Category Archives: Music

Jazz in the Park closes out Spring 2019 with Ramona Smith

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Jazz in the Park is a free happy hour style event featuring different Jazz musicians weekly from 6pm-8pm in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park. Family and Pet Friendly.  It is offered each Wednesday in April and September.

Tonight features Ramona Smith.

In the mid-1980’s, the legendary Johnny Otis recruited Ramona for his revue. She can be heard on the 1990 album by Johnny Otis, Good Lovin’ Blues, where she sings lead on several tracks. Ramona can also be heard on several live releases of the Johnny Otis Band from that period. She has opened for such notables as B.B. King and Al Jarreau. As a result of her work with Otis’ band, Ramona is a honorary member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In the late 90s, Ramona moved to Little Rock, AR where she is a local jazz club favorite, but Ramona and her music can travel to all 50 states and abroad.  She continues to wow audiences with her vocal prowess.

No Coolers Please. Lawn Chairs Welcome. (Rain Location is East Pavilion at River Market)

 

Tonight at South on Main – The Funkanites!

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Image result for funkanitesThe Funkanites are back at South on Main with their afro-funk grooves on Saturday, April 20!

Show kicks off at 9 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $7 or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. To reserve a table, please call (501) 244-9660. You must purchase advance tickets in order to confirm your table reservation.

ABOUT THE FUNKANITES

Funkanites are an eight piece Little Rock Arkansas-based Afrobeat, Soul, and Funk ensemble. The lineup features members of other Little Rock bands such as Amasa Hines, Velvet Kente, and Twice Sax to name a few. To say the band is well seasoned is an understatement. They are quite capable of handling any genre thrown at them, however, their focus is heavily on late 60’s and 70’s Afrobeat, Soul, and Funk with a contemporary spin on the genres.

Big bombastic horn lines are the norm, as well as an airtight rhythm section that stretches and sews the pocket but never leaves it. Though almost entirely instrumental, some of the members have been known to sing on a traditional Afrobeat tune or two. They are ambassadors of a music that is not so readily available in a live setting in this day and age. They will move you.

Tonight at South on Main – John Burnette covers Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms” album

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In honor of her April birthday, Amy Kelley Bell is curating April Sessions by choosing her favorite local musicians to cover her favorite artists. For the third Wednesday in April, Amy has invited the extremely talented John Burnette to cover the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms album..

Show starts at 8 pm. Tickets cost $12 cover day of show. Tickets do not guarantee a seat. To reserve a table, please call (501) 244-9660. You must purchase advance tickets to confirm your reservation.

Singer-Songwriter and contract guitarist John Burnette is at work on follow up EP slated for early 2019 release.

John Burnette has been a contracting guitarist in various groups and organizations since his teenage years, helping forge his unique style that combines the lyric-driven descriptiveness of Classic Folk and Country, the technical challenges of Jazz and Classical, and the grit of his home between the Delta and the Ozarks viewed through the tragedy-tinged glasses of a millennial in the South.

His eponymous debut album was warmly received by the international music blogging community. John resides in Nashville, TN and has commenced production on a follow-up EP with an expected Spring 2019 release date.

Jazz in the Park features Genine LaTrice Perez tonight in Riverfront Park

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Jazz in the Park is a free happy hour style event featuring different Jazz musicians weekly from 6pm-8pm in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park. Family and Pet Friendly.  It is offered each Wednesday in April and September.

Tonight features Genine LaTrice Perez.

A self-taught jazz and blues singer with a booming voice, Genine LaTrice Perez “captures the spirit of the live-sound era,” said Rex Bell of Infrared Records. Her performances With elegance, fun, and excitement in a jazz and R&B atmosphere,

Genine will keep you entertained by her musical journey back in time to the sounds of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Etta James, and Otis Redding. Not only does she take you on a journey back in time, she moves you forward with neo-soul by Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Leelah James, and Chrisette Michelle.

She has two jazz projects: Self-titled, Genine LaTrice Perez on iTunes, and Cafe’ Windsong, a live project. She is also featured on two Rex Bell Trio albums: Two Faces: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday’s 100th Birthday and Let me Sing it for You-A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

No Coolers Please. Lawn Chairs Welcome. (Rain Location is East Pavilion at River Market)

Tonight at South on Main – the OXFORD AMERICAN presents UCA Jazz I Ensemble with soloist Dr. Patricia Poulter

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An Evening with the UCA Jazz I EnsembleThe Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome the University of Central Arkansas Jazz I Ensemble to the South on Main stage, featuring soloist Dr. Patricia Poulter. This event is free and open to the public.

The Jazz I Ensemble is the top jazz ensemble at the University of Central Arkansas and it is directed by Dr. Gail Robertson – Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium/Jazz.

This performance will feature vocalist Dr. Patricia S. Poulter, UCA’s new provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs. Also joining Jazz I will be the band’s favorite Little Rock vocalist, Rychy St. Vincent.

Music from Steinmetz, Debussy, and Poulenc Presented by Arkansas Symphony Musicians at Clinton Center

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the fifth concert of the 2018-2019 River Rhapsodies Chamber Music season with Debussy & Poulenc, Tuesday, Apr. 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center.

ASO musicians present Debussy’s Violin Sonata, Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds, and music from Steinmetz.

River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Concerts are held in the intimate setting of the Clinton Presidential Center’s Great Hall. A cash bar is open before the concert and at intermission, and patrons are invited to carry drinks into the concert. The Media Sponsor for the River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series is UA Little Rock Public Radio.

General Admission tickets are $23; active duty military and student tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Clinton Presidential Center beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 1.

Artists
Diane McVinney, flute
Leanna Renfro, oboe
Kelly Johnson, clarinet
Susan Bell León, bassoon
David Renfro, horn
Geoffrey Robson, violin
John Krebs, piano
Tatiana Roitman Mann, piano

Program

STEINMETZ – What’s Going On (Consortium Commission)
McVinney, L. Renfro, Johnson, León, D. Renfro

DEBUSSY – Violin Sonata
Robson, Krebs

POULENC – Sextet for Piano and Winds
McVinney, L. Renfro, Johnson, León, D. Renfro, Mann

An evening of folk music with Tim Higgins at South on Main tonight

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10a4c2d6 dd87 4a0c 8f86 2ad0e094cc32Join South on Main for an evening of folk music with Tim Higgins, presented by South Main Creative. Concert begins tonight (April 13) at 9 pm.

Purchase advance tickets for $7 or pay a $10 cover at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. To reserve a table, please call (501) 244-9660. You must purchase tickets in order to confirm your reservation for the concert.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Singer-songwriter Tim Higgins writes and performs songs which spiral around issues dealing with love, loss, grief, and the downfall of society; his are personal songs that often carry broader social implications. Born and raised partly around Detroit, Michigan, and coastal Alabama, his Rust Belt meets Southern upbringing is channeled in his straightforward imagery and gravel-throated delivery.

His teenage and college years in Alabama lead to the formation of Bible Study, a collective of songwriters including Higgins, Emily Dozier-Ezell, and Kori Hensell. Their self-described “convoluted folk” genre garnered much attention in West Alabama, including performances at the Kentuck Folk Art Museum and the historic Bama Theatre. In 2014, Bible Study released their first record, Guilt Trip, recorded at WouldYou Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under the direction of England in 1819’s Andrew Callaway.

In November 2018, Higgins released his first single, Blight, the title track of his upcoming full length album debut, to critical acclaim. Blight was included on Rolling Stone magazine’s Best New Country/Americana Music on 11/9/18, and a music video was released the same day. Shot in Greensboro, Alabama, and directed by Reagan Wells, the video showcases the beauty, decline, and revitalization of the area, conjuring the experiences of both the artist’s upbringing in Detroit, and his later home in the Deep South.

Higgins currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is working on a collection of new songs dealing with the ideas of blight, destruction, history, and responsibility.