The Lovin' Spoonful

Formed in New York City during the peak of the British Invasion, the Lovin’ Spoonful found a great deal of success of their own. Responsible for the hits “Do You Believe In Magic?” and “Daydream,” the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. The group visits Eureka Springs tonight (Sept. 10) for an 8 p.m. show at The Auditorium. Tickets are $25 and available by calling 253-7788.

Elsewhere, Kevin Welch performs tonight at GoodFolk Productions. Tickets to that 8 p.m. show are $15, and reservations should be made by calling 521-1812.

A Good Fight is at George’s Majestic Lounge on Saturday (Sept. 11) night and Susan Shore and Candy Lee are playing a benefit show that same day at Whole Earth Organic Lounge from 5-8 p.m.

You can also catch the Claudia Burson Trio at Copeland’s in Rogers on Sunday (Sept. 12) during brunch.

Other gigs are listed to the right. Anything we missed? Comment below and tell us about it.

The shell of the Arkansas Music Pavilion. FILE PHOTO.

Well, it’s certainly possible.

The Walton Arts Center‘s facility committee, in addition to making progress on their plans for an expanded arts facility, recommended the purchase of the tent structure that currently resides in the Northwest Arkansas Mall parking lot.

The Arkansas Music Pavilion is currently owned by Brian Crowne and Suzie Stephens, the pair that also owns George’s Majestic Lounge.

Although the purchase offer is new, the ties that bind the organizations are not. The Walton Arts Center has been partnered with the AMP for several shows, including Levon Helm and The Indigo Girls from earlier this year.

In an article written for today’s paper [available if you are a newspaper subscriber] by Fayetteville city reporter Skip Descant, he reports that that negotiations for purchase/partnership have been in the works for some time.

Crowne would stay affiliated with the booking of bands, it was reported.

Even though the recommendation was made by the WAC facility committee, the purchase is not a done deal.

A press release sent out by the Walton Arts Center last evening declares that “This recommendation is contingent on further research and approval of financial agreements by the Walton Arts Center finance committee.”

If I were to guess, I’d say the deal goes through.

What will it mean for the venue? That’s hard to say. If Crowne is indeed booking the music, one can expect a level of consistency between past years and those that will come, but the Walton Arts Center may want a say in the artists who visit, too.

What are your thoughts? Will this be a good thing?

We don’t get a lot of country performers in this area, but Luke Bryan is in town tonight. He pronounces ‘wash’ as ‘warsh,’ so you know he’s legit.

How fitting is it, considering we just got thoroughly soaked by the remnants of a hurricane, that Luke Bryan‘s hit song is about rain?

The county up-and-comer will be at the Arkansas Music Pavilion tonight for a show that begins at 7:30 p.m. He’ll no doubt sing his No. 1 country hit “Rain Is A Good Thing.”

He’s got plenty of other hits, too, and was recently named the Association of Country Music’s Best New Solo Vocalist.

Tickets for tonight’s show, which range from $20-$50, are available at the venue or at www.amptickets.com.

Harvest Festival favorites Split Lip Rayfield play at the 2008 edition of the festival. This year at the festival, now called the Yonder Mountain String Band Harvest Festival, the boys from Lawrence, Kan. will offer two performances.

Prepare for just a little bit of crying. You can’t see ALL the bands at a music festival, as many bands are on many stages all at the same time. And sometimes, that means there are great bands that will be missed.

But, you don’t have to be too sad. After all, you’ll be surrounded by lots of music fans and lots of music.

The folks at the Yonder Mountain String Band Harvest Music Festival have announced the day-to-day schedule, giving us the first indication of which band is performing at what time.

The festival is local friendly, with prominent spots given to bands such as Mountain Sprout, Mountain of Venus and Big Smith.

As expected, Yonder is the headliner, with two spots on the mainstage, one on 10/15 and the other on 10/16.

The music will stop at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 14) and end about 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning (Oct. 17).

Additionally, the schedule shows there will be open jams, yoga and hula hoop instruction and movie-watching parties.

You can see the full lineup of events at Jambase.

Which of these events are you excited about?

Composed of brothers in arms and in real life, Two Fresh is in Fayetteville tonight.

The brother duo of Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls will jointly drop beats in Fayetteville tonight. Performing together as Two Fresh, they’ll be together onstage at George’s Majestic Lounge for a show tonight (Sept. 8).

Admission to the 9 p.m. show is $10.

Effron White

A frequent performer on local stages, Effron White will featured tonight (Sept. 7) as part of the Sequoyah Songwriter’s Round Concerts series. White’s 7 p.m. performance in Parker Hall at the Mount Sequoyah Conference Center is free.

Here’s to hoping you didn’t have to take the 8:15 into the city this morning. Bachman Turner Overdrive sings about work, which is exactly what we hope you aren’t doing right now.

It’s Labor Day. The Tuned In staff is off enjoying the day, and we hope you are, too.

Happy Labor Day, folks.

Blue Man Group

We know that the Blue Man Group is not strictly live music.

But what exactly is Blue Man Group, then?

It’s comedy, music and drama in equal parts, and it’s coming to our area for the first time. And for our purposes, it fits just fine on our blog.

The Blue Man Group’s new national tour kicked off last night (Sept. 2) and continues through Sept. 11 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, where the group has been in residence for the past several weeks working to build the new show.

After its debut here in Fayetteville, the tour will then depart for cities across the country.

It is a first for the company, which was formed about 20 years ago in New York. Although the group has successful shows in New York, Las Vegas, Zurich and elsewhere, this show is being designed for the road, and Fayetteville is the first city in the world to see it.

I chatted with one of the original Blue Men, Phil Stanton, who told me that the new show will feature about 60 percent new material, with the rest of the show being popular segments from existing programs.

Stanton, who will not be one of the three Blue Men in the touring production, also chatted with me about expanding the company’s brand, the material in the new show (it’s based on adapting to technology) and the joys of being a Blue Man. You can read the story here if you are a subscriber to our print products or our online edition.

We understand that all of the tickets for the Blue Man Group’s shows here have been sold. The Walton Arts Center has a few suggestions for those hoping to find a seat.

We’ll see you at the show.

Ann Wilson, left, and Nancy Wilson of Heart

What’s Up! editor Becca Martin snagged an interview with Nancy Wilson of the classic rock band Heart, which performs Sunday (Sept. 5) at The Venue at Downstream Casino.

The two chatted about the band’s new album, “Red Velvet Car,” and how life has changed for the Wilson sisters after years on the road.

You can check out her story here, if you subscribe to our paper.

Tickets to Sunday’s 8 p.m. show are $20-$60 and available at the venue or its website.

Randy Rogers Band

Want to know what to do this weekend? There are plenty of choices.

The red dirt rockers Cross Canadian Ragweed originally formed in Stillwater, Okla., more than 15 years ago. Recently, the group has announced it will take a hiatus to spend more time with family, but not before they complete their tour, which comes to the Arkansas Music Pavilion tonight (Sept. 3). They will be joined by Reckless Kelly. Tickets to the 7 p.m. show are $25.

If you didn’t get enough Red Dirt rock on Friday night, the Randy Rogers Band will be at George’s Majestic Lounge on Saturday night (Sept. 4) for a show in support of their new album “Burning The Day.” Tickets to that show are $15.

Elsewhere, country fans can catch Easton Corbin is at Neumeier’s Rib Room tonight.

Blues rockers The Eoff Brothers Band will be at the ROTC/Grill on Saturday night.

None of those seem to be the right gig? Take a look at the calendar to the right for some more options.