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A full slate for the third day of the 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival

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2015 ALF 1Many activities today with the Arkansas Literary Festival!

At 10am –

  • Karen Joy Fowler, Janis F. Kearney and Jamaica Kincaid on a panel – Acts of Empowerment at the Darragh Center.
  • Alison Hedge Coke and Casandra Lopez on a panel – Indigenous Grace in the Main Library
  • Stephen Roth, Jay Ruud and John Vanderslice on a panel – Island of Fatal Pride in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Karen Akins, John Horner Jacobs and Ann Leckie on a panel – Science Fiction & Fantasy in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Michael Barrier will discuss his book Funnybooks on the 3rd floor of River Market Books & Gifts
  • Joe Barry Carroll will give a workshop at Historic Arkansas Museum
  • Arree Chung will discuss Ninja! At the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center.

At 11:30am –

  • Scott Simpson will lead a Dinosaur Odyssey in the Ron Robinson Theater
  • Megan Abbott & Ben Percy on a panel – Thrill Me in the Darragh Center.
  • Morgan Murphy & Desha Peacock on a panel – Social Savvy in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Lisa Howorth and James Korne Gay on a panel – Mississippi Two by Two on the 3rd floor of River Market Books & Gifts
  • John A. Beineke & James Presley on a panel – Notorious Crimes at Historic Arkansas Museum
  • Brian Turner discusses Memories of a Soldier at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History
  • Tiphanie Yanique and Sefi Atta on a panel – Vital Fusion at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
  • Michele Raffin discusses The Birds of Pandemonium at the Witt Stephens Jr. Arkansas Nature Center

At 1pm –

  • Issa Rae will discuss The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl at the Ron Robinson Theater
  • Michael Kardos & M.O. Walsk on a panel – The Unputdownables at the Darragh Center.
  • Mary Miller & Timothy S. Lane on a panel – Triumph of Youth in the Main Library
  • Jesse J. Hargrove and Janis F. Kearney on a panel – Celia and T.J. in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Cheryl & Griffith Day on a panel – Baking Days in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Jonathan Darman discusses Landslide: LBJ and Ronald Reagan on the 3rd floor of River Market Books & Gifts
  • Joe Barry Carroll discusses Growing Up…in Words and Images at Historic Arkansas Museum
  • Jeff Allen and Preston Lauterbach on a panel – Beginning in 1866 at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
  • Amanda Petrusich and Kent Russell on a panel at the Witt Stephens Jr. Arkansas Nature Center
  • Spencer Reese discusses The Road to Emmaus at Christ Episcopal Church

At 2:30 pm –

  • Rick Bragg discusses Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story at the Ron Robinson Theater
  • Quan Barry and Brock Clarke on a panel – Luminosity at the Darragh Center.
  • Richard Lange, Thomas Pierce & Antonio Ruiz-Camacho on a panel – Short Stories in the Main Library
  • Maxine Payne discusses Making Pictures in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Morgan Murphy discusses Off the Eaten Path: On the Road Again in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Meili Cady discusses Smoke on the 3rd floor of River Market Books & Gifts
  • Frank Thurmond discusses Ring of Five at Historic Arkansas Museum
  • Ted Rall discusses Traveling to Afghanistan at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History
  • Jamaica Kincaid discusses See Now Then at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
  • Scott Sampson discusses How to Raise a Wild Child at the Witt Stephens Jr. Arkansas Nature Center

At 4 pm –

  • Marck Beggs, Nickole Brown, Hope Coulter, Jessica Jacobs, Sand Longhorn and Jo McDougall headline a poetry panel at the Ron Robinson Theater
  • Kevin Brockmeier and Tania James on a panel at the Darragh Center.
  • Desha Peacock leads a workshop on creating your style in the Main Library
  • J. Hartley discusses Macbeth: A Novel in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Sam Quinones and Marilyn Wedge on a panel in the Arkansas Studies Institute
  • Seph Lawless discusses Black Friday on the 3rd floor of River Market Books & Gifts
  • Laura Parker Castoro and Adrienne Thompson on a panel at Historic Arkansas Museum
  • Molly Guptill Manning discusses When Books Went to War at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History
  • Guy Lancaster and Andrew Maraniss on a panel – History and Sport at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
  • Michael Largo discusses The Big, Bad Book of Botany at the Witt Stephens Jr. Arkansas Nature Center

Evening activities include:

  • Fed, White & Blue at 5pm at the Oxford American annex (1300 Main) featuring author and TV personality Simon Jajumdar
  • Joshua Wolf Shank discussing Powers of Two at the Clinton School at 6pm
  • Pub or Perish, moderated by Bryan Borland at Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack at 7pm
  • Speak Now at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at 7pm
  • John Waters discussing Carsick at the Ron Robinson Theatre at 8pm

Local Live tonight at South on Main – DAVID ROSEN SEPTET

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llsom_drs.jpg.190x140_q60_cropTonight at 7:30 is the weekly Local Live concert at South on Main.  This free concert series is sponsored by the Oxford American magazine with support from Cosmic Cowboy Studio.

The music tonight is provided by the David Rosen Septet. These talented Little Rock jazzers will play a variety of swing and big band music from the 1940’s-’60s. Call ahead at (501) 244-9660 to reserve your seat at a table for this popular series.

The David Rosen Septet will be playing updated arrangements of many favorite tunes from the swing, big band, and jazz eras, featuring Craig Grubbs (trombone), Perry Israel (guitar), Bryan Withers (drums), Matt Dickson (tenor sax), and David Higginbottam (bass).

Local Live at South on Main tonight – SeanFresh

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llsom_seanfresh_website.jpg.190x140_q60_cropTonight at 7:30 pm, the Oxford American magazine presents this week’s Local Live concert at South on Main, starring SeanFresh!

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. Local Live is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Cosmic Cowboy Music.

SeanFresh, the son of Pastor E.E. Clay-West and Alvin West, is a proud native of Little Rock, Arkansas. In the face of his substantial religious background, Sean was exposed to a very wide scope of music from the likes of Brian McKnight, Babyface, Madonna, 8 Ball and MJG, Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers, OutKast, and Fred Hammond. As a child, Sean grew up in area dominant in gang violence, and he would use his faith and music to escape the threatening world around him. Now the singer, songwriter, entertainer uses his sultry, charming vocals to enlighten the world through his alluring melodies. This year he will be releasing his ultimate musical experience called The Teshuvah Project; three albums telling a story of love, pain, and restoration, starting with FreshSeason.

Sean is also currently heading up fundraisers as the Marketing Director for Global Kids Arkansas (GKAR), which gives at-risk children hands on experience in foreign policy and global initiatives.

When asked who SeanFresh is, he replies “It’s simple. SeanFresh is just a church boy that loves to do R&B and Hip-Hop.”

Rev. G and the Gospel Allstars headline South on Main Gospel Brunch today

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pic_rev_g_and_gospel_allstars_copy.jpg.190x140_q60_cropA first for Little Rock! – Join The Oxford American for South on Main’s first ever Gospel Brunch! Two sets of live music will be performed between 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM featuring Rev. G and the Gospel Allstars. There is a $10 per person cover charge.

Seating is available first come, first served when the doors open at 10:00 AM.  No reservations are being taken for this event.

Rev. G and the Gospel Allstars includes Arkansas artists and musicians Greg Spradlin, Mable Bealer (a Tru-Soul recording artist), Chris Michaels, and Jonathan “J-Roc” Burks performing classic southern gospel favorites from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Staple Singers, Sam Cooke, and more.

Tonight at 10pm – BAD MATCH takes to the South on Main stage

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badmatchstudio1_cropped2.png.190x140_q60_cropTonight at 10:00pm, The Oxford American is proud to welcome Bad Match to South on Main! The Coasts will support the bill. Doors open at 9:00 PM. This is a ticketed event, with a $8 cover payable in cash only at the door on the night of the show.

Recently formed Bad Match is rock and roll. Un-gussied, raw-throated rock and roll that makes you lick your teeth and spill your beer. As the Arkansas Times has said, they play with promise, “balancing compulsive, soulful rock with carefully calibrated arrangements heavy on Rhodes piano and steely, charismatic energy.”  Bad Match is Sarah Stricklin, Isaac Alexander, Ryan Hitt, Jack Lloyd, and Mike Motley.

 

Bennie Wallace Quartet closes out 2014-15 Jazz Series at South on Main

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bennie_wallace.jpg.190x140_q60_cropTonight at 8, the Oxford American magazine presents the final concert of their 2014-2015 Jazz Series at South on Main, featuring the Bennie Wallace Quartet!

The OA jazz series is sponsored by the University of Central Arkansas College of Fine Arts and Communication. Doors open at 6:00 PM with dinner and drinks available at that time. The concert begins at 8:00 PM.

Single tickets are $30 for reserved seats at tables and $20 for general admission. Purchasing a reserved seat assigns you to a specific guaranteed seat at a table. However, seating at tables is family-style, and unless you purchase the entire table, you will be seated with other patrons. General admission tickets are good for barstools and standing room, available on a first-come, first-served basis. For ticketing questions, please contact Metrotix at (800) 293-5949.

An improbable combination of the old masters’ deep, impetuous sound on one hand and a nearly avant-garde approach to phrasing and intervals on the other, Bennie Wallace has been hailed by the New York Arts Journal as “the most important reed player since Dolphy’s and Coleman’s startling work in the early sixties.”

In January 1999, DownBeat magazine described Wallace as “a modernist who understands the past.” Wallace possesses an uncommon knowledge of the music of his predecessors—not just Dolphy, Coltrane, and Coleman, but their mentors as well. Wallace has spent a great deal of time studying early saxophone masters such as Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, and Don Byas. Assimilating much of the history of his instrument, he has remolded it into a unique personal style that defies easy categorization. It is a style that, while reflecting its heritage, is fresh sounding and contemporary. Wallace’s tone is full and resonant, whether articulating a post-bop expressionism or a quiet romanticism. His prodigious technique is indispensable to an approach that, at fast tempos, explores the extremes of the instrument with virtuosic arpeggios, scales, and melodic fragments, but on ballads transforms into a warm, often delicate lyricism.

Bennie Wallace the composer complements Wallace the performer. While Wallace’s written music reflects many of the myriad streams of twentieth-century composition—including the French Impressionists and American classical composers, as well as Ellington and Strayhorn and such songwriters as Gershwin, Porter, and Kern—it, like his playing, is also informed by improvising jazz musicians, from Armstrong to the present.

RJ Mischo & His Red Hot Blues Band heat up Local Live tonight at South on Main

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rj_m.jpg.190x140_q60_cropThis week’s installment of the Local Live concert series features R.J. Mischo & His Red Hot Blues Band! They take the stage at 7:30 pm at South on Main.

Presented by the Oxford American magazine, Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660. Local Live is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Cosmic Cowboy Music.

R.J. Mischo is an award-winning blues singer, harmonica player, and band leader. His music is a combination of originals and obscure gems that create an exciting mix of grooving boogies, bump & grind shuffles, and electric Chicago blues. Mischo is endorsed by Hohner Harmonicas and has nine albums out to date. He can also be heard on twenty-one additional CDs as a guest or on compilations with Jimmie Vaughan, James Cotton, G. Love, James Harman, Kim Wilson, Candye Kane, John Mayall, among others.

Mischo’s harmonica playing is on nationally-aired television commercials, as well as documentaries on the Discovery Channel and independent movie scores. He has contributed his harmonica expertise to two published harmonica instruction books, and has conducted workshops at music schools in the U.S., Europe, and Brazil.

In addition to fronting his own bands, Mischo has been hired in bands alongside Grammy Award-Winning Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Jimmy Thackery, Earl Cate, Junior Watson, and more.

R.J. Mischo & His Red Hot Blues Band has toured in eighteen countries and appeared on major festivals including, the Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival, the San Francisco Blues Festival, the Monterey Jazz & Blues Festival, the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, and many more.