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MUSIC: Surrey’s Flamingo celebrates first anniversary with landmark concerts – and bingo

The Yawpers/Blackfoot Gypsies gig, Smoked Out rap battle night among January highlights
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Denver-based trio The Yawpers, in a photo posted to bloodshotrecords.com.

Surrey’s Flamingo Events Centre is set to celebrate its first anniversary with some landmark shows this month.

A Jan. 16 concert at Blackbird Hall will feature a bill headlined by Denver trio The Yawpers (Bloodshot Records) and the Nashville-based Blackfoot Gypsies (Plowboy Records), in the only Canadian date on the bands’ current tour.

They’re the first American artists to make their way to the Flamingo over the past year – “a huge milestone for the series of live music venues,” say operators of the establishment, at 10768 King George Blvd.

The Yawpers play a folk/rock/punk sound, while Blackfoot Gypsies are known for “white-knuckled rock’n’roll.” Show openers that Wednesday evening will be Langley-based alt-country combo Mr. G & The Grand Ensemble. Tickets are $12 via showpass.com, and also at the Flamingo liquor store and Centric in Surrey (18394 Fraser Hwy.).

• RELATED STORY: Surrey’s fledgling Hot Amp Room buzzes with young bands and music fans.

Meantime, other January shows featured on theflamingo.ca include a tribute night to KISS, AC/DC and Audioslave (Jan. 12, Blackbird Hall), a Swollen Members reunion tour date (Jan. 19, Blackbird Hall), Smoked Out Battles (Jan. 25, Blue Byrd Stage), a Smoked Out Battles League rap-off (Jan. 25) and a debut Women in Music Showcase featuring Jessica Barbour, Emily Williams, Ria Jade and Nicole Mikala (Jan. 26, Redbird Room).

A year ago, under new management, the Flamingo hotel property reintroduced live music on Jan. 12, 2018, in a concert featuring the bands Slevyn, Sly Detrick, Caustic Sodapop and Landmark 20. The three-bar venue operated in the heart of Whalley for decades before going dormant in the spring of 2017.

• RELATED STORY: Surrey’s Flamingo rocks again, first in renovated/repurposed strip club.

Combined, the three renamed bars on the Flamingo property – the former Byrd strip club, lounge and Panchos rock club – are licensed to hold more than 600 people.

In a Backpacker Hostel venture, some of the 21 hotel rooms at the Flamingo – hit by fire last April – are being converted into band rehearsal studios, while others will shelter touring musicians and also concert-going fans.

“We have 18 rooms we’re converting, and that’s eight hostel-type rooms, another two for green rooms, for the bands playing here to get dressed before their show,” David Geertz, the Flamingo’s managing partner, said in October.

Also in the works is Flamingo Bingo, set to launch in the third week of January or possibly the first week of February, Geertz said, to capitalize on the April closure of Newton Community Gaming Centre.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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