John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives return to White Water Tavern with their rambling honky-tonk flavored indie rock, propelled by the band’s love of rockabilly guitars, pedal steel, piano and driving drums. The band’s debut album is Spills and Thrills.
The Red Dirt country rockers Jason Boland & the Stragglers are still touring behind their 2008 release, Comal County Blue, an album that hit the top 40 of the country music album charts. And, earlier this year, the outfit released High in the Rockies: A Live Album. Expect that live album to come alive with a boot-stomping good time with music blending country and rock when Boland and company visit Revolution Music Room. The opening act is to be announced, but expect the music at 9 p.m. with tickets for the 21-and-up show $10 advance and $12 day of.
Here’s John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives with an Ardent Sessions show:
Girl in a Coma, the San Antonio rock band that includes the sisters Phanie Diaz and Nina Diaz, and their friend Jenn Alva, comes to Juanita’s to showcase their music that has drawn comparisons to The Smiths, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Pixies. The opening acts are Sacramento, Calif., garage rock band Agent Ribbons and Gringo Star, an Atlanta band known for their fuzzed-out guitar, psychedelic-fueled, stammering-garage rock. The all-ages show begins at 9 p.m. with tickets either $10 advance or $12 at the door.
Bob Marley might be gone, but his music lives on with his backing band — The Original Wailers – carrying on the reggae icon’s tradition. The band, which includes Wailers Junior Marvin and Al Anderson sharing lead vocals and guitar duties, visits Revolution Music Room with the rock/reggae/hip hop sound of Philadelphia’s The Movement as the opening act, kicking off the music at 9 p.m. Tickets for the 18-and-up show are $15.
New Jersey abrasive indie rockers Titus Andronicus are one of the hottest bands out there: earning a Best New Band of 2010 label from Rolling Stone and a sterling review from Pitchfork for their March 2010, Civil War-themed release The Monitor. The band is continuing to tour in support of their sophomore release, including a stop at Revolution Music Room. The band’s debut was 2008’s The Airing of Grievances, an album Pitchfork said was “rife with constant builds and breakneck rhythms.” Expect Pogues, Springsteen and Guided By Voices inspired rock with a punk edge, and lyrical references to Cormac McCarthy, Albert Camus and Abraham Lincoln. Local indie rockers The See and Wicked Good are the opening acts, taking the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the all-ages show.
Here’s Titus Andronicus with their “A More Perfect Union”:
Big Smith, the Springfield, Mo., band composed of five cousins and one, fiddle-playing non-cousin, earlier this year released their first studio album of original material since 2000’s Big Rock, titled Roots, Shoots and Wings, a 16-track collection of the band’s modern take on hillbilly music. To celebrate — and play — the new music, Big Smith is hitting the road, including a return to Revolution Music Room. Big Smith is simply an Ozark-Mountains powered, musical hootenanny of explosive bluegrass music mingled with country, rock ‘n’ roll and folk. The opening act is only promised as special guests, with the music starting at 8:30 p.m. and cover $8 for the 18-and-up night of music.
The Voices for Justice concert will be held at Robinson Center Music Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. The Rev. Thompson Murray and representatives from Arkansas Take Action will present new video messages from Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley along with special acoustic performances by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. Tickets are $26.75.
Mulehead returns to White Water Tavern on Saturday night. The Saturday night will feature a special guest as opening act at 10 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 with any remaining tickets $12 day of show. Advance tickets are available through www.lastchancerecords.com. Expect the Arkansas-stamped alt country outfit Mulehead to rock through about 30 tunes over the two nights, including five from The Gospel Accordion II, 11 from Rocket Surgery and six from Finer Thing along with covers, including The Who’s “Squeeze Box.”
Mulehead returns to White Water Tavern on Friday and Saturday night. The Friday show kicks off with Slobberbone leader Brent Best at 10 p.m., and Saturday night will feature a special guest as opening act at 10 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 with any remaining tickets $12 day of show. Advance tickets are available through www.lastchancerecords.com. Expect the Arkansas-stamped alt country outfit Mulehead to rock through about 30 tunes over the two nights, including five from The Gospel Accordion II, 11 from Rocket Surgery and six from Finer Thing along with covers, including The Who’s “Squeeze Box.”
Country rock favorites Eli Young Band are swinging back through Little Rock with a show at Revolution Music Room. The opening act is to be announced, but expect the music around 9 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are on sale now for $15. Here are the band’s talking points: Their last album, Jet Black & Jealous, debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart, and their single, “Always the Love Songs,” hit the Top 10 on country radio. All this success has also led to the band performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live and being featured in USA Today, People, Billboard and Country Weekly, etc. The band’s newest single is “Guinevere.”
It’s not The Band. It’s not Bob Dylan. What it is, is The Last Waltz Ensemble at Revolution Music Room. Expect the music to begin around 9 p.m. with cover $8 for the 18-and-up show. No opening act has been announced. And the music? It’s the classic rock ‘n’ roll sound of The Band, the legendary band that included Arkansas native Levon Helm on drums and vocals, and the legendary music of Bob Dylan. Basically, it’s some of the best darn rock ‘n’ roll cover music you’ll ever hear from two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members.
So it’s been a few months since the Metallica tribute band Battery — Masters of Metallica graced a Little Rock stage. Have no fear metalheads. The band — Metallica approved — returns to Sticky Fingerz for a night of thundering metal. The opening act is to be announced, but the riffs start roaring at 9 p.m. Cover for the 21-and-up show is $10. Expect Battery to recreate the roar of Metallica in a club, playing Metallica tunes from hard rocking ’90s tunes (“Sad But True”) to classic, ’80s slaying metal (“For Whom the Bell Tolls”), and even 21st century music in between. It’s not James, Lars, Kirk and Robert, but it’s close enough.
Arkansas Educational Television Network studios will welcome Bonnie Montgomery and Montgomery Trucking for a taping of AETN Presents: On the Front Row. The free show gets underway at 7 p.m. Audience members are asked to RSVP at www.aetn.org/rsvp and arrive at the studio by 6:15 p.m. Montgomery is an Arkansas native who mixes country, folk and opera. With her backing band Montgomery Trucking, Montgomery blends guitar, kazoo and mandolin to create her Ozark-flavored folk rock. Also included in the night will be song excerpts from Montgomery’s work-in-progress Billy Blythe, a short-length opera set in 1950s Hot Springs about the adolescence of President Clinton.
Here’s The Last Waltz Ensemble with their version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”:
Texas country singer/songwriter Charlie Robison’s newest album is the summer 2009 release Beautiful Day, a 10-tune collection of rocking country such as “She’s So Fine,” slower-paced ballads such as “Reconsider” and the Bruce Springsteen cover “Racing in the Streets.” Influenced by Texas greats such as Guy Clark and Steve Earle, Robison is also responsible for writing the instantly recognizable road anthem “My Hometown,” from his 1998 release Life of the Party. Robison visits Revolution Music Room. Culpepper Mountain Band begins the night at 8:30 p.m. with their Arkansas bred take on Red Dirt Country. Tickets are $10 advance and $12 day of show for the 18-and-up concert.
The acoustic rock band Secondhand Serenade is actually vocalist and guitarist John Vesely, an artist who enjoys creating hook-filled pop tunes that soar with radio-ready melodies. But while Vesely’s work in the past has focused on the less sunny side of pop, his newest album, the early August release Hear Me Now, is a tad more upbeat, not including the first single, the ballad “Something More.” Eight of the 11 songs were produced by Aaron Johnson (The Fray) with Vesely producing the other three along with Secondhand drummer Tom Breyfogle at Vesely’s home studio. With a new album, Secondhand Serenade is on tour, including a stop at Juanita’s. Joining Vesely will be California pop rockers Runner Runner and Minnesota rock trio Camera Can’t Lie. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. with tickets $16 advance and $18 day of show.
After a career that includes more than 30 million albums sold, and multiple Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards, the country duo Brooks & Dunn is calling it quits. But the duo is touring one last time, bringing their The Last Rodeo Tour to Verizon Arena. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the music at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35, $49.75 and $69.75 via Ticketmaster, along with the usual extra fees. The opening act is Miranda Lambert, the 2010 Academy of Country Music’s Female Vocalist of the Year whose latest hit song, “The House That Built Me,” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the country music charts this summer. Brooks & Dunn are known for their hits including “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” “Neon Moon,” “How Long Gone” and “Brand New Man.”
Days of the New hit it big with the stripped down, acoustic rock tune “Touch, Peel and Stand” in late ‘97 and early ‘98, and then three members split a year later, forming post-grunge act Tantric. While Days of the New has struggled, Tantric has gone on to release such mainstream rock hits as “Breakdown” and “Astounded” from their 2001 debut album and “Mind Control” from their 2009 album of the same name. The Kentucky rock band is continuing to tour, including a stop at The VillageJuanita’s presented by 100.3 The Edge. Tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door. Joining Tantric are California rock band Adema and California/Oklahoma rock outfit Burn Halo. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the music at 8 p.m.
The Revolution Music Room opens its doors to present a night of local music. The bill includes Maumelle electronica metal group The Science of Sleep, who released an EP The World Awaits in December 2009; central Arkansas hardcore band My Hands to War; Believe the Hype!, a Little Rock act coming together from the metalcore and hardcore scenes; and experimental electronica band Medic Red from Perryville. The all-ages show begins at 9 p.m. with a $6 cover.
Between tours with artists such as Ryan Cabrera, Apache Stone and Under the Elephant, the five members of Tucker Jameson & The Hot Mugs also find time to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. And in between all that, the quintet records and tours solo, including a stop at Vino’s where the band will run through its pop-flavored rock sound. Cover is $7 with the music starting at 8 p.m.
This is the rather cryptic e-mail I received last week: “Rikki ‘D’ formally known as Taxes Rikki ‘D’ will be returning to the Little Rock circuit, but will be returning as ‘Little Rockin Rikki D.’ He will make his return at White Water Tavern on Thursday Aug. 19th, 9:00 pm. $4.00 at the door.” I also received a phone call from “Rikki D,” asking me to run the information. The show is also on White Water Tavern’s website so, check it out.
Here’s Tucker Jameson & The Hot Mugs with their “Summer Whine”:
According to his website, reggae artist Pato Banton’s band boasts seven members, including the Jah Horns, backing Banton, the leader of the group who has recorded with UB40 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album along his path of spreading truth, beauty and goodness through his music. So it’ll be interesting to see how Pato Banton and The Now Generation all fit on the stage at Revolution Music Room. Of course, it’ll also be interesting to hear the British reggae master delivers his uplifting lyrics of peace, love and spiritual unity with a dance-instigating beat. The night includes New Orleans native, now Little Rock resident Butterfly, showcasing her R&B, jazz and funk-laced roots-rock reggae with Irie Soul (her backing band). The show starts at 9 p.m. with tickets $10 advance and $12 day of for the 18-and-up show.
And here’s Pato Banton with UB40 on “Baby, Come Back”:
He’s called the “Dirty Old, One-Man Band.” Not by the media or fans, but self-proclaimed. He likes that name because Scott H. Biram captures blues, psychobilly, country and punk in a jar, violently shakes and then releases it for his primal blues rock. Biram will bring his devilish pulpit of tour-de-force music to Juanita’s. The show starts at 10 p.m. with cover $7 for the 18-and-up show. Joining Biram will be the duo of Joey and Kelly Kneiser from Glossary, the Tennessee rock band known for their fiery anthems tinged with country and R&B. Local support will be provided by local rockers Brother Andy & His Big Damn Mouth.
Ten local country acts — Tony Melton, Neal Travis, Heather Swain, the Alan Hunt Band, Ashley Quinn, Brian Mullen, Gwendlyn Kay, Lindsey Triplett, Bretten Low and The Luke Williams Band — are converging upon Revolution Music Room to compete in the finals of the KSSN Colgate Country Showdown. So what does the winner receive? A chance to move onto the state finals at the Arkansas State Fair in October. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. with cover $5 for 21 and over, and $10 for 20 and under.
Hot-rod Arkansas rock ‘n’ roll collides with blues-fueled Memphis rock ‘n’ roll as Little Rock act Jeff Coleman and the Feeders teams up with The Dirty Streets for a show at White Water Tavern. While Coleman has been providing organ, piano and background vocals to Little Rock Americana band Good Time Ramblers, with the Feeders one can expect Southern rock ‘n’ roll chock full of hard rock, blues and honky tonk country influences. And The Dirty Streets? A young rock ‘n’ roll outfit with punk and soul roots raised on MC5, Deep Purple, Sly & the Family Stone and Led Zeppelin.
Neckbroke Entertainment and Downtown Music presents Synfest V, including music from Evacuate the City, Bolt, Sh*tfire, Iron Ton, Knee Deep, Sychosys and A DarkEnd Era. Each band will play a 30-minute to 40-minute set. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the music at 7 p.m., and cover is $7. Downtown Music will also feature door prizes and drink specials both nights, and the kitchen will be open.
Here’s Scott H. Biram with “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue”:
