Music’s breaking out all over
Posted on Sunday, September 7, 2008
acts at the State Fair, blues musicians in Helenaa and a rap pioneer at the Clinton Presidential, all but the last are expected events in Arkansas’ -brim fall music calendar. Our selected list of highdes a number of shows in Fayetteville, which seems ewed energy on the music front. North Little lltel Arena will still be a big player with the Eagles etallica filling seats with plenty of fans. THURSDAY-SATURDAY Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival — Called a three-day “music and camping event,” this festival is packed to the gills with performers that fall, according to the event’s MySpace page, into the “jam band / folk rock / acoustic” camps. Leftover Salmon, Umphrey’s McGee, The Wailers, plit Lip Rayfield, New Monsoon and Big Smith e just a sampling of the bands that fill out the large Ozark. (866 ) 667-1919.
— Werner Trieschmann SEPT. 14 ta Early Music Ensemble at Artspree at Univeransas at Little Rock — Istanpitta re-creates the Middle Ages with instruments true to the period ud, lute, krummhorns, medieval harp, bagpipes and s your chance to see them instead of traveling to edieval fair happens to stop near Arkansas. Little 569-3294.
— Eric E. Harrison SEPT. 16 gles at Alltel Arena — The legendary band returns to Capistrano; no, wait, make that the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, and at least fans may hear a bigger dose of new music, what with the band having put out Long Road Out of Eden, a new album for Wal-Mart shoppers, last year. Ever since the band realized they were selling more albums than everyone else on God’s green earth, it hasn’t been cheap to see their shows. This one will set you back, per ticket, from $ 41. 75 to $ 151. 75. North Little Rock. (501 ) 975-7575.
— Jack W. Hill Dan Penn at Hendrix College — If “free” is what your budget calls for, you might check out what professor Danny Grace says will be his last concert promotion, a show by a Southerner who’s known not for his singing but for having written “I’m Your Puppet,” “ Do Right Woman, ” “You Left the Water Running” and more, much more. Conway. (501 ) 450-4545.
— Jack W. Hill SEPT. 20 Anniversary at Vino’s Brew Pub — Little Rock’s own little slice of CBGB on Seventh Street celebrates its super-salty-18 with an anniversary concert paying tribute to the bar’s rangy punk spirit that dates to 1990. The evening’s headliners — King Don, The Reds, Gino Delray, Loch Ness Monster and Underclaire — don’t have the same degree of fearsome-sounding names as the bands in the Vino’s Hall of Fame that ring the promotional poster (Cannibal Corpse, you so crazy !). But they’ll still play good, loud music — so loud, in fact, that if you were 18 in 1990 you’ll probably want to slip out front for a spinach calzone. Little Rock. (501 ) 375-8466. — Kyle Brazzel SEPT. 20-21 Zuill Bailey with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra — Cellist Bailey joins the ASO, opening the Masterworks season Sept. 20-21 with the Dvorak Cello Concerto (also on the program: Ravel’s Bolero and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite; David Itkin conducts ) at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall. He will also open the orchestra’s River Rhapsodies chamber series Sept. 23 at the Clinton Presidential Center, with a set of solo cello and cello-piano pieces (including Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata ) and, with the orchestra’s Quapaw Quartet, Piazzolla’s Grand Tango. Little Rock. (501 ) 666-1761.
— Eric E. Harrison SEPT. 23 Conor Oberst at George’s Majestic Lounge — Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, and the Mystic Valley Band, will perform at Fayetteville s best-known nightspot. Caveat emptor here: Apparently fans will get 13 new Oberst songs recorded in Mexico in his latest project, along with three Bright Eyes songs by Bright Eyes. I believe I’d be more intent on catching the opening act, Jenny Lewis, aka the amazing female singer in Rilo Kiley. Fayetteville. (479 ) 527-6618.
— Jack W. Hill SEPT. 25 Chuck D at the Clinton School of Public Service — How many degrees of separation between Chuck D, of the landmark hip-hop group Public Enemy, and former President Clinton ? One — Sister Souljah, the sometime Public Enemy collaborator who also back in the day drew Clinton’s campaign-trail ire for her incendiary lyrics. Or, if you prefer a less combative link, Chuck D will make himself inseparable from the Clinton legacy in another way as he joins the distinguished lineup of speakers who’ve addressed the school’s students and members of the public who drop in on the series. (In conjunction with Philander Smith College and in anticipation of a large crowd, Chuck D’s talk, expected to touch on rap’s loss of a social consciousness, has been moved to Robinson Center rather than the smaller Sturgis Hall on the Clinton campus. ) And if even if you don’t want to hear an aging rap icon grumble about the Kanyes, the Souljah Boys and the Cool Kids these days, consider going for the soundtrack alone: “Fight the Power” will always be a better rallying cry than “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow ).” Little Rock. (501 ) 683-5239.
— Kyle Brazzel SEPT. 26 The Allman Brothers Band at Randall Tyson Track Center — Headlining the annual Bikers, Blues & BBQ event, the Allmans are making their first 21 st-century appearance in The Natural State. The center is indoors with a large beer garden and lots of standing room, so expect to hear the Allman Brothers do 1 a 2 / 2-hour set without the distraction of having to hear the revving of the bikers, who are being honored at the festival. Fayetteville. (479 ) 527-9993.
— Jack W. Hill OCT. 5 Gordon Lightfoot at Robinson Center Music Hall — No doubt this legendary Canadian singer-songwriter set the pace for Joni Mitchell and Neil Young to follow in his musical path. Living in the land of frigid digits must be healthy, as Gord has survived a couple of health scares. Little Rock. (501 ) 975-7575.
— Jack W. Hill OCT. 9-11 Blues at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival — Whatever the name happens to be, this three-day festival in downtown Helena-West Helena is a permanent fixture on the state’s music calendar. Sure, the estimated crowd of 8, 000 or so revelers might be there to see a name performer or two (Webb Wilder, Tinsley Ellis, Pinetop Perkins are on this year’s schedule ) on one of the many stages, but mostly it’s to mark another year with a full immersion in the blues. Helena-West Helena. (870 ) 995-6569. — Werner Trieschmann OCT. 10 Rodney Atkins at Arkansas State Fair — It’s quite conceivable that, when all is said and done, the greatest thing country act Atkins will have accomplished during his entire career is “Cleaning This Gun (Come on in Boy ),” a novelty tune about a father talking to his daughter’s date while polishing his firearm. It is at once hilarious, sentimental and catchy as all get out. The fact that you might be able to hear Atkins sing this while eating a deep-fried Snickers... well, that just speaks for itself. Little Rock. (501 ) 372-8341. — Werner Trieschmann OCT. 14 John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at Walton Arts Center — This pair of talented singer-songwriters did a show a few years ago in Eureka Springs with Guy Clark in tow, but with Clark ailing, they’re going at it as a duo this time, in a place with some beautiful acoustics for the likes of their tempting sounds. Fayetteville. (479 ) 443-5600.
— Jack W. Hill OCT. 16 Gary Allan at Arkansas Music Pavilion — Allan is a skinny, tattooed country hunk who has played the Nashville game straight up and has had more than moderate success. However, unlike his fellow hat acts, Allan hasn’t shied away from dark themes — check out his great 2005 album Tough All Over for proof. Live, he comes across as a brooding and bruised soul (maybe too much so because he does have a sense of humor in there somewhere ). Also, he’s sure to sing the crowning achievement in his songbook, “Nothing On but the Radio.” Fayetteville. (877 ) 837-6616. — Werner Trieschmann OCT. 18 & 20 Marsalis Brasilianos — Talk about your intriguing pairings. Branford Marsalis — saxophonist, composer, head of his own jazz label among numerous other accomplishments — will play with members of the Filarmonia Brasileira to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. There is certainly a danger this performance could be a dry academic exercise. But we’re guessing it will be just the opposite. Marsalis Brasilianos will make two stops in the state. On Oct. 18 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, (479 ) 443-5600, and then Oct. 20 as part of the Public Appearances series at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, (501 ) 450-3265. — Werner Trieschmann NOV. 6-9 Ozark Folk Festival in Eureka Springs — Making the claim of America’s longest running folk festival (this is the 61 st year ), the Ozark Folk Festival will bring in 14 folkies with Patty Larkin being at or near the top of the bill. Acoustic guitars will be strummed all over the mountain tourist town, which ought to look especially pretty in early November. Eureka Springs. (888 ) 855-7823. — Werner Trieschmann NOV. 22 Metallica at Alltel Arena — Five years after the disappointing St. Anger album, Metallica fans have questions about Death Magnetic, to be released Friday: Will singer James Hetfield get his anger on again ? Will guitarist Kirk Hammett have enough solos to make up for the absence of them on St. Anger ? Will Metallica sound like itself or like a band trying to sound like Metallica ? Pre-release reviews indicate yes to most of these questions, which is helpful for a former thrash titan that desperately needs to re-establish its metal mettle. Songs such as “Cyanide” and “The Day That Never Comes,” released early to whet fans’ appetites, don’t prove definitively that the band has reverted to its more intense and frenetic baroque thrash-metal mien of the 1980 s, but they do reveal there’s hope. Arkansans can judge for themselves when Metallica appears live and in person at Alltel Arena. North Little Rock. (501 ) 975-7575.
— Rhonda Owen NOV. 28 Little Rock Love at The Village — The best and brightest of the city’s indie-rap scene gather with, they hope, enough fans to fill southwest Little Rock’s dome-shaped miniarena in a warm Thanksgivingweekend hug. Performers are TBA but that could just be to build anticipation for the second annual concert’s inevitable YouTube campaign of moviestyle coming-attraction “trailers” and maybe even Volume II of the original “Little Rock Love” theme song organizer Rockst * r commissioned for last year’s debut. Little Rock. (479 ) 422-7730.
— Kyle Brazzel
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