For the month of December, "Joy to the World" will be played thousands of times on the radio. For the other 11 months of the year, "Joy to the World" will be played thousands of times as well, but that's the Three Dog Night song, something to do with a bullfrog named Jeremiah.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

Peter Pan is the boy who won't grow up. In famous lyrics, he's the one who sings: "If growing up means it would be against my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up, not me."

Dan Finnerty started his show biz career off in "Hair" (as Woof), then appeared in "The Guiding Light," and followed the soap with an extended gig in "Stomp."

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

Saturday will bring Sting's much- heralded arrival to the Reno Events Center, but on Thanksgiving Day, a major concert event will slip into that venue under the radar of most mainstream music fans.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

Most know Jay Mohr from his stint on "Saturday Night Live," and it is probably that audience who will take most of the seats in the Celebrity Showroom.

This week's regional casino entertainment.

This week's regional casino entertainment.

Gordon Lightfoot returns to the Reno area for the first time since 2005. He'll play John Ascuaga's Nugget on Friday and Saturday.

Brian Regan wants you to know that weird thoughts surface in a stand-up comedian's mind during a performance, "things the audience does not see."

The annual cowboy poetry gathering in Elko is indisputably the country's most prestigious. You could wait until Jan. 30 to Feb. 4 for the next event, or you could check out the popular but smaller 24th annual Rhymers Rodeer in the Carson Valley Inn's Valley Ballroom this Friday and Saturday.

Mark Estee, who runs Moody's Bistro and who regularly shows up as a featured guest or competitor in Tahoe events, is causing a stir in Reno these days.

This week's casino entertainment.

Halloween weekend this year in Reno will offer special parties for both kids and adults, but Reno being Reno, most of the parties are clearly for adults only.

What if, like, a helicopter could swoop down right now, pick up me and my buddy and deliver us from this tourist-choked resort with groomed-to-death runs to some choice unmarked and totally fresh powder?

If you've got a terrific set of chin whiskers, you may want to get in on a competition this coming Saturday. The annual Nevada Day Beard Contest has become one of the most popular events of the Carson City celebration of statehood.

Opening day for Tahoe's larger ski areas is Nov. 18, conditions permitting. Here's what awaits.

The economy is in the pits and there's no magic wand in sight. So why are Tahoe-area ski resorts building like it's 1999?

Entertainment events around the Reno-Tahoe region.

The career of Frank Sinatra Jr. has never been easy.

It seems there is this boy named Harold. He is a painter, among other things, and he's colored in the patterns on his ceiling with India ink and nail polish remover.

The Nevada Museum of Art touted its rare U.S. exhibition of Raphael's "Lady With the Veil" with the slogan: "Reno's Got the Girl."

It seems the Pizarro brothers were born lucky, lucky enough to have a grandfather who not only could recognize musical talent but also could nurture it.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

The Reno Philharmonic, under the direction of Laura Jackson, begins its new "Master Classics" season next Sunday and Oct. 4 with "Welcome Home," a concert celebrating the music of Nevada in particular and the country as a whole.

Entertainment events in the Reno-Tahoe region.

Time to celebrate the fall with food and drink: You can sample creations by regional chefs paired with area wines at the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop.

"The Sound of Collective Consciousness Tour" arrives at the Reno Events Center this Friday, the musical highlight of the weekend's Street Vibrations celebration.