Tag Archives: South on Main

Tonight at South on Main – Bonnie Montgomery headlines Friendsgiving

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som bonnieTonight at 10:00 PM, South on Main has special music for its third-annual Friendsgiving celebration featuring Bonnie Montgomery and Friends!

Come on down for some late night boot-scootin’ with Arkansas’ beloved honky-tonk howler Bonnie Montgomery! There is a $10 cover charge payable in cash only at the door on the night of the show. Music will start at 10:00 PM.

 

Following the release of EPs Cruel (2012) and Joy (2013), Arkansas born and bred Bonnie Montgomery released her self-titled LP in July 2014 on Nathan Howdeshell’s (of Gossip) Portland/Arkansas label Fast Weapons. A classically trained singer whose southern roots run deep, Montgomery has taken her authentic spin on golden-era country/western music through the U.S. and Europe, sharing the stage with Gossip, Shovels and Rope, Robert Ellis, Hayes Carll, Billy Joe Shaver, Turnpike Troubadours, Pokey LaFarge, and Wayne “the Train” Hancock.

Bonnie’s composition of the modern folk opera Billy Blythe, about the childhood of Bill Clinton, previewed in New York, and has earned her the attention of The New Yorker, The Huffington Post, and the London Daily Telegraph. Recent West Coast and upcoming Northeast tour dates will feature her supercharged Little Rock/Austin-based band.

Tonight at South on Main – UCA Jazz II Ensemble

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ucajazzTonight at Join the Oxford American magazine for a special concert at South on Main, featuring the UCA Jazz II Ensemble! This event is free and open to the public. To guarantee a table/seat, call ahead at (501) 244-9660.

Led by Dr. Gail Robertson, the UCA Jazz Ensemble II consists of students with a variety of jazz backgrounds. Some members are experienced while others may have never been in a jazz band before. This ensemble often provides valuable opportunities for our students to play on secondary instruments. There is a strong focus on learning improvisation that has become known as the weekly “Blues Around the House.” Jazz II performs standards such as works by Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Neal Hefti, Billy Strayhorn, Herbie Hancock, Sammy Nestico, Les Hooper, Mark Taylor, Josef Zawinul, Woody Herman, as well as over 50 charts from our Dance Band Book!

The University of Central Arkansas is a vibrant and exciting place to study jazz. With generous funding from the College of Fine Arts and Communication, UCA Student Government Association, and a partnership with the Oxford American, UCA is able to host several guest artists and clinicians each semester.

Past featured artists are: Delfayo Marsalis, Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, Maynard Ferguson, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez, Chris Vadala, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jim Cullum Jazz Band, The Bad Plus, Warren Wolf and Wolfpack, Peter Martin and Romero Lubambo, Bennie Wallace Quartet, Anat Cohen, Rhythm and Brass, and many more to come!

Late Night at South on Main tonight – Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe

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big-piph-34.jpg.190x140_q60_cropSouth on Main brings Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe back to their stage tonight!

Doors open at 4:00 PM, show begins at 10:00 PM. Wristbands can be purchased for $15 after doors open. Call (501) 244-9660 to reserve your table for this show in advance.

“One of Arkansas’ best bands” and “hip-hop ensemble” are terms often used for the collective known as Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe. However, although they are both deserving titles, they have proven to be too confining of descriptions. The creativity, work, and showmanship that BPTM put into their jazz, soul, funk, and rock infused hip-hop experiences will soon have them recognized as one of the best bands.. period.

Although he was already enjoying a successful solo rap career, Epiphany looked to further separate himself from the pack of competitive emcees by joining forces with a stellar live band, and in 2012 he did just that. Each of the seven members approaches the apex of their field and is a “frontman” in their own right. However, when their paths finally overlapped, the collective of Paul Campbell (percussion), Dre Franklin (keys), Bijoux Pighee (vocals), Epiphany “Big Piph” Morrow (MC/lead vocalist), Dee Dee Jones (vocals), “Cool Hand” Lucas Murray (guitar), and Corey Harris (bass) formed something special.

Tonight at South on Main, the Oxford American Local Live series features Dana Louise & Adams Collins

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llsom dana lAt 7:30 PM tonight, this week’s installment of South on Main’s Local Live concert series features Dana Louise & Adams Collins! 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.

Dana brings her vibrant, melodic vocals and finger picking to a body of complex songs. Drawing from jazz and bluegrass, carrying a contemporary beat, the sound is roots-rooted flung-into-the-future folk. Dana Louise and Adams Collins (vibraphone and five-string banjo) work to leave their audiences glowing with the magic music can bring: genuine human connection.

The Oxford American Local Live tonight at South on Main celebrates Tulsa Music Showcase with Horton Records

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llsom hortonTonight at 7:30 PM join the Oxford American magazine for this week’s Local Live concert at South on Main. On tap for November 4 is a special Tulsa Music Showcase with Horton Records! 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.

This showcase is presented by Horton Records, a non-profit 501c-3 organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma that is dedicated to the cultivation and development of Tulsa area artists and building on the area’s great tradition, while fostering and strengthening community through musical endeavors. Featuring:

Paul BenjamanPAUL BENJAMAN – Paul Benjaman builds his style from Tulsa Sound hero J.J. Cale and expands the form to include most genres of American music. Signature guitar licks are at the forefront of his groove-based songs, playing a wide vocabulary that also scored him a spot as touring sideman for The Secret Sisters and an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Stellar musicianship and mature song craft makes for a red-hot live show that fits equally well on a large festival stage or smoky dive bar.

Jacob TovarJACOB TOVAR – Jacob Tovar, leader of The Saddle Tramps, is a man from a different era, a different time. With a gentleman’s handshake, booming voice, contagious smile, and quick wit, this performer effortlessly connects with all walks of life through his sincere songs of country, western, and old-fashioned honky tonk. His live performances are immediately engaging and a real hoot for any audience.

Beau RobersonBEAU ROBERSON – Beau Roberson, leader of the band Pilgrim, is a powerhouse vocalist with great range and a rhythmic style of playing that always gets the crowd moving. Down-home lyrics join with swampy grooves to create a gritty soul sound that makes you want to kick off your shoes and grab a drink. Just as powerful are the slower moments, when introspective lyrics reach deep down and stir your spirit.

Kyle ReidKYLE REID – Kyle Reid, leader of The Low Swinging Chariots, serves up a mixed drink of Americana with New Orleans flavor and a twist of Gypsy Swing.  Reid’s original tunes sound at once familiar yet new and exciting, blending elements of these classic American forms with contemporary attitude. It’s a rambunctious romp that drags one through the mire of everyday drudgery into a tent revival of glorious swinging sound that is guaranteed to get toes tapping and tail feathers shaking.

Tonight’s Local Live at South on Main showcases Sounds So Good

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llsom ssgTonight at 7:30 PM, the weekly Oxford American Local Live concert series features Sounds So Good!

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.

 

Pianist Curtis JJ Adams began playing in the metro Little Rock area in 1966 with his Latin / Eastern style jazz group, the Jamaica Jive Trio, whose style was heavily influenced by the Rochester, New York jazz scene of that era. Adams started the jazz group Sounds So Good in 2013, and with its east coast flavor, yet decidedly down-home feel, SSG is quickly becoming a local favorite.

The group is rounded out by saxophonist Timothy Woods, a 2011 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello who was awarded the Outstanding Soloist award at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Elmhurst, IL in both Big Band and combo divisions, and vocalist Tamisha “Sonnie” Cheatham, who has performed in opera and musical theatre productions and the jazz ensemble at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Leo “Bud” Welch with Jimbo Mathus at South on Main tonight

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Leo Bud Welch with Guest Jimbo Mathus [Archetypes & Troubadours Series]Tonight at 7:30 PM, the Oxford American magazine brings Leo Bud Welch to the South on Main stage as part of the Archetypes & Troubadours Series. Welch is welcomed by the Esse Pure Museum. Doors open at 5:30 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. This series is made possible in part by the generosity of The Summer Foundation. Single tickets are still available, but going fast.

Welch is joined tonight by Jimbo Mathus.

Leo “Bud” Welch was born in Sabougla, Mississippi in 1932, and he picked up a guitar for the first time in 1945. By 1947 at age fifteen, Bud could play well enough to perform publically and garnered the blessing of many elder guitar players. He was offered an audition by B.B. King but could not afford the trip to Memphis. Bud played the blues continuously until 1975, when he converted to playing mostly gospel with the Sabougla Voices, which consisted of his sister and a sister-in-law. He also played with the Skuna Valley Male Chorus. Bud earned his living by carrying a chain saw up and down the hills and hollows of North Mississippi, logging for thirty-five years.

Leo Bud Welch does not believe that blues is the Devil’s music, but rather they’re a way of expressing the highs and lows of one’s life through song. He has played his guitar for close family and friends for the past sixty-five years and has remained under the radar, undetected by the vast majority of Blues Aficionados. Welch’s debut album, Sabougla Voices, was released January 7, 2014, just two months before his 82nd birthday.

Jimbo Mathus was born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he often spent time listening to blues music in the Mississippi Delta. “I break down walls and stereotypes with my music,” says Mathus, “I confuse people. I use Mississippi Music, which is renegade music at heart, as my inspiration and motivation…” He excels as a songwriter, a producer, a recording artist, and at spreading the gospel of Mississippi Music in concert. “I like to let the shows be the test and keep the boogie going thirty minutes if needs be,” Mathus says. “If everybody is grooving on something why bother and stop it?”

Mathus can regularly be found performing at the world-famous Ground Zero Blues Club, which is co-owned by fellow Clarksdale resident Morgan Freeman, who co-produced Mathus’ 2004 live album Jimbo & Friends at Ground Zero Blues Club. Mathus is a continuation of the storied music history of Clarksdale and of Mississippi, when all is said and done. His current band, The Tri-State Coalition, features solid talent cut from the same Delta cloth: Tri-State bassist Justin Showah and keyboardist Eric Carlton are also from Mississippi. Guitarist Matt Pierce hails from Arkansas. Missouri native and drummer Austin Marshall rounds out the group, whose sound, Mathus describes as “inner-planetary honky-tonk. Basically I’m using a lot more of white country, folk, and southern rock influences. It’s a great Southern band that is versatile to the extreme.”