Dan Dyer will be barefoot at the Belmont.

Those health and body conscious folks down at Bend Studio are expanding their musical horizons.

Previous concert events held at the yoga/music venue have often felt constricted by the dimensions of the studio itself--even a great recent performance by Dan Dyer was slightly marred by the cramped confines. Intimate is one thing; packed like sardines is quite another.

But now Bend’s owner Ally David has upped the ante considerably with "Barefoot at the Belmont," a series of concerts held throughout May and June featuring some surprisingly big names playing by the pool of the swanky-chic Belmont Hotel.

Whereas Bend can only hold about 80 people (and only 50 comfortably), the pool area of the Belmont will accommodate double that--plus the ambiance of music played under the stars and against the backdrop of downtown Big D ought to be enough to solidify more than a few relationships.

Doug Burr kicks off the series on May 8th, followed by Shannon McNally on the 15th, Charlie Sexton on the 22nd and a reappearance by Dyer on the 29th. June performances by Fastball, Grayson Capps and Bob Schneider complete the series with power and panache. Although shows at Bend Studio have been erroneously prejudged as all-acoustic, NPR-type fare, the move to the Belmont ought to bring out a few of those who feared they might actually have to do more exercise than a few 12-ounce lifts. --Darryl Smyers

Tags:

Barefoot at the Belmont, Belmont Hotel, Bend Studio, new venue