If you’re on vacation (or have the day off) but it’s too windy to be wakeboarding, too cold to go on a hike, or it’s nighttime, what do you do in Tahoe? Fortunately, these longtime Tahoe entertainers use their uniquely fun personas, talents, and skills to provide unforgettable experiences here in Tahoe.
Calling All Parrotheads
Around 25 years ago, a local paper called North Lake Tahoe musician Darin Talbot “Tahoe’s Jimmy Buffett”, and soon after, he was on the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento radio show where the disc jockey called him the “Jimmy Buffett for the next generation.”
From then on, Talbot gradually morphed into ‘Becoming Buffett’. In 2017, Talbot was featured in the Netflix documentary “Parrot Heads” as well as became the resident entertainer in Costa Rica for the biggest Jimmy Buffett fan in the world (Michael Holly, who attended 256 official concerts). When Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1, 2023, Talbot had a dream that Jimmy Buffett asked him to take over leading the Parrotheads. And thus, Talbot’s new show called “Becoming Buffett” was born.
“Now I’m vetted and sanctioned as a Jimmy Buffett impersonator for Margaritaville Enterprises, which is truly an honor,” Talbot says.
Talbot loves performing in front of live audiences, calling the stage his happy place. “And I love to do it all; Comedy storytelling, singing, improvisation all of it. There’s really something special in the reciprocal relationship between an entertainer and the audience. It’s kind of like a drug, honestly. I’m so grateful I get to do it,” he adds.
He knew he was going to be an entertainer from a young age, and his mom encouraged him to pursue his natural talent.
“I was always the kid doing little skits and telling jokes and singing songs even when I was eight or nine years old,” Talbot says.
In July of this year, it will be the 30th anniversary of Talbot being a full-time Tahoe entertainer, after he quit working as a Wells Fargo branch manager/loan officer in 1996 to pursue his passion. “I’m so proud of that fact,” he says.
Along with continuing his Mr. Tahoe show and hosting Around Tahoe Tours out of Incline Village with his brother Chris, Talbot will be performing Jimmy Buffett classics on the Tahoe Gal a few days a week. To see his full “Becoming Buffett” schedule, visit becomingbuffett.com.
Bringing Bingo Back
At its core, ‘The Great Bingo Revival’ stemmed from Reverend Rusty Reams’ desire to ski all day and gig at night.
“Here in Tahoe, Saturday nights are centered around live music and big parties, but midweeks were missing a space for people to gather and connect. That’s when I introduced Bingo. It’s a game that draws people together, creates engagement and entertainment, and leaves room for conversation, laughter, and real connection,” Reams says.
The Great Bingo Revival’s first game was in February 2012 at Jake’s on the Lake in Tahoe City, and from there, word spread quickly around the lake. The Great Bingo Revival soon had a long-running weekly residency at Himmel Haus in South Lake Tahoe and as momentum grew, the show caught the attention of Randy Rodgers of the Auld Dubliner. “We’ve now been proudly hosting Bingo there for over 10 years,” Reams says.
So, what is The Great Bingo Revival, exactly? According to its website, it’s “old-school bingo with a new-school twist fusing music, comedy, dance, and improv with 100 percent pure B.I.N.G.O.” Reams found early on that he enjoys the unique call-and-response dynamic between the Bingo Caller and the players and bringing that exchange to life with humor and witty banter. “From there it expands into a shared experience full of laughter, energy, and moments of magic,” says Reams.
He explains that he never really had a clear dream of what he wanted to be at this stage in his life, but being a bingo caller is the summation of who he is, everything he’s lived, and everything he’s carried with him.
“It feels like a natural extension of who I am, and I’m grateful to have an outlet where I can show up fully and authentically as myself,” he adds.
Although the event has grown far beyond its Tahoe roots, taking the Reverend around the world (last year, he was invited by Insider Expeditions to host Bingo in Antarctica), he feels fortunate to have been able to flourish as a performer in Tahoe.
“What I love most about Tahoe is the way our community is cooperative, not competitive. People lift each other up, celebrate each other, and want to see one another win. There’s a shared ethic of having a good time on the lake, in the mountains, and that energy fuels the ‘good times industry’ through art, music, and entertainment. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a season, everyone comes with the same purpose: to have a good time,” he says.
This summer, Bingo returns to Palisades Village, rotating through a different restaurant each Thursday beginning July 9. This free, family-friendly series has run for the past six years and has become a beloved tradition for locals and visitors alike. For a full list of upcoming dates, visit thegreatbingorevival.com.
Tricks Up His Sleeve in Tahoe
Robert Hall, the resident magician at The Loft for the past 10 years (and at the casinos before that) put on his first magic show in Tahoe in 2005 and has been performing in South Shore ever since.
Hall became interested in magic when he was eight years old and got his first contract when he was fifteen, touring as a dancer.
“It’s all I’ve ever known and done. I had a specialty act where I would do a 9-minute solo routine dancing in and out of 60 wooden rings,” Hall says.
He toured alongside Cirque du Soleil and performed shows in entertainment destinations like Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
“Most shows I performed in had magicians who I would gravitate towards and hang out with. Any time I was in a longer contract, like in Vegas or LA, I was also doing magic for corporate and private events, and I was the resident magician at a number of casinos,” says Hall.
It was when he was performing as a dancer and magician when he came to Lake Tahoe to do a show at what was formerly the Horizon.
“It was at that time Caesars turned into Montbleu, and our show’s producer was running entertainment for the new casino and two new nightclubs he was about to open. I was brought on to body paint in the nightclubs after my show and run the nightclub entertainment of go-go dancers, fire dancers, and promo models,” he recalls. Hall was the magician used for events, private parties and promotions, running that program for the following 10 years while also becoming the resident magician at The Eldorado resort and casino in Reno.
In 2016, when The Loft opened, Hall came on board as the resident magician and host. He’s spent the last 10 years headlining, booking and running all magic aspects of the venue as well as being a part of The Loft’s expansion into Monterey for two years in 2020.
“But I can now be found seven nights a week at The Loft in Tahoe performing, hosting and helping make it Tahoe’s number one show and premiere magical destination,” Hall says.
He always says that he feels much more comfortable and himself in front of 100 people as opposed to a single person, but that could also be attributed to spending most of his life onstage so it’s where he feels the most at home.
As far as performing in Tahoe compared to larger entertainment destinations, Hall says, “Tahoe is much like Vegas to me, just smaller and in the wilderness. You get such a wide range of visitors throughout the year from all over the world and all walks of life. And with all the J1 workers that support the mountain and lake employment, you really get such a diverse melting pot of a community which is really fun to move through and learn from.”
To catch one of Robert Hall’s magic shows, visit https://www.thelofttahoe.com/.
Spontaneous Comedy at Valhalla
For more than three decades, the Tahoe Improv Players have been delighting people of all ages by taking suggestions from audiences and turning them into live comedy skits. Hosting 3-4 normally sold-out shows at the Valhalla Tahoe estate boathouse every summer, attendees tend to come back for more because every show is unique.
Even though Tahoe Improv Players Co-founder Frank Riley has been performing in plays and improv shows since the early nineties, he admits that he’s always nervous until he gets his first line out.
“Then my character takes over and I’m good to go,” Riley says. He’s always considered himself to be funny, but he never wanted to be a stand-up comedian.
“I hate doing monologues in plays, and stand-up is just one long monologue where you receive instant information as to whether or not you’re successful. I’d rather not have that stress. In improv, there are times when you flounder in a scene, but in the back of your mind you know someone is around to save you. Not so, in stand-up,” adds Riley.
He also believes that performing in a smaller destination market like Tahoe is an advantage.
“There is little chance you can be ‘discovered’ by movie moguls and the like, so people performing are doing it for the fun and challenge of it, not as a potential career. I did do a little acting in the Bay Area, and even there, competition could be fierce. One 13-year-old boy once matter-of-factly remarked that if he were an understudy for a juicy role, he would naturally sabotage the lead actor’s performance to win it for himself. I haven’t run into that level of fierceness at Tahoe.
“I have had friends that went down to L.A. to try their luck—talented people, too—only to receive limited success. Down there, talent is one thing, but appearance is quite another. You need to ‘fit’ the image you’re auditioning for; no producer will openly accept an overweight Romeo or Juliet, for example. Here at Tahoe, if you are breathing and able to make the rehearsals, you have a good shot to be Hamlet,” he says.
To see a Tahoe Improv Players show, visit the Valhalla Tahoe website at https://valhallatahoe.com/.
Honorable Mentions:
Arty the Party is Still Playing at Harrah’s
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Hervey, aka “Arty the Party” is still going strong by playing his dance/R&B/soul/disco music sets at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe every weekend. Arty the Party’s storied career in Tahoe has earned him five Best of Tahoe awards over the past 25 years as well as caught the attention of celebrities who’ve joined him on stage such as Charles Barkley, James Brown, and Steph Curry. He plays at the Center Bar on Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm-midnight.
Dead Winter Carpenters— Celebrating String Music 15 Years Strong
Formed in North Lake Tahoe, the Dead Winter Carpenters bring so much passion to every show since its inception in 2010 that its gained quite a reputation for possibly being Tahoe’s best string band. With Jesse Dunn on acoustic guitar, vocals; Jenni Charles playing the fiddle; Nick Swimley (lead telecaster guitar, vocals); Brian Huston playing drums; Jeremy Plog on bass; and longtime collaborator Matt Mitchell on keys, vocals, and acoustic guitar, this band takes soul-infused string music to the next level. Upcoming Dead Winter Carpenters’ shows include: the Tahoe Joy Festival in Tahoe City on June 7th; the Davis Music Festival in Davis, Calif. on June 19th; the Summer Music Festival at Roseberry in Donnelly, Idaho on July 17th; and they’ll be playing at the Salty Gebhardt Amphitheater in Truckee on July 29th.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of Tahoe Magazine.
