Listen Here! — 11/20

Composer William Grant Still was not born in Arkansas, but he spent many of his formative years in Little Rock.
As for an Arkansan as a respected symphonic music composer, he’s as close we get, says John Jeter, music director for the Fort Smith Symphony.
Under the leadership of Jeter, the symphony has just released the second [...]

In The Spotlight — Straightline Stitch, Nov. 20 @ Drifters

Straight Line Stitch will perform at tonight at Drifters, the club. Admission is $10 at the door. The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

Concert Wrap – Bowerbirds, Nov. 18 @ Union Theatre

For the final number of their concert on the University of Arkansas campus on Wednesday (Nov. 18), the Bowerbirds played in the stairwell of the Arkansas Union. Seriously.
They had a proper venue. They spent the bulk of the the night in the Union Theatre in that building on an actual stage.
But as the night ended, [...]

Concert Wrap — Third Eye Blind, Nov. 17 @ Barnhill Arena

As I was leaving Tuesday (Nov. 17) night’s Third Eye Blind concert, a young man sitting next to me noticed me putting away my notebook.
“Are you writing some kind of report?” he asked.
When I explained that I was writing notes for this very blog post, he said the following as he too made an exit from [...]

Read More Here — Third Eye Blind, Nov. 17, Barnhill Arena

Step back from that ledge, my friend. No need to worry. The wait is almost over. Third Eye Blind is coming here on Tuesday.
Well, as we eluded to in this week’s Listen Here! music column, there simply wasn’t enough room to include all of the details from our e-mail conversation with Brad Hargreaves, the drummer [...]

Carman’s coming

Carman (born Carman Domenic Licciardello) has been around showbiz long enough to know how this works.
Just standing around and singing isn’t going to cut it. Churches, where the Christian recording artist usually performs, often have their own musicians and no need for such entertainment.
Which is why his act has changed so over the years. The [...]

In the Spotlight — Bowerbirds, Nov. 18, Union Theater, UA campus

With nonstandard instrumentation and a knack for songwriting, indie rockers Bowerbirds have caught the ears of several of their contemporaries, earning opening slots for bands such as The Mountain Goats and Bon Iver. The neo-folk trio is touring in support of their summer release “Upper Air,” and on Wednesday (Nov. 18) will appear in the [...]

On the Way — George Thorogood, March 7 @ WAC

George Thorogood may be getting older himself, but that blues guitar work will still make some old women blush. His Web site indicates he’ll be coming to the Walton Arts Center on March 7.
To the concert announcement that follows, I only have this to say: “B-B-B-Bad!” As in the good kind of bad.
Concert resource Pollstar.com [...]

Stoney LaRue postpones

Stoney LaRue, the Red Dirt rocker scheduled to perform at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville on Saturday (Nov. 7), has postponed the appearance.
According to a message sent out by George’s last evening, the show is being postponed due to “the death of a close friend” of LaRue’s.
LaRue says the following on what appears to be [...]

Cultivating culture — Kayhan Kalhor & Brooklyn Rider, 8 p.m. Nov. 6 @ WAC

Nicholas Cords didn’t know much about Persian music. A professional viola player, he had received instruction at some of the best schools — The Juilliard School among them — but they didn’t teach much of it, either.
It wasn’t until he met master kamancheh player and Iran native Kayhan Kalhor that he received a proper introduction.
Since [...]