Texas country artist Bleu Edmondson loves Bruce Springsteen. And he loves Willie and Waylon, too, and one can hear those three influences in his music. See, Edmondson’s music is country rock, but with his last album The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be, Edmondson also got a little soulful, adding a little heartfelt emotion to this mixture of Texas country on tunes such as “No Room for Mercy.” Edmondson brings those sounds when he visits Stickyz. The music starts at 8:30 p.m. with two openers: The Captain Legendary Band with their country-flavored roots rock from Louisiana, and Chris Craig with his Texas country. There’s a $10 cover for the 21-and-up show.
Massachusetts-bred, American-made metal comes to Little Rock with a visit from Shadows Fall at Downtown Music. The doors open at 7 p.m. with the music starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 at the door. Shadows Fall is preparing for the release of their new album of muscular thrash metal crossed with metalcore with Fire From the Sky dropping on May 15. The opening bands are a trio of Arkansas metal acts: Little Rock hardcore/down-tempo metal outfit A DarkEnd Era, Conway old-school thrash and death metal act Moment of Fierce Determination and Little Rock thrash metal trio Severe HeadWound.
Here’s Bleu Edmondson with his “Blood Red Lincoln”:
2011′s Brewster Street Live was kind of a greatest hits album for Texas country act Bart Crow Band, with the hard-charging band playing tunes from their previous albums Heartworn Tragedy, Desperate Hearts and their debut Finally live, and packaging them in one album. But what the album truly is is a showcase of how electrifying the band is in the club setting, mixing in a little rock ‘n’ roll kick in their country music. Bart Crow Band is once again on the road, including a Stickyz stop. No word on the opening act, but the music starts at 9 p.m. with a $10 cover for the 18-and-up show.
Downtown Music‘s Knuck Fest continues for two more days of punk, hardcore, metal … heavy, heavy music. Saturday and Sunday single tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Doors open 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. And the bands? Saturday’s lineup is Fallen Empire, Legions Await, Mainland Divide, A Darkend Era and others; and Sunday’s lineup includes Stray From the Path, Cruel Hand, Struc/tures and lots of other acts. There’s only a 50/50 shot that Downtown Music will be standing after all these bands spend a weekend shaking its rafters.
It’s only Tuesday night but Downtown Music will be roaring with the progressive death metal of Illinois’ Born of Osiris as the band visits on their Discovery Tour along with fellow Illinois metal act Veil of Maya, Canadian hardcore metal band Structures and French hardcore metal group Betraying the Martyrs. The doors open at 6 p.m. with the music starting soon afterward. Tickets are $14 in advance and $16 at the door. The opening acts will be two local bands: Little Rock hardcore metal outfit A DarkEnd Era and central Arkansas progressive metal quintet From Which We Came.
Prepare the eyeballs, because Trans-Siberian Orchestra is returning to Verizon Arena with two shows: 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Doors for the 3 p.m. show open at 2 p.m., and doors for the 8 p.m. show open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $27, $43, $53 and $63, and available at the Verizon Arena Box Office. TSO is one of world’s top-selling concert acts, combining orchestral hard rock with a spectacular visual display that includes lasers, pyrotechnics and dazzling lighting. Or, as TSO founder, producer and writer Paul O’Neill said: “When someone goes to a TSO concert, we don’t want them to walk away saying, ‘That was a great show,’ or ‘That was worth it,’ or even ‘That was the best show I’ve seen in a long time.’ We want them to say, ‘Man, that the best show ever; we just ripped that band off.’” Expect Christmas-themed hard rock with a mixture of cuts from the band’s latest album, 2009′s Night Castle.
It’s that time of year again as infectious power pop rockers Ashtray Babyhead return for their one-off holiday gig at Juanita’s. Ashtray Babyhead pumped out their blend of Arkansas power pop in the late ’90s before becoming The Kicks. Joining the band will be the reformed Kansas power pop group Ultimate Fakebook with their fuzzed out rock. The band is performing only four shows on their Winter Tour 2010 and were nice enough to include an Arkansas gig in the lot. Other acts include fellow Lawrence, Kan., band The Dead Girls, a supergroup formed from Ultimate Fakebook and Podstar known for their guitar-fueled power pop, and The Dirty Streets, a young Memphis rock ‘n’ roll outfit with punk and soul roots, and raised on Deep Purple, Sly & the Family Stone and Led Zeppelin. The music begins at 9 p.m. with a $6 cover.
The spicy, Latin-flavored rock of Austin, Texas, outfit Vallejo is no stranger to Little Rock, and the quartet will revisit central Arkansas with a show at Sticky Fingerz. The opening act is to be announced, but expect the music at 9 p.m. with cover $8 for the 21-and-up show. The group — known for their fiery blend of hard rock guitars with Latin percussion, soulful vocals and a sweltering funk sound — released a 12-track collection of tunes titled Acousta, featuring unplugged variations of their tunes “Snake In The Grass,” “Forever (Is A Long Time),” “Into The New,” “Beautiful Life” and more, in January.
Tennessee metalcore band Straight Line Stitch returns to Little Rock with a headlining show at Downtown Music. Joining the band will be The Mutha Load, a Texarkana quartet known for their down-tempo, Southern metal; Sychosys, the Southern-flavored metal band from Little Rock who create workingman’s metal influenced by bands such as Pantera, Black Label Society and old-school heavy rock acts such as Black Sabbath; A DarkEnd Era, a Little Rock quintet that mixes slow death metal rhythms with hardcore riffs to create their self-described “crazy brutal tunes; Iron Ton, an alternative metal band featuring two Sychosys members; and Eddie and the Defiantz, a punk thrash band with tons of attitude and a great live show. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the music at 8 p.m.
Arkansas River Blues Society celebrates the coming of Christmas a weekend early with their Xmas Party at Cornerstone Pub, featuring CloverBlue as the house band. The party starts at 8 p.m. with Arkansas River Blues Society members getting in free. Members whose memberships have expired can renew for half price of $5, and non-members can join Arkansas River Blues Society for $10 and get in free. Cover is otherwise $5 for the public.
Here’s Trans-Siberian Orchestra doing their thing with “Christmas Canon Rock”:
She might have been born in Montana, but acoustic rock singer/songwriter Hana Pestle is now settled in Los Angeles, and creating a buzz after touring relentlessly the past two years, opening for acts such as Live, Collective Soul, Ingram Hill and Corey Smith. Pestle plays Juanita’s, and the all-ages show begins at 8 p.m. with cover $10.
It might get loud at Downtown Music as the Little Rock establishment opens for a special Monday night gig featuring deathcore band Despised Icon. Joining the crew will be Maryland death metal band Misery Index, death metal outfit Revocation, Little Rock hardcore metal band A DarkEnd Era and Conway death metal group Moment of Fierce Determination. The show starts at 7 p.m. with tickets $12 in advance and $15 day of show.
Massachusetts metal band Shadows Fall roars into The Village. The band claims before “the so-called ‘New Wave of American Heavy Metal’ was even a ripple, Shadows Fall were there.” Emerging from Springfield in 1995, they have hit the heights of the heavy metal world: two Grammy nominations and even a tune on Guitar Hero. Joining the band for their Little Rock stop are Relapse Records artist and North Little Rock heavy metal outfit Rwake, Little Rock hardcore metal band A DarkEnd Era, and Arkansas hardcore metal outfit And the Angels Were Silent. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the music at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
The Point 94.1 and the Little Rock Zoo are on a “Mission from God.” What does that mean besides the obvious The Blues Brothers connection? We’re not quite sure. We do know that “Joliet” Jake Blues or the rest of the Blues Brothers band will not be appearing at the Zoo at noon as Sister Deborah reveals Point DJs Mike Kennedy and Sharpe Dunaway’s particular mission from God. Beyond the big reveal, expect free ice cream from Coleman Dairy, although you got to pay the regular Zoo admission to enter.
Former Deadboy & the Elephantmen lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Dax Riggs has a new solo album, Say Goodnight to the World, scheduled for release on Fat Possum Records on Aug. 3. But three days before the release of the album Riggs, known for his blistering melodic blues rock with a punkish gallop, will visit Juanita’s. Expect neo-blues rock crossed with sludge metal. (Riggs fronted Louisiana sludge band Acid Bath.) Tickets for the July 31 show are $10 with the music starting at 9 p.m. with Little Rock’s Badhand, a newish trio consisting of Aaron Copeland and former members of An Orangutan.
Luster is the Little Rock rock quartet that has existed for quite a while. Like six years a while. But since the start of 2010, the trio of guitarist Chris Hemphill, drummer Mark Gorbet and bassist Jeff Teague have been fronted by Amie Jo Bishop and her siren-impressing lungs. Expect a shot of rock when the band visits the Town Pump, headlining a show featuring another Little Rock rock band in Flash LaRue. The music starts at 9 p.m. with a $3 cover.
The Little Rock alternative rock act Kingsdown released their newest, self-titled album at Revolution Music Room in June. Now the band which delivers an energetic alternative rock sound built upon their faith and lyrics of love and hope, return, playing a show with progressive rockers The Unbearable Hand Fate Dealt and special guest Bobgoblin, a semi-legendary band formed in Denton, Texas, in 1993 who reform every once and awhile to play their version of punk meets New Wave. The doors open at 7 p.m. with the music at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $7 for 21 and over, and $10 for 20 and under for the all-ages show.
Ohio speed metal act Mobile Deathcamp brings their The Last Thrash Metal Fest to The Village along with Denver heavy metal group Iconocaust. Of note to local metalheads are the number of local band opening the show: Arkansas metal act A Trail of Sin, Conway melodic death metal outfit Poisonwood, Heber Springs death metal outfit ShadowVein, Arkansas doom and gloom black metal group Fallen Empire, Little Rock hardcore metal band A DarkEnd Era (formerly known as A Darkened Era) and Little Rock hardcore metal act Dying Breath. The doors open at 6 p.m. with headbanging at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 advance and $17 at the door.
The pop-melody injected rock ‘n’ roll sound of Los Angeles outfit Rooney returns to Juanita’s. The band, known for their love of Beatles pop, Tom Petty rock, Queen bombastic operatic rock and Beach Boys harmonies, released their third album Eureka on June 8. Joining the group will be The Young Veins, a California rock band consisting of Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, the former lead guitarist and bassist, respectively, of Panic! at the Disco; and Brooklyn dance rock duo Black Gold. The 18-and-up show starts at 9 p.m. with tickets $13 advance and $15 day of show.
Onestone Productions is joining forces with Big Brown and Big Wink Entertainment to present The Ultimate Old School Party at Revolution Music Room, an event being headlined by the hip-hop group Whodini. Known for their ground-breaking rap anthems “Friends,” ‘Freaks Come Out at Night” and “Five Minutes of Funk” from their 1984 album Escape, Whodini is old-school rap at its best. Joining the hip-hop act will be a who’s who of Little Rock talent, including Little Rock trumpeter extraordinaire Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers featuring Jeron, Ultimate Groove featuring Tawanna Campbell and local hip hop star 607. The music starts at 8 p.m. with tickets $25 advance and $30 day of show, and VIP tickets $50 advance and $60 day of show.
Damn Bullets — Joe Sundell on vocals, guitar, banjo and harmonica, DJ Bennett on bass and vocals, and Graeme Higgins on drums — are still electrified and still boogieing, working up a fever with their collection of rock ‘n’ roll, delta blues, rockabilly, folk and bluegrass. In the process of writing new tunes for a new album (The band has already polished off the excellent “Fool’s Gold,” the sound of The Beach Boys meeting The Band.), the Damn Bullets play White Water Tavern. Sharing the bill is Austin, Texas, act Sad Daddy, a “new old-time country outfit” Sundell formed with Hot Springs singer/songwriter Brian Martin and bassist Melissa Carper of The Carper Family in Austin.
Speaking of musical graduations in Little Rock, Texas metalcore act Sky Eats Airplane graduates to headlining a show at The Village. Blending hardcore punk and heavy metal influences into an aggressive sonic annihilation filled with electronica flourishes, the Texas quintet produced an incendiary live show. Local support will be provided by Little Rock hardcore/pop punk outfit Safe to Shore, central Arkansas hardcore band My Hands to War, El Dorado hardcore outfit Fear the Aftermath and Maumelle electronica metal group The Science of Sleep, who released an EP The World Awaits in December 2009. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the music starting at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $12 advance and 415 at the door.
Downtown Music has new ownership in Samantha Allen (replacing founder Alan Wells), and the night is celebrated with Memphis melodic black metal band Epoch of Unlight, Arkansas doom and gloom black metal group Fallen Empire, Little Rock hard rock/metal act Iron Tongue, Little Rock hardcore metal band A DarkEnd Era (formerly known as A Darkened Era) and Fort Smith death metal quartet Macrocosm. There will be an open house of sorts from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with food and drink specials. The music will start around 8 p.m. with a $5 cover, and the music blaring till around 2 a.m.
The Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative celebrates its First Friday by unveiling its featured artist for July, Little Rock artist John Kushmaul. The opening of the monthlong show will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with refreshments including Thai green curry bowls and Vietnamese coffee with donations encouraged. Kushmaul’s first solo show since 2008 will include 30 oil paintings (all for sale) Kushmaul created through collaborations with photographers and other artists from Arkansas and from around the country. The show will be displayed until July 31. Kushmaul has works in the permanent collections of the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Governor’s Mansion and the Central Arkansas Library System.
Here’s Rooney with their video to the tune “Tell Me Soon”:
Giving you the music a day early: Austin, Texas, indie rock band The Rocketboys are coming to Stickyz. The band’s latest is the self-released Build Anyway. So what does the band sound like? Well, the Austin American-Statesman describes the band’s music as “clear, ringing guitars and full-bodied keyboard arrangements, hard-driving [...]
Giving you the music a day early: The pop-flavored R&B group that brought the world “Cool It Now” is on the road for their 30th anniversary tour as New Edition visits Verizon Arena. Tickets are $58.15, $68.40 and $79.40 with fellow R&B act After 7 and R&B artist El Debarge [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Kris Allen at Magic Springs Water and Theme Park‘s Timberwood Amphitheater. This Arkansas resident won the eighth season of American Idol and will be promoting his new album Thank You Camellia. The concert gates open at 6 p.m. with an 8 p.m. showtime. [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Acadiana is a hotbed of Cajun music so let’s talk about Ryan Brunet of Cajun music creators Ryan Brunet and The Malfecteurs, who will be playing White Water Tavern with the music starting at 9:30 p.m. with a $7 cover. At the age [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Wussy is coming to Stickyz. So what does that mean? Well, Wussy is a Cincinnati rock band. Sometimes with pedal steel. Sometimes with a clavinet. Sometimes with harpsichord. It’s really hard categorizing them so let’s don’t. Just enjoy Wussy for what they are [...]
Giving you the music a day early: People who write off Nada Surf as a MTV-promoted one-hit wonder because of 1996′s “Popular” haven’t been paying attention for the past 16 years. The New York City trio’s buzzing guitar attack, pop choruses and harmonies have been featured on six subsequent albums, [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Scott H. Biram and Lydia Loveless at Stickyz — this is going to be quite a show. Why? Biram is a 21st-century blues sorcerer, throwing blues, psychobilly, country and punk in a jar with a few gulps of whiskey, violently shaking it and [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Jeez, it was about time. It has been since December that the self-proclaimed King of the Country Western Troubadours played Little Rock. Fortunately, Unknown Hinson returns with a show at Juanita’s. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the music starting at 8:30 [...]
Giving you the music a day early: Here’s a little-known fact: Outside of the city of Tahlequah, Okla., is a public use area titled No Head Hollow Public Use Area. No lie. The city is also the capital of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Now, why are we [...]
Giving you the music a day early: It’s going to get heavy at Downtown Music. How heavy? Well, how heavy does a show that includes At Wars End, Reticient and The Revolutioners sound? Oh yeah, not that heavy if you don’t know what the bands sound like. Well, here’s a [...]
Loading ...
Not logged in 