— March 15th, 2010
On The Way: Bret Michaels, April 15 @ Rib Room
It’s Monday. Which means you’re having nothing but a good time, right?
Those who dismiss reality television as junk are perhaps forgetting the most amazing thing it has ever been responsible for: the resurrection of the career of Poison frontman Bret Michaels, star of the now-gone reality show “Rock of Love.” He’s currently featured in “Celebrity Apprentice 3,” which debuted yesterday (March 14).
He played in Northwest Arkansas (at the also now-gone Icehouse of Bentonville) about three years ago, but not to the fanfare that I suspect will greet him when we performs at Neumeier’s Rib Room in Fort Smith on April 15, a Thursday.
Michaels, outside of his reality television appearances, is best known for his work with Poison, whose hits include “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “Talk Dirty To Me” and “Unskinny Bop,” among others.
Michaels also has a successful solo performing career while he continues to perform with Poison.
Tickets for the April show, part of Michaels’ “Roses and Thorns Tour,” will go on sale Friday (March 19) through the venue’s Web site. No word on prices.
Tags: Bret Michaels, Neumeier's Rib Room, Poison
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— March 11th, 2010
Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra is at the Walton Arts Center…
And we were there while they were warming up.
Although bandleader Wynton Marsalis did not make an appearance while we were in attendance, we did snap a few photos while watching the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra’s sound check at the Walton Arts Center.
Click the title of this entry or the “continue reading this entry” link below to see a few more images.
The concert starts in about 30 minutes (at 7 p.m. March 11). A few tickets may remain. You can call 443-5600 to check for availability. If the tickets are available, they’ll run you $56-$79.
And yes, Wynton Marsalis will perform then.
Tags: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Walton Arts Center
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— March 11th, 2010
Live tonight: The Fox Hunt @ Smoke & Barrel
The Fox Hunt
The Fox Hunt make the kind of music one might expect a group from West Virginia to make. It’s steeped in Appalachian roots and features bluegrass instrumentation. On their newest album, “Long Way to Go,” the group sings about alcohol, abandonment and other anxieties. Currently on a tour to support the album, the group will visit the Smoke & Barrel Tavern at 324 W. Dickson St. today (March 11) for a show at 10 p.m. Admission is free.
Tags: Smoke & Barrel, The Fox Hunt
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— March 11th, 2010
Free music from Pretty Lights
When you go see a show, you better have the artist’s most recent work, because, without fail, the artist is going to be playing those songs.
Well, Pretty Lights is coming to Fayetteville on April 23. His latest EP, “Making Up A Changing Mind,” is out now.
You better have it then, huh? Well, why don’t you go and get it? For free.
Pretty Lights (aka Derek Smith) is releasing the EP free on his Web site. Find that here: http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/#/downloads.
If you like what you hear, you can check him out like at the Fayetteville Town Center at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available through the Web site of local venue George’s Majestic Lounge.
Tags: Fayetteville Town Center, George's Majestic Lounge, Pretty Lights
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— March 11th, 2010
On The Way: Dierks Bentley, April 7 @ Barnhill Arena
Dierks Bentley talks about how everyone wants to “Feel That Fire.” Let’s hope there are some pyrotechnics on his stage.
Update: We’re told tickets that public tickets will go on sale March 17 through Ticketmaster. The site indicates the tickets will be $37.50 each.
According to a Facebook event listing sent out by folks involved with the University of Arkansas’ Headliner Concerts Committee, we know who the spring act for the series will be.
Country star Dierks Bentley is scheduled to perform in Barnhill Arena on April 7, a Wednesday night, in Barnhill Arena. The hit maker is responsible for the song you see above, “Feel That Fire,” a No. 1 chart country tune, and others such as “Lot Of Leaving Left To Do,”Every Mile A Memory” and “Long Trip Alone.”
His Web site confirms his appearance.
Because the headliner committee is a student-fees supported endeavor, the first several thousand students to request a ticket will get one free. Distribution of student tickets will begin at 7:30 a.m. March 16 in the Union Ballroom on campus.
No word on an opening act or ticket prices for members of the public. We’ll let you know what we find out.
Tags: Barnhill Arena, Dierks Bentley
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— March 10th, 2010
A jazz giant
When it comes to jazz music, there aren’t many last names that loom larger than this one: Marsalis.
And one of those famed brothers, Wynton, is coming to the Walton Arts Center for a performance at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, March 11).
Demand for the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra , for which Marsalis is the artistic director, is so great that Marsalis didn’t have time to chat with our newspapers. However, we did get to chat with a worthy alternative: Ted Nash, one of the 17-member group’s saxophone players.
Nash composed the group’s latest recording “Portraits in Seven Shades,” which provides a musical representation of seven visual artists: Monet, Dali, Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Chagall and Pollock.
Above, Nash discusses his composition and inspiration for the movement dedicated to Dali.
For the group’s Thursday night performance, expect them to play a “greatest hits” for the first half of the performance and them move on to elements from “Portraits in Seven Shades” in the second half of the evening.
We understand a few tickets remain for the Jazz at the Lincoln Center show. They range from $56-$79 and are available at the venue or its Web site.
Also, stick around the blog. We’ll have some exclusive photos of Marsalis and the crew tomorrow afternoon.
Tags: Jazz at the Lincoln Center, Ted Nash, Walton Arts Center, Wynton Marsalis
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— March 9th, 2010
Hear them live before you go: Tea Leaf Green
Tea Leaf Green is looking for a reason. They’ve got a reason to be in Fayetteville: They play tonight (March 9) at George’s Majestic Lounge.
Friend of the blog and music aficionado DGold, host of the Honest Tunes Radio Show on KXUA (88.3 FM) is hosting a live performance and a live Web cast from California-based rockers Tea Leaf Green, who play today (March 9) at George’s Majestic Lounge.
The band will be playing live (acoustic) at 6 p.m. on the radio show and streamed live from the show via UStream starting about 9 p.m.
For details or links, check out http://dgold.info/radio
Of course, nothing beats seeing a show live. The show starts about 9 p.m.; local band Mountain of Venus opens. Tickets, which are available through the venue’s Web site, are $15.
Tags: George's Majestic Lounge, Tea Leaf Green
Posted in Concert Reminders, Music Industry News, NWA Music News | 1 Comment »
— March 8th, 2010
Concert Wrap: George Thorogood, March 7 @ WAC
George Thorogood and the Destroyers
“I know I’m full of (crap), but I’m having a good time,” George Thorogood told a crowd gathered to watch him perform March 7 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.
And that pretty much sums it up.
George Thorogood, approaching 60 years of age, is still full of vim and vigor. He’s still got chops on guitar. He’s still got a few moves, too, as he spent a good part of the evening wriggling about onstage, shaking his hips or spinning in circles while playing his white Gibson guitar.
But Thorogood isn’t the best guitarist you’ll ever see. His stage show isn’t the most advanced, although the LED video boards that flanked him on both sides of his spot in the middle of the stage had their moments. And, heck, he doesn’t even play that many of his own songs, making hits instead of blues standards by John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and more.
But, you know what? He’s on to something. When you’re having as he was on Sunday night, it’s hard not so share some of that enthusiasm.
Tags: Bo Diddley, George Thorogood, Hank Williams, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Cash, Moreland & Arbuckle, Walton Arts Center
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— March 5th, 2010
On The Way: Steve Martin in concert, April 24 @ WAC
Update: Walton Arts Center has confirmed the concert. Tickets will be $51-$101 and go on sale at 9 a.m. March 12.
Steve Martin is a funny man, with notoriety as famed standup comic and television and movie star, but he can be serious, too.
He is serious about music, for instance, and he is a talented banjo player. Really.
And, according to his Web site, fans in Fayetteville will get a chance to see it in person. The performer’s site indicates he will play at the Walton Arts Center on April 24, a Saturday night, with the Steep Canyon Rangers, an award-winning bluegrass band.
No details on tickets are available at this time. We’ll update you if more information is released.
Tags: Steep Canyon Rangers, Steve Martin, Walton Arts Center
Posted in Concert Announcements, Music Industry News, NWA Music News | 2 Comments »
— March 5th, 2010
Shannon Wurst goes solo, confessional
Shannon Wurst
Shannon Wurst knows she had a good thing going in 3 Penny Acre.
Their sound was pure, fun and, as she says, representative of the Ozarks.
But she also knows her dream: to be a solo artist. So the Alma native, who has also had brief careers as a whitewater rafting guide and a dog musher, is going it alone.
On the heels of her amicable departure for the Northwest Arkansas folk band, Wurst will release her second solo album, “What’s More Honest Than A Song?” at a show tonight (March 5) at the Smoke & Barrel Tavern in Fayetteville.
Wurst will also use tonight’s show as the starting point for a tour that will take her to the West Coast, East Coast and everywhere in between. Her tour is with a group titled the Swamp Family Band, composed of a group of songwriters who will take turns backing each other’s songs while on the road.
Wurst classifies her sophomore effort as a more honest effort in than her first album, 2007’s “Sunday Pie,” in that she wrote most of the songs featured on the new album.
It’s also a green effort — all of the album packaging is made from recyclable material and Wurst has even included a few flower seeds to plant for everyone who buys the record.
Tonight’s show is expected to begin about 10 p.m.
Before you go, take a listen to a couple of Wurst’s new tracks. The first is a reworked version of a 3 Penny Acre track that supplies the album title, “White Walls,” about a friend’s recovery from alcoholism.
The second is the song “Ivory Bill,” which Wurst wrote for the Arkansas Heritage Commission and performed at schools across the state.
“White Walls”:
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“Ivory Bill”:
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Tags: 3 Penny Acre, Shannon Wurst, Smoke & Barrel
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