Category Archives: Music

Join Arkansas Rep supporters at a Jailhouse Rock Party tonight at Rocktown Distillery

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Four musical legends are coming to Arkansas Rep – Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins – and what better way to celebrate than a with a rock ‘n roll-themed party?

It will take place at Rocktown Distillery located at 1201 Main Street. The party will run from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Come out to support The Rep and meet others who are excited to see Million Dollar Quartet this fall!

*Enjoy a special performance by cast member Trent Rowland as Elvis.

*Taste Rock Town’s special $5 cocktail, “The Jailbird.”

*Members of The Rep’s young professionals group, The 601 Club, will receive a coupon for a free tour and tasting at Rock Town.

Tonight on South on Main stage: ROUTE 358 & TEN PENNY GYPSY!

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Route 358 & Ten Penny GypsyJoin South on Main on Saturday, August 17 for an evening of roots music with Route 358 and Ten Penny Gypsy.

Show begins at 9 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $7 in advance or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. Please call (501) 244-9660 to reserve a table.

ABOUT ROUTE 358 – https://artistdata.sonicbids.com/band/route-358/au…
Route 358 began as a jam session at the kitchen table that sounded anything but musical. Then a trip to the studio to record a live performance video of the song “Alone Tonight” started the four-piece Americana/Roots artists on their current trajectory.

358’s sound can be described as having one foot in bluegrass and the other in a swampy mixture of pop, country, folk and rock.Their songs tell tales of love, love-lost, ghosts, prohibition speakeasies and the roads they travel together.

“Only The River Knows,” the bands first album, was praised for its “distinctively vintage sound, combined with beautifully honest songwriting and emotional performances” (Rebecca Cullen, Stereo Stickman).

Songs from the album earned the band a nomination for “Americana/Roots Artist of the Year” by the Arkansas Country Music Awards as well as a selection as a showcase artist for Folk Alliance Mid-West and The John Hartford Memorial Festivals.

For the past two years the band has toured playing venues and festivals in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri and Texas. In October of 2018 tthey released their latest album “Lantern’s Light”.

ABOUT TEN PENNY GYPSY – https://www.tenpennygypsy.com/music
Arkansas singer/songwriters Justin Patterson and Laura Lynn Danley have been successfully following the beat of their own drum for years, separately as solo artists. That musical direction took an exciting and robust turn recently when they recruited the talents of renowned multi-instrumentalist/producer Anthony Crawford (Neil Young, Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam) to help their songs blossom, and the Americana duo Ten Penny Gypsy was born.

Recorded in 2017 at Crawford’s Admiral Bean Studio in Loxley, Alabama, Ten Penny Gypsy’s self-titled debut album contains eleven finely crafted songs, sweetly harmonic, yet delivered with a unique dose of Americana swagger. Whether it’s the waltzing hopefulness of “Old Woman By the Sea”, the plaintive longing of “Back On Level Ground”, or the rollicking rhythm of “Perfectly Imperfect”, each song wears its emotion on its sleeve. Combining Patterson’s strong voice and exquisite guitar work with Danley’s infectious delivery and melodic hooks, Ten Penny Gypsy has grown into a commanding duo that will draw you in like no other.

“I do believe that ‘Ten Penny Gypsy’ is a snapshot of Justin Patterson and Laura Lynn Danley in full bloom”, says Crawford.

Many others agree, as Ten Penny Gypsy was named a finalist in three categories for the 2018 Arkansas Country Music Awards : “Album of the Year”, “Americana/Roots Artist of the Year”, and “Vocal Group of the Year”.

“Ten Penny Gypsy” was released on August 25th, 2017, and is available on Amazon, itunes, Spotify, and in retail outlets throughout the country.

Elvis Lives – or at least he will be on stage of Arkansas Rep in September with MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

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August 16 marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.  (Or did he die?  Is he actually living in seclusion with JFK and others?)

In September, Elvis will come back to life as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET.

Four musical legends. A one-in-a-million recording session.
On December 4, 1956, in the studios of Sun Records in Memphis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis gathered to meet with legendary producer Sam Philips. What happened next was pure rock and roll magic.

A casual introduction of Lewis to Perkins unexpectedly evolved into an epic jam session of country, gospel and rock classics, captured on tape but not released until 1981.

With a collection of hit songs that includes “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Hound Dog,” this Tony Award-winning musical is guaranteed to blow the roof off!

The show, which won a Tony Award and was nominated for Best Musical, was written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux.  The Rep’s production is directed by Hunter Foster who played Sam Phillips in the original Broadway cast.
The production opens on September 6 and plays through October 6.

Tonight on South on Main stage – Bijoux’s August Session presents Nick Black

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Sessions :: Nick BlackEach month, South on Main has someone curate the Wednesday evening Sessions Series.  In August, it is singer Bijoux.  Tonight (August 14), seh presents an evening with Nick Black, a Memphis-based pop/soul artist, as part of her August Sessions at South on Main. Show begins at 8 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $7 or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. For reservations, please call (501) 244-9660

Nick Black is fun, optimistic, and authentic. His music is a full-embodied piece of art that will change your whole mood instantly. Influenced by the feel good music of Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Sting, and Bruno Mars, Nick has created his music to sound unique, yet familiar and nostalgic. He sees the world through a very clear lens where he takes people and experiences for what they are while also learning from them as they are. In return, both him and his music are true, honest, perceptive, and passionate.

Always wanting to be a star and perform on a stage in front of as many people as the eye could see, Nick Black is determined now more than ever to reach and exceed his goals. His stage presence is proof that he was always destined to be an entertainer. Nick pulls the audience in and doesn’t let them go. He creates an experience that he wants everyone to be part of. Pulling people up from the crowd, he has people dancing and grooving front and center.

Nick Black is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable names in the Pop/Soul music scene. He grew up between two worlds: his family’s deep ties to church, and Memphis where Soul, RnB, Rock N’ Roll, and Blues legends made names for themselves, Black’s sound is an organically grown phenomenon. Since his first album in 2012, The Soul Diaries, his authenticity and passion has been the foundation of his identity, both as a person and as an artist. Venturing into new territory with his recently released single, “Grenadine”, Nick is excited to pursue his curiosity in electronic music, adding dance beats to his extremely versatile sound.

Tonight on South on Main stage – Seth Walker

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Seth WalkerSeth Walker brings his soulful and playful music back to the South on Main stage on Friday August 9. Show begins at 9 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $8 or pay $12 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee a seat. To reserve a table, please call (501) 244-9660.

“Are You Open?” Seth Walker sings on his transfixing new album of the same title. More than just a question, it’s a challenge, an invitation, a dare. “To me, being open means being vulnerable and exposed,” explains Walker, “but that’s where the little nuggets of creative gold come from. I never planned an overall concept for this record, but each of these songs seemed to spin out from asking myself that one simple question.”

Produced by The Wood Brothers’ Jano Rix, ‘Are You Open’ marks Seth Walker’s tenth studio recording, and the music is undoubtedly his most inventive, exploring new sounds and textures as he examines what it means to truly be open, both as an artist and more broadly as a human in today’s increasingly more complicated world. The songwriting here is bold and infectious, featuring melodies and rhythms drawn from Walker’s time spent in Havana and filtered through his split-screen life in New Orleans and Nashville. The result is a melting pot of sounds and perspectives, a soulful brew of roots music from the Americas and beyond. Songs frequently build off of a single chord, shifting in color and tone as they ebb and flow and stack layer upon layer over hypnotic bass lines and percussion grooves. The record features Walker’s guitar playing more heavily than ever before, and the new approach suits him well, showcasing a melodic prowess to match his prodigious lyrical gifts.

‘Are You Open?’ follows 2016’s critically acclaimed ‘Gotta Get Back,’ a stunning collection that found Walker excavating the roots of his love affair with music by reuniting the family that first sparked his fire as a child. That album traced its origins back to Walker’s native North Carolina, where he grew up on a multi-family commune and studied classical violin and cello before ultimately discovering his passion for soul, jazz, blues, and folk. He’d go on to deftly mix all those genres and more in his work as a solo artist, organically building up a celebrated two-decade career that’s earned him praise everywhere from The Washington Post to NPR, who hailed his “hard-driving” songs and “sweet tenor,” in addition to landing him dates with The Mavericks, The Wood Brothers, Raul Malo, Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster, among others.

August 2nd Friday Art Night – Old State House Museum features Rodney Block Jazz Project

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Join the Old State House Museum for Second Friday Art Night, Friday, August 9, from 5 to 8 p.m.

They will present the Rodney Block Jazz Project in concert!

Led by trumpet king Rodney Block, the quartet will perform their unique blend of traditional jazz, gospel, hip-hop, bebop, funk and soul, live on the iconic lawn of the
Old State House.