Go Memphis

Singer-songwriter Kate Campbell has played all manner of Memphis churches and concert halls, but the venue she keeps coming back to is the Center For Southern Folklore. The Center, when it was located on Beale Street, was one of the first places Campbell performed more that 15 years ago when the former history teacher gave up an academic career to pursue songwriting full time. “The Center is just a really nice place for me,” Campbell says of the nonprofit that, like her songcraft, is dedicated to the preservation of regional history, heritage, and traditions. Full story »

Imagine this: The band you've invested more than a decade into goes on hiatus, so you form a new group. Then, after you've booked a high-profile tour, your guitarist announces he can't do the majority of the dates. What do you do? In Cody Dickinson's case, he simply set down his drumsticks and strapped on a guitar. Though few Memphians might realize it, Dickinson actually started out strumming. Full story »

At age 29, J.D. Reager has spent more than half his life -- well, in some ways all his life -- in the music business. Though he's played in several bands, engineered numerous records, and been onstage since junior high, he's never put out his own album. "And it started to feel like if I didn't put an album out or did something with these songs I had," says Reager, "that I would always regret it." Reager won't have to nurse any regrets, as his solo debut The Repechage is released locally this week. Full story »

Country music star Clint Black will be playing his hits in concert at Sam’s Town’s River Palace Entertainment Center Saturday, but its been another kind of performing that has captured the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter’s attention lately. In April, Black appeared in the one-and-only episode of the CBS television network’s “Secret Talents of the Stars” a reality game show that featured celebrities competing against each other in fields outside their expertise. Full story »

After more than 15 years, Chinese Democracy, the sixth studio album from hard rock legends Guns N’ Roses is finally slated to hit stores this Tuesday. Despite being one of the most fussed over recordings of all time, lead singer Axl Rose is still on the fence about some of the long-delayed new songs. “I don’t know,” he says “I like some of them and others I’m not as fond of." Actually this is the opinion of NotQuiteAxl, a.k.a. Chad Atkins, lead singer for the Guns N’ Roses tribute band Appetite For Destruction, who perform Saturday at Newby’s. Full story »

Just in time for Veterans' Day, the Zac Brown Band's debut single, "Chicken Fried," peaked on the country charts this week at No. 3, just behind Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. The song, a bouncy, insanely catchy front-porch jam that feels as familiar as the lyrics' "pair of jeans that fit just right," seems for the first couple of verses to be a unassuming recounting of life's simple pleasures -- cold beer, good tunes, and the titular Southern delicacy. Full story »

Somehow, someway, O.V. Wright continues to be a mystery. Though he spent his entire life in Memphis, recorded with Willie Mitchell and was a contemporary of everyone from Otis Redding to Al Green, Wright remains a largely unheralded figure. Hardcore soul enthusiasts and R&B historians have consistently ranked him among the most evocative and powerful singers of all time, yet his troubled life and tragically early death at the age of 41 in 1980 have consigned him to the margins of music history. Full story »

Like a modern-day Partridge Family, the Bridges are making pop music a family affair once again. "Yeah, we get that all the time, the Partridge Family, Brady Bunch thing," says Isaaca Byrd the youngest of four siblings and one cousin who make up the Oxford, Ala., quintet. "People compare us because we're family, but I'm not sure how accurate the comparison is beyond that." Full story »

Ask Eagles co-founder Don Henley what’s propelled the band and his partnership with fellow singer-songwriter Glenn Frey and he’ll tell you it was a “mutual passion for great songwriting, great singing and great musicianship,” but there was something else too. “We wanted to rise above our circumstances,” says Henley. “We both wanted to succeed in the music business, so we lived and breathed it, all aspects of it, and that was our bond.” Full story »

Saturday night was Chicago’s moment at the How Sweet the Sound church choir competition. The Second City’s Acme Missionary Baptist Church won the overall best award in the second annual event held in Atlanta. Last year’s defending champion, Memphis’ New Direction Christian Church, also competed after prevailing in the regional finals last month at the FedEx Forum. While choir members were disappointed they didn’t win the top prize, they were from the start much more excited about the experience of meeting and ministering. Full story »

Neo-soul singer Maxwell remembers the first time he had a drink. He remembers the details -- it was a white wine at the famed New York City restaurant Indochine -- and he remembers the fact that he'd just turned 30 years old. "At that moment, I remember thinking, man, I haven't lived a life that makes any sense," says Maxwell. "I was focusing so much on music and on my career, that I realized I'd missed out on a lot. And most importantly, I knew I really needed to experience some real things if I was going to continue to have something to say artistically." Full story »

With its invocations of Southern Europe and mysterious, romantic Gypsy life, flamenco music may seem out of place in the relatively chilly -- both meteorologically and temperamentally -- climes of Toronto, Canada. But the cosmopolitan city, with large ethnic groups snagged from seemingly every corner of the world, is actually a perfect incubator for the nuevo flamenco sound of Jesse Cook. Full story »

ARLINGTON: Rizzi's Paradiso Pub: Karaoke with Ricky Mac at 9:30 tonight (no cover); Razen Cane, 9:30 p.m. Saturday; Altered Egos, 7 p.m. Thursday. At 6230 Greenlee. Call 592-0344. BARTLETT: Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center: Jesse Cook, Canadian guitar virtuoso. 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $20. At 3663 Appling Road. 385-6440. Online: bpacc.org. Full story »

Country star Phil Vassar, who performs Saturday at Tunica's Gold Strike Casino, has written songs for some of Nashville's biggest names -- Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Collin Raye, among others -- and recorded four albums of his own. But on his new record, the recently released Prayer Of A Common Man, Vassar for the first time delves into his inner life, one that was beset by tragedy, heartbreak and turmoil in the run up to the album's creation. Last year, Vassar divorced Julie Wood, his wife of five years and the mother of his two daughters. Full story »

Christopher Chew cuts a rather familiar figure for most local music fans. The prodigious bassist for blues-rock perennials The North Mississippi Allstars has been a fixture on Mid-South stages for more than a decade as sideman and band member. This week, however, Chew will be stepping into the spotlight with his “Acoustic Soul Revue” — a free afternoon showcase running for the next three Sundays at the Hi-Tone Café. Full story »