Category Archives: Music

Tonight’s Oxford American Local Live concert at South on Main features Steve Hester and DejaVooDoo Trio!

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LOCAL_LIVE_Logo2Tonight at 7:30 pm, join the Oxford American magazine for this week’s Local Live concert at South on Main, featuring Steve Hester and DejaVooDoo Trio!

As always, Local Live is free and open to the public. To guarantee a table/seat for this popular series, call ahead at (501) 244-9660.

Steve Hester and DejaVooDoo is a high energy Southern Rock/Blues Rock/Country Rock band doing originals and original style covers. The band has performed with B.B. King, Eric Gales, Chris Duarte, Johnny Winter, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and B’Nois King, Valerie June, Tony Joe White, Black Oak Arkansas, Samantha Fish, Anthony Gomes and Devon Allman. They have performed at The Sundance Film Festival Eco Hide Away Lounge, Pre Emmy parties and House of Blues on Sunset Strip in L.A., Spa City Blues Festival Hot Springs AR 2014, Bikes Blues and Barbeque Festival Fayetteville AR 2014, Highland Jazz and Blues Festival Shreveport LA 2014.

They are regulars on The VooDoo Stage at House of Blues in Dallas, and fast becoming regular Headliners at festivals all over the US! Endorsed by Saint Blues Guitar Workshop in Memphis, TN and Rocky Mountain Slide Company Salida, CO and GHS Strings Battle Creek, MI.

Enjoy That Arkansas Weather at tonight’s FREE Jazz in the Park from 6pm to 8pm.

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jazzinparkThis September, on Wednesday nights from 6 pm – 8 pm., Jazz in the Park continues its partnership with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. in the Riverfront Park.
Tonight features That Arkansas Weather!  The concert will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.
That Arkansas Weather is a versatile band of UALR trained and gig-tested musicians. Come hear them play a high energy blend of Jazz, Soul, and Funk.  Bring your party pants and dancing shoes, but don’t try to predict the weather— It’s always changing!
The concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)
Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.

 

Day One of ACANSA offers Lunch & Learn, Evening Events

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acansaThe second annual ACANSA Arts Festival officially gets underway today!

The ACANSA Arts Festival officially opens is 2015 festival with a performance by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in the Creative Corridor of Little Rock’s Main Street between Capitol and 6th Streets. First Lady of Arkansas Susan Hutchinson will host and welcome guests to enjoy this fun family friendly atmosphere. Additional entertainment will be provided by ReCreation Studios. This event is free to the public

Come around the corner to the Festival After Party at McLeod Fine Art. Entertainment by the Hi-Balls
The pARTy continues at 7:30pm.  Tickets for this are $25 general admission.

Earlier in the day – at noon, there is a Lunch and Learn at the THEA Foundation.  It will feature Bob Snider, who will be giving a talk and a painting demonstration. This program is free.

The Angela Davis Johnson Exhibit will be on display at the Argenta Gallery all day today (and through October 12). It has free admission as well.

 

Preview this week’s ACANSA Arts Festival tonight from 6pm to 7pm

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This evening, Join in the Discussion of the 2015 ACANSA Arts Festival from 6pm to 7pm tonight.

It will take place at Fosters at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 2nd Floor

(Not in the Rep’s Black Box as listed in the ACANSA brochure; Parking is available in the parking deck behind and adjacent to the Rep)
Join Arkansas Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Conductor Philip Mann as they offer exclusive insight into the various festival performances. Bob and Philip are two amazing guys who provide leadership in Arkansas arts as well as ACANSA Arts Festival.
This is a one-hour discussion from 6:00 to 7:00 pm to enable you to enjoy dinner afterwards in one of the great restaurants in the area!

Creative Corridor Celebrated This Afternoon

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A grand opening to highlight the new features and completed sections of the Creative Corridor’s Low Impact Development (LID) streetscape will be held 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, as the revitalization of Little Rock’s Main Street continues to take shape, block by block.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will join Ron Curry, Region 6 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Randy Young, executive director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, for the kickoff event, which will begin with a project update at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (601 Main Street). Professor Stephen Luoni of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and director of the UA Community Design Center will give an informative presentation on the theories of Low Impact Development and creative place-making that underpin the project.

The most recently completed improvements in the 500 block of Main Street will be open to the public for strolling along the tree-lined boardwalk on the west side.  All of the pedestrian and environmentally friendly streetscapes in the 100, 200, 300 and 500 blocks of Main Street contain LID features such as bioswales, porous pavers, rain gardens, and other biodiverse vegetation.

The grand opening will also celebrate the elements of creative place-making that have occurred. Recent public art installations and the clustering of artistic and creative organizations on Main Street are transforming the Creative Corridor into a downtown hub that supports a great level of pedestrian activity, sociability, recreation and aesthetics.

An arts open house and reception will follow the tour, with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas, Matt McLeod Fine Art, and Cranford Co. opening the doors to their new, connected spaces.

“The progress on Main Street is a harbinger of the exciting development yet to come for this area,” says Stodola. “The Creative Corridor, once just a vision, has become a vibrant reality that has earned national accolades, brought together many of our City’s cultural institutions, and created these beautiful spaces that will continue to grow.”

The Creative Corridor is a mixed-use development project aimed at restoring the vitality of Main Street by creating an arts district and retrofitting a four-block segment of the street between President Clinton Avenue and 7th streets. The City of Little Rock estimates that more than $100 million in private and public investment has occurred to date to help make this vision a reality.

 

Little Rock Look Back: The City responds to September 11

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The Little Rock arts and culture community responded to September 11 as all sectors did.

Two of the groups in particular come to mind. When airspace was closed on September 11, several flights were grounded in Little Rock. The passengers on those planes became unexpected visitors to Little Rock.   Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey and Assistant City Manager Bruce Moore led efforts to make sure that everyone had a place to stay that evening.

The Arkansas Rep had opened its production of You Can’t Take It with You on Friday, September 7. The show was already scheduled to be dark on September 11, but on Wednesday, September 12, 2001, the performances resumed. That night the Rep offered these unexpected Little Rock guests free tickets to the performance.  Seeing a play which was both heartwarming, comic and full of Americana was the perfect balm for audiences who were weary, confused and nervous in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Most of the cast of that production was from New York City. Luckily, all of their friends and family back in New York were all safe.

Also on September 12, 2001, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presented a previously scheduled concert with Michael Bolton.  He had been traveling by bus so was able to get to Little Rock.  His concert was cathartic for the 2000 plus attendees at Robinson Center Music Hall. It offered not only a communal experience but also a welcome break from 24 hour coverage.  Three days later, on September 15, the ASO kicked off its MasterWorks series.  As has been tradition since the days of Francis McBeth as conductor, that first concert of the season began with the National Anthem.  The audience and musicians gathered and sang and played with unprecedented gusto that night.

Changes in store for Riverfest 2016

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Triverfesthe 39th annual Riverfest celebration will take on a new, expanded format with “Springfest” offered free on Saturday, April 2, and the traditional Riverfest music experience, minus the family activities, presented Friday through Sunday, June 3-5.

Springfest will fill Riverfront Park with many of the most popular daytime activities Riverfest traditionally has offered, including International Village; the Super Retriever Series dog jumping competitions; the Jesse White Tumblers and other roving attractions; Ruff on the River, the Rock ’n’ Stroll 5k Fun Run as well as children’s arts and crafts activities. A concert by acclaimed musical duo Trout Fishing in America will close Springfest.

Flowing on the River, the festival’s separately ticketed wine and craft beer event, will kick off Riverfest 2016 on Friday, June 3. As in years past, concerts by top-name musical acts, along with local and regional performers, will be presented on stages in Riverfront Park and the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center on Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5. As always, Market Row vendors and popular Riverfest food and drink merchants will be featured during the weekend.

Ticket prices have not yet been set.

“The cost of booking quality musical acts has accelerated rapidly over the last many years, and Riverfest ticket prices have naturally reflected that trend,” said DeAnna Korte, Riverfest executive director. “We have worried that this has become a financial burden for families and others who aren’t as interested in the evening concerts, so this year we’re presenting many of the classic Riverfest activities for free. And those who want to see the headline concerts will still get that chance for a price that will be very competitive with if not significantly lower than the cost of attending other popular music festivals.”

Korte continued: “We know Riverfest serves two distinct audiences. After almost 40 years – an amazing run for any festival – it is time for a change to ensure all festival-goers’ needs.  In 2016, Riverfest will move off Memorial Day weekend for the first time in the festival’s history. Korte said that decision was made “because that weekend traditionally is a time when families go to the lake or engage in other start-of-summer activities. We wanted to remove that barrier as a reason people might not be able to attend Riverfest.”

More specific details for both the April and June expanded Riverfest experiences will be announced as they develop.