The Green Room

Featuring the premiere of a brand-new work for wind quintet by George Lewis, commissioned by the ensemble, the City of Tomorrow sets the audience inside a kaleidoscope of culture and memory. Composer, musicologist, and winner of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, George Lewis is currently the Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble and has written extensively on American experimental music, race, and the decolonization of contemporary music. His music is presented alongside another masterpiece for the modern quintet, De Memorias by Cuban-American composer Tania León. The City of Tomorrow's specialty is creating immersive experiences, in which audiences are carried from one piece to the next in a transformative musical art installation. 

Growing up in Akron, Ohio, Dan Wilson spent the majority of his youth within the church community, where his musical path began.

Traces of his major guitar influences – including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson to name a few – can be discerned through his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

Enter a timeless space of listening as Crown of Eternity's Mike Tamburo and Memphis’ own Sean Murphy weave sonic soundscapes as they navigate through a musical conversation. Together they’ll explore their way through a wide array of 50+ overtone rich instruments including Gongs, Bells, Bowls, Sound Sculptures, Hammered Dulcimer, Didjeridus, Tuba, Flutes, Kalimbas, and more.

Allow yourself to be still and listen as these two musician explorers take you through a journey through the senses and a perceptual rollercoaster.

Attention all Memphis filmmakers, actors, and crew members! As we enter the new year, Indie Memphis wants to hear from you—the members of our Memphis filmmaking community. Please join the Indie Memphis staff for an open discussion about what you would like to see from Indie Memphis and our filmmaking community at large over the next year and beyond. This will also be a great opportunity to chat and network with other filmmakers as we move Shoot & Splice into the relaxing confines of The Green Room at Crosstown Arts.

The singular singer and songwriter Leon Timbo is a veteran artist who brings “a unique, rootsy sound that incorporates equal measures of vintage soul, gospel, folk, R&B, funk, dance music, and even modern blues” (All Music Guide) to a style he calls “transparent soul.”

His most recent albums are 2021’s Lovers and Fools Vol. 1and follow-up Lovers and Fools Vol. 2 released last year. These albums represent Timbo’s fully-realized steps into Americana, and showcase a musician whose has found his true voice — a voice full of passion, power, and depth.

Join Sean Murphy as he creates soundscapes based on his 2013 site-specific album “Sketches of Crosstown” and his latest experimental EP “Imbolc Ice”.  

Saxophonist Jim Spake and Percussionist Tom Lonardo will join Sean and his multitude of instruments including didjeridus, flutes, tuba, kalimbas, frame drums, bowls, bells, gongs, and more.  Together they’ll weave a tapestry of sound and musical conversation unlike anything you’ve likely experienced before!

Sound Fuzion is the Rudi E. Schedit School of Music’s flagship popular/commercial music ensemble. This touring ensemble serves as musical ambassadors for the University of Memphis and performs for thousands of fans yearly. Consisting of eight vocalists, rhythm section, horn section and two engineers, Sound Fuzion provides its members with professional performance experience and prepares artists for success in the music industry. Sound Fuzion performs all styles of popular music including Top 40, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and country. Members receive a half-tuition scholarship and are highly selected each year.

Stephen Lee is the Founder/Artistic and Executive Director of the Memphis Jazz Workshop, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. He has an undergraduate degree in Jazz Performance from City College University in New York City. Master in Education from Freed Hardeman. He has been in the education sector in Memphis since 2010, teaching for three years in the Shelby County Schools system, five years at the Stax Music Academy, and seven years as a fellow for the Memphis Music Initiative.

He has worked with Gregory Porter, Esperanza Spalding, Kirk Whalum, Warren Wolf, Corcoran Holt, Ulysses Owens Jr and many more. Lee has received numerous awards, including the Rhythm of Gospel Award, Steinway & Sons Top Music Teacher Voted by Amro Music Store, WC Handy Award, and Jimmie Lunceford Award. He has been nominated for a First Round Stellar Award and the Kennedy Center's Citizen Artist Fellowship. He is a proud Carver Cobras Alum and member of Omega Psi Psi.

Saxophonist Michael Shults has been praised for his “strong, imaginative” improvisations (Downbeat Magazine) and “fresh and intelligent musical ideas” (The Pitch). Now he and is quartet are teaming up with experienced bandleader and an in-demand sideman Bennett Wood for an unforgettable Jazz Month performance at Crosstown Arts.

The S.C. Ramblers is a brass band hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, specializing in the trademark sounds of street bands, initially made popular by the street musicians of New Orleans.

Whether it's a classic jazz tune or a current pop song, in the style of the New Orleans brass band, it’s an automatic party when you hear the S.C. Ramblers, perform live!