A new event center in Hot Springs is kicking off its summer entertainment lineup with a Grammy Award-winning artist on Saturday.
The Barrett Center, 2231 E. Grand Ave., located behind the Hot Springs National Park KOA Campground, will host country music artist Linda Davis at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Davis gained fame singing alongside Reba McEntire for many years, most notably with their duet "Does He Love You" that earned both artists several awards, including a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Davis will be joined by her husband, Lang Scott, who also for eight years performed alongside McEntire as her guitarist; her daughter, Rylee Scott; and Bill Whyte. The event will be an intimate night of songs, stories and laughter, according to a news release.
According to Tom Wilkins, local entertainer and manager of the Barrett Center, concerts and performances are just a portion of what the 28,000-square-foot event center has to offer.
"First and foremost it is an event center, so there's all sorts of music acts going on, but also you could come in with a wedding and reception and book a room. We do all sorts of stuff," he said.
"The Barrett family has for years owned the KOA campground. ... They decided that they wanted to expand, again, their RV sites. So the way it was told to me was this place was for sale and it was a logical choice to buy the grounds between here and there and since this was for sale, they thought maybe they could renovate it ... and they did a remarkable job repainting the place, new floors, everything."
The Barrett Center previously served as the location for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2278, until January 2018.
The center offers spaces of all sizes for various events, Wilkins said.
"I've got quite a few different acts and concerts coming up, but that is only one aspect of what we do out here," he said. "Even though that's a major part of it, the other thing we do is rentals. We rent rooms. We have caterers that we work with. We have a full kitchen that's huge. Every other Friday night they have the Bebop Club which is becoming really big and is becoming even bigger as Scotty Mack comes in and DJs. A lot of people just like to come and dance to the oldies."
Wilkins said that, other than the Hot Springs Convention Center, there aren't many places in or around Hot Springs that can comfortably host 200 to 300 people for a reasonable price. And while its location seems out of the way, he said it's still well within city limits and easy to find.
"It's like two miles from town which two miles is not very far," he said. "It's right behind the KOA campground which is a landmark. It's just past Magic Springs and it's still in the city limits. ... It's a lot easier to find than you think and once you've been here, you know exactly where it is."
The summer entertainment series continues June 20 with a gospel and bluegrass show and on June 22 with musical stylings from Motown. On Aug. 3 the center will host Bob Hope Presents "On the Air."
Wilkins said this fall the center will host Walt Sanders' tribute to Elvis Oct. 18-19 and at a later date, Yakov Smirnoff will take the stage.
Tickets for Saturday's event are $30, plus tax, and are available for purchase online at http://bit.ly/LindaDavis-Tickets. Wilkins said tickets can also be purchased by emailing him at [email protected].
Local on 06/06/2019