Arundinaria gigantea is evergreen in Kentucky, I've never heard of it being deciduous in certain climates. It tends to look a bit scraggly in Feb-March, but the leaves do not die off, just look a little yellowed at the edges.
Also the leaf litter is minimal and easy to deal with, and you don't get twigs or branches dropping, so it wouldn't be messier than any tree.
Arundinaria is a running bamboo, but it is not as aggressive as the Asian varieties, very easily contained by mowing at the edge of the colony where it is trying to spread. It will not continue putting up shoots in a direction where it has repeatedly encountered disturbance. However it needs to have some space, a somewhat wide swath to grow to a large size and to thrive well. I see it along fence rows a lot, growing in a band at least 6ft wide or so.
The biggest challenge might be sourcing it.
I encourage you to explore this one further, it's an incredibly underused plant with numerous wildlife and human uses.
