![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LPT-L-SITC-AA-CULTURAL-0530-44.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\nThe African American Cultural Center of Long Beach is currently hosting \u201cBlack Cowboys: More Than A Myth,\u201d an exhibition exploring the history and legacy of Black cowboys and their place in the story of the American West.<\/p>\n
The premise is a particularly good one for an exhibition: the cowboy has become one of America\u2019s most recognizable cultural archetypes, but the popular image of the American West has often left Black cowboys out of the picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Cowboys: More Than A Myth\u201d aims to broaden that picture by looking at the history behind the myth, and the people who were part of it.<\/p>\n
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The African American Cultural Center Long Beach inside the Expo Arts Center in the Bixby Knolls area exhibits and teaches Black history beyond the typical surface-level. May 25, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n
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A new exhibit at the African American Cultural Center of Long Beach will highlight the legacy of Black cowboys. (Photo courtesy of AACCLB).\n<\/p>\n
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The African American Cultural Center Long Beach inside the Expo Arts Center in the Bixby Knolls area exhibits and teaches Black history beyond the typical surface-level. May 25, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n The exhibition\u2019s subtopics include \u201cCowgirl Chanel,\u201d \u201cBlack Cowboy Origins,\u201d \u201cHistory of the Old West,\u201d \u201cCowboys in Black Cinema,\u201d \u201cUrban Cowboys Today\u201d and \u201cBuffalo Soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n Together, those subjects suggest a journey from the historical Black presence in the American West through the ways cowboys have been represented in popular culture and how that tradition continues in 2026.<\/p>\n While the African American Cultural Center is a small museum and exhibition space inside the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls, its vision is vast, as evidenced by this current exhibition.<\/p>\n For anyone who hasn\u2019t visited before, \u201cBlack Cowboys\u201d offers an accessible introduction to what the space is doing: creating room for Black history and cultural stories to be presented on their own terms, right here in Long Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cBlack Cowboys: More Than A Myth\u201d is free to visit and runs through October 24. Gallery hours listed for the exhibition are on the gallery\u2019s website at aacclb.org\/exhibits<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gaslamp<\/p>\n Craving some increasingly loud music?<\/p>\n Gaslamp has a trio of concerts coming up that cover everything from country radio to some of the heaviest rock of the past few decades.<\/p>\n First up is \u201cSummer Country Bash\u201d this Saturday, Aug. 15, bringing tributes to three of the biggest names in modern country music: Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert.<\/p>\n Wallen Outlaws will pay tribute to Wallen, The Staples will take on Stapleton\u2019s blend of blues and Southern rock, and Sin 4a Sin will represent Lambert.<\/p>\n This lineup offers a snapshot of just how broad contemporary country has become. Wallen\u2019s arena-sized country-pop sound, Stapleton\u2019s rootsier approach and Lambert\u2019s mix of classic country and emotionally direct songwriting represent distinctly different corners of the genre.<\/p>\n Next week at Gaslamp, though, things start to get louder: The Iron Maidens, the all-female tribute to Iron Maiden, headline a night of classic heavy metal on Saturday, Aug. 22.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll be joined by Ozzmania, a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne; Dirty Deeds, a tribute to AC\/DC; and Metal Health, a tribute to Quiet Riot.<\/p>\n If that wasn\u2019t enough evidence that Gaslamp is getting heavy, the venue will follow it up with Toxicity and Renegades of Rage on Saturday, Sept. 5.<\/p>\n These bands pay tribute to System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine, respectively, bringing together two groups whose politically charged, rhythmically aggressive music helped shape an intense strain of late-\u201990s and 2000s alt-metal and rap-rock.<\/p>\n All three upcoming shows offer an entertaining tour through the tribute-band phenomenon: from the polished, genre-spanning world of contemporary country to classic metal and the furious stylings of System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine.<\/p>\n For concert times and tickets, head to gaslamplongbeach.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Landmark Theatre<\/p>\n What songs have stayed with you?<\/p>\n For the performers at Landmark Theatre, those answers are likely to have something to do with the shows they\u2019ve performed, the artists who inspired them, or the moments in their own lives when a particular song became part of their story.<\/p>\n That idea is at the center of \u201cThe Songs That Built Us,\u201d Landmark\u2019s summer gala, taking place next Saturday, Aug. 22, at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach.<\/p>\n The First Congregational Church of Long Beach, home to the Long Beach Landmark Theatre, in April 2014. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova, Daily Breeze\/Press-Telegram).\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 1<\/p>\n The First Congregational Church of Long Beach, home to the Long Beach Landmark Theatre, in April 2014. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova, Daily Breeze\/Press-Telegram).\n<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GRG-L-THEATER-COL-0926.jpg?w=620\")
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