After opening for other artists such as Hayes Carll and Robert Earl Keen in central Arkansas, Canadian country artist Corb Lund returns to Sticky Fingerz to headline, showcasing his rough-and-ready, genuine country — more in the vein of alternative country, with Lund delivering tales about cowboys, gunslingers, ranchers, oil drillers and military ghosts. There’s no opening act, just Lund starting at 8 p.m. with cover $10 for the 21-and-up show.
Here’s Corb Lund with “I Wanna Be in the Calvary”;
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”:
The news release announcing Detroit/London/Nashville, Tenn., rock ‘n’ roll outfit Deadstring Brothers‘ visit to Sticky Fingerz states the band is a “little rough and tumble … roots rock drawing from Muscle Shoals, soul and blues in one fell swoop. … They rock, pretty much.” Sounds like a good enough time. Drawing comparisons to The Rolling Stones circa Exile on Main St., Deadstring Brothers will headline a show that starts at 9 p.m. with unannounced special guests. Cover is $7 for the 21-and-up show. Relix said the band has studied at “The Keith Richards Academy of Pick Harmonics and String Bends. Chuck Leavell’s Institute of Insane Keyboarding. Patsy Cline’s Honkytonk Heartbreak Clinic.”
The Nightmare River Band is a New York City quartet who crank out boot-stomping, punk-flavored country rock about drinking, loving and losing, and the outfit is making an early week appearance in Little Rock, playing Juanita’s. Opening the show is Little Rock’s Mandy McBryde, an acoustic country singer/songwriter who sometimes writes sad songs. The all-ages show starts at 9 p.m. with a $7 cover.
Here’s Deadstring Brothers with their “Sacred Heart”:
The “Iron Man” of Arkansas blues Michael Burks uses his guitar to split the sky and make it cry with piercing, soulful, electric Delta blues. Although he was born in the land of bratwurst and beer in Milwaukee, Burks grew up in Arkansas, learning the blues from his bluesmen father and grandfather. Burks issued his debut album in 1997, following it up with a series of albums showcasing his blues guitar playing and earning multiple Handy Awards nominees in the last 10 years. Burks is visiting Sticky Fingerz, and co-owner Chris King is gushing, stating: “All those things that people say about Chuck Norris? People that know blues music say the same thing about Michael Burks.” No word on the opening act, but the music starts at 9 p.m. with a $10 cover for the 21-and-up show.
Juanita’s welcomes a trio of Arkansas acts, with a visit from the electronica-infused indie rock of Mountain Home’s The Red Suite; Father Maple, a Little Rock indie rock quartet influenced by Coldplay, Ryan Adams and Death Cab For Cutie that plays “music you like”; and the Little Rock experimental indie rock of Falcon Scott. The all-ages show starts at 9 p.m. with a $7 cover.
Jimbo Mathus is the wild man of Mississippi music, an artist born in the Mississippi Delta who recreates his roots in his music. The former member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers returns to Little Rock as Jimbo Mathus & The Tri State Coalition play White Water Tavern. No word on cover or start time. The outfit — Matt “Pizzle” Pierce on guitar, Justin Showah on bass, Eric Carlton on keyboards and Austin Marshall on drums — create interplanetary honky-tonk, roots music founded on Southern rock ‘n’ roll, blues, country, gospel and soul. Mathus and company released Knockdown South in 2005 and followed it up with his sophomore album, Jimmy the Kid, a collection of what Mathus describes as “Mississippi music.”
California rock band Deftones have never been afraid to chase their curiosity down several rabbit holes, creating a brawny sound mingled with experimental, pop and progressive music. The band kicked off a tour in support of their May release Diamond Eyes on Aug. 6, and nine shows later will arrive in Little Rock, playing Robinson Center Music Hall. Tickets are $36.60, $39.20 and $41.75 through Ticketmaster.
Here’s Jimbo Mathus & The Tri State Coalition with their “Who’ll Sop My Gravy”:
Downtown Music usually doesn’t open it doors early in the week so when it does it’s pretty special. For this Tuesday night show expect Idaho musician We Should Whisper, the one-man band of Lamoni Finlayson that mixes acoustic with pop and electronica. Also on the bill are electronica pop rock group Teen Hearts and Missouri five-piece rock band outRAGEus! The music starts at 7 p.m. with tickets $8 in advance and $10 day of show.
Minnesota rockabilly pays a visit to the South with the trio Reckless One at Sticky Fingerz. What better way to bookend the show than by adding local support from the authentic Arkansan attitude and punk rockabilly of Josh the Devil? Right. There is no better way. That’s why they are on the bill as well. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. with cover $5 for the 21-and-up gig.
Here’s We Should Whisper with his “The Way It’s Meant to Be”:
Atlanta band Gringo Star returns to Sticky Fingerz. The fuzzed-out guitar, psychedelic-fueled, stammering-garage-rock playing band are a favorite of local crowds. And while the ban’s debut album, All Y’All, is a catchy collection of garage rock gems, it is at the quartet’s live show where they shine, trading instruments and cranking out infectious rock. Conway folk rockers This Holy House and newish Little Rock indie rock band Catskill Kids are the opening acts, with the music starting at 9 p.m. Cover is $7 for the 21-and-up show.
Veara’s game is pop punk: infectious, fun-loving rhythms with terror-invoking drumming and razor-sharp guitar riffs. The Georgia foursome released What We Left Behind, an album that pays homage to New Found Glory and Blink 182 while breaking new ground, earlier this year. Now on tour, the act visits The Village. The opening acts are Michigan progressive post-hardcore act I Am Abomination, Hot Springs progressive rock act Stereo Sound and Little Rock rock band The Supporting Cast. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the music at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
Neckbroke Entertainment and Downtown Music presents Synfest V. The two-day event kicks off Friday with a lineup featuring Between Crows & Thieves, Eddie and the Defiantz, Das Gift, A Plea For Mercy, Land of Mines, Wishtribe and Driven to Madness. Saturday night will include 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. both nights, and cover is $7 per day. Downtown Music will also feature door prizes and drink specials both nights, and the kitchen will be open.
Here’s Gringo Star with the title track to their All Y’All album:
Although they formed early in the 21st century, it wasn’t until “Angels on the Moon” started climbing the charts in 2008 that California alternative rock band Thriving Ivory was introduced to the masses through their re-released, self-titled debut album. The tune ended up cracking the Top 100 of the Billboard charts, and Thriving Ivory started playing to bigger crowds. Two years later, the band is on the road again, this time in support of their upcoming sophomore release Through Yourself & Back Again. Thriving Ivory visits Juanita’s along with singer/songwriter rocker Ryan Star. The opening act is local energetic rock ‘n’ roll act Free Micah, kicking off the music at 8 p.m. for the all-ages show. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 day of show.
Nashville, Tenn., guitar-driven rock band Brenn arrives at Sticky Fingerz to unleash their grand take on “big” rock music. The band’s newest effort is their second EP, Stack of Fears, a collection of tunes complete with dynamic synths, anthemic riffs and dramatic vocals — the cornerstones of “big” rock music performed by U2 and Radiohead. But the group mixes the “big” with dreamy, channeling the soundscapes of Sigur Ros. The act’s new record, The Fury and the Sound, is out in September so expect a mix of new with the old. The opening act is the local alternative rock act Luster, and the music starts at 9 p.m. with cover $5 for the 21-and-up show.
Here’s Thriving Ivory with their “Angels on the Moon”:
A.A. Bondy last played Little Rock in November 2009, appearing on a bill with Americana act Elvis Perkins in Dearland at Sticky Fingerz. Here’s what Sticky Fingerz co-owner Chris King had to say about the show: “He almost blew the doors off the place in the most polite and down-to-earth way possible. Yeah, that’s right — A.A. is a very cool and thoughtful dude as well as a bad musical mofo.” Luckily for the music fans who missed it, Bondy, known for his mingling of folk and blues, and his starkly beautiful storytelling, is returning to Sticky Fingerz. Also on the bill is Brooklyn musician JBM with his urban folk. Advance tickets are on sale now for $10.
Australian rock music is not all about devils inside, dirty deeds, digging Lazaruses and Vegemite sandwiches; it’s also about Sick Puppies, the alternative rock group touring through the states along with metal act Janus and Florida alternative rock band It’s Alive. The trio visit Juanita’s for a show presented by 100.3 The Edge, and tickets are $15 advance and $17 day of for the all-ages show.
It’s a night of Country for the Kids at Revolution Music Room, as six local country acts come together to play their tunes and raise money for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The bill includes Jeff Bates, Beebe Southern rock-flavored country act Luke Williams Band, the Aaron Owens Band, Sherwood country musician David Byrnes, north Arkansas country artist Matthew Huff and Ashleigh Rogers. The show starts at 7 p.m. with tickets $10 for the all-ages show with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Here’s A.A. Bondy with his “I Can See the Pines Are Dancing”:
The acoustic guitar turns into a wizard’s wand in the capable hands of the Alabama-born, Texas-based guitar virtuoso Monte Montgomery. There’s a reason why he was named Best Acoustic Guitar Player for seven straight years by the Austin Music Awards. And Guitar Player Magazine saw it necessary to name Montgomery to its list of the Top 50 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2004. Monte Montgomery visits Sticky Fingerz, and the opening act is to be announced, but the music will start at 9 p.m. with tickets $10 advance and $12 day of show for the 21-and-up show.
The O.D. (Part 4) returns, this time at Cornerstone Pub for a night of real rap hosted by local hip hop artist Epiphany with DJ KP on the turntables. The music starts at 9 p.m. with cover $10 for the 21-and-up event with ladies getting in free until 10:15 p.m. The music lineup includes Da Saw Squad, Bully Gang, The E.O.S., BWare, Mike Streezy, Arkatext, Southwest Boaz and Shea Marie.
The electronica method of The Crystal Method is actually the duo of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, two Las Vegas boys who founded the group in Los Angeles in the early ’90s. About 17 years later, the duo have made a name for themselves through their music work in commercials, TV shows, films and video games, along with their thumping-breaks-and-big-beat live show. The duo visit The Village on their Divided By Night Tour, and local support will be provided by a host of Little Rock’s best electronica artist, including Sleepy Genius, Justin Sane, Ewell, Paul Grass and Andy Sadler along with a Dub Room featuring Digital Love, Sleek, Wolf E Wolf and Stepchild. The music starts at 8 p.m. with tickets $20 advance and $25 at the door.
Introspective country, high-energy rock and Americana ballads come together with a visit from Fayetteville act Matt Stell & the Crashers at Sticky Fingerz. The band, led by central Arkansas native Stell, is as much Lynyrd Skynyrd as Willie Nelson on their debut album, The Sound & the Story. There’s no announced opening act, but the music will start at 9:30 p.m. with a $5 cover for the 21-and-up show.
Here’s The Crystal Method with their “Name of the Game”:
