ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Renée Fleming is an artist I’ve been a fan of for a long time due to her absolutely incredible voice and overall career, so when I heard she was releasing a collaborative album with banjo player Béla Fleck and other music stars, I figured it would be an album worth listening to, especially since the album has apparently been in the works for multiple years at this point.

And I was ultimately proven VERY right. With 10 songs at slightly less than 45 minutes, the album, titled “The Fiddle and the Drum,” is very sweet and calm and features multiple Americana standards.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for some good family entertainment need look no further than Liberal Memorial Library later this week.

As part of the summer reading program fun, musician Mike Schneider will be bringing his Pint Size Polka show to the library Thursday with everything starting at 1 p.m.

As Schneider tells it, his polka roots run pretty deep.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for blockbuster entertainment this summer should look no further than the local movie theater.

Mitchell Theaters owner Brian Mitchell said this summer is coming off of a good fall and winter.

“The first quarter of 2026 was up more than 30 percent from the first quarter of 2025, which we were pleased to see. There was a much better selection of movies for the moviegoing public, and that’s what we needed, a steady stream of good movies,” Mitchell said. “The holiday season ended up being really good for us, we had movies like ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and ‘Wicked: For Good’ and ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,’ among many others, and we were glad to see that success too. Then, starting with this first quarter, we had ‘I Can Only Imagine 2,’ ‘Hoppers,’ ‘Project Hail Mary,’ and ‘The Super Mario Galaxy.’ We had some really strong movies the first quarter of 2026, so everybody's very, very pleased with that.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for good entertainment coming to the local area will have that starting later this year thanks to Community Concerts of Liberal.

The 2026-27 season will start with It Takes Two – A Legendary Revue, who will be performing at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, followed by ArcoStrum, which will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. The season will then continue with comedian Todd Oliver, who will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027, followed by Nu-Blu, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, 2027. The season will conclude with the One of These Nights tribute to The Eagles, which will be at at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 24, 2027, and all the concerts will take place in Maskus Auditorium at Liberal High School.