Resident Artist Talk
2026-03-19 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Crosstown Arts The Green Room
Thursday, March 19, 2026 | 6–8 PMThe Green Room at Crosstown ArtsFree and open to the public
Join us for an evening of conversation and insight as Crosstown Arts’ Spring Residents share their work, processes, and what they’ve been developing during their time in the residency.
The Resident Artist Talk offers a behind-the-scenes look at the ideas, experiments, and evolving practices that shape each artist’s work. From visual art and sound to dance, film, and interdisciplinary exploration, this cohort represents a dynamic cross-section of contemporary creative practice.
Featuring Spring 2026 Residents:

Yangbin Park – Visual Art / Print & Papermaking

Robin Bruce – Performance / Sound / Healing Arts

Kenny Morningstar – Music / Production

The Dream Team – Dance / Movement

Racheal Mitchell – Film

This free public event invites audiences to engage directly with the artists, hear about their research and creative processes, and ask questions in an informal, welcoming setting.
Whether you’ve followed their work throughout the session or are just discovering it, this is an opportunity to connect with the artists and the ideas shaping their time at Crosstown Arts.
Free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served.

Crosstown Arts Film Series: Beyond the Black Rainbow
2026-03-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
March 19, 2026
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010, dir. Panos Cosmatos)
More mood piece than narrative, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a hypnotic plunge into retro-futurist nightmare. Set inside a sterile research facility in an alternate 1980s, the film unfolds like a fever dream, saturated with neon color, droning synthesizers, and a suffocating sense of control.
Director Panos Cosmatos crafts an atmosphere of near-total alienation, where emotion is suppressed and individuality is treated as a malfunction. The film’s slow, deliberate pacing rewards patience, immersing viewers in a sensory experience that feels both nostalgic and deeply uncanny. Equal parts science fiction, horror, and audiovisual installation, Beyond the Black Rainbow is cinema as trance, unsettling, beautiful, and unforgettable on the big screen.

Folk All Y'all: Will Kimbrough in Tribute to Todd Snider
2026-03-20 17:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Folk All Y’all: Will Kimbrough in Tribute to Todd Snider
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, March 20th, 2026
Two Shows!
Doors open at 7 PM | Show Starts at 7:30 PM SOLD OUT
Doors open at 4:30 PM | Show Starts at 5PM
Tickets: $25
Purchase Tickets for 5PM Show
Uber-versatile, musician’s musician Will Kimbrough (he/him) has enjoyed a long and winding career. He’s released nine albums while fronting Will and the Bushmen, The Bis-Quits, Willie Sugarcapps, and Daddy.
Kimbrough’s abundant production credits include Shemekia Copeland’s last three albums, America’s Child, Uncivil War, and Done Come Too Far, which garnered two Grammy nominations and multiple wins at the Blues Music and Living Blues Awards.
As a much in-demand guitarist, Will’s played on countless and wide-ranging recording sessions, seen the world from a stage on multiple tours with Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris, and returned to his Nashville home with an Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year award in hand.
And Kimbrough’s songs and/or session work have appeared on every Jimmy Buffett studio album released in the last twenty years, from License to Chill’s “Piece of Work” to the Paul McCartney-praised and the iTunes #1, “Bubbles Up,” on the upcoming Equal Strain on All Parts.
But this special tribute show will honor Will’s relationship with one artist in particular: his dear friend and bandmate Todd Snider. We’re grateful for the chance to share Todd’s music and celebrate his soul in the city that always welcomed him back.

Kafe Kirk: "MEMPHIS SOUL STEW" feat. Kenneth Whalum III with Jim Spake & Kirk Smothers
2026-03-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Kafe Kirk: “SOUL STEW” feat. Kenneth Whalum III with Jim spake & kirk smothers
The Crosstown Theater
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
Doors open at 5:00 PM | Show starts at 6:00 PM
$59 in advance (plus fees) | $70 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, an ongoing jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This concert will feature songwriter and producer Kenneth Whalum III with Jim Spake & Kirk Smothers.
Kenneth Whalum III
Kenneth Whalum is a Memphis-born singer, songwriter, saxophonist, and producer whose work bridges soul, jazz, and alternative music with emotional depth. He first made his name on the road with Al Green and Isaac Hayes before touring and recording with icons like Jay-Z, Maxwell, and the late D’Angelo, as a member of his band, The Vanguard. He’s contributed to albums including Maxwell’s Grammy-winning BLACKsummers’night (arranging horns and playing saxophone, including on the hit single “Pretty Wings,” which topped the Billboard R&B; chart and won the Grammy for Best R&B; Song), Beyoncé’s B’Day and Renaissance, Jay-Z’s American Gangster and 4:44, and Mac Miller’s Swimming.
Important Ticket Warning Please purchase your tickets only through our official website or DICE. Tickets purchased from third-party resale sites cannot be verified and may be fake, invalid, or overpriced. We cannot guarantee entry for tickets bought from unauthorized sources.

Sound Fuzion
2026-03-24 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Sound Fuzion
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, March 24, 2025
Doors open at 7 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$10 in advance (plus fees) | $12 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
The University of Memphis’ premier pop ensemble Sound Fuzion comes back to the Green Room in Crosstown Concourse for a night of music you won’t forget. This entirely student-run group has toured around the world dazzling audiences with their voices and instruments. Join us for a night you won’t forget! This touring ensemble of 7 vocalists, five instrumentalists, and two sound engineers represents the University at high schools, corporate functions and University-sponsored activities, in addition to performing as part of the Music School’s annual concert season. The ensemble performs many different styles of popular music including Top 40, rhythm & blues, jazz, alternative and country. Sound Fuzion is regionally known for its professional and dynamic style and has performed with the Memphis Symphony on three occasions to standing room only crowds.

Crosstown Arts Film Series: Stepping Into the Unknown: Films from the Bob Dylan Center
2026-03-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
March 26, 2026
Stepping Into the Unknown: Films from the Bob Dylan Center
Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins will present the films and engage in a post-screening discussion.
Get Your Tickets!
This special curated program draws from rare and revelatory cinematic materials connected to Bob Dylan’s life, work, and cultural impact. Rather than offering a conventional biography, Stepping Into the Unknown presents a mosaic of perspectives, fragments, moments, and explorations that reflect Dylan’s enduring resistance to definition.
Sourced from the Bob Dylan Center’s archives, the program highlights film as a crucial lens through which Dylan’s art and mythology have been shaped and challenged. Fans and newcomers alike will encounter unexpected angles on one of America’s most elusive artists, reinforcing why Dylan continues to inspire interpretation, debate, and reinvention. This one-night-only event offers a rare opportunity to experience these works collectively, as cinema was meant to be seen.

Evergreen Sound Sessions: LJ1S & Brandon Blvd
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Evergreen Sound Sessions: LJ1S & Brandon Blvd
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, March 27, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Memphis talent. Electric energy. A night you won’t forget.
After a year-long hiatus, the Evergreen Sound Sessions (formerly Evergreen Sessions) is officially back and louder than ever.
Launched in 2022, Evergreen Sound Sessions (ESS) was created to spotlight the incredible talent thriving across Memphis and beyond. Past sessions have featured standout artists like Virghost, Idi X Teco, and D’Vonna Taylor — and now, we’re proud to announce our fifth installment.
This edition brings the spotlight full circle with ESS founder Brandon Blvd and UNAPOLOGETIC’S own LJ1S, backed by the baddest band in the land, Saturday Sunset. Expect unforgettable sets, a surprise special guest, and a fresh new host to usher in a new era of the Sessions.
Don’t miss the return of Evergreen Sound Sessions — it’s going to be one for the books.

Chinese Connection Dub Embassy: "Forever Inna Vibe"
2026-03-28 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Chinese Connection Dub Embassy: “Forever Inna Vibe”
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Get ready for a night with the Chinese Connection Dub Embassy (CCDE), where Reggae meets Memphis grit. For lovers of Reggae, Dancehall, Ska, Afrobeats and everything in between, this show will bring a distinct vibe you can only experience in Memphis — and on March 28th, that energy is taking over the Green Room.
This will be an unforgettable night filled with dancing, big laughs, truth & rights, and everything in between. Even better, CCDE will be dropping brand-new music the same day, so you’ll leave not only with memories, but with fresh tunes to take home and replay!

Mahogany Chamber Music Series: "An Afternoon in Havana"
2026-03-29 15:00 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Mahogany Chamber Music Series: “An Afternoon in Havana”
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Sunday, March 29th, 2026
Doors open at 2:30 PM | Show starts at 3:00 PM
$20 in advance (plus fees) | $25 at the door | $5 student tickets
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Come join us for an afternoon of music featuring the music of Cuba! From Latin rhythms and dancing to exploring the breath of their musical influence around the world. Featuring guest pianist Yami CruzMontero, local favorite on saxophone Michael Shults and mahogany curator and pianist Artina McCain.
McCain was inspired to create the series in 2019 because of her passion for all artists to have a voice. Audiences are thirsty to hear something new and there is so much stunning music to be discovered. The Mahogany Chamber Series brings in artists from all over the country and the world, to perform in Memphis.
Hailed by the New York Times as a “virtuoso pianist,” Artina McCain, has built a formidable career as a performer, educator, and speaker. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at Wigmore Hall in London, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie in New York City, and more.
A multi-faceted artist, McCain has been featured in a mirage of spaces. From mistress of ceremony at the Cliburn competition to guest artist at the Gates Foundation Goalkeepers and Saint Heron concert programs curated by Solange Knowles. After years of battling a performance injury, she uses her miraculous recovery to serve as an advocate of musicians’ wellness. Most recently, the BBC featured her on the podcast Sideways, telling her healing story.
Known for promulgating the work of the unsung, she has multiple album collaborations and commissions with duo partner Martin McCain, bass trombone. She arranged 24 African American Folk Songs for the Hal Leonard series for beginning and intermediate pianists. In 2026, she will release the first edition of Grammy Award winning composer, Joseph Joubert’s virtuosic piano transcriptions through the Frances Clark Center.
FEATURING:
Yami Cruz (piano)
Michael Shults (saxophone)
Artina McCain (piano)
PROGRAM:
JOSÉ MARIA VITIER Tarde en la Habana, Danza de fni de Siglo
IGNACIO CERVANTES 3 Danzas cubanas: Los delirios de Rosita, La camagüeyana, Los muñecos
ANDRÉS ALÉN Tema Con Variaciones
ERNESTO LECUONA 2 Danzas afrocubanas
ANDRÉS ALÉN Sonata for Saxophone: II. Andante, III. Allegro Molto
YAMI CRUZMONTERO Pin Pon también se fue

Maria Somerville + opener Colle
2026-03-31 19:30 - 22:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Maria Somerville + opener Colle
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, March 31, 2025
Doors open at 7 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$18 in advance (plus fees) | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
By the time Irish musician Maria Somerville started writing Luster, her landmark label debut for 4AD, she had lived away from her native Connemara for quite some time. Having grown up amongst the wild, mountainous terrain of Galway’s rural west coast, she later relocated to Dublin, where she patiently developed an atmospheric dream pop signature inspired by the landscape of her youth – a spellbinding soundworld of gusting ambient electronics, ethereal guitar strums, sparse percussion, and hushed lyrical vignettes. In 2019, this culminated in All My People, a self-released LP steeped in reverb, nostalgia and a yearning for home that won praise from discerning press and listeners alike.
It was upon returning to Connemara, in a house near where she was raised overlooking one of the country’s largest lakes, Lough Corrib, that work commenced on the songs that would eventually become Luster, an album that illuminates Somerville’s music anew, pushing it forward in both sound and spirit. Where All My People conveyed memories and melancholic longing with misty slowcore balladry, these 12 tracks show us an artist who’s more assured in the path her life has taken, and the person she’s become in the process. As she sings in ‘Trip’ – “I can see more clearly than I could before. I know now what’s true for me.”
Invigorated by her surroundings and emboldened by her community, Somerville found a renewed sense of creative energy upon returning to home soil. It provided “fertile ground” for free-flowing recording sessions in her small living room studio, where she stitched together demos that were then fleshed out with friends and collaborators, and later mixed by the renowned New York-based engineer Gabriel Schuman. Contributors included producers J. Colleran, Brendan Jenkinson and Diego Herrera (aka Suzanne Kraft), as well as Lankum’s Ian Lynch, whose uilleann pipe drones you can hear in ‘Violet’, and Margie Jean Lewis, whose violin bows reverberate through the ambient haze of ‘Flutter’. Sessions with musicians Henry Earnest and Finn Carraher McDonald (aka Nashpaints) helped “tie it all together”, while contributions from friends Roisin Berkley and Olan Monk enshrined the companionship they’ve shared since Somerville returned to Connemara.
Listeners have had a window into Somerville’s world every Monday and Tuesday morning since 2021 via her beloved Early Bird Show on NTS Radio, where her dawn chorus selections range from blissful ambient and shoegaze to traditional Irish folk songs. Since signing to 4AD that same year, Somerville has toured with her label mates Dry Cleaning, and released two covers for the label’s 40th anniversary celebrations – taking on Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Kinky Love’ and Air Miami’s ‘Sea Bird’. With the release of Luster, she has signaled the arrival of a new era that will see her play around the world in 2025 accompanied by a live band. Rest assured though, no matter where Somerville goes, she’ll take a piece of home with her – a living, breathing, timeless essence you can sense in every note, as clear as the air by the Corrib.

Crosstown Arts Film Series: Titane
2026-04-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Julia Ducournau’s Titane is a ferocious fusion of body horror, melodrama, and black comedy, an audacious work that violently fractures genre in order to rebuild it into something startlingly intimate. Winner of the Palme d’Or, the film follows Alexia, a go-go dancer with a titanium plate fused into her skull after a childhood car accident, as she drifts from mechanical desire toward a strange and desperate search for connection.
Beneath the chrome and gasoline sheen, Titane operates as a film about transformation, physical, psychological, and emotional. Its most shocking moments are not merely provocative but pointed. Ducournau confronts the viewer with bodies as mutable machines, identity as performance, and gender as both cage and refuge. The film’s violence is handled with a deadpan absurdity that gradually softens, revealing tenderness in places most films would not dare look.
The heart of Titane lies in its undertones, loneliness and projection, the craving for recognition, the reshaping of self in order to be loved, the quiet ache of longing that pushes its characters into wild contortions. What begins as industrial eroticism melts into an unconventional family drama, where vulnerability becomes more shocking than carnage.
Titane is a film of contradictions. It is grotesque yet delicate, cynical yet yearning, metallic yet warm. It tests boundaries not for shock’s sake but to expose the human impulse to find belonging, even if it means becoming something unrecognizable. The result is a fearless and deeply strange meditation on bodies, identity, and the slender thread between monstrosity and love.

Andy James & Jon Cowherd All-Stars + MJW
2026-04-03 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Andy James & Jon Cowherd All-Stars with special guest Memphis Jazz Workshop
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, April 3rd, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$25 in advance (plus fees) | $30 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Andy James is an internationally acclaimed vocalist and songwriter whose music bridges jazz, blues, and roots traditions with striking elegance and emotional depth. After a celebrated 20-year career as a flamenco dancer based in Madrid—touring globally with legends including Antonio Canales, Rafael Amargo, Ramón Jiménez, and Paco de Lucía—James transitioned into jazz, bringing her innate rhythmic mastery and expressive artistry to song.

Jon Cowherd is a masterfully lyrical jazz pianist, composer, and arranger best known as the co-founder of the acclaimed Brian Blade Fellowship. Hailing from Kentucky and refined in the New Orleans music scene, Cowherd has built a career defined by his versatility, collaborating with icons ranging from Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones to John Scofield. His Grammy achievements are highlighted by a nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the Fellowship Band’s 2014 masterpiece, Landmarks, and he has contributed his sophisticated touch to numerous other Grammy-nominated projects as a first-call sideman and arranger. Whether leading his own ensembles or supporting global stars, Cowherd remains a pivotal figure in contemporary music, seamlessly blending jazz with gospel, folk, and rock influences.

Memphis Jazz Workshop (MJW) provides music intensives and unparalleled guidance for middle and high school students. Led by an award winning jazz musician Stephen Lee and a collection of equally well-versed and experienced teachers, students are in more than capable hands. The Memphis Jazz Workshop is one of the few workshops of its kind in the Memphis area that offers both high level and high frequency jazz-focused instruction.

MEET THE BAND:

Andy James-vocals

Jon Cowherd-piano

Marlon Patton-percussion

Chico Pinheiro-guitar

Chris Morrissey-bass

Piero Pata- Jaleos

Memphis Women in Jazz: Deb Swiney, Patrice Williamson, & Joyce Cobb
2026-04-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Memphis Women in Jazz: Deb Swiney + Patrice Williamson + Joyce Cobb
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Saturday, April 4th, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HER

Crosstown Arts presents, “Memphis Women in Jazz” a first-of-its-kind concert featuring three master vocalists: Deborah Swiney, Patrice Williamson, and Joyce Cobb.

All raised in the church choirs of the South, these women took different paths to jazz greatness. Together, they represent the full spectrum of the genre—Memphis souls illuminating the world of jazz.

The Performers –

Deborah Swiney: A former backup vocalist for the legendary Al Green and founder of the annual Sunset Jazz at Court Square concert series, Swiney brings a soulful, brassy resonance known to keep audiences captivated.

Patrice Williamson: Returning home from her role as a professor at the Berklee College of Music, Williamson holds a global reputation as a “breathtaking” improviser and a classical flutist-turned-jazz-virtuoso.

Joyce Cobb: Often called Memphis’s “greatest musical treasure,” Cobb is a Billboard-charting artist and a Beale Street icon. From her jazz-scat mastery to her decades of mentorship at the University of Memphis and the Stax Music Academy, she represents the very heartbeat of the city’s musical heritage.

Sylvester Sample – Bass

Henry Connerway III – Drums

Alvie Ghivan – piano

Ted Ludwig – guitar

The Mystic
2026-04-07 18:00 - 19:00, 2026-05-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
So, what is The Mystic? The Mystic is a catalyst; through music, story, silence and dialogue, we hope to strengthen our attachment to hopes and dreams. In the mystic, diversity is a prerequisite for all creativity, which is why Crosstown Concourse is the perfect home. In The Mystic, the world is far-better served by different beliefs than it could ever be if limited by rigid uniformity.
And if this doesn’t rock your gypsy soul, the goal of The Mystic is to not feel better but get better at feeling.

Modern Masters: The Ben Markley & Michael Shults Quintet
2026-04-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Modern Masters: Ben Markley and Michael Shults Quintet
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Wednesday, April 9, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance (plus fees) | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
The Ben Markley & Michael Shults Quintet brings together five exceptional musicians in a collaborative modern jazz ensemble that balances deep tradition with forward-thinking creativity. Pianist, composer, and bandleader Ben Markley joins forces with acclaimed saxophonist Michael Shults to present music that is both intellectually rich and viscerally engaging.
BEN MARKLEY:
Ben Markley is a pianist, composer, arranger, author, educator, and leader of the Ben Markley Big Band, a daring ensemble known for their creative takes on beloved modern and contemporary jazz classics. Fresh off the heels of Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton, Markley tackles his most ambitious project yet: Ari’s Funhouse, a big band album featuring the music of drummer Ari Hoenig, with Hoenig himself in the drum chair. The album received great critical acclaim and was selected as one of the best 4 star rated albums of 2022 by DownBeat magazine.
Markley is active as a composer and arranger with many big band and vocal jazz charts published through UNC Jazz Press as well as his own website. Recent arranging commissions include the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, and Wyoming Jazz Educators All-State Jazz Band.
In 2023 Markley published Cedar. The Life and Music of Cedar Walton (University of North Texas Press). Markley conducted more than seventy-five interviews with friends and family members, musicians who played with or were otherwise influenced by Walton, and industry figures such as club owners. Musicians interviewed include such stars as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, and Ron Carter. Walton’s wife Martha shared her extensive archives of photos, ephemera such as fliers and tour itineraries, and letters to inform Markley’s writing which is the definite biography on Walton.
Markley’s book A Practical Approach to Improvisation – The David Hazeltine Method was published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz in December of 2014. It documents David Hazeltine’s process of creating etudes from transcriptions.
Markley is an active performer in the Denver-metropolitan area and along the front range. He currently teaches jazz piano and serves as department chair of the music department for the University of Wyoming.
MICHAEL SHULTS:
Saxophonist Michael Shults has been praised for his “strong, imaginative” improvisations (Downbeat Magazine) and “fresh and intelligent musical ideas” (The Pitch). A first-call musician on the Kansas City jazz scene for nearly a decade, Shults remains an active performer in the Fountain City, Memphis, and beyond, and has twice appeared as a sideman on the Jazzweek National Radio Airplay Charts. As a graduate student at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Michael was a finalist in the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Artist Competition, and was the winner of the Graduate College Soloist category in the 2012 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards Issue. He has since performed by invitation as a featured soloist at the North American Saxophone Alliance biennial conference, the Jazz Education Network conference, the Midwest Clinic, the Wisconsin Music Educator’s Association conference, the Minnesota Music Educator’s Association conference, and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. Michael has shared the stage professionally with many of the most significant jazz artists of our time, including Bobby Watson, Sean Jones, Nat Reeves, Pat Bianchi, Lynn Seaton, Curtis Lundy, John Hebert, and Bob McChesney. He is the Musical Director of the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, which has held a weekly residency on historic Beale Street for over three decades.
Dr. Shults is Associate Professor of Saxophone at the University of Memphis, and previously held the position of Assistant Professor of Saxophone for four years at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He is a Yamaha Artist and a Vandoren Artist-Clinician and performs on their instruments and reeds exclusively.

Crosstown Arts Film Series: Under the Silver Lake
2026-04-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake is a woozy neo-noir that sinks into the dream logic of Los Angeles, peeling back its sunlit surface to expose the network of symbols, conspiracies, and secret messages that seem to pulse beneath the city. At the center is Sam, a drifting young man whose obsession with hidden meaning escalates after a mysterious woman vanishes from the apartment complex where he lives.
On its face, the film plays like a contemporary detective story, complete with codes, clues, and shadowy figures moving through Hollywood’s forgotten edges. Beneath that structure, however, is a meditation on loneliness, fixation, and the way pop culture imprints on the psyche. Sam’s journey is less about solving a mystery and more about clinging to a narrative that gives his life form, direction, and a sense of cosmic importance.
The undertones of Under the Silver Lake swirl with cultural decay and generational drift. The film is haunted by the ghosts of classic cinema and old Hollywood glamour, but the glitter has curdled into an atmosphere of disillusionment. The soundtrack, the billboards, the movie posters, the disposable media, all function as hieroglyphs in a culture obsessed with being noticed yet terrified of fading away.
Mitchell’s film balances humor with dread, and beauty with absurdity. It invites the viewer into a conspiracy that may be real or may be merely a projection of Sam’s desperation to feel connected to something larger than himself. In the end, Under the Silver Lake becomes a strange, melancholic portrait of a city where everyone is waiting to be discovered, and where being lost can feel like a secret code all its own.

Folk All Y'all: Rebecca Loebe
2026-04-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Folk All Y’all: Rebecca Loebe
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, April 9th, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Over the past decade,Austin-based troubadour Rebecca Loebe (she/her) has been steadily building her audience the old fashioned way: driving hundreds of thousands of miles in an old station wagon, performing in listening rooms and theaters across the US,Canada, Japan, Europe, and the UK.
In 2019, she released her fifth studio album, her first collaboration with the Grammy-nominated Houston-based record label Blue Corn Music.The genre-bending album borrows equally from the worlds of intimate folk, ear wormy pop, and no-holds-barred Americana. Refusing to pledge allegiance to any single genre was a creative gamble that has paid off in a big way: Give Up Your Ghosts has received the best press of Loebe’s career, including praise from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and legendary rock critic Dave Marsh, who said: “Once I put it on I couldn’t take it off.”
Recently, Rebecca has spent her time recently writing, recording, performing online, and launching a Youtube series about what really goes on behind the scenes in the lives and careers of independent musicians. She also got a dog, so if you hate puppy pictures, make sure not to look at her social media. Her 2026 tour celebrates her much-anticipated new release, so be there to catch it live!

Johnny Yancey and The Power to the People Orchestra: "Stand Up for Your Rights"
2026-04-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Johnny Yancey and The Power to the People Orchestra: “Stand Up for Your Rights”
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, April 10th, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$25 in advance | $30 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Homegrown trumpeter and bandleader Johnny Yancey returns to the Green Room with his “Power to the People Orchestra”,
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Johnny Yancey has been honing his musical skills for over 30 years with locally and nationally recognized musicians playing music of all genres. He has performed with musical greats such as Alvin Baptiste, Billy Pierce, Donald Brown, John Birdsong, Terri Lynn Carrington, Javon Jackson, James Williams, Herman Green, Will Graves, Floyd Newman, Zaid Nassar, Emerson Able Big Band, Joyce Cobb, Earlice Taylor and many others.
The Power to the People Orchestra, previously known as the Sanctuary Jazz Orchestra, is the culminating effort of Yancey’s decades-long affection for big band repertoire. Having performed at numerous festivals including Memphis Heritage Festival, the Bartlett Festival, and the Whitehaven Jazz Festival, the Power to the People Orchestra is a pinnacle of Yancey’s continued dedication to the Memphis jazz community.

Strictly Jazz: The Music of David Sanborn ft. Dr. Bill Hurd
2026-04-12 18:00 - 20:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Strictly Jazz: The Music of David Sanborn ft. Dr. Bill Hurd
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Sunday, April 12th, 2026
Doors open at 5:30 PM | Show starts at 6:00 PM
$25 in advance (plus fees) | $30 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Join us for April’s installment of the Strictly Jazz series curated by Dennis Adams, this time featuring saxophonist Dr. Bill Hurd as he pays homage to the great David Sanborn!
Dr. Bill Hurd is a man of many lives. Track star (Manassas High and All-American at Notre Dame), graduate of MIT, and world-renowned ophthalmologist, he’s traveled to West Africa and Madagascar for medical mission work. He’s also an inventor, a husband to Judge Rhynette Northcross Hurd–oh, and a master musician playing with the likes of Kirk Whalum, Isaac Hayes, and Maurice White.
David Sanborn (1945–2024) was an influential American alto saxophonist renowned for blending jazz with pop and R&B, earning six Grammy Awards and releasing 25 albums. Over a six-decade career, he became a premier session musician for artists like David Bowie and Stevie Wonder, while his solo work, beginning with Taking Off (1975), defined the contemporary saxophone sound.

University of Memphis: "Bluff City Fest"
2026-04-14 19:00 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts The Green Room
University of Memphis: “Bluff City Fest”
The Green Room @ Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Doors open at 6:30 pm | Show starts at 7:00 pm
$ 10 in advance (plus fees) | $15 at the door | Free for students/faculty with ID
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Nine powerhouse ensembles. One electrifying night. Experience the future of music as student groups from the University of Memphis Popular Music Program take the stage in a genre-spanning live concert event. These talented student performers bring the heat with high-energy sets across a wide spectrum of styles — from rock anthems and pop hits, to soulful jazz, funk grooves, and genre-blending originals.
More than just a student recital, this is a fully produced live showcase — complete with pro-level lighting, sound, and stage design — that highlights the diversity, creativity, and technical skill of Memphis’s next generation of artists.

Adam Larson Quartet featuring Kortland Whalum
2026-04-17 19:30 - 22:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Adam Larson Quartet featuring Kortland Whalum
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, April 17th, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show Starts at 7:30 PM
$25 in advance (plus fees) | $35 at the door | $10 student tickets
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Saxophonist-Composer Adam Larson brings his quartet with special Guest Kortland Whalum to the Green Room on April 17th for a night of music that spans genres of music touching the corners of R&B, Rap, Classical, Jazz and a bit of everything in between. Larson has written nearly 200 original compositions that lean on his affinity for genre-blending sounds, motifs and ear-candy, garnering him critically-acclaimed distinctions from Downbeat Magazine as a “prolific composer and a compositional prowess for lyricism” and from The New York Times as a composer whose “compositions are thoughtful, with ample breathing room for any soloists”.
Building on successful shows with vocalist Kortland Whalum in 2025, Adam brings Kortland back to the stage for this special one-night only event that will feature Grammy-Award winning bassist Clark Sommers, local legend Alvie Givhan on piano and drummer John Kizilarmut.
This performance is made possible through the generous underwriting of Denton’s St. Louis.

Jazz Jam Session: Hosted by University of Memphis Combo 1
2026-04-21 19:30 - 22:00 | Crosstown Arts The Green Room
Jazz Jam Session: Hosted by U of M Combo 1
The Green Room @ Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets $7 (plus fees) | Free for participants
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
The Green Room Jazz Jam is a monthly, interactive music event hosted this month by the University of Memphis Combo 1 . Young up-and-coming musicians and local jazz veterans alike join together for spontaneous music making, sharing the stage as they tackle the expansive body of repertoire found within the jazz idiom. The Green Room Jazz Jam strives to provide an inclusive and collaborative environment where jazz musicians of all ages and backgrounds may perform, network, and interact together in the interest of further fostering Memphis’ diverse music scene.

Jocelyn Gould
2026-04-22 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Jocelyn Gould
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$25 in advance | $30 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
2021 JUNO Award winner Jocelyn Gould has been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists” by Howard Paul, CEO of Benedetto Guitars. Her joyful energy has captivated audiences around the world and her passion for music is as infectious as her unique ability to connect with audiences. Jocelyn has absorbed the influences of the jazz guitar greats and has woven them into an exciting personal sound, citing Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass and Kenny Burrell as primary influences on the guitar.
Jocelyn has performed and recorded internationally as a leader and with GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Freddy Cole, JUNO-winning trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg, DownBeat Trombonist of the Year Michael Dease, Etienne Charles, Jon Gordon, Rodney Whitaker, Randy Napoleon and Diego Rivera.
Jocelyn’s debut album, Elegant Traveler, won the 2021 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo.
Golden Hour, Jocelyn’s sophomore album, showcases her virtuosic guitar playing and dynamic compositions, and introduces her voice. It has received international critical acclaim and radio play including extensive play on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Golden Hour reached #1 on Canadian and #9 on North American college radio jazz charts. Jocelyn’s Golden Hour Tour took place in June 2022 with performances at 11 Canadian Jazz Festivals.
Jocelyn toured extensively in 2022, including a 6-week American tour featuring the music of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. She will begin 2023 with a two-month North American tour from Florida to Alaska as one of four guitarists featured in a concert of solo guitar.
Jocelyn Gould is a Benedetto-endorsed artist.

Crosstown Arts Film Series Presents: Dr. Strangelove
2026-04-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of cinema’s sharpest and most enduring satires, a Cold War nightmare spun into pitch-black comedy. Released at the height of nuclear anxiety, the film follows a chain reaction of military blunders and political absurdities that threaten to end the world, not with heroism, but with bureaucratic confusion and human folly.
Anchored by Peter Sellers in multiple unforgettable roles, Dr. Strangelove walks a razor’s edge between the ridiculous and the terrifying, exposing how fragile the systems of power can be when placed in the hands of flawed individuals. Kubrick’s stark visual style and relentless sense of irony turn global annihilation into something both hilarious and deeply unsettling.
Join us at Crosstown Arts Theater on Thursday, April 23 at 7pm for this landmark film that remains as biting, relevant, and uncomfortably funny as ever.

Steve Lee
2026-04-24 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Steve Lee
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, April 24th, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Stephen Lee returns to the Green Room—one of his favorite stages and a familiar home base—to deliver another night of soulful, world-class jazz.
A Memphis native, Lee studied with legendary Jazz pianist Donald Brown at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville before heading to New York City to finish his studies and further hone his skills in some of the most well-known jazz venues in the world. He rounded out his studies with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance from City College in New York City and a Master’s degree in Education from Freed Hardeman University. While living in New York, Stephen has shared the stage with some of Jazz music’s best and brightest including Gregory Porter, Esperanza Spaulding, Billy Kaye and Saul Rubin. In 2012, he released his first album, “Songs in the Key of My Life” for which he won the Rhythm of Gospel Award and was nominated in the first round of the Stellar Awards. In 2018 Stephen was voted Steinway and Sons 2018 Top Music Teacher of the Year by Amro Music Store. And In 2019, he was nominated as a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.

Memphis Jazz Orchestra featuring Michael Dease
2026-04-25 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Memphis Jazz Orchestra featuring Michael Dease
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Saturday, April 25th, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$25 in advance | $30 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Join the Memphis Jazz Orchestra for a special one-night only performance at the Green Room at Crosstown Arts featuring one of the preeminent trombonists of the current era, Michael Dease!
Michael Dease is one of the world’s eminent trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 200 recordings and groups as diverse as Grammy-winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Kanye West, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys. Born in Augusta, Georgia, he played the saxophone and trumpet before choosing the trombone at age 17. In 2001, Dease moved to New York City to become part of the historic first class of jazz students at The Juilliard School, earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees, and quickly established a reputation as a brilliant soloist, side-person, and bandleader.
Give It All You Got (Posi-Tone, 2021) received positive acclaim from JazzTimes Magazine and a coveted 4-star review from Downbeat Magazine. The music centers on themes of devotion to the past and future of the jazz lineage, realized at the Jazz Institute at Brevard where he serves as director. As a bandleader, this is Dease’s eighth album for Posi-Tone, fourteenth of his career, and features Gregory Tardy, Ulysses Owens, as well as his wife Gwen Dease and eldest daughter Brooklyn Dease on percussion. Since then, he has released Best Next Thing (Posi-Tone, 2022), his baritone saxophone recording debut on Swing Low (Posi-Tone, 2023), two albums featuring music from composer Gregg Hill, The Other Shoe (Origin, 2023) and Found in Space (Origin, 2024), plus Groves Groove (Le Coq Records, 2024), and City Life (Origin, 2025).
Downbeat Magazine named Dease the 2016 Rising Star Jazz Trombonist. He then won the magazine’s Critics Poll for 2021 Trombonist of the Year, an award granted in subsequent years as well. He is a three-time Grammy award winner with Christian McBride and Alicia Keys and a sought-after lead, section, and bass trombonist with today’s leading jazz orchestras. His experiences include bands led by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Rufus Reid, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. However, it is on the frontline of small groups led by master musicians like The Heath Brothers, Winard Harper, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Claudio Roditi, and Lewis Nash, where Dease has revitalized the trombone’s image. Not content to simply improvise, Dease arranges and composes for many different bands, constantly adjusting his tone and timbre to add just the right flavor to the music.
Michael Dease is an enthusiastic endorser and Performing Artist for Yamaha Trombones, Trumpets and Saxophones, Pickett-Blackburn brass mouthpieces, and the custom repair services of expert craftsman Scott Sweeney of Sweeney Brass in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his extraordinary wife and Professor of Percussion at MSU, Gwendolyn Dease, and their daughters Brooklyn and Charly.

University of Memphis Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Singers
2026-04-28 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
University of Memphis Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Singers
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show starts at 7:30 PM
$10 tickets | Free for students and faculty with ID
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Experience an electrifying evening of jazz excellence that bridges generations and celebrates Memphis’s rich musical legacy. The highly acclaimed Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra of the University of Memphis Scheidt School of Music takes the stage, featuring the 2025 DownBeat Magazine Outstanding Performance–winning U of M Jazz Singers. With roots dating back to the early 1960s, these ensembles represent decades of artistry, innovation, and national recognition at the highest level.
Together, these celebrated ensembles deliver a powerful, multigenerational jazz experience—honoring tradition, showcasing world-class talent, and affirming Memphis as a vital force in the jazz world.

ECHO Party
2026-04-30 19:30 - 21:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
ECHO Party
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, April 30th, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$18 in advance | $22 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Based in Memphis, ECHO Party is a free jazz collective that bridges the gap between commercial polish and avant-garde extremes, featuring a lineup of musicians with decades of interlocking history. This is not only a show, but an album release party!
The group is anchored by the dual horns of saxophonist Art Edmaiston—a legendary session player for artists like Justin Timberlake and Gregg Allman—and Chad Fowler, a multi-instrumentalist and founder of Mahakala Music known for his work with icons like William Parker. The two share a background in Memphis horn sections, a chemistry that complements the group’s rhythm section: keyboardist Alex Greene (Reigning Sound), who has collaborated with Fowler since the 1990s indie rock scene; guitarist Khari Wynn, known for his tenure as Music Director for Public Enemy and his work with Fowler in the ESP-Disk unit Deepstaria Enigmatica; and drummer Steve Hirsh, a texture-oriented improviser who has recorded extensively with legends such as William Parker, Daniel Carter and Matthew Shipp, as well as Fowler, and released a duo album with Edmaiston in 2023. Together, they dismantle genre boundaries, using their mastery of soul, rock, and experimental forms to fuel spontaneous, high-energy composition.

Paper Wings + opener Savannah Brister
2026-05-02 19:30 - 22:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Paper Wings + opener Savannah Brister
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
Doors open at 7 PM | Show begins at 7:30 PM
$20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Paper Wings
Long-time friends and collaborators Emily Mann and Wila Frank, known together as Paper Wings, dream up warm, pastoral folk songs furnished with delicate banjo and spellbinding harmonies so close you often can’t tell their voices apart. On their latest project, Listen to the World Spin, the Nashville duo’s songwriting flourishes, displaying their exceptional ability to reference nostalgic sounds of American folk music while maintaining their own compelling style of artful and unpretentious lyricism. Embracing themes of solitude, nature, and passage through time and space, Listen to the World Spin is a beautiful exploration of how we are never alone in our search for meaning and certainty in difficult times. “We needed these songs to guide and comfort us through the last few years,” says Frank, “And we hope they’ll do the same for others.” Listen to the World Spin was released on March 15th, 2024 with support from Free Dirt Records.
Savannah Brister
Savannah Brister, a Memphis-based singer-songwriter, captivates audiences with her compelling voice and heartfelt songwriting. Her performances are infused with an undeniable emotional depth, resonating with listeners and creating an inviting, intimate atmosphere. Savannah’s quirky charm further endears her to fans, making each show a memorable experience. In early 2019, Savannah gained national recognition when she appeared on NBC’s The Voice and earned a spot on John Legend’s team. Her talent has also been celebrated through numerous accolades, including an HMMA award for her song “Dear World” and multiple awards for her song “Feelings,” which is featured on her debut album “Soft.” Don’t miss the chance to witness Savannah Brister’s heartfelt artistry live—she’s sure to leave you inspired and wanting more.
