The Green Room

Three time Grammy Award-Winning Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. is known for being a drummer who The New York Times has said “take a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation.”

On their way to the Bentonia Blues Festival, Ryan Lee Crosby & Grant Smith will be playing new songs on 12 string and calabash, as well as material from the Bruce Watson produced Winter Hill Blues (recorded in Memphis). Willie Farmer and his trio will play songs from their upcoming album and also the Bruce Watson produced The Man From The Hill. Memphis local (by way of the UK) Shaun Marsh kicks it off solo with acoustic pre-war blues on National steel guitar.

Jessye DeSilva’s new, crowdfunded album, Renovations, chronicles an ongoing, imperfect journey to self-love and -acceptance, full of both moments of resignation and moments of triumph.

Marisa Anderson channels the history of the guitar and stretches the boundaries of tradition. Her deeply original work applies elements of minimalism, electronic music, drone and 20th century classical music to compositions based on blues, jazz, gospel and country music, re-imagining the landscape of American music. The New Yorker calls Anderson ‘one of the most distinctive guitar players of her generation’, while NPR refers to her as among ‘this era’s most powerful players’.

Recognized for their raucous and rowdy shows, they seldom get to perform a fair bit of their catalog that is more conducive to a listening room environment. This show will feature many of Dead Soldiers’ least-performed songs and unique arrangements of existing songs in their live repertoire.

The Crosstown Strictly Jazz Series, presented by Crosstown Arts in collaboration with Strictly Jazz Entertainment, is designed to salute classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends. This special Jazz Month presentation of the series features New York-based performers JD Warren & The Rudiment in two back-to-back Memphis performances.

JD Warren & The Rudiment is helmed by husband and wife duo drummer Jeremy Warren and vocalist Dermel Warren. They play original music and arrangements of standards, and their debut album, "I Can Do All Things," is available on all music outlets and platforms.

Fareed Haque is a modern guitar virtuoso. Steeped in classical and jazz traditions, his unique command of the guitar and different musical styles inspire his musical ventures with tradition and fearless innovation.