Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Tonight at 7:30, Arkansas Sounds presents the Velvet Kente Arkestra

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velvet_kente2Arkansas Sounds presents the Velvet Kente Arkestra, an expanded version of the band Velvet Kente, on Friday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave. Theater doors open at 6:30 p.m.

General admission tickets are $10, and are available online and at the Butler Center Galleries, 401 Pres. Clinton Ave., Mon.-Sat. 9am-6pm. Tickets purchased online will not be mailed; they may be picked up in the theater’s lobby one hour before the show.

Velvet Kente Arkestra is a genre-dodging collective seeking to consistently make an aural connection with all that will listen with an open mind. Their most obvious influences include Afro-Caribbean music, indie rock, punk, blues mythos, and gospel. But otherwise there’s no transparent consistency in the sound outside of Joshua’s heart-wrenched vocals, which lie somewhere between a coarse scream and a sweat-stained Pentecostal baritone.
Natalie Elliot, Oxford American

Tonight END OF THE LINE at Old State House “2nd Friday Cinema”

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End of the lineJanuary’s installment of Second Friday Cinema features End of the Line, a 1987 movie directed by Arkansan Jay Russell and featuring Arkansans Mary Steenburgen and Levon Helm. The film is about two rail workers from Little Rock who hop aboard a train to Chicago in a last ditch effort to save their jobs and way of life.

Joining in the cast are Wilford Brimley, Barbara Barrie, Bob Balaban, Henderson Forsythe, Holly Hunter and Bruce McGill.  Perhaps, most importantly, Kevin Bacon is one of the stars making this a key component of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” games everywhere.

The movie was filmed in Central Arkansas.  The Culture Vulture very clearly remembers working overnight to construct balloon arches for a scene to be filmed at the Missouri Pacific rail yards the next day. The Culture Vulture later donned his 1970s era band uniform (with fake satin tunic, dark pants, dark shoes and fuzzy black cowboy hat) and stood in the August heat for several hours while a “simple” scene was shot and re-shot countless times.

Ben Fry, general manager of KLRE/KUAR and coordinator of the film minor at UALR, will introduce the film and lead a discussion after the screening.

The screening starts tonight at 5pm at the Old State House Museum, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

 

For 2nd Friday Art Night, Historic Arkansas Museum welcomes Kevin Kerby

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Kick off the next year of 2nd Friday Art Nights at Historic Arkansas Museum with a free performance by local favorite Kevin Kerby!
“His music is best described as muscle in a series of loosely-wound audio snapshots of Little Rock, wedged somewhere between Paul Westerberg’s know-it-all scowl and Jeff Tweedy’s ear for pop poeticism.”
In other words, you don’t want to miss this free performance by a treasured Arkansas songsmith.
While there, explore our galleries and two contemporary art exhibits featuring Arkansas artists.
UNDER PRESSURE: The Arkansas Society of Printmakers Exhibition
The Arkansas Society of Printmakers mark their third year with an impressive exhibition  showcasing both traditional printmaking and contemporary works that utilize new technologies and innovative methods. The exhibition continues in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists through February 8, 2015.
“this is the garden: colors come and go” Works by Rachel Trusty
Rachel Trusty’s solo exhibition takes its name from the classic poem by e.e. cummings. The exhibition includes paintings, sculpture and mixed media works which center around floral motifs.
Works by Rachel Trusty have appeared in galleries, shows and competitions across Arkansas as well as in Massachusetts and New York. Trusty was named one of “Five Arkansas Artists You Should Know” by Arkansas Times in 2014.
The exhibition continues in the 2nd Floor Gallery through February 9, 2015.

Sandwich in History today at noon at old Fire Station No. 2 in MacArthur Park

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Little Rock Fire Station No 2_tour_tnThe monthly architectural history program “Sandwiching in History” visits the old Little Rock Fire Station No. 2 located at 1201 S. Commerce Street (on the southwestern corner of MacArthur Park).

Located in the MacArthur Park Historic District, Little Rock Fire Station No. 2 was built in 1917 and served as a fire station until the late 1950s. The Craftsman-style building was constructed with a mixture of materials. It features exposed rafter tails, false half-timbering, and triangular knee braces under the eaves.

From the early 1960s through the 1980s, it had a variety of uses by the City’s Parks Department and other entities. In the 1980s through the mid-1990s, it served as storage and preservation space for the nearby Museum of Science and History (then-located in the Arsenal Tower building on the northern edge of the park.)

It sat largely vacant for a couple of years and sustained damage during January 1999 tornado which ripped through downtown.  For the past several years, a group has been working to convert it into a 30-bed hostel and museum.

Sandwiching in History is a program of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Bicentennial of Battle of New Orleans

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1280px-Battle_of_New_OrleansToday marks the 200th anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle of New Orleans.  It relates to Little Rock in a couple of ways.

First, it made General Andrew Jackson a national hero which helped propel him to the presidency.  It was while he was president that Arkansas was admitted to the Union.

Secondly, one of his soldiers in the battle was a young Roswell Beebe.  Jackson and Beebe became friends and maintained that friendship throughout their lives. Beebe later moved from Louisiana to Arkansas and became a leading citizen of Little Rock.  Using his friendships with Jackson and his successor Martin Van Buren, Beebe was able to navigate the already burgeoning bureaucracy of Washington DC.  Working with the federal government, he was able to straighten out the murky questions of who owned what land in Little Rock.

Beebe received the patent to most of Little Rock’s land. He then laid out streets, set aside land for a state capitol (now the Old State House Museum), set aside land for Mount Holly Cemetery (where he now resides), and sold land at reasonable prices to others.  These actions helped Little Rock continue its momentum as a growing trade town.  Without them, it could have devolved into a frontier town of lawlessness.

Little Rock Look Back: First Council Meeting after Civil War

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First 1866 minutesOn January 8, 1866, the Little Rock City Council resumed meeting. This was the first meeting since the body had disbanded in September 1863.

Mayor J. J. McAlmont, a physician, presided. The Council members present were I.A. Henry, Henry Ashley, M.H. Eastman, Richard Bragg, P.O. Hooper, G. S. Morrison, John Collins and Alexander George.  Alderman Henry had actually served on the 1863 City Council which had voted to cease operation.

Thomas C. Scott was named constable and collector, and Augustus F. Woodard was appointed City Attorney.

Mayor McAlmont announced the creation of eight committees: Finance, Streets, Ordinances, Mount Holly, Fire Department, Police, Schools and Gas. Though a police committee was established, at a future meeting the Mayor appointed a committee to visit with the commanding Union officer over Little Rock to discuss the establishment of a police force.

One ordinance was introduced. It would establish a rate for licenses. It was read one time, and would be amended at future Council meetings.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the City Constable was charged with finding a room “for temporary use of the City Council.”

The Council would meet again the next night to continue discussions as they revived a dormant government.

Free ASO quartet concert at Capital Hotel this evening

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ASO at CHMusicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be performing this evening in the lobby of the historic Capital Hotel. The music will start at 5:15 pm.

In 2011, the ASO started these free concerts in the lobby of the Capital Hotel.  The marble and tile of this historic lobby provide a wonderful acoustic backdrop for the musicians.

The concert will feature the Quapaw Quartet.  Members of the quartet will introduce the pieces to be performed.

Unlike concerts in music halls, guests here are encouraged to bring drinks to their seats or to stand and move around while the musicians are playing.  It is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where the audience and musicians alike are able to interact with each other.