From Denison to national debuts: This local studio is helping performers get their shot
BRANSON MO NEWS:
By Future Brown, Herald Democrat
When Shawnda Rains began Shawnda Rains Entertainment Group in 1998, the professional entertainer just wanted to make a venue where local artists could perform in front of a live band. While she owned The Rialto Theater in Denison, the theater served that purpose.
Now, Shawnda Rains Entertainment helps develop young artists throughout Texoma who are going on to make national names for themselves. The studio not only helps artists develop vocally, it offers guitar lessons and performance opportunities.
“Originally we started to train country music singers, but now, we train people for more genres,” Rains said. “We also manage and promote the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame band out of Carthage.”
The entertainment group began with an artist out of Oklahoma and an artist out of Dallas. Now the group includes 65 artists and three traveling stage groups.
“One of the main things we do is the Red River Opry,” Rains said. “It is a show at the Rialto Theater. I asked the current owner if we could come in and do seven shows there. We have two that have the studio perform and the rest have a live band with the singers. The next one will be held on Oct. 7, and it is a ’50s-themed show.”
Rains trains performers at all levels from beginners and intermediate to advanced performers and she trains across genres.
“We have performed in Branson, Missouri, and also at the Country Music Association Fest,” Rains said. “When we were doing a performance in Branson, we really saw how important singing and dancing are. So we recently added a dancing troop to our program. We want them to learn to dance so that they can work on their stage presence and timing. That group has morphed into so much more though.”
Holly …
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