Bobby Watson/Curtis Lundy & Umoja with Terreon Gully and Marc Payne
2021-11-02 14:30 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents world-renowned jazz musicians Bobby Watson and Curtis Lundy and Umoja with Terreon Gully and Marc Payne.
Tickets: $20 advance | $25 day of show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Saxophonist, composer, producer, and educator Bobby Watson grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and his playing is steeped in the roadhouse blues tradition of his native city. He got his formal education at the University of Miami, where his fellow students included Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorious, and Bruce Hornsby. The college has a distinguished, long-running, and well-respected jazz performance program.
After he was graduated in 1975, he moved to New York City, the jazz capitol of the world, and soon found employment as musical director for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Watson stuck with Blakey’s group from 1977 to 1981 and then pursued session and tour work with more vigor, working with drummers Louis Hayes and Max Roach, saxophonists George Coleman and Branford Marsalis, multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers, guitarist Carlos Santana, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. He’s also worked with a “who’s who” in the jazz vocal world, including Joe Williams, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter, and Carmen Lundy.
Finally, he launched his own group, Bobby Watson & Horizon, with bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, and they recorded for Blue Note and Columbia Records. Watson and Horizon were in demand and on the road from the mid-’80s to the late ’90s, and he still performs with the group, with differing sidemen. Watson has amassed nearly 30 recordings as a bandleader and he’s a veteran session man, having recorded on more than 100 other recordings. As a composer, he has recorded more than 100 of his original compositions, and his arrangements for big bands have circulated internationally.
Watson, basing himself alternately in New York City and Kansas City, has been a first-call musician for more than three decades now, and he also served as a member of the adjunct faculty at William Paterson University in the mid-’80s and at the Manhattan School of Music from 1996-1999. In 2000, he was selected as the first William D. and Mary Grant/Missouri Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies, and he’s been working at the University of Missouri/Kansas City, balancing live concerts around the world with his teaching responsibilities. Since 2000, Watson’s recordings under his own name include three excellent releases for the Palmetto Records label, based in New York City. They include Live & Learn (2002), Horizon Reassembled (2004), and From the Heart (2008).
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Born in 1955, Curtis Lundy is a double bassist, composer, producer, choir director, and arranger. Lundy began his musical career in the All Miami Youth Jazz Band and was classically trained at the University of Miami under the tutelage of renowned bassist Dr. Lucas Drew. He has studied privately with Cecil McBee, Linda McKnight, Jaco Pastorius, and Ron Carter.
Best-known for his work as part of jazz vocalist Betty Carter’s band, Lundy made his debut on the New York jazz scene in 1978. Over the years, he has performed with an impressive list of musicians, including: Art Blakely, John Griffin, Freddie Hubbard, Paroah Sanders, John Hicks, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, George Coleman, Clark Terry, Sam Rivers, the Savoy Sultans, Bobby Watson, Stanley Turnetine, Idris Mohamed, Steve Nelson Quintet, Mulgrew Miller, Hammiet Bluiet, Don Pullen, Elvin Jones, Hank Jones, Sonny Stitt, Jon Faddis, Hilton Ruiz, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Phyllis Hyman, Lionel Hampton, Phineas Newborn, Johnny Hartman, Charlie Persip, Louis Hayes, Bobby Hutcherson, Barry Harris, and Frank Morgan.
In the late 1980s, he issued Just Be Yourself (1989), and a decade later, with Justin Time Records, he released Against All Odds (1999), followed by Purpose (2002). Lundy remains one of the most spiritually uplifting bassists on the jazz scene today. He is featured on the G-Three recording SWIFT with Billy Robinson on sax, Stacie McGregor on piano, and Billy Hart on drums. Lundy’s arrangement on “Walk With Me,” recorded by the ARC Gospel Choir, was sampled by rapper Kanye West and became the Grammy Award-winning hit “Jesus Walks.” This arrangement was also sampled in “This is Why I’m Hot” by Shawn Mims.

Frog Squad Plays Erik Satie
2021-11-04 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Frog Squad performs a special show featuring their interpretation of works by composer Erik Satie on November 4th at Crosstown Arts.
Tickets: $10

Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Frog Squad is an outlet for creative expression and sound exploration based in Memphis, TN. Their songs pull heavily on improvisation within loose structures, creating a psychedelic, avant-garde, jazz sound.
The group curates and arranges songs from artists such as Theloinous Monk, Erik Satie, and Horace Silver, and bandleader David Collins composes eclectic, original music. Frog Squad gently defies the standards of what defines “good music” by composing song templates with experimental elements. In fall of 2019, Frog Squad released “Solar System in Peabody,” a full-length work funded by UrbanArt Commission. The Memphis Flyer has called it “one of the most incredible pieces of music that came across our threshold this year.”

Crosstown Arthouse presents No Ordinary Man
2021-11-04 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Aisling Chin-Yee & Chase Joynt’s No Ordinary Man at Crosstown Theater. 2020/83 minutes/Rated M
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
American jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band The Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the late 80s, it was revealed that Tipton was assigned female at birth, and his life was swiftly reframed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career. The genre-defying documentary No Ordinary Man seeks to correct that misrepresentation by collaborating with trans artists. As they collectively celebrate Tipton’s story as a musician living his life according to his own terms, they paint a portrait of a trans culture icon. No Ordinary Man features leading voices and breakout stars in the trans community, including Marquise Vilsón, Scott Turner Schofield, Susan Stryker, C. Riley Snorton, and Thomas Page McBee, among others.

The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.

Crosstown Arts Resident Artist Talk
2021-11-09 11:30 - 13:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts Fall 2021 resident artists Anthony Wilson, Tm. Prudhomme, Sharon Havelka, and Melissa Dunn will present artist talks.
Free and open to the public. Masks are required at this event.

Anthony Wilson is a guitarist and composer from Los Angeles, California.
He is known for a wide-ranging body of work that moves effortlessly across genres. In recent years, his growing dedication to songcraft and photography have added further depth to an already diverse catalog of works.
His most recent releases are the album/photobook “Songs and Photographs” (2019) and “The Plan of Paris,” to be released in Fall 2021.

Mr. Prudhomme has steadily performed and recorded with a variety of musical acts around the country and abroad for the past 35+ years. While having experience as a record producer, music publisher, booking agent, and label chief, he primarily identifies as a songwriter, credited with over 100 original compositions released on over 10 studio albums by various artists and labels.

Sharon Havelka was born in Memphis, TN, and graduated with a BFA from Memphis College of Art in 1994. She received her registered nurse licensure in 2009, and she currently works as an ICU RN at the Veterans Administration. She has a history of painting, mixed-media construction, wood work, and bookmaking but is currently focused on mixed-media quilting. She received the ArtsAccelerator Grant in 2019, and her work has been exhibited in such shows as the Dixon Memphis 2021, Quilt National ’21, Art Quilt Elements, 62nd Delta Exhibition, and SAQA 3D Expressions.

Melissa Dunn’s studio is in her house in Memphis, TN, the city where she was born and has spent most of her life. Her contemplative drawings and paintings are based in abstraction and informed by her musical life, her gardening life, her personal collection of artwork, and a close study of the world. She exhibits locally and regionally and is an active member of her local arts community. She has taught at Flicker Street Studio for over 10 years and Carpenter Art Garden for over seven years and served on the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council for three years. Among Melissa’s most recent projects is a large piece for the newly renovated Memphis International Airport awarded by the Urban Art Commission.

Iris Orchestra Chamber Players featuring the Iris Artist Fellows
2021-11-11 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents the Iris Artist Fellow Duo, featuring Pedro Maia on violin and Gabriel Hightower on cello, in The Green Room.
Tickets: General admission $10 | Student tickets $5 with student ID
Doors at 7 pm | Performance at 7:30pm
The Iris Artist Fellow Duo, featuring Pedro Maia on violin and Gabriel Hightower on cello, specialize in bringing an eclectic mix of music to the concert halls and beyond. Interweaving French avant-garde, Brazilian dances, and traditional classics, the sounds of the violin and cello are showcased in an unforgettable concert with something for everyone.
Gabriel Hightower is a cellist from Columbia, Maryland, and the 2021/2022 Iris Artist Cello Fellow. He received his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park and completed his Master of Music Degree from Carnegie Mellon University. As an avid collaborator, Gabriel has performed with groups such as the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Prince George’s Philharmonic, Redline String Quartet, Kyle Simpson Jazz Collective, Darlingtonia, and more. These engagements have had him performing all over the East Coast.
Brazilian violinist Pedro Maia is a versatile artist, passionate about chamber music and teaching. He is the 2021/2022 Iris Artist Violin Fellow. As a dynamic chamber musician, Pedro founded the ensembles Cosmos New Music and Trio Riva that both focus on studying and performing works written by composers of diverse backgrounds. Pedro holds doctoral and master’s degree in performance from Florida State University and a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Crosstown Arthouse presents Funeral Parade of Roses
2021-11-11 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Toshio Matsumoto’s Funeral Parade of Roses at Crosstown Theater. 1969/105 minutes/Rated R
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
A combination of art film, documentary, and narrative, Funeral Parade of Roses takes a deep dive into gay subculture in late 1960s Tokyo, Japan. In between the loose narrative, characters are interviewed about their lives and gender identity and occasionally the fourth wall is broken, revealing the crew making the film. A wild combination of film technique, documentation of ’60s Japanese pop culture and gay life, Funeral Parade of Roses is a CAN’T MISS!

The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.

Mempho presents The Wood Brothers
2021-11-12 13:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A roots music trio featuring brothers Chris (upright bass, vocals) and Oliver Wood (guitars, vocals) along with multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix, the Wood Brothers bring a distinctive flair to their union of folk, blues, gospel, and jazz.

Featuring an opening performance by Sean McConnell
Doors at 6 pm | Sean McConnell 7 pm | The Wood Brothers 8 pm
Tickets: $30-$45
Will call at 5 pm
*Mempho Presents has requested proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for this event. Please be prepared to present your vaccination card or a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours at check-in. Masks are required and must be worn unless actively eating or drinking.
* We will be conducting security checks upon entering the venue. Prepare to have your bags searched. No large bags. If your bag is too large, you will be asked to bring it back to your car.
“Everyone has these little kingdoms in their minds,” says Chris Wood, “and the songs on this album all explore the ways we find peace in them. They look at how we deal with our dreams and our regrets and our fears and our loves. They look at the stories we tell ourselves and the ways we balance the darkness and the light.”
That balance of darkness and light is at the heart of Kingdom In My Mind, The Wood Brothers’ seventh studio release and their most spontaneous and experimental collection yet. Recorded over a series of freewheeling, improvised sessions, the record is a reckoning with circumstance, mortality, and human nature, one that finds strength in accepting what lies beyond our control. Thoughtfully honing in on the bittersweet beauty that underlies our doubt and pain, the songs grapple with the power of our external surroundings to shape our internal worlds (and vice versa) through vivid character studies and unflinching self-examination. The lyrics dig deep here, but the arrangements always manage to remain buoyant, drawing from across a broad sonic spectrum to create a transportive, effervescent listening experience that’s indicative of the trio’s unique place in the modern musical landscape.
“My brother came to this band from the blues and gospel world, and my history was all over the map with jazz and R&B,” says Chris Wood, who first rose to fame with the pioneering trio Medeski Martin & Wood. “The idea for this group has always been to marry our backgrounds, to imagine what might happen if Robert Johnson and Charles Mingus had started a band.”
Kingdom In My Mind follows The Wood Brothers’ most recent studio release, 2018’s One Drop Of Truth, which hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and garnered the band their first GRAMMY Award-nomination for Best Americana Album. NPR praised the record’s “unexpected changes and kaleidoscopic array of influences,” while Uncut hailed its “virtuosic performances and subtly evocative lyrics,” and Blurt proclaimed it “a career-defining album.” Tracks from the record have racked up roughly 8 million streams on Spotify alone, and the band took the album on the road for extensive tour dates in the US and Europe, including their first-ever headline performance at Red Rocks, two nights at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore (captured on their 2019 release, Live At The Fillmore), and festival appearances everywhere from Bonnaroo to XPoNential.
On past records, the band — brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, and Jano Rix — would often write a large batch of songs and then deliberately capture them all at once, but when it came to making Kingdom In My Mind, The Wood Brothers began recording without even realizing it. At the time, the trio thought they were simply breaking in their new Nashville recording studio/rehearsal space, laying down a series of extended instrumental jam sessions with engineer Brook Sutton as a way to learn the lay of the land. Some rooms, they found, were spacious with natural reverb, others were tight and dry; some recording setups required a gentle touch, others encouraged blistering energy.
“We weren’t performing songs,” explains Oliver. “We were just improvising and letting the music dictate everything. Normally when you’re recording, you’re thinking about your parts and your performances, but with these sessions, we were just reacting to each other and having fun in the moment.”
There was something undeniably alive and uninhibited about those performances, and after listening back, the band realized they’d never be able to recreate such spontaneous magic. So, like a sculptor chipping away at a block of marble, Chris took the band’s sprawling improvisations and carefully chiseled out verses and choruses and bridges and solos until distinctive songs began to take shape, songs that reflected influences and elements of the band (like Jano’s smoldering piano work and Chris’s affinity for Latin and African music) that had never shone through in quite the same way before. From there, the brothers divvied up the material that spoke to them most, penning lyrics both separately and together as they pondered what it takes to know contentment in our chaotic and confusing world.
The jaunty “Little Bit Sweet,” which was born from the band’s very first session, learns to appreciate the ups and downs in the circle of life, while the soulful “Cry Over Nothing” and hypnotic “Little Blue” playfully meditate on ego and perspective, and the funky “Little Bit Broken” celebrates the imperfections that make us human. Tracks like the bluesy “A Dream’s A Dream” and hypnotic “Don’t Think About My Death,” meanwhile, grapple with separating truth from fiction, ultimately coming to terms with the fact that our brains will always find new ways to blur those lines. Though the album advocates for acceptance, it’s not a passive brand the brothers sing about, but rather one rooted in strength and empowerment. To understand exactly what that means, look no further than album opener “Alabaster,” which paints a deeply empathetic portrait of a woman who’s broken free from the shackles of her old life and started over fresh.
“At the same time we were making this album, we were looking for some sort of philanthropic organization we could support with our music and in a bit of synchronicity, we came across this great group called Thistle Farms, which was based just down the street from our studio,” says Oliver. “Their goal is to help women who have been victims of sex trafficking or prostitution or addiction to get off the street and into safe housing where they can participate in therapy and job training. The work they were doing was so inspiring and it felt like such a fit with the kind of album we were writing that we teamed up with them to donate a portion of ticket sales from all our shows. It’s our way of using what we’ve got to do whatever good we can in the world.”
More than anything, it’s that mindset, that recognition that we’ve all been dealt our own particular hand of cards and life is in the way we play them, that defines Kingdom In My Mind. As Oliver sings on the captivating “Satisfied,” which finds its narrator wondering about the glories of the afterlife before ultimately deciding to make the most of his time on Earth, “I’ve got nothing left to be afraid of / Because I will be satisfied.” With an album this remarkable, The Wood Brothers have plenty to be satisfied about.

Garrison Starr & Matthew Mayfield at Crosstown Arts
2021-11-12 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The artists have requested proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for this event. Please be prepared to present your vaccination card or a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours at check-in.
Crosstown Arts presents Garrison Starr and Matthew Mayfield in The Green Room.

VIP 6:45 pm | Doors 7 pm | Show 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 advance | $25 day of show | $75 VIP*
* VIP includes early admission and 15-minute Q&A with artists before the show
Singer/songwriter Garrison Starr is an individualist with a streak of passion. Having spent her life growing up in the South, her work mixes up Nashville country twang with a hearty rock appeal.
Matthew Mayfield is an American singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. Originally the lead singer in the group Moses Mayfield, which disbanded in 2008, Matthew has moved on to a solo career.

Garrison Starr thought she was done playing music. A lifetime of trauma, from her upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian household to more than two decades navigating the music industry, left her spirit broken. With her days as a major-label artist behind her, the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer was ready to pack it in.
“I could never get free from the feeling that what I had to say didn’t matter to anybody. And that I was a failure,” says Starr. “I was like, ‘You know, I’m just gonna stop trying.’ So I stopped trying and just started working on myself.”
That an artist of Starr’s caliber should feel this way seems unfathomable. She scored her first hit with 1997’s acclaimed “Superhero,” then went on to release 15 solo albums and tour with Melissa Etheridge, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Lilith Fair. Starr’s songs appeared on countless TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. She even collaborated with close friend Margaret Cho on a comedy album and podcast.
But from a young age growing up in Mississippi, Starr had a sense of self-doubt ingrained deep within her from growing up in Evangelicalism. “I can remember being a little kid and struggling with my sexuality and all these feelings that were coming up for me,” she says. “I was struggling inside. Like, this is wrong. I don’t feel supported. It doesn’t feel loving. All this talk of redemption? I don’t feel any of that shit.”
As Starr made a name for herself as a musician in Los Angeles in the 1990s, she still found herself trying to meet others’ expectations. Pigeonholed by the narrow expectations of female singer-songwriters and never one who was afraid to speak her mind, she grew consumed by her anger. She even abandoned her first love, the acoustic guitar. “I kind of lost myself trying to work from the outside in, you know? Like, trying to figure out what people wanted from me, instead of figuring out what it is that I wanted to say,” Starr says. By the time she self-released Amateur in 2012, she was convinced her time as a performer was over.
Starr always prided herself on writing her own material — a fact driven in part, she admits, by her own insecurities. Looking to open a new chapter in her life, she decided it was time to work behind the scenes. She threw herself into songwriting collaborations and a new role penning songs for other artists.
Or so she thought. Having learned to exercise her creative muscles once more, she discovered a voice that was distinct, powerful: Garrison Starr’s. “I started realizing, wow, you know, I am the artist in the room. I’m the one. I do still have a lot to say,” Starr recalls. “That was a great gift for me, because I thought that part of my life was over. I just thought, well, I’m too old to be an artist, I’m too outspoken. I’m too this, or too whatever it is. I’m not cut out for this industry.”
Girl I Used to Be is the fruit of those labors, a nine-track album of self discovery due to be shared with the world by Soundly Music on March 5, 2021. Starr’s first new music since her 2017 EP What if There is No Destination and first full-length in nearly a decade, it was produced by longtime friend Neilson Hubbard, engineered by Danny Aldredge, and features cowrites with talented young songwriters like Carly Paige, Katie Pruitt, and Dominique Arciero.
Songs like “Just a Little Rain,” “Don’t Believe in Me,” and “Nobody’s Breaking Your Heart” not only find Starr confronting her own demons but, perhaps more importantly, holding herself accountable for her own happiness. Her performances — often recorded solo, in one or two takes — sound loose, free, and unburdened by her past, no matter how heavy the subject matter. That, she says, is all down to the women she wrote with. “When I’m writing for myself, all that baggage is always there. I always have to navigate that regardless. But when I write with other people, they’re not bringing that baggage to the situation,” Starr says. “I was able to access some pain, some sadness, some joy. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to walk into that dark corner by myself. I had to go there with somebody else.”
Starr’s singing is both warm and bold throughout, her words softened by the perspective gained from her cohorts without losing the fire of her convictions. She mixes compassion with a sense of purpose that hearkens back to the message-forward spirit of the 1960s folk movement. It’s a matter, she says, of being pointed without being angry. “One of the things I’ve learned is that, if you want to communicate something to somebody, you have to do it in a way that they can hear you,” Starr says.
That clarity is never sharper than on opening track “The Devil in Me,” written with the help of a then-19-year-old Carly Paige. Starr was stunned, invigorated even, to find herself learning from an old soul more than 20 years her junior. The result signals the upward trajectory of this album, starting with Starr and her acoustic guitar and ending with a triumphant clamber of handclaps and percussion. “Honestly, it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been a part of writing. It feels so much like me. It feels like a bigger version of me,” she says.
“The Devil in Me” shows how fully Starr has come back around on herself, and on learning to love who she is. That required lots of hard work outside music as well, from attending Alanon to doing yoga to finding a happy, healthy relationship. “How can you look at me and make up your mind about who I am because of one facet of my essence?” she asks, looking back on those who came so close to snuffing out her light. On “The Devil in Me,” Starr embraces those very facets she was taught to deny in the hopes of encouraging others to find the same strength for themselves.
Two of the tracks on Girl I Used to Be were written by Starr alone. “The Train That’s Bound for Glory,” inspired by a favorite saying of her grandfather’s, is a rerecording of a song that first appeared on 2013’s Amateur. It’s an opportunity to revisit the gospel music she grew up with and still loves, without the dogma that scarred her so. “It made me feel like I was bridging the gap for myself like, you know, I don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” she says.
The other is “Dam That’s Breaking,” a haunting parable with a very different spiritual message — one about the truth to power, and the power of being true to one’s self. Though it deals with ancient themes, it draws its strength from the hard-earned wisdom of Starr’s own journey. Coming at the end of the album, “Dam That’s Breaking” isn’t just the final word, but the inspiration for Girl I Used to Be’s title.
“I used to be that girl who was trying so hard to please everybody, who was trying so hard to do the right thing in everybody else’s eyes,” Starr says. “But I can’t be that anymore. I know what you want me to be, but I’m not that person. I can’t do it. I’m dying inside. I can’t hold back.”
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From haunting acoustic ballads to gritty rock-and-roll songs filled with swagger and attitude, Matthew Mayfield has spent the past decade releasing music that has changed the hearts and lives of his listeners. His latest LP, Gun Shy, is a collection of songs as varied as the emotions each of us feels. If his previous release, RECOIL, was the fruit of an intense effort by Mayfield to depict the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world he inhabited, Gun Shy is a look into all worlds – those full of darkness and hope.
To connect with listeners and draw them into these worlds, Matthew created Inside the Song with Matthew Mayfield, a podcast dedicated to telling the stories behind the songs of Gun Shy – Mayfield’s most introspective and personal record to date. “Our Winds” speaks of true love and hope in the midst of pressure from external forces while “Broken Clocks” finds him accepting a relationship that is doomed to fall apart. The riffs and hooks found in “Gun Shy” and “Best of Me” show Mayfield as the rock-and-roller he is.
While Mayfield is known for crafting both gripping ballads and eclectic rock songs, Gun Shy’s greatest triumph lies somewhere in between. “S.H.A.M.E.,” the album’s third track, touches on what is currently Mayfield’s deepest concern – a world full of people that feel as if they are alone. “Shame is something that no one wants to talk about, but we’re all ashamed of something. We all have demons and things that prevent us from seeing our self-worth. The song is about connecting with people and letting them know they are not alone,” says Mayfield. “Connection is everything, and music has a unique way of helping people connect to others and to parts of themselves that they might otherwise be unable to access.”
Gun Shy is now available on all digital platforms worldwide. Physical copies are available on matthewmayfield.com.

Marc Ribot
2021-11-13 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents guitarist Marc Ribot in The Green Room.
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20
Enigmatic guitarist Marc Ribot has released six very diverse solo guitar albums, including John Zorn’s Book of Heads, Plays the Works of Frantz Casseus, Saints, Don’t Blame Me, Exercises in Futility, and 2010’s Silent Movies (Pi Recordings). Silent Movies has been described as a “down-in-mouth-near master piece” by the Village Voice and has landed on several “Best of 2010” lists, including in the LA Times. His live solo performances are unpredictable events which may draw upon a sonic matrix of memory, free improvisation, zeitgeist, extra-terrestrial radio signals, and much more — always leaving the listener on the edge of their seats.
“In the hear-a-pin-drop setting of Cafe Oto, Ribot’s intense, heartfelt commitment invited not only the closest of listening but also allowed scrutiny of his technical approach, offering a minor spectacle, as well as a rare, transportative musical experience.” – London Jazz News, review of his 2015 OTO residency
“… he can sit down with just his guitar and simultaneously confound you with technique, beauty, and surprise.” – John Garratt and Will Layman, PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2010 for the album “Silent Movies.”
“In discussing the guitarist Marc Ribot, it’s more efficient to wonder what he hasn’t done than to list what he has actually accomplished. Across four decades, Ribot’s career has spanned smooth soul and gnarled blues, blaring no wave and elegant film scores, solo composer roles, and Tom Waits supporting work; that’s only a sliver of his prolificacy. … Though his solo range is only slightly less boundless than his overall discography, he favors quiet, intricate improvisations around standards that you will recognize in flashes but will rarely sound repetitive of their sources. Ribot is a master of timing, tone, and taste, with a bank of experiences so vast and varied he can navigate his way through any song or situation with panache. Consider this visit a master lesson.” —Grayson Haver Currin, indyweek.com

Mahogany Chamber Performances: A Night of Brass
2021-11-15 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for A Night of Brass chamber music with a program curated by Artina McCain, featuring works by local composer Evan Williams, the swinging tunes of David Wilborn, Gershwin, and more at Crosstown Theater!
Tickets $15
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Internationally acclaimed pianist Artina McCain will share the stage with special guest artists Burt Mason, Courtney D. Jones, Martin McCain, Robert Fant, and David Spencer.
ARTINA MCCAIN, piano
Described as a pianist with “power and finesse” (Dallas Arts Society), “beautiful and fiery” (KMFA Austin), and having a “sense of color, balance and texture” (Austin Chamber Music Center), Artina McCain has a built a three-fold career as a performer, educator, and speaker. Recent performance highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oregon East Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Hatch Recital Hall in Rochester, and in 2022, her debut at Wigmore Hall in London.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Black Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations and is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works. Recently, she won a Gold Global Music Award for her recent solo album project Heritage. Currently, she is Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the University of Memphis. Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.
BURT MASON, trombone
Burt Mason performs regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, serves on faculty at the Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program and is principal trombone of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. He has appeared as guest artist with the NY Philharmonic and as soloist with numerous ensembles, performing worldwide. As an advocate for diversity in the arts, he is founder and director of Ovation Concerts, an organization dedicated to balanced diversity in orchestral music. He has appeared as a guest on WQXR’s “Conducting Business” with Naomi Lewin to discuss the history and future of classical music and American orchestras.
Mr. Mason holds a BA in Music from the Crane School of Music studying with Mark Hartman, an MBA in Arts Administration from Binghamton University, and an MM in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music studying with David Finlayson. He has had additional studies with Joseph Alessi and Weston Sprott. Mr. Mason is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician and will make his Carnegie Hall solo debut in March 2018.
COURTNEY D. JONES, trumpet
The newest directions in 21st Century trumpet performance are being explored and defined by Courtney D. Jones, an award-winning Bach-performing and recording artist who has also emerged as a leading figure in contemporary performance and pedagogy, conducting, and service to inner-city youth through music outreach programs. An artist who transcends stylistic boundaries, Courtney has performed with classical ensembles and orchestras throughout the United States and internationally and has won multiple solo awards and accolades through regional and national trumpet competitions.
Besides performing with well-known jazz and popular artists, he has shared the stage with famous artists or groups such as Kenny Burrell, B.B. King, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rihanna, Lalo Schifrin, Vanessa Williams, Boy George and The Culture Club, and Stevie Wonder. In addition to his solo performance career, Courtney has performed classical music as a featured soloist or collaborative artist with the Golden States Pop Orchestra, the Southeast Symphony Orchestra, the Macao Orchestra (China), the Pasadena Orchestra, the Debut Orchestra, the Inspiravi Chamber Orchestra, the Orchid City Brass Band, the Oslo Philharmonic (Norway), the Long Beach Opera, Symphony of the Americas, the Los Angeles Trombone Collective in collaboration with James Miller, the Salt-River Brass Band, the Gateways Festival Orchestra, and was appointed Musical Director of the Orchid City Brass Band of South Florida. Courtney is also represented by the Naxos and Summit Music labels and his feature film and television credits include music performed for Glee, Notes from Dad, Cougar Town, and Criminal Minds, among other works mentioned on his personal website’s media category.
MARTIN MCCAIN, trombone
Bass trombonist Martin McCain’s career spans an impressive range of musical genres. He is a four-time winner of the Global Music Awards and was featured as their “Emerging Artist” in Billboard magazine. A third-generation musician, Martin maintains a versatile performance schedule as a soloist, recording artist, chamber, orchestral, jazz/commercial musician, and educator. His performances have been described as “solid and masterful,” (International Trombone Association Journal) with a “warm and beautiful” tone (Glissando Magazine).
McCain’s international recital credits include concerts at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Singapore), Mahidol University in (Thailand), the Zagreb Academy of Music in (Croatia), and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. His performances and arrangements have been broadcast on CKWR Toronto, Radio Television Hong Kong, and NPR’s “Performance Today.”
As a soloist, Martin has performed with the Croatian Army Wind Band, United States Army Concert Band “Pershing’s Own” and the United States Army Brass Quintet. He is a prizewinner in multiple competitions including the International Trombone Association’s Donald Yaxley Solo Bass Trombone Competition, the Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition, in addition to the American Trombone Workshop’s National Bass Trombone Solo Competition and Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition.
DAVID SPENCER, trumpet
David Spencer is one of the few musicians of his generation to enjoy international acclaim in so many diverse areas of the profession. His orchestral career as principal trumpet has spanned the continents of Asia, Europe, and the Americas in addition to the numerous guest principal posts he has served in worldwide. He is active as a soloist on almost every continent and enjoys a rich body of collaborative work with chamber ensembles, singers and in television and film. In the late ’80s, he was a fixture on the K-Pop scene, arranging and recording numerous number-one selling singles in Asia, fusing his abilities as a jazz musician with a keen sense of regional tastes and popular forms. Today, he continues to inspire with an increased focus on teaching the musicians of the 21st century. His ongoing appointments as a visiting artist and professor in both China and Brazil, have attracted countless students to his studio. A passionate advocate for music education, Dr. Spencer serves as a mentor and consultant to numerous international schools focused on developing innovative curricula, it’s implementation, and assessments. Trained in the best of both European and American pedagogical traditions, Dr. Spencer began his musical studies as a young boy while living in Western Scotland. His research interests are currently focused on the delivery of high-quality applied music instruction and synchronous performance in innovative ways across networks, integrating the latest and best technologies.
ROBERT FANT, French horn
Dr. Robert Fant is a highly sought after teacher, musician, and composer who brings a world perspective to his work. He is currently the Assistant Professor of Horn at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. Previous positions include Assistant Professor of Horn at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Professor of Horn at MidWestern State University in Texas, and scholar, teaching, guest, or assistant positions at the University of North Texas, Trinity College London (guest), Royal Northern College of Music (ABRSM Scholar), University of Wisconsin, and the College Conservatory of Music – University of Cincinnati. He has regularly maintained a studio of private students during his performance career and strives to always inspire students to reach their goals. He has guided students to further study programs, full-time employment in performing ensembles, and increased their joy of horn and music. Early development of horn players is a particular education goal. For example, while in Texas he maintained a large studio of private students in Texas and had multiple “All-Staters” in the competitive state audition system at all levels from 7th to 12th grade. Robert spends most summers teaching children in India and performing around the country for a charity.

The University of Memphis MEMPHIS JAZZ COLLECTIVE
2021-11-16 13:00 - 14:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts hosts the University of Memphis Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra, 901 Jazz, and the U of M Jazz Singers in The Green Room.

TICKETS: $10 general admission | free for all University of Memphis students and faculty with University ID
Doors at 6:30 pm | Show at 7 pm
Southern Comfort Jazz, featuring 901 Jazz and University of Memphis Jazz Singers, presents a showcase of music from jazz legends and newcomers. 901 Jazz ignites the evening’s performance with high-energy, melodic beats as they perform the music of be-bop legends Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
Headlining the evening, Southern Comfort, featuring the University of Memphis Jazz Singers, spotlights homegrown talent with new student works, dueling trumpets with special guest David Spencer, and an exquisite solo performance by Shelby Sellers.

Blue Tom Records: This Is Memphis
2021-11-17 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Blue Tom Records, the student-run record label at the U of M Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, presents This Is Memphis at Crosstown Arts.
Tickets: $10 (University of Memphis Students and Faculty FREE w/ University ID)
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30pm
Blue Tom Records, the student-run record label at the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, is proud to present its fall music festival “This is Memphis.” Join us at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts for a performance featuring all ten of the artists on Blue Tom Records. The festival will feature music from a wide variety of genres, including R&B, pop, rock, folk, and hip-hop. Two of the label’s bands, Lemon’s and Massey Lane, will be performing recently released singles, and this will be their first time performing them at a Blue Tom Event. The show will also feature the Blue Tom Records house band and Blue Tom’s very own DJ Bryson Todd.
Artists Performing include the following:
Kaybree – Kaybree is a rapper, dancer, and entertainer from Memphis, TN.
EsMod – EsMod is a rap artist from Georgia.
Yasrah – Yasrah is a pop singer/songwriter from Pakistan.
Diana Rivera – Diana is an R&B, soul, and Latin artist from Memphis, TN.
Rochell – Rochel is hip-hop/R&B artist from Memphis, TN.
Lemon’s – Lemon’s is an indie pop rock band based in Memphis, TN.
Massey Lane – Massey Lane is a modern alternative rock band based in Memphis, TN.
Alexis Jade – Alexis is a folk singer/ songwriter from Memphis, TN.
Josh Dedrick – Josh Dedrick is a pop singer/songwriter from Memphis, TN.
LaDarryl – LaDarryl is hip-hop artist from Memphis, TN.

A.N.T.E.: A Necessary Timeless Escape at Crosstown Arts
2021-11-18 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Memphis producer and musician A.N.T.E. in the Green Room.
$10 advance | $15 day of show
Doors at 7pm | Show at 7:30pm
Sensual and smooth, laid back but determined, A.N.T.E is a born-and-raised Memphis producer and musician with a heart of gold. He has a talent that shines and matures beyond his years. He has been writing and producing his own music since he was 12 years old and does not plan on stopping anytime soon. His sound is critical in music today, as it provides the rhythm and blues feeling, along with the smooth jazz vibes with influences of hip-hop.
A.N.T.E has a strong connection to the greater Memphis community and to the University of Memphis, where he is studying as a Music Business student at The Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. In the words of one of his favorite producers, Kiefer Shackelford, “Your job as a musician is not to say how good or bad your work is; your job is to release it and get it out.”

Crosstown Arthouse presents Million Dollar Mermaid
2021-11-18 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Mervyn LeRoy’s Million Dollar Mermaid at Crosstown Theater. 1952/115 minutes/Rated G
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
Swimmer and actress Esther Williams wanted to tell the life story of Australian swimmer and actress Annette Kellerman, and Million Dollar Mermaid is that film! A feast for the eyes with choreography by Busby Berkeley! Esther Williams broke her neck and was temporarily paralyzed for this entertainment!! With Victor Mature (Head: The Monkees Movie) and Jesse White (The Maytag Repair Man!).

The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.

Contingency Plan
2021-11-18 - 2022-01-23 | Crosstown Arts, West Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Opening Friday, Nov. 19 from 6-8 pm
Contingency Plan showcases the work of nine graduating seniors in Studio Art and Photography at the University of Memphis. Despite quarantine and classes taught on Zoom, these students have persevered to make work exploring identity, humor, vulnerability, resilience, function, intuition, and memory.
Participating student artists: Tess Cleary, Ethan James McVay, Reanna Ruddick, Matthew Shibata, Erica Vanhaute, Vlad Volkov, Faith Waggener, Ashley Whitt, and Kristen Williams

New Faculty: Connections
2021-11-18 - 2022-01-23 | Crosstown Arts, East Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Opening Friday, Nov. 19 from 6-8 pm
In the last five years, the Department of Art at the University of Memphis has experienced a generational sea change with new faculty and an expanded curriculum. These new voices and fresh viewpoints complement the decades of rich experiences provided by veteran faculty to create a full learning environment for our diverse community of students.
New Faculty: Connections presents the work of the most recent additions to the department, including seven artists and two art historians. In conjunction with the exhibition, programming will highlight collaborative curriculums, insight into reading materials that inform their research as an educator, artist, or historian, and opportunities to create bridges outside of the academic sphere.
Participating educators include: Dr. Lucienne Auz, Hamlett Dobbins, Kelsey Harrison, Dr. Rebecca Howard, Coe Lapossy, Kate Roberts, Ramona Sonin, Ash Thayer, and Lisa Williamson

Opening Reception for Contingency Plan
2021-11-19 12:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts, West Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
On view through January 23
Contingency Plan showcases the work of nine graduating seniors in Studio Art and Photography at the University of Memphis. Despite quarantine and classes taught on Zoom, these students have persevered to make work exploring identity, humor, vulnerability, resilience, function, intuition, and memory.
Participating student artists: Tess Cleary, Ethan James McVay, Reanna Ruddick, Matthew Shibata, Erica Vanhaute, Vlad Volkov, Faith Waggener, Ashley Whitt, and Kristen Williams

Opening Reception for New Faculty: Connections
2021-11-19 12:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts, East Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
On view through January 23
In the last five years, the Department of Art at the University of Memphis has experienced a generational sea change with new faculty and an expanded curriculum. These new voices and fresh viewpoints complement the decades of rich experiences provided by veteran faculty to create a full learning environment for our diverse community of students.
New Faculty: Connections presents the work of the most recent additions to the department, including seven artists and two art historians. In conjunction with the exhibition, programming will highlight collaborative curriculums, insight into reading materials that inform their research as an educator, artist, or historian, and opportunities to create bridges outside of the academic sphere.
Participating educators include: Dr. Lucienne Auz, Hamlett Dobbins, Kelsey Harrison, Dr. Rebecca Howard, Coe Lapossy, Kate Roberts, Ramona Sonin, Ash Thayer, and Lisa Williamson

Loveland Duren
2021-11-19 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Loveland Duren in The Green Room.

Tickets: $10
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm

Veteran recording artists Vicki Loveland and Van Duren are cradling dynamite once again with their brand-new album release, Any Such Thing (Edgewood Recordings). Following the duo’s first two albums, Bloody Cupid (2013) and Next (2016), Any Such Thing reflects the sum of their experiences through the past six years of performing in the Mid-South and in faraway locales. Traveling the indie film circuit in 2019 to LA, London, Australia, and Tasmania in support of the documentary Waiting: The Van Duren Story, Loveland Duren performed for ecstatic crowds who fell in love with their music. Any Such Thing swings from rock, soul, power pop, orchestral, rhythm & blues, and eclectic improvisation in the most adventurous and wily ways. The Loveland Duren live band features top-shelf Memphis musicians Art Edmaiston (sax/vocals), Gerald Stephens (keyboards), Adam Holton (bass, vocals), Ian Duren (drums), and guitarist Adam Hill (who recorded and mixed the new album). This new music from Loveland Duren is about love and life well lived set to a seriously evocative soundscape. And as Hemingway said, “Ain’t it pretty to think so?”

Doll's Playlist
2021-11-30 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Doll’s Playlist, a show where the audience picks the music!

TICKETS: $10
DJ GeeHoney Social Hour at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Doll McCoy has curated a playlist of songs from Apple Music and Spotify that include her favorite B-sides, requests from the audience, and original music. Follow the playlist, send your request, and she’ll perform it at the show.
Spotify Playlist | Apple Music Playlist
The show begins with a social hour, featuring DJ GeeHoney, from 7-8 pm. Grab a drink at Art Bar, and enjoy vibes by DJ GeeHoney in The Green Room.
Doll McCoy is a singer-songwriter who was born and raised in Memphis,TN. She formed her roots singing and directing in the church choir at Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. While a student at Ridgeway Jr. High/High School, she met her three sisters, and together they formed the group ADAJYO. ADAJYO has been together for 17 years.
Doll had a desire to expand her artistry, so she relocated to Los Angeles, CA, from 2011 to 2015 and worked with such artists as Raphael Saadiq and Leonna Lewis. In 2015, she went on to work for B.B. King Blues Club and traveled the world aboard Holland America Cruise Lines until 2018. Now back in Memphis, she continues to perform in the city and create new music with ADAJYO. Doll plans to release her own new music soon.

Anthony Wilson
2021-12-02 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents current resident artist Anthony Wilson in The Green Room.

TICKETS: $15 advance | $20 day of show | $10 student (with student ID)
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Anthony Wilson will perform music from his upcoming release “The Plan of Paris” and his current project-in-progress “Knowledge Tree.” Performing with Tom Lonardo (drums), Alvie Givhan (piano), and Liam O’Dell (bass).
A guitarist and composer/songwriter known for a wide-ranging body of musical work that moves effortlessly across genres, Wilson has released twelve solo albums, including his Grammy-nominated debut. The three most recent — “Frogtown,” “Songs and Photographs,” and “The Plan of Paris” — reveal his growing dedication to the art of songcraft as a powerful mode of musical communication.
In addition to his solo work, Anthony Wilson has toured and recorded with a diverse group of legendary artists, including Diana Krall, Charles Lloyd, Ron Carter, Bobby Hutcherson, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Melody Gardot, Aaron Neville, and many more.

Crosstown Arthouse presents Chungking Express
2021-12-02 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Chungking Express at Crosstown Theater. Wong Kar-wai / 1994 / 102 minutes / Rated PG-13
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
From JANUS: The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of ’90s cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” into tokens of romantic longing.

The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.

An Evening of Sacred Soul with Elizabeth King and Elder Jack Ward
2021-12-03 13:00 - 14:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A special evening showcasing Memphis sacred soul from the late 1960s to present day at Crosstown Theater. With an exclusive showing of The D-Vine Spirituals story documentary followed by performances by Elizabeth King and Elder Jack Ward, supported by the Sacred Soul Sound Section. A meet-and-greet/record signing with the artists will be held at Memphis Listening Lab at 6 pm, prior to the show.
Tickets: $25
Doors at 6 pm | Show at 7 pm
About Elizabeth King:
Memphis soul gospel queen Elizabeth King recorded her first single in 1970, and if all had gone as planned, she would have made her first album a few years later. Instead, it took another half century, but Living In The Last Days, the latest sacred soul long player from Memphis’ Bible and Tire imprint, captures King at the height of her powers, with the intervening decades only serving to stoke the flames of one of the most memorable voices in modern gospel music.
Bible and Tire’s third release, 2019’s The D-Vine Spirituals Recordings, collected a handful of King’s singles, beginning with her biggest hit, 1972’s instantly infectious “I Heard The Voice,” and served as an inspiration for the new album in more ways than one. “When we went in and did ‘I Heard The Voice,’ we recorded sixteen songs,” says King. But lack of sponsorship — often the lynchpin for commercial success in the gospel world — kept King and her group the Gospel Souls solidly in the singles field.
In 1973, having made her name with “I Heard The Voice,” as well as a pair of earlier singles on the Designer label, King won the Gospel Gold Cup, a prestigious award presented by the city’s gospel disc jockeys, one of whom was D-Vine founder Juan D. Shipp. King and the Gospel Souls were soon headlining a concert at Memphis’ legendary Overton Park Shell that starred D-Vine label mates the Traveling Stars, the Steptor Four, and Willie Harris and the Sensational Six, who would take the Cup five years later.
The Overton Park program was but a tiny testament to the incredible array of talent that Shipp had taken under his wing when he started the label in 1972, in the wake of spinning one too many Style Wooten-produced Designer records. The problem wasn’t the spirit; it was the sub-standard sound. “When Reverend Shipp took over from Style Wooten, everybody was coming to him,” details King. The two producers contrasted not only in quality control but in production values. “With Style, you’d do one or two takes and that was it. But Reverend Shipp would make you stay in there all night. If it was in you, he was gonna get it.”
“I want you to sing it like you’re making love to God!” Shipp once thunderously urged King. She did just that on her four D-Vine singles, and the same spirit permeates Living In The Last Days, co-produced by Shipp and Bible and Tire founder Bruce Watson. It’s the first in a series of albums spawned by the label’s exploration of the D-Vine Spirituals catalog and a rebirth not only for King but for Shipp as well. When he deactivated D-Vine, Shipp explains, it wasn’t because he no longer wanted to produce records. “It got from the point of singing for the Lord to singing for money. And I said, ‘That’s too much for me.’ But Liz King wouldn’t go nowhere. Many companies tried to get her to sign with them, but she wouldn’t budge.”
Shipp and King were of a piece, she explains, it was just that simple. “If he wasn’t gonna do nothing, I wasn’t gonna do nothing. I just wasn’t gonna record with anybody else.” Shipp had been just begun to expand into the album world when he closed up shop in 1986, and King’s LP would have been one of the first ones to be released. Twenty-five years later, music historian Michael Hurtt was in the midst of writing liner notes for Watson’s ninety-nine track compilation, The Soul Of Designer Records, when he tracked down Shipp. Together, the pair recovered the D-Vine master tapes from a moldering shed in Olive Branch, Mississippi, intent on bringing them to life again.
While the Designer project had been a fulfilling four-disc set that finally brought the late Style Wooten’s activities into some focus, Shipp was not only alive but active and ever-ready to spring back into action: an even more expansive approach to telling the D-Vine story seemed a foregone conclusion. Over the next few years, as Watson built a new studio in Memphis, he became increasingly interested in recording what he termed the “sacred soul” of the Mid-South. As one half of Fat Possum Records, he’d brought the grit of the juke joint back into the Delta blues; perhaps he could bring the soul back to the forefront of the spiritual music of Memphis.
In 2019, Watson threw down the gauntlet, establishing the Bible and Tire imprint with the Sensational Barnes Brothers’ Nobody’s Fault But My Own, a stirring blend of warm, inspiring old-school singing delivered by two young siblings and backed skillfully by the Sacred Soul Sound Section, a percolating trio anchored by guitarist Will Sexton. Meanwhile, as Watson and Shipp began to transfer the D-Vine tape archive, Shipp detailed the current status of the incredible voices that filled Watson’s Delta Sonic Sound Studio. Not only were many of his artists still around, but Elizabeth King was still singing on the radio every week. A phone call later, she was singing live in the studio.
Living In The Last Days is a triumph from the very first intimate vocal notes of the arresting opening track, “No Ways Tired,” to the similarly moving closer, “You’ve Got To Move,” dual studies in intensity that each build to a burning climax, bookending a searing selection of songs burnished by the down-home grooves of the Sacred Soul Sound Section. Additionally, the Sensational Barnes Brothers are on board for harmony vocals as are King’s old D-Vine Spirituals label mates the Vaughn Sisters and the D-Vine Spiritualettes.
King switches gears seamlessly between the moody, almost minor key swing of “Mighty Good God” to the horn-heavy Stax-style “Call On Him” to the roof-raising gospel rocker “Reach Out And Touch Me.” In between, she reimagines a trio of her Designer sides (“Testify,” “A Long Journey,” and “Walk With Me”) with D-Vine’s trademark wah-wah guitar, lays down a tremelo-drenched treatment of the Shaw Singers’ trance-like “He Touched Me” and demonstrates how hauntingly apropos the eternally timely lyrics of the title track (originally adapted from an old hymnal spiritual by the Hewlett Sisters on D-Vine subsidiary JCR) are today. The entirely a cappella “Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord” comes straight “from the book of Job,” says King. “The verses came strictly from the Bible.”
She couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out, and that includes an unexpected tour of France in the midst of recording. “There was a lady in Corinth, Mississippi, Nannie Dammons, who wrote a song called ‘It’s Amazing What God Can Do.’ It was about a tornado that came through Corinth and killed four people. She called Style Wooten, and she wanted me to sing the song, so she sent the song to Style, and he called us in and I did the song. It just brought it back to my mind what the lady had wrote — ‘It’s Amazing What God Can Do.’ Because after all these years, at my age, I never thought I would have another chance. It gives me the chance to tell people it’s never too late. I never dreamed that I’d be able to go to Paris. Me? But you never know what God is gonna do for you. So just keep striving.”

About Elder Jack Ward:
Memphis gospel singer Elder Jack Ward was born in the land where the blues began, the often mythologized Mississippi Delta, but as his new Bible and Tire album Already Made aptly demonstrates, the area’s gospel heritage is every bit as rich as its secular counterpart. “I was born in the country, and I would hear Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, all of them guys, and I used to patronize them, and sing like them a little bit, but I came back to my roots. I used to do a lot of blues singing but I broke from that and got into the gospel.
“I grew up around Itta Bena, Mississippi. That’s about six miles from Greenwood, and I used to sing with a group there called the Kings Of The South. I did a lot of singing, but I was a farm boy, worked on the farm. I chopped cotton, picked cotton, drove mules with a one row planter. But music’s been in me since I was about seven or eight years old when I first tried to sing. My mother, my father ,and my two sisters would be in the cotton field, and I did a little song called ‘I Woke Up This Morning.’ I didn’t know how to put it together but my mother said, ‘Hey, boy! I don’t want you singin’ no blues.’”
What she couldn’t have known then was that a journey to Memphis when Ward was a teenager would inadvertently ensure that he would take the right road. “My mom came up here to see her grandmother. I was sixteen at the time. And I said to myself, ‘When I turn eighteen I’m coming back to Memphis and make me a hit record.’ And I did.”
That disc was 1964’s “Don’t Need No Doctor” by the Christian Harmonizers, a group comprised of old friends from Ward’s hometown. “I knew the Brooks brothers, who organized the Christian Harmonizers, from Itta Bena,” he explains. “And I had my mind set to come to Memphis to sing blues or rock ’n’ roll. But I found them and they said, ‘Look, man, we need you to sing gospel.’ Ward got down to business with the brothers and even briefly replaced soul sensation O.V. Wright in the Sunset Travelers during one of Wright’s secular sabbaticals. Nicknamed Jumping Jack Ward for his in-the-anointing antics, he soon came to the attention of Stax Records, and the Christian Harmonizers christened Chalice, Soulsville’s sacred subsidiary, with its debut record. Isaac Hayes was on piano and Ward was on lead vocals.
“Don’t Need No Doctor,” in Ward’s words, “went every whichaway. That record was on the chart for two years. Oris Mays was a producer in Memphis and he said, ‘Jack, I’m gonna put you on a big label.’ He told us to get a couple of songs together and we did a thing called ‘Another Day’s Journey,’ then we did another record, ‘God’s Going To Blow Out The Sun.’ The singles were released on Peacock Records’ Song Bird imprint. “We just went to bigger things, higher exaltations.”
In 1968, Ward and David Hart formed the Gospel Four, whose haunting harmonies were bolstered by the grooving guitar and bass of brothers George and Robert Dean. Memphis disc jockey Juan D. Shipp soon approached them about recording for his newly-founded D-Vine Spirituals label. “I knew him from the broadcast,” says Ward of Shipp, “and he knew some of my former material. And so I went and we sat down and talked and he said, ‘How would you like to record with D-Vine?’” The results, as soulful as they were sacred, were among the absolute highlights of Shipp’s ever-impressive catalog. The Gospel Four had an altogether different sound and style than the Christian Harmonizers, as exemplified by the gripping testimonial “The Last Road” and the mid-tempo, minor-keyed “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Breaking new ground, it seems, is a Ward hallmark and Already Made — which focuses on Ward front and center — is no exception. But like Elizabeth King’s critically acclaimed Living In The Last Days, it’s a direct outgrowth of D-Vine’s heyday. Bible and Tire’s Bruce Watson was transferring Shipp’s tape archive for an ambitious D-Vine Spirituals reissue project when he asked Shipp how many of the artists from his old label were still around and active. Aside from King, Elder Jack Ward was one of the first he named. King’s Living In The Last Days was the first result of that conversation; now Ward’s Already Made takes its rightful place as the second. Produced by Watson and Sacred Soul Sound Section leader Will Sexton at Memphis’s Delta-Sonic Sound Studio, the ten-song program features the warmly recorded winning ingredients that are becoming a trademark of Bible and Tire’s patented Sacred Soul sound, from Ward’s spirited vocals to the crack studio band laying down the grooves behind him.
The title track sets the mood with Ward’s daughters providing background harmony and — along with Bible and Tire label mates the Sensational Barnes Brothers — they make several encore appearances, adding an inextricable magic to the proceedings. “I trained them starting when they were about six or seven years old,” says Ward, adding how much he enjoyed working with guitarists Will Sexton and Matt Ross-Spang, who switch styles seamlessly from the distorted crunch of “He’s Got Great Things” to the splashy reverb of “Shout Trouble’s Over” to the shimmering vibrato of “God’s Love.” While the album has its share of pile-driving uptempo numbers, its slow-burning ballads are particularly moving, and a bridge seems crossed once Ward breaks into his quiet falsetto midway through “Someone Who Is Greater Than Me.” The songs’ Muscle Shoals-style country soul vibe sets up a remaining trio of ballads, closing with Ward’s favorite, the redemptively autobiographical “I Feel Better Since I Prayed.”
Watson feels that Already Made is one of the best albums he’s ever produced, and after re-defining the dismal blues scene of the ‘90s with the Delta juke joint sounds of R.L Burnside and Junior Kimbrough for Fat Possum Records, that’s saying quite a bit. Ward might have been right there with them were it not for that trip to Memphis back in the late ’50s. “I have pretty good talent, I can just about sing anything anyone else sings. I never bragged on myself but this was a gift from God and the Bible says, ‘A gift comes without repentance.’ In other words, you don’t have to be a Christian to be able to sing. If you’ve got that God-given gift you can do it — your choice if you want to sing rock ’n’ roll, blues, gospel — but I choose the right side.” And thank God he did.
Michael Hurtt – March 2021

QEMIST and NICOTHEGODDESS
2021-12-03 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents electronic artist Qemist and singer-songwriter NICOTHEGODDESS live in The Green Room.
TICKETS: $10
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Qemist is a multi-faceted electronic artist from Memphis, TN, who has mastered a wide range of production and music creation techniques. Having toured and performed at festivals like Deep Tropics and SXSW, Qemist has been met with outstanding reviews for his heady club mixes and melodic and refreshing lounge-style productions.
NICOTHEGODDESS is a singer/songwriter and classical violist from North Little Rock, AR. NICOTHEGODDESS was classically trained in viola and voice, and she has utilized those talents to ultimately create her own unique signature in alternative R&B music.
Both artists are featured on the Crosstown Arts: Against The Grain platform. Together, they create a fusion performance that explores a soundscape of deep, lush melodies with crisp, forward electronic implementation. They intertwine both electronic music and alternative R&B together for a truly unique sonic experience.

Aaron James: "I Don't Think About You Anymore"
2021-12-04 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join indie/folk artist Aaron James (of Memphis’ Unapologetic.) for his first live solo show since February 2020 at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts.
TICKETS: $15 advance | $20 day of show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm<
This show, entitled “I Don’t Think About You Anymore,” will explore themes of letting go — from memories of a past love and the old versions of ourselves we can be afraid to grow away from to all the anxieties we’ve developed over this past year and a half of confusion and bewilderment. Aaron will be debuting several new songs, including tracks from his upcoming three-song EP “Sunrise,” set to release December 3. Come with something to leave behind.
Masks must be worn at all times during the performance. The Green Room is located at Crosstown Arts (inside Crosstown Concourse) on the second floor at the top of the red spiral staircase.

Shoot & Splice Movie Trivia
2021-12-07 13:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Throughout the year, Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts bring cinematographers, directors, editors, writers, actors, and technicians to Shoot & Splice, the monthly filmmaking forum. Come help us celebrate the end of another wild year with the return of the annual Shoot & Splice Movie Trivia extravaganza!
Test your film knowledge against returning Trivia Masters John Beifuss of The Commercial Appeal and Chris McCoy of the Memphis Flyer. The trivia masters will take full advantage of the theater, so be prepared for some fun video and audio rounds!
PRIZES! HOLIDAY COCKTAILS! AND DID WE SAY, FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC?
Rules:

No more than 4 people per team
5 rounds w/ 10 questions per round
Bonus questions between rounds for Indie Memphis swag prizes
The top 3 teams will win some fun, film-related prizes!

Deborah Swiney with Special Guest Ra Kalam Bob Moses
2021-12-09 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Deborah Swiney with Ed Finney, Bob Buckley, and special guest drummer Ra Kalam Bob Moses in The Green Room.
TICKETS: $10 advance | $15 day of the show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
About Deborah Swiney:
Deborah’s affinity for music started at an early age with piano lessons and being active in music, whether in church or in school. Growing up in a musical family, music had no borders. If the walls of her home could sing, they’d reverberate the sounds of Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, The Carpenters, and B.B. King, all mixed together; not to mention classical music, having a Memphis Symphony Orchestra bassoonist for a big brother.
Being on the local music scene, Deborah, a Memphian, eventually landed a position as a backup vocalist for the legendary Al Green during the ‘90s, which led to an international touring experience that included performances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Show.
That was then and this is now. In a city that loves its blues, rock, jazz, and gospel, Deborah has carved out a niche uniquely her own. This is evident with her highly praised co-produced debut album, I Remember Rio, a Brazilian-inspired album with “Memphis-Soul seasoning” (All about Jazz). I Remember Rio is filled with classic Bossa Nova standards and tunes written by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as Deborah Swiney’s “Bossa Nova Casanova” and guitarist Ed Finney’s title song, “I Remember Rio.” Jazz Weekly describes her as bringing “ a strong and Sarah Vaughan-esque voice to deliver soulful reads of Brazilian…” Transcending the standard definition of a jazz songstress, her melodic and sultry approach to bossa nova and other Brazilian stylings are natural without betraying her Bluff City roots.
About Ra Kalam Bob Moses:
Bob Moses, born January 28, 1948 in New York City, NY, is an American jazz drummer. Bob Moses’ life has been a continuous quest for vision, spirit, compassion, growth, and mastery in a multiplicity of art forms. A partial list of stellar musicians Bob Moses has worked and/or recorded with both as a leader and a sideman includes: Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jim Pepper, Larry Coryell, The Free Spirits, Dave Liebman, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett, Steve Swallow, Michael Gibbs, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Paul Bley, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Jaco Pastorius, Hal Galper, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Steve Kuhn, Sheila Jordan, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Sanborn, Bill Frisell, Eddie Gomez, Don Alias, John Scofield, Terumasa Hino, Dave Holland, Charlie Haden, Hermeto Pascoal, Jovinos Santos Neto, Danillo Perez, David Sanchez, Chucho Valdes, Jimmy Slyde, Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Stan Strickland, Tiger Okoshi, Nana Vasconcelos, Obo Addy, John Medeski, Vernon Reid, DJ Logic, Badal Roy, Ravikiran, Master Anand, Raqib Hassan, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, Tisziji Muñoz, and many others.
About Ed Finney:
When you think of Memphis, you think of music, and Ed Finney, aka Jupiter-Skyfish, personifies this concept. Born and raised in Memphis, Finney started playing guitar in the early ’60s and immediately took to playing the blues. He soon discovered jazz, which has been his passion ever since.
Ed Finney’s experience includes: recording with Stax legendaries such as Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas and David Porter; touring with Otis Redding; opening for Al Green, Chick Corea, The Doors, Frank Zappa, and many more. Finney’s most recent recording project was as music director for Deborah Swiney’s debut CD, “I Remember Rio.”
Finney has followed music around the world, which is articulated in his compositions layered with rich styles and rhythms from Mexico, Morocco, Brazil ,and many other countries. When not writing music, Finney teaches others to play guitar, which is part of his dream “for all beings to have access to creativity.”
About Bob Buckley:
Bob Buckley is a long-time Memphis sideman specializing in rhythm section work. He has backed such acts as the Drifters, The Platters, and the Coasters. Other rhythm and blues artists include Bobby Little and James Austin. These formative years included the opportunity to hang and sit in with heroes such as Little Milton, James Williams, Calvin Newborn, and R.L. Burnside. “Being able to sit in and play or rehearse with these guys early on set an example I’m still building on today,” says Buckley. Providing a pocket with some of the best drummers in the world is the Memphis tradition and Buckley holding down the fort.

Crosstown Arthouse presents Blood and Black Lace
2021-12-09 13:30 - 15:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Blood and Black Lace at Crosstown Theater. Mario Bava / 1965 / 86 minutes / Rated R
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
If you loved Last Night in Soho, come to the Crosstown Theater to catch Blood and Black Lace! From AGFA: Before Dario Argento’s Deep Red, there was Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace. At the Cristiana Haute Couture fashion house, models and their boyfriends excel at the art of backstabbing, blackmail, and snorting cocaine. That is, until a faceless maniac embarks on a mission of death! After the one-two punch of Black Sunday and Black Sabbath, Mario Bava unleashed Blood and Black Lace — the movie that perfected the ultra-violent sub-genre that would come to be known as “giallo.” With a mood that mashes together the elegance of a quiet rain on a summer night with the luridness of a trashy paperback, it’s no wonder why Martin Scorsese once referred to this movie as “an incredible moment for cinema.”

The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.

Tm. Prudhomme’s “False starts, Fake ending”
2021-12-15 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Tm. Prudhomme, a Fall 2021 Crosstown Arts resident artist, performs in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts.
TICKETS: $10 advance | $12 day of show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Come celebrate/mourn the final day of Tm. Prudhomme’s Crosstown Arts’ artist residency! A cavalcade of músicos* will present renditions of compositions old and new. Prepare to be confused and confounded by “songettes,” visual mis-cues, and happenstance! Masks required, diapers optional.
* Steve Shelley, Tripp Lamkins, Keith Cooper, Dustin Cropps, Andrew Geraci, et al.
Tm. Prudhomme has steadily performed and recorded with a variety of musical acts around the country and abroad for the past 35+ years. While having experience as a record producer, music publisher, booking agent, and label chief, he primarily identifies as a songwriter, credited with over 100 original compositions released on over 10 studio albums by various artists and labels.
“Works are often informed by our experiences; by what we see, hear, and do. I like to attend art openings, street festivals, political rallies and other free events … especially when they have a band! And more so if i’m in that band.”

Folk All Y’all presents stars of The Black Opry Revue
2021-12-16 13:30 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Folk All Y’all presents stars of The Black Opry Revue, a collective celebrating Black artists in Americana/country, featuring Lizzie No, Jett Holden, Roberta Lea, Tylar Bryant, and The Reverend Shawn Amos, with special guest Toni Mack. This show is sponsored by Folk All Y’all patrons and presented in collaboration with Crosstown Arts.
TICKETS: $20 (suggested ticket price)
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
*Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test that was administered by or under the supervision of a healthcare provider within 48 hours of the concert date is required for entry. Masks must be worn throughout the show.
Black Opry amplifies Black artists and celebrates Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music. The online outlet and collective, founded by country music journalist and activist Holly G, will bring a stellar lineup to The Green Room at Crosstown Arts for a one-night-only performance on December 16, 2021.
Featured artists include Lizzie No, Jett Holden, Roberta Lea, Tylar Bryant, and Reverend Shawn Amos, with special guest Toni Mack. A showcase of country and Americana’s greatest emerging voices, the event shines a much-deserved and needed spotlight on Black artists within these genres. The concert follows The Black Opry’s historic presence at AmericanaFest 2021, including their official panel Black Opry Presents: The Unbroken Black Circle, and a recent feature by NPR Music. Intimate, attentive performances by exceptional singer-songwriters, proudly presented in Memphis, Folk All Y’all is a public listening room series dedicated to providing artists and audiences with unforgettable music experiences.
