Monthly Archives: January 2019

Still time to nominate for Arkansas Country Music Awards

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Arkansas CMAAs Bonnie Montgomery says, “The first annual Arkansas CMA was huge and the Second Annual is gonna be on fire – mark your calendar for June 3!”

Nominations for 2019 are open now until Jan 28 and people should submit their favorite and hardest working musicians from the Natural State!

Categories are:

  • Lifetime Achievement
  • Entertainer of the Year
  • Female Vocalist
  • Male Vocalist
  • Americana Artist
  • Bluegrass Artist
  • Country Artist
  • Inspirational Artist
  • Acoustic Act
  • Vocal Group
  • Album of the Year
  • Song of the Year
  • Songwriter of the Year
  • Music Producer of the Year
  • Sound Engineer
  • Promoter of the Year
  • Video of the Year
  • Radio Station
  • Radio DJ
  • Publication
  • Venue
  • Young Artist
  • Bassist
  • Drummer
  • Fiddler
  • Guitarist
  • Steel/Dobro Player of the Year

With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement Award(s), these awards are to honor the INDEPENDENT performers in country music and other genres that fall under the country music umbrella.  Performers are eligible if they meet one of the following statuses:

  1. Born in Arkansas
  2. For a substantial period of time resided in Arkansas
  3. Have proven on a solid, regular basis an Arkansas presence through their live performances.
  4. Please note:  artists should be currently touring/performing and/or with newly recorded output within two years of the closing of nominations.

Performers are not eligible if they have had a recording contract with a major label in their known musical field OR had ‘Top 40’ success as a recording artist on either the primary Billboard Country Albums Chart or the primary Billboard Country Singles Chart. * Artists are either COUNTRY, AMERICANA or BLUEGRASS.  Artists can only fall into one of these three categories.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 

This Award(s) is open to anyone who was born in Arkansas OR for a substantial period of time resided in Arkansas that as a recording artist, songwriter, producer, engineer, disc jockey, promoter or anyone else who has fostered country music.  Their initial known achievements must have occurred at least 25 years prior to the award show year.  

Nominate here 👉🏽 https://arkansascma.com/eligibility

Little Rock Look Back: John Gould Fletcher, patriarch of Little Rock civic and cultural leaders

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Future Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher was born on January 6 in 1831.  He was a mayor and civic leader at a crucial time in Little Rock’s 19th century life. But his lasting legacy is probably more his remarkable children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. (Undoubtedly his great-great-great-grandchildren will be equally remarkable.)

The son of Henry Lewis and Mary Lindsey Fletcher, he later served as a Captain in the Capital Guards during the Civil War. One of his fellow soldiers was Peter Hotze. Following the war, he and Hotze began a general merchandise store in Little Rock. They were so successful that they eventually dropped the retail trade and dealt only in cotton. Peter Hotze had his office in New York, while Fletcher supervised company operations in Little Rock. In 1878 Fletcher married Miss Adolphine Krause, sister-in-law of Hotze.

John Gould Fletcher was elected Mayor of Little Rock from 1875 to 1881. He was the first Mayor under Arkansas’ new constitution which returned all executive powers to the office of the Mayor (they had been split under a reconstruction constitution). Following his service as Mayor, he served one term as Pulaski County Sheriff. Mayor Fletcher also later served as president of the German National Bank in Little Rock.

Mayor and Mrs. Fletcher had five children, three of whom lived into adulthood. Their son was future Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Gould Fletcher (neither father nor son used the Sr. or Jr. designation). Their two daughters who lived to adulthood were Adolphine Fletcher Terry (whose husband David served in Congress) and Mary Fletcher Drennan.

In 1889, Mayor Fletcher purchased the Pike House in downtown Little Rock. The structure later became known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. It was from this house that Adolphine Fletcher Terry organized the Women’s Emergency Committee which worked to reopen the Little Rock public schools during the 1958-1959 school year.

In the 1960s, sisters Adolphine Fletcher Terry and Mary Fletcher Drennan deeded the house to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center. For several decades it served as home to the Arts Center’s contemporary craft collection. It now is used for special events and exhibitions.

Mayor Fletcher died in 1906 and is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery along with various members of his family. Several of his descendants still reside in Little Rock.

Twelfth Night, or What you WILL

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Today is Twelfth Night. Since it is also the title of one of Shakespeare’s most-produced plays, it seems a good chance to preview the 2019 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season.

While they HAVE produced Twelfth Night, it is not part of the 2019 season.

The lineup DOES include: The Comedy of Errors (the first Shakespeare play I ever read), The Scottish Play (sorry, but I don’t want to invoke the curse so I won’t write or say the title), as well as a streamlined version of Romeo and Juliet for families.  Also on tap, in the non-Shakespeare musical slot is Guys and Dolls.

Here is more about each show.
The Comedy of Errors
A tragic shipwreck, two sets of twins divided at birth, mistaken identities, and unrequited love provide the perfect recipe for fun in this Shakespearean farce. The fates bring the brothers and their long-lost father Aegeon together in the land of Ephesus with hilarious results.
Outside on the lawn at UCA

Guys and Dolls
A Musical Fable of Broadway
Based on a Story and Characters of Damon Runyon
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
High-rolling gambler Sky Masterson never took a bet he couldn’t win, until he met the no-nonsense Sarah Brown, a mission worker set on redeeming the sinners of Broadway. While fellow gambler Nathan Detroit has his own hands full with his fourteen year engagement to Miss Adelaide. It’s the audience who wins in this delightful musical of love and luck!
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall

[The Scottish Play]
Brave warrior The Thane of Cawdor emerges victorious from battle to be greeted by three witches who hail him as the future king of Scotland. What follows is a dizzying descent into political machinations, murder, and madness.
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall

Family Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
The fighting families of Montague and Capulet put their feud before their children’s happiness in Shakespeare’s classic tale of “star-crossed” young love, reimagined for audiences of all ages in this one-hour adaptation.
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall.  Also available to tour!

Performance dates will be announced in coming weeks.

Mary Ruth Marotte is the Executive Director and Rebekah Scallet is the Producing Artistic Director.

New schedule changes for KUAR take effect today

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KUAR is bringing two new programs featuring science and storytelling to its central Arkansas airwaves and making several changes to its local and regional music programming schedule beginning January 5th and 6th, 2019.
Starting Sunday, NPR’s Hidden Brain will join KUAR’s programming schedule, airing from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. weekly. Hidden Brain is science and storytelling that reveals the patterns that drive human behavior. Listeners who regularly tune to NPR’s Morning Edition will likely have heard host Shankar Vedantam’s regular segment, which highlights social science research.
Also beginning Sunday, The Moth Radio Hour will debut on KUAR. It will air from 12-1 p.m. weekly, following Hidden Brain. The Moth is an hour of true stories told live. It’s a mix of celebrity and unique voices from communities across the country. The Moth comes to KUAR just in time to give listeners a taste of the great storytelling they can expect at The Moth Mainstage event February 28.
Locally and regionally-produced music programs will move further into primetime slots beginning this Saturday starting with Ozark Highlands Radio (OHR). Which will add a weekly airing 5-6 p.m. on Saturdays just in time for the start of its fourth season which will feature exclusive live recordings of Taj Mahal, The Secret Sisters and John McEuen and the Seldom Scene, among many others. OHR has expanded rapidly in four years and is now aired on over 80 public radio stations across the country. KUAR was one of the first stations to air OHR and wishes it continued success!
Additionally, KUAR’s Not Necessarily Nashville, which features “the best of the rest of country music,” moves one hour forward to air 6-8 p.m. weekly on Saturdays. From Albion and Beyond, “a weekly jaunt along the highways and byways of traditional, revival, contemporary and roots based music with a slight English accent,” will also move one hour forward on Saturdays, from 8-9 p.m.
If you have thoughts or questions, please reach out at comments@ualrpublicradio.org.

42 bar and table, Clinton Museum Store remain open during government shutdown

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While the government shutdown continues, two spaces inside the Clinton Presidential Center remain open.  Both 42 bar and table as well as the Clinton Museum Store are open.  They have “Shutdown Specials” for the duration of the shutdown.

42 bar and table is open for lunch from 11am to 2pm Mondays through Saturdays. It is open for dinner Thursdays through Saturdays from 5pm through 10pm.  Bar hours are Thursdays through Saturdays from 4:30pm to midnight.

The Clinton Museum Store is open 9am to 5pm Mondays through Saturdays and from 1pm to 5pm on Sundays.

This is also a good time to highlight recent staffing additions at 42 bar and table.

In November 42 bar and table, the full-service restaurant located inside the Clinton Presidential Center, announced new additions to its culinary team. André Poirot has assumed the role of executive chef over restaurant, banquet, and catering operations; Jeremy Pittman joins the team as a pastry chef; and Jason Morell will serve as the new chef de cuisine at 42 bar and table.

“We are thrilled to welcome these talented team members to the Clinton Presidential Center and look forward to working together to continue to provide our guests with excellent cuisine and spectacular service,” said Chef Michael Selig, director of Food, Beverage, and Events. “Our staff is already top shelf; these additions will further enhance the presidential experience that our guests have come to expect from us.”

Chef André Poirot was born and raised in France and received his culinary diploma in 1977. He then began his traditional European apprenticeships, serving as a commis at the Ets Blache restaurant in Remiremont, France, and in the kitchens of The Savoy on the Strand in London. In 1989, Poirot began a 14-year career at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans as gourmet chef at the celebrated Begue’s restaurant. In 2004, The Peabody Hotel Little Rock recruited him to serve as executive chef to supervise food and beverage operations at the hotel and at the Statehouse Convention Center. In 2013, when The Peabody Hotel rebranded to a Marriott property, Poirot was asked to join the food and beverage team at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Little Rock and then the Capital Hotel.

Poirot won the title of Arkansas Iron Chef at the 2006 and 2009 Arkansas Hospitality Association celebrity Iron Chef competitions; gold (2009), silver (2010), bronze (2011), and people’s choice award (2011) medals at the Culinary Classic competition; and was awarded first place at the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Taste of the Rock four years in a row (2008-2010). He was the recipient of the Arkansas Hospitality Association’s Salut au Restaurateur award in 2011 and mentor of the year in 2012. The American Culinary Federation also recognized him as a leading advisor to young people starting in the culinary profession.

Jeremy Pittman joins the staff as a pastry chef. He was the co-owner and chef of Pizzeria in the Heights and previously owned Palette Catering and Gourmet To Go. Pittman is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Jason Morell is the new restaurant chef at 42 bar and table. He was the chef and owner of Starving Artists Café from 2006 to 2014 and was previously chef at Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, Simply the Best Catering, and Philander Smith College. Morell graduated from the Florida Culinary Institute.

Little Rock Look Back: Voters annex Pulaski Heights into Little Rock

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On January 4, 1916, voters in Little Rock and Pulaski Heights voted overwhelmingly to annex the latter into the former.

First platted in 1890, Pulaski Heights had been incorporated as a city in August 1905.  By 1915, Pulaski Heights was booming.  It was growing so fast, that its infrastructure and public safety needs were far outpacing the city’s ability to pay for them.  Though there was a ribbon of commercial businesses along Prospect Avenue (now Kavanaugh Boulevard), it did not produce enough sales tax revenue to pay for City services. Then, as now, property taxes were also an important part of city revenue sources but not sufficient without sales taxes.

The City of Little Rock, likewise, was looking for ways to grow physically. At the time, the City was hemmed in by a river to the north and low, marshy land to the east. Current development was to the south, but even that presented limits in the foreseeable future. The best option was to grow to the west, but Pulaski Heights was in the way.  In 1915, Little Rock Mayor Charles Taylor (after failing in a previous attempt to re-annex North Little Rock into Little Rock), approached Pulaski Heights leadership about the possibility of annexation.

010516 PH electionIn November 1915, there were public meetings in Little Rock and Pulaski Heights to discuss the issue.  As a part of the annexation, Little Rock promised to build a fire station in the area and to install traffic lights, sidewalks and pave more streets.

On January 4, 1916, Little Rock voters approved the annexation of Pulaski Heights by a ten-to-one margin. The majority of Pulaski Heights residents also approved the deal.  The suburb became the city’s ninth ward.

This established a couple of precedents for the City of Little Rock which are in effect to this day.  The first is that Little Rock would not be a central city surrounded by a variety of small incorporated towns (in the manner that St. Louis and other cities are).  It was this thought process which has led the City to continue to annex properties.

Sandwich in History at noon today at St. Luke’s UMC in program sponsored by @SavingARPlaces

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The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program each month sponsors a Sandwiching in History tour which familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us.

The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour.

Today (January 4) at 12 noon, this month’s tour is at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, located at 6401 West 32nd Street.

Founded in 1956, St. Luke’s United Methodist was one of the first congregations created in the Broadmoor development of Little Rock.  The sanctuary, bell tower, and prayer chapel are early examples of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture in a church.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.