Go Memphis

Thursday’s night official South by Southwest festivities were highlighted by the Memphis Music Foundation’s second annual showcase at Barbarella. A solo set by singer-songwriter Harlan T. Bobo drew a surprisingly strong early evening crowd to the club, as Bobo played songs off his forthcoming Goner Records release Sucker. Ardent label act Star & Micey and Big Star’s Jody Stephens followed. Full story »

Since 2007, the Minivan Blues Band has been a long-distance affair. That year, Joe Schicke, group co-founder, singer, guitarist, and one of the band's chief co-writers, moved to Fort Collins, Colo., to go to graduate school. Now, without the luxury of playing together all the time, the Minivan has tightened its sound, trimmed the musical excess and fastened in on their original songs. The band plays at the Hi-Tone in Memphis tonight for a CD release party. Full story »

It's 1 a.m. Sunday morning. Nocturnal is hot. The Midtown nightspot is packed with young people — many guys shirtless and young women in summery attire even though it's February. They move to pulsating sounds as laser lights and camera flashes strike their bodies. Others crowd close to the deejay and reach out as if they're grabbing the beats. Outside, a 50-foot line of people wait for their chance to dance before everything stops at 3 a.m. Full story »

A day after his death, shock and sadness slowly gave way to fond remembrance by friends, fans and fellow musicians. Full story »

California police recently interrupted production on a music video by thrash metal heroes Megadeth when the band brought in a real live tank for the shoot. “That’s very typical Megadeth, to have the cops show up,” says the band’s bassist, Dave Ellefson, of filming for “The Right To Go Insane” from the band’s latest album, Endgame. Megadeth and fellow ’80s thrashers Testament and Exodus will perform Tuesday at Minglewood Hall. Full story »

Chilton was best known as a member of 1960s pop-soul act the Box Tops and the 1970s power-pop act Big Star. Full story »

Widely hailed as one of the finest stand-ups working today, Philadelphia-bred, Los Angeles-based comic Paul F. Tompkins will be familiar to viewers of the groundbreaking ‘90s HBO series “Mr. Show” as well as to fans of “Best Week Ever,” the VH1 comedy-news program he hosted until its recent cancellation. On Saturday night, Tompkins returns to Memphis for the first time since 2007 for a pair of shows at Minglewood Hall’s 1884 Lounge. Full story »

Canadian pop heartthrob Justin Bieber is bringing his "My World" tour to the FedExForum July 31. The 16-year-old singer, who rose to fame as a YouTube phenomenon, recently released his second album My World 2.0, the followup to "My World," which went platinum in less than two months. Reggae-rapper Sean Kingston is special guest on the program. Tickets go on sale Mar. 27. Full story »

When one thinks of Mississippi music, the blues inevitably come to mind first. But the Magnolia State has a rich tradition in a variety of genres, including country music. “People think of the blues, but you know Jimmie Rodgers was from Mississippi,” says Lisa Lambert, a country musician and blues fan who discovered how closely related the two were when she joined up with the Pine Ridge Boys three years ago. The band plays Saturday at the Center For Southern Folklore in Memphis. Full story »

At 36, Quincy Ross, who raps under the name Mr. Modest, is at the age when most artists matriculate out of the hip-hop scene, segueing into artist development or producing instead of haunting the clubs to hone their craft. But this latecomer is just hitting his stride, and his experience and maturity are quickly earning him attention on the local underground rap scene. Full story »

Hunched over plates of fried rice and Vietnamese soup in a Midtown restaurant, the members of Memphis stoner metal band the Unbeheld seem far removed from the world they sing about, an adolescent suburban boy’s fantasy land of monsters and demons and epic battles of good against evil surrounded in a mist of rumbling drum and epic guitars. The band will throw a CD release party for their full-length debut "In the Arms of Mother Chaos" Saturday at the Hi-Tone. Full story »

There is a thread in Kirk Whalum’s life and career. It’s a line that began as a youth playing in his father’s church choir, and that he followed to the biggest stages in the world. “The first song I ever played as a kid was ‘Amazing Grace,’ ” says Whalum. “Many years later, I found myself playing that song alongside Whitney Houston in South Africa for over 7 million people live on HBO. That song, that experience and that influence was the genesis of my career.” Full story »

Memphis bluesman Eric Hughes likes to say that his music appeals to everyone “from the purist to the tourist.” It’s fair enough description for Hughes himself, a much beloved presence on the local scene — he helped found the Memphis Blues Society back in 2005 — who performs regularly on Beale with his band, as part of a duo and solo. Though the wintertime is typically the slow season on Beale Street, Hughes has been busy recently writing songs for an album he hopes to release this year. Full story »

Memphian Charlynn Struckhoff, a huge fan of Michael Jackson, never got to meet the gloved one. But on Friday, Struckhoff will conjure his spirit, as well as, in a way, his body, when she presents her all-dance tribute to Jackson at Nocturnal at 1588 Madison. The one-woman show, which starts at 10:30 p.m., will feature Struckhoff reinterpreting some of Jackson’s signature dance moves accompanied by video of the iconic performer. Full story »

The seventh annual Southern Entertainment Awards, celebrating the best in regional rap, hip-hop and urban music, were handed out this past weekend in Memphis at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Among the big local winners were rapper Yo Gotti, who took home a trio of trophies for Song of the Year, Beat of the Year and Indie Album of the Year. Also, Memphis-bred, Atlanta-based hitmaker Drumma Boy, aka Christopher Gholson, earned his second consecutive win as Indie Producer of the Year, Full story »