Go Memphis

The opener of the ninth season of IRIS was a wild ride, from the traditional (a solid Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony) to the roller-coaster boogie-woogie of Brahms.
Actually the boogie-woogie -- and blues, and stride piano and a rich mix of other jazz forms and invention -- were courtesy guest soloist Uri Caine, who took Brahms' "Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel" and gave it an expression that would have stunned the old composers.
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For a band that’s been together just a few years, The Raconteurs have achieved a lot: releasing a couple of top ten records, earning a handful of Grammy nominations, and playing a succession of sold-out tours. Of course, that’s all largely come on the back of co-frontman Jack White’s previous success with the White Stripes.
That’s not to say the remainder of the Raconteurs aren’t a talented bunch. Full story »

In 1983, San Francisco Bay-area rhythm-and-rock outfit Huey Lewis & the News had a big hit with “Heart of Rock-and-Roll,” a song that attempted to enumerate all the American cities where the music’s heart was still beatin’ (Tulsa?), yet managed to overlook Memphis.
Friday night, before a sold-out crowd of 6,400 at the Memphis Botanic Garden, Lewis attempted to correct the oversight. Kicking off a Live At The Garden series event with the song, Lewis shoehorned his host city into the outro, giving it special emphasis. Full story »

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg strode on stage, shimmering in silver and black, looking as if she were about to detonate a surprise.
Wow, did she ever.
Salerno-Sonnenberg’s violin virtuosity with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra Saturday night brought the crowd at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts to its feet. It was not only that her thrilling, volatile performance was jaw-dropping, but that the piece — Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” — was a terrific composition, witty, sly, passionate, moving.
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Age has not affected the B-52s. The new wave band, which dominated the college party scene in early 1980s Athens Ga., long before they became bona fide hit makers, benefits from its built-in kitsch factor, which seem even more timeless the second or third time around. Full story »

Music writer Bob Mehr asks notable Memphians about their musical firsts and favorites. This week: Robby Grant, founder of Big Ass Truck, and a member of Mouserocket, Vending Machine and the Ultracats. Full story »

Here's hoping you like variety in your classical music, because this season has plenty of it -- old and new, bold and beautiful, grand and intimate. Full story »

Music writer Bob Mehr asks notable Memphians about their musical firsts and favorites. This week: Judy Dorsey, station manager of WEVL, FM 89.9. What's in her CD player, iPod or turntable at the moment? A six-CD set called Goodbye Babylon, which is vintage gospel music going back as far as the turn of the 20th century and going up to about 1960. Full story »

Before the Jonas Brothers, before Miley Cyrus, there was the Monkees, the original '60s prefab rock outfit, whose puckish Cockney lead singer Davy Jones will be in concert at 9 tonight at the Gold Strike Casino's Millennium Theater. Full story »

Music writer Bob Mehr asks notable Memphians about their musical firsts and favorites. This week: Scott Bomar, leader of the Bo-Keys and noted film and TV composer. What’s in your CD player, I-pod or turntable at the moment? I’ve been listening to a lot of Isaac Hayes recently. After his passing, I pulled out all the records I had by him. Also, we’ve been working on some music for the film “Soul Men.” So a lot of Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas and William Bell. Full story »

After four-plus decades in the music business, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has few peers. In fact, you can count the number of acts that have lasted as long or been as successful on one hand. Although band members have come and gone -- and often, come back again -- the Grammy-winning country-rock group has continued, largely unabated, for some 42 years. Tonight, the Dirt Band -- Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, John McEuen and Bob Carpenter -- arrives in Memphis for a show at the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center. Full story »

In the rap world, swagger is equated with state of mind. Or, as 30-year-old producer Phillip "Big Phil" Hudson puts it, "It's how you personify yourself." "If you're a go-to person, the person everybody wants part of, you're on to some grown man stuff," he says. Over the last few years, Big Phil and his MAD Muzik Group affiliates, which include producers Darryle "Soopa" Crutcher, Mr. Mitch and Rickey G, have built a reputation based on plenty of swagger. Full story »

The recent triumphant appearance by Terry Manning at the Memphis Pops Festival illuminated one of Memphis music's more obscure but fascinating eras. Manning, a famed producer and engineer best known for his efforts on mega-sellers by artists such as ZZ Top and Shania Twain, started his career in Memphis working every job imaginable at upstart Ardent Records. Full story »

Last year, when he helped launch a concert benefit for the Church Health Center, musician J.D. Reager didn't have any big expectations. But the show, dubbed "Rock for Love" and featuring a host of local acts, was an unqualified success, raising nearly $10,000. "We really weren't expecting it to be as big as it turned out to be," says Reager of the concert. Full story »

On his latest project, jazz guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Butler returned to his native South Africa to record a live CD and DVD. Released last October, Jonathan Butler: Live From South Africa features live footage culled from his tour of his home country, where he has been a beloved music star since the age of 12, as well as a documentary recording his return to the Cape Town ghetto where he was raised. Full story »