John Fry
Thirty-seven years after their debut album, Big Star is still one of the most relevant bands to come out of Memphis.
Memphis power-pop icons Big Star will launch the spring 2010 season at the Levitt Shell at Overton Park with a benefit concert on May 15.
Levitt Shell organizers made the announcement at Big Star’s recording home, Midtown’s Ardent Studios, on Saturday morning.
John Fry
Thirty-seven years after their debut album, Big Star is still one of the most relevant bands to come out of Memphis.
The concert, a ticketed event, will serve as the kick-off and fundraiser for the Shell’s free concert series, which runs from May 20 to June 20.
Big Star has not played in Memphis since a 2006 Beale Street Music Festival appearance. The group will return to the historic Shell site for the first time since a 1974 concert that was eventually released as the live album titled Nobody Can Dance.
The group, which originally broke up in 1975 and reunited with original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens in 1993, was the subject of a widely-hailed CD box set in 2009. The band will also be making an appearance at the annual South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, next month.
“It’s really exciting to be playing the Levitt Shell,” said Stephens. “It’s a great venue and a wonderful place for fans of the band to come and see us, as well as those that are just curious.”
Shell organizers also announced several highlight acts that will be part of the upcoming free concert season. Among the performers are Americana group Cowboy Junkies, R&B veteran Betty Harris, contemporary blues band Black Joe Lewis, and local jazz great Joyce Cobb. The full schedule of performances is expected to be finalized in early March.
The upcoming season will break with the previous format of having each of the Thursday through Sunday shows hew to a specific genre. “We’re not programming according to themed nights anymore,” said Levitt Shell executive director Anne Pitts. “We’re still programming evenly among the genres — soul, gospel, Americana, Latin, and so on — but we’re going to be mixing it up in terms of when they happen.”
Pitts added that the Shell will be hosting a new summer children’s concert series every Tuesday and Saturday from July 6 to July 24. “We’ve partnered with the YMCA and a few other community organizations to really reach out to children from a variety of backgrounds and bring them to the Shell and give them the opportunity to experience the free music concerts in Overton Park.”
The Shell’s spring season will be followed by a five-week fall concert series beginning on Sept. 16.
Levitt Shell at Overton Park 2010 Spring Concert Season
Tickets for the Big Star May 15 kickoff fundraiser show go on sale March 1 through showclix.com. General admission tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of show. A limited number of VIP packages, which include access to a pre-concert soundcheck party, cost $65. For more information go to levittshell.org or call 272-2722.
The free concert series runs May 20 to June 20. Artists will include Cowboy Junkies, Betty Harris, Black Joe Lewis and Joyce Cobb.
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Comments » 1
Big_Star_Fan writes:
Bob, did you mean www.showclix.com?
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