Go Memphis

If there was one hurdle left for rapper Lil' Wayne, it was to master the art of live performance. The bar for live hip-hop is notoriously low, with most performers content to strut across a bare stage chanting over backing tracks. But to get to that genre-transcending level of superstardom of a Diddy or a Beyoncé, Wayne would have to put on a show. Sunday night he did just that with an intricately staged, intermittently brilliant performance before a crowd of about 6,000 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Full story »

The humidity. Our love of pork products. The regressive tax structure. Perhaps we just don't buy enough Mandy Moore records. Whatever reasons Ryan Adams may have for not liking the Bluff City, the alt country superstar delivered his second straight lackluster concert here Wednesday night at the new Minglewood Hall in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,500. Known for his testy and erratic behavior, even since giving up drugs and alcohol three years ago, Adams has a history of iffy shows here. Full story »

Saturday's IRIS Orchestra concert was an evening of wit, virtuosity, delicacy and grandeur. The star was trumpeter Alison Balsom, the U.K. phenom who co-owns the instrument along with the angel Gabriel. Her treatment of Hummel's Trumpet Concerto was exquisitely refined and beautifully turned. Full story »

Here's something to keep in the back of your head as you're reading about the Most Patriotic Album in American History. It was made by a Canadian. Mind you, television producer Douglas Hutton has done a lot of traveling across this great nation in the 30 years since he first dreamed up a concept album that would "tell the story of America." A notable Memphian appears in the thank you section of the liner notes. Full story »

Lucinda Williams didn’t require any buildup or big introduction as she took the stage for a sold-out show at the newly opened Midtown performance space, Minglewood Hall, on Tuesday night. At age 56, the veteran roots songstress sang and played with a confidence that was well-earned, as she delivered a wide selection of songs from across her 30-year career. Full story »

Even with the cameras swooping beneath her feet, wide-angle lenses cranked open so that she fills the television screen like an MTV siren, there’s no camouflaging the fact that Alexis Grace is the tiniest contestant on this season of “American Idol.” She barely scrapes 5 feet, has a child’s milky cheekbones and the pixie pink highlights of a teenage rebel on a Nickelodeon sitcom. She also has a voice that adds about 10 inches in all directions. The girl’s got soul. Memphis soul. Full story »

Old Crow Medicine Show and the Felice Brothers were the billed attractions, but the popular Americana bands ended up sharing the spotlight with the very venue in which they performed Sunday night as Memphis’ newest music room, Minglewood Hall, opened its doors for business. The night’s headliners, Old Crow Medicine Show, are the most unlikely stars to arise on the roots music scene in recent years. The band’s show Sunday was as wild and raucous as any rock show. Full story »

There was something fresh and bracing (mostly) about this weekend's Memphis Symphony Orchestra MasterWorks program. Full story »

Stolen Victoria’s Secret Gift Card Or Takeover; Girls Of The Gravitron -- This limited-edition, seemingly homemade disc — the CD “case” is a hand-folded Xerox — collects nine tracks, totaling just over 23 minutes of music, from this under-recognized DIY outfit, including their well-received 2008 7-inch “Malthusian Love Song.” Girls Of The Gravitron is made up of members of the more popular The Barbaras and Kazalok. Full story »

Saturday night's IRIS Orchestra concert was a rich mix, weighted toward the traditional but with the brightest spot a premiere performance of Jonathan Leshnoff's "Rush." Full story »

In a year where "change" has been a buzzword and cultural theme, AC/DC remain impervious. On Friday, during a sold-out show at the FedExForum in support of their latest album Black Ice, the band happily proved that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Offstage, AC/DC is comprised of four rather ruddy looking Australians and Englishmen well into middle age. Onstage, however, they transform themselves, into a gang of naughty lilttle boys, using a tried and true selection of songs. Full story »

Angie Stone is many things: poet, actress, clothing designer — and, of course, one of the most highly regarded contemporary soul singers. Whatever she does, though, Stone can’t help but being herself: feisty, funny, thoughtful and emotional. During a Sunday night concert at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Stone was all that, serving up a set that was musically vibrant, long on audience interaction, and punctuated by heartfelt raps about everything from Barack Obama to Jesus Christ to modern day romance. Full story »

With a nod to everyone who released records this year, here are my choices of best records of 2008 that were made locally or made elsewhere by locals. This is, of course, an imperfect process. On a different day, the order could be totally upturned, and the difference between the No. 1 record and No. 10 is frustratingly close. Full story »

Over the past few years Memphis music has been in a kind of cultural ascendency. From mainstream crossover (Three 6 Mafia) to pop celebrity (Justin Timberlake) to industry honors (lifetime Grammys for Booker T. & The MGs and Willie Mitchell), to widely celebrated events (the 50th anniversary of Stax and soul) there's been a lot of fanfare nationally and internationally for the city's music, past and present. Full story »

Toward the end of Thursday night’s performance of “Go Down Moses: A Tribute To Isaac Hayes,” the first concert in the Stax Music Academy’s SNAP! After School program’s 2008-2009 season, New Direction Christian Church music minister Dave Hollister and Terreigh Barnett, backed by the academy’s teenage rhythm section, wrapped their silky tenors around “Never Can Say Goodbye.” Full story »