Crosstown Arts

Memphis Quarantine Closing Ceremony
2022-04-10 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Memphis Quarantine exhibit is coming to an end. Join photographer Jamie Harmon for a closing reception Sunday, April 10, from 3 – 5pm in the Crosstown Arts Galleries. Anyone that has a photo in the exhibit is welcome to take it home with them at no charge. The prints are large so if anyone wants to order a reprint at a custom size Jamie will be taking orders for those as well (there is a reasonable fee for re-prints).

Crosstown High Theatre Presents: You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown
2022-04-10 09:00 - 11:30, 2022-04-09 14:00 - 16:30, 2022-04-09 09:00 - 11:30, 2022-04-08 14:00 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown High Theatre Presents: You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown at Crosstown Theater, April 8th-10th!⁠
Friday, April 8th at 7pm⁠
Saturday, April 9th at 2pm & 7pm⁠
Sunday, April 10th at 2pm⁠
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Adult Tickets $15
Student tickets $10
Child tickets $5⁠
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Tickets can be purchased at the door or at the link above.
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Crosstown High Theatre is proud to present their rendition of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown by Clark Gesner. They will be performing at the Crosstown Theater located directly behind the main atrium and next to Farm Burger. Bring out the whole family, your friends, and your friends’ kids to this heartwarming and funny musical! House will open 45 minutes before showtime and concessions will be available. Tickets will be available online as well as at the door. We hope to see you there!⁠

Folk All Y'all presents David Wilcox
2022-04-09 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Folk All Y’all presents singer/songwriter David Wilcox.
Doors open at 7pm | Show begins at 7:30pm
Tickets: Minimum ticket price is $30 but you can name-your-own price above that if you’re feeling it. 100% of ticket revenue goes to Folk All Y’all artists.
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
More than three decades into his career, singer/songwriter David Wilcox continues to push himself, just as he always has. Wilcox, by so many measures, is a quintessential folk singer, telling stories full of heart, humor, and hope, substance, searching, and style. His lyrical insight is matched by a smooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings, giving him a range and tenderness rare in folk music. His innate sense of adventure and authenticity is why critics and colleagues, alike, have always praised not just his artistry, but his humanity, as well.
David was the first artist Folk All Y’all reached out to host, way back in 2014. After that first (more-than-)sold-out show, David’s come back and played six more. We’re thrilled to welcome David Wilcox back to The Green Room at Crosstown Arts inside Crosstown Concourse, a space that has inspired him for years.

Minimum ticket price is $30 but you can name-your-own price above that if you’re feeling it. 100% of ticket revenue goes to our artists (you can see where any fees go in the check-out breakdown). Yep, all of it. Folk All Y’all is volunteer-run and subscriber-supported. Shows are presented in partnership with Crosstown Arts at The Green Room in Crosstown Concourse.
The Green Room currently requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test from the previous 48 hours to attend shows. Masks are recommended. Your purchase indicates acceptance of this policy and any updates that may be required for community health. Tickets are transferable but non-refundable unless the show is postponed or canceled.
About The Green Room: Operated by Crosstown Arts, The Green Room is committed to providing the best possible environment for the two most important components of a musical performance: the artists’ work and the audience’s listening experience.
About Folk All Y’all: 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.

Postponed: Hood 2 Hood Recitals at Crosstown Arts
2022-04-08 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
This event has been postponed. New date to be announced soon!

Henry Booker, also known as Sir Henry, is a versatile musician who performs across the Mid-South with several bands. Henry started the Hood 2 Hood Recitals to promote nonviolence, peace, and positivity in urban neighborhoods in Memphis and beyond by playing classical music and R&B hits after he was in a tragic incident that nearly ended his life. The Hood 2 Hood Recitals began with Henry setting up his keyboard in public neighborhood locations so that music could be brought out into the community, for the community. Learn more about Henry Booker’s Hood 2 Hood Recitals: https://dailymemphian.com/article/26003/henry-booker-shooting-survivor
He can be heard performing with his band MainStreet Band on Beale Street, at weddings, and at other special events. MainStreet Band has performed all over the Southeast, with performances in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas and all across Tennessee.

Crosstown Arthouse presents THE FILMS OF MAYA DEREN with live score by Optic Sink
2022-04-07 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents THE FILMS OF MAYA DEREN with live score by Optic Sink at Crosstown Theater.

Maya Deren / Multiple Years / 60 minutes / Rated M
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!) at Crosstown Theater
Maya Deren is one of the most important American experimental filmmakers of all time. Along with being a filmmaker, Deren was a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, and photographer, and she brings all of these disciplines together in her dreamlike and ecstatic films. The history of avant-garde film is unthinkable without her. For this presentation Deren’s films will be curated and performed with a live score by Memphis no-wave and Goner Records recording artist OPTIC SINK.

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

GOLDINGS/BERNSTEIN/STEWART Organ Trio
2022-04-06 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents GOLDINGS/BERNSTEIN/STEWART in the Green Room, featuring Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart.

Tickets: $25 advance | $30 at the door (plus fees)
Doors open at 7pm | Show begins at 7:30pm

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.

“The trio of Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart is the best organ trio of the last decade.”
– The New York Times

“Goldings belongs to that elite and small group of ‘great piano players”
– Pat Metheny

“Peter Bernstein is the most impressive guitarist I’ve heard. He plays the best of them all for swing, logic, feel and taste, and has paid attention to the past as well as the future.”
– Jim Hall

“An authentic organ trio with all the size and scope of Mount Everest, and twice the cool”
– Jazz Times

“[Bill Stewart’s] true speciality is making a good band sound inexplicably better”
– The New York Times

GOLDINGS/BERNSTEIN/STEWART
In the mid 1990s, The New York Times described Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart as “the best organ trio of the last decade.” The trio, which has now been together for over 30 years, has been recognized for charting new ground, with its synergistic playing, and thoughtful music. They have over a dozen recordings, all of which display their distinctive sound, whether exploring the depths of jazz standards, or playing their own original compositions.
Of their newest offering, Toy Tunes (Pirouet), Downbeat said, “The whole album subtly subverts organ-trio cliches, offering not chicken-shack party stomps but instead some hip after-hours atmospherics…4 stars”
Larry Goldings
With his signature Hammond organ style and versatility on many keyboards, Boston native Larry Goldings (b. 1968) has traversed not only the wide spectrum of jazz where he is perhaps best known, but also the worlds of funk, pop, and electronic music. High in demand as a sideman, Goldings’ sound can be heard on scores of albums by artists in a variety of musical genres.
Over the years, Goldings has been closely associated with John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Jim Hall, Maceo Parker, Madeleine Peyroux, Pat Metheny, and pop artists James Taylor and John Mayer. In 2007, Goldings, Jack DeJohnette and John Scofield, received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Album Individual or Group for their album, Trio Beyond – Saudades (ECM).
Goldings also is active as a composer, arranger, and producer. His compositions have been recorded by Michael Brecker, Jim Hall, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Sia, Vulfpeck, Lea Michele, Bob Dorough, Jane Monheit, Gaby Moreno, Curtis Stigers, and Toots Thielemans. Goldings’ music also has been featured in television shows and motion pictures, including, The Office, Proof, Funny People, and Neighbors. He scored his first feature film, Dealin’ With Idiots in 2013, directed by Jeff Garlin, and is currently the composer for the upcoming Netflix mini-series, Madam CJ Walker, starring Octavia Spencer.
Peter Bernstein
Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein (b. 1967, New York City) has been a part of the jazz scene in New York and abroad since 1989. During that time he has participated in over 200 recordings and numerous festival, concert and club performances with musicians from all generations. As a leader, Peter has released 12 albums and a DVD, Live at Smoke.
He got his first break while attending the New School when he met the legendary guitarist Jim Hall. Hall asked Peter to participate in his Invitational Concert as part of the 1990 JVC Jazz Festival. The event featured such guitarists as John Scofield and Pat Metheny and was released as “Live at Town Hall Vol. 2” by Music Masters. Hall noted that Peter “…has paid attention to the past as well as the future. He is the most impressive guitarist I’ve heard. He plays the best of them all for swing, logic, feel and taste.” Also in 1990, Peter Bernstein was discovered by alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and took part in the first of four recordings with him. He was a regular member of his group throughout the 1990s. “Some people just have it.” Donaldson said. “…most of the time you have to teach someone what to do, but Peter knows it all.” Peter has also enjoyed long musical associations with legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb (Cobb’s Mob), as well as organist Larry Goldings and drummer Bill Stewart as a member of their highly acclaimed trio. The New York Times called them “the best organ trio of the last decade”. Together they recorded a dozen of records, all of which display their distinctive sound, whether exploring the depths of jazz standards or playing their original compositions. From 1995 through 1997, Peter was a member of Joshua Redman’s band and played on Redman’s Freedom in the Groove CD. He played with Diana Krall’s quartet from 1999 through 2001 and with Dr. Lonnie Smith, the legendary organist who made his debut on the George Benson Cookbook albums. He has also recorded five CDs with organist Melvin Rhyne, known for his association with Wes Montgomery. In addition, Peter has appeared in groups led by Sonny Rollins, Bobby Hutcherson, George Coleman, David Fathead Newman, Etta Jones and Nicholas Payton.
Current Projects include a solo record, “Solo Guitar – Live at Smalls” in 2013, the albums “Let Loose” w/ Gerald Clayton, Doug Weiss, and Bill Stewart in 2016 and “Signs LIVE!”, featuring pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, in 2017, both released on Smoke Session Records as well as the highly acclaimed organ trio with organist Larry Goldings and drummer Bill Stewart with whom he has released numerous albums and toured world wide for almost 30 years. The most recent releases are “Ramshackle Serenade” (2014) and “Toy Tunes” (2018), both on Pirouet records.
Bill Stewart
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, drummer/composer Bill Stewart (b. 1966) made his name as the rhythmic force behind guitarist John Scofield since 1990 and still collaborating with him regularly since 1990. He is now one of the most sought after jazz drummers in the world.
Stewart’s playing is distinguished by its melodic focus, and its polyrhythmic, or layered, character. Although his drumming bears the influence of various melodic and swinging drummers who preceded him, Stewart’s voice is clearly his own, and has influenced a younger generation of drummers.
Stewart has toured extensively with John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Maceo Parker, Kevin Hays, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Charlie Haden, Steve Wilson, Marc Copland, Bill Carrothers, Nicholas Payton, Joe Henderson and many others in addition to leading his own band on tours in Europe and at the Village Vanguard in New York City.
An excellent composer in his own right, Stewart has made several records as a leader that predominantly feature his own music, bearing the same thoughtfulness, humor, and impeccable taste that one hears in his playing. He has recorded 6 cds as a leader. Stewart’s Blue Note recording “Snide Remarks” was selected as one of the top 10 cds of 1997 by The New York Times, and his latest is Band Menu (2018, self released on cdbabyitunes/amazon), a trio with Walter Smith III and Larry Grenadier.

SOLD OUT: Samara Joy featuring Pasquale Grasso
2022-04-05 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Samara Joy featuring Pasquale Grasso in the Green Room.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Doors open at 7pm | Show begins at 7:30pm
Tickets: $20 advance | $25 at the door (plus fees)

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
With a voice as smooth as velvet, SAMARA JOY’s star seems to rise with each performance. Following her winning the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, she is currently recording her debut recording, which will feature Samara backed by the Pasquale Grasso Trio.
This rising star still resides in the place of her birth, the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, New York. Growing up, music was a pervasive presence, due to the inspiration of her paternal grandparents, Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, who led the well-known Philadelphia-based gospel group, The Savettes. Her father toured with the renowned Gospel artist Andrae Crouch, and her home was filled with the sounds of not only her father’s songs and songwriting process, but the inspiration of many Gospel and R&B artists, including Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, George Duke, Musiq Soulchild, Kim Burrell, Commissioned, and many others.
“Although I didn’t grow up singing in church,” explains Samara, “I constantly heard my family singing inspirational music together, which instilled in me an appreciation for my musical lineage. My earliest memory of performing is singing a Jordin Sparks song for my fifth grade graduation. Then, through musicals in middle school, I loved exploring the range of my voice and applying the different colors to fit the characters I played. Finally, during high school, I joined the choir at my church, eventually becoming a worship leader, singing three services a week for nearly two years.”
Samara’s first exposure to jazz was while attending Fordham High School for the Arts, where she performed regularly with the jazz band, eventually winning Best Vocalist at JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition. However, jazz wasn’t really her focus until the time came to choose a college. Wanting to attend a state school close to home, she picked SUNY Purchase, gaining acceptance into their acclaimed jazz program, with a faculty that includes many jazz masters (including Pasquale Grasso and drummer Kenny Washington, who both appear on her debut recording.)
“My friends were all into jazz and started sharing their favorite recordings with me to check out. The turning point was when I heard both Sarah Vaughan’s version of ‘Lover Man’ and Tadd Dameron’s recordings featuring trumpeter Fats Navarro. I was hooked.”
From this point, she began to pursue her jazz studies with an intense passion, eventually being named the Ella Fitzgerald Scholar and entering and winning the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
Not yet 21 years old, Samara has already performed in many of the great jazz venues in NYC, including Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, The Blue Note, and Mezzrow, in addition to working with jazz greats such as Christian McBride, Pasquale Grasso, Jon Faddis, Kirk Lightsey, Cyrus Chestnut, and NEA Jazz Master Dr. Barry Harris.
As she begins work on her debut recording (to be released in the spring of 2021), Samara Joy looks forward to sharing her passionate love for jazz as a uniting force and as a catalyst for change in the years to come.

Shoot & Splice: Hair & Makeup with Faizah Husniyah
2022-04-05 14:00 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Crosstown Theater
Free to attend
Complimentary drinks provided by Crosstown Arts

Please join Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts in a conversation and live demonstration with film & television hair and makeup artist, Faizah Husniyah. Faizah will discuss her flourishing career as well as how filmmaking fundamentals — such as lighting, camera angles, scene-to-scene continuity, and more — all play an important role when strategizing and implementing a style plan for every character on screen. She will also provide a live, on stage demonstration of her work while giving guided insight into her creative process.

Known for her incredible transformations outside of TV & Film, Faizah Husniyah has been a professional hair and makeup artist since 2010, beginning in Memphis, TN. Faizah’s love for production started at the age of 12, where she would help backstage at local theatres’ where her mother was a stage actress. She found herself drawn to the hair and makeup artists who would eventually take Faizah under their wing and mentor her which has contributed to her successes today.
Determined to pursue her career as a professional hair and makeup artist after dropping out of high school, Faizah attended both the Beauty Institute and Paul Mitchell. Faizah ventured into fashion where she became a recognized participant at the notable New York Fashion Week, and later became a sought after artist and is now faithfully invited to work alongside the biggest names in Hollywood.
Faizah has never been afraid to expand to new territories. She set her sights on the film world and landed opportunities that afforded her to work with major production companies such as: CMT, HBO, WETV, NBC, HULU, NETFLIX, DISNEY, GAP KIDS, ABC, SONY & ADIDAS to name a few.
In 2020, Faizah was the winner of an unprecedented award that she received by Emmy and Oscar winning stylists Camille Friend (Dept. Head of hair for Black Panther, Captain Marvel & Guardians of The Galaxy) and Vito Trotta (Grey’s Anatomy) as “The best up and coming artists in tv & film” in which she was paired and mentored by Oscar winning hairstylist Kathrine Gordan.

Shoot & Splice is a FREE filmmaker forum presented by Crosstown Arts and Indie Memphis, featuring a wide variety of technical, educational, and unique topics of interest to the Memphis filmmaking community.

Kafé Kirk with Kirk Whalum and Avery*Sunshine
2022-04-03 13:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Kafé Kirk with Kirk Whalum and Avery*Sunshine at Crosstown Theater.

Doors open at 5pm | Show begins at 6pm
Tickets: General Admission $45 (plus fees)

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Crosstown Arts is requesting 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. At-home and rapid tests are accepted. Masks encouraged.
KIRK WHALUM
Soulful, passionate, stirring…these are the words most often used to describe Kirk’s music. Forged from his Memphis, (TN) gospel roots and his 1980‘s initiation into the thriving Houston, TX nightclub scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his. The 80’s were highlighted by Kirk’s stepping out of his blossoming sideman role and forming his own band. It was there that Kirk ultimately developed both his “voice” and songwriting in the crucible of the local club scene––especially at a rooftop club called Cody’s. It was also in Houston where jazz pianist Bob James “discovered” him and brought him on tour, which led to five successful albums with Columbia Records, including Cache, Kirk’s first #1 album. As well, Kirk and Bob received a Grammy nomination for their collaboration album, Joined at the Hip. After moving to Los Angeles, Kirk became an in demand session player for top artists like, Barbara Streisand, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Quincy Jones and most notably, Whitney Houston, amongst many others. It’s his sax heard on the mega-hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Kirk soon followed that career high point with his phenomenal hit album released on Warner Bros. Records, For You, perhaps the most successful of over 25 solo recordings to date; others include his eclectic, and much lauded, Gospel According to Jazz series, (Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4). In addition to his many solo projects, Kirk was also a member of the popular soul/jazz group, BWB, which features Kirk as the “W” of the group with Rick Braun (trumpet) and Norman Brown (guitar).
An ordained minister, Kirk has earned a Masters of Art in Religion. It’s in this spirit that he serves his community in various ways when his touring schedule allows. There is also his daily fifteen minute podcast, Bible In Your Ear (BIYE), in which he invites you to listen along as he reads through the Bible in a year. In addition to music and ministry, Kirk has a passion to educate young, aspiring musicians and is currently engaged as a music professor at Visible Music College in his hometown of Memphis.
Kirk is the recipient of numerous awards and acknowledgements for his musical excellence including three Dove Award nominations, an NAACP Image Award nomination and has won two Stellar Awards- Gospel music’s highest honor. A twelve time Grammy nominee, Kirk won his first Grammy award (2011)for Best Gospel Song (“It’s What I Do”––featuring Lalah Hathaway) alongside life-long friend and gifted songwriter, Jerry Peters.
In a career spanning decades, Kirk has a sound that is uniquely his; it is a sound that leaves an indelible imprint on the listener.
AVERY*SUNSHINE
Avery*Sunshine is a singer-songwriter whose music can be described as “the epitome of soul.” A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, her foundation, like many of the great soul singers, is rooted in her experience growing up in the Black church. She honed her craft as a vocal performance student at Spelman College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. In 2010, Sunshine released her debut album, Avery*Sunshine, a work co-produced by her then musical partner, and future husband, Dana Johnson. The single, “Ugly Part of Me”, hit the airwaves and introduced Sunshine to the world. Her second album, The SunRoom (2014) spawned her first No. 1 single on a Billboard chart with “Call My Name”. She continued to grow her discography with the release of Twenty Sixty Four (2017) and the single “How Will You Remember Me?” (2020).
In 2020, Avery expanded her artistry to the world of beauty, launching Lou*Mack Beauty — a cosmetic company created to encourage women of color to discover, connect to, and celebrate the beauty of our lineage. She also created the Hey Sunshine Show, her own performance platform producing monthly live shows to share with her fans from the comfort of her own home.
Avery*Sunshine’s sound is uplifting, vibrant, and exactly as her namesake suggests, full of sunshine. She brings people together through her riveting stage performances, candid and often humorous stage banter, and optimistic anthems about love and life. She prays that the small space that she occupies in this world reminds everyone to shine as brightly as they can – no matter what. For more visit AverySunshine.com.

Marcella Simien
2022-04-02 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents a night of eclectic sounds from the Swamp Soul Queen Marcella Simien, featuring the Lovers band and special guests.

TICKETS: $10 advance | $15 day of show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
Marcella Simien was born into one of the first Creole families to settle St. Landry Parish. Daughter of two-time GRAMMY™ Award-winning Zydeco luminary Terrance Simien, Marcella was practically born on-stage and grew up immersed in sound and performance. Visits to the family home from legends such as David Hidalgo of Los Lobos or Taj Mahal, who once sang her “Happy Birthday,” were not uncommon.
Simien holds a degree from Memphis College of Art, which is what originally brought her to Memphis, Tennessee. Feeling a kindred connection to the city’s rich history and bustling community of working musicians, she began planting the seeds of her South Louisiana heritage in the Bluff City. She has since forged her own pathways in the local, national, and international music scenes, following her heart as an artist while wielding the torch of a Creole dynasty.
Simien founded and serves as bandleader in Marcella & Her Lovers—a hybrid of classic Memphis soul with the freewheeling swagger of New Orleans funk. Featuring an ensemble cast of Memphis musicians, Simien emerges as an undeniably powerful frontwoman. Her lyrics explore themes of love, loss, and healing, and her vocal work embodies feminine strength. With each angelic holler and pump of the Creole accordion, she reinvents the mold of Memphis music while giving a wink and a nod to her ancestors.
Confident, composed, and courageous, Simien is a bona fide artist in her own right with musical wisdom beyond her years. As legendary record producer and owner of Royal Studios Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell puts it, “Marcella is one of the most soulful artists I’ve heard since the glory days of Memphis soul music. Her sound and stage presence are constant reminders that soul music is still alive and well.”
Simien’s selected career milestones and accolades to date include: “Meet Me In Memphis”—a one-on-one interview feature produced by Southern Living & IKEA USA that has reached over 1.5 million views on Facebook; the honor of being one of only 500 artists in America nominated for a $50,000 USA Artists Fellowship; a feature on the nationally-syndicated radio program Beale Street Caravan; a feature in the Memphis Flyer’s “20 Under 30” cover issue; performing twice on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise alongside such greats as Marcia Ball, Allen Toussaint, and Irma Thomas; and lending guest vocals to her father Terrance Simien’s album Dockside Sessions, which won a 2014 GRAMMY™ for Best Regional Roots Album of the Year.
In addition to Marcella & Her Lovers, Simien performs with Gumbo, Grits & Gravy, Marcella & Les Vagues, Magnolias, and Terrance Simien’s Krewe De Monifique. Recently, Simien made her New York City debut at Joe’s Pub and her London debut as a duo with Mark Black of Sweet on drums. She signed with a new management team, Yonas Media, in June of 2020.

“Taking Over”: Women in the Music Industry
2022-04-01 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Doors at 7pm | Show at 7:30pm
Tickets: $10 advance | $15 day of the show
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Morgan Massey, a graduating senior from the University of Memphis Music Business program, is presenting Taking Over: Women in the Music Industry. The event is a benefit concert for A Step Ahead Foundation and will be held on April 1st at The Green Room in Crosstown Arts. The show will serve to empower and encourage young women who are navigating a male dominated industry. Taking Over features four incredible female performers and a fully female crew. The event will include exclusive shirts for sale to raise funds for donations. Come close out Women’s History Month by supporting these ambitious and passionate young women!
Alexis Jade
Alexis Jade, simply put, is an old soul with a new sound. Her relationship with music was cultivated right on the front porch in Rosemark, TN, sitting next to her grandmother as they sang nostalgic songs such as “You are My Sunshine” and “How Much is That Doggy in the Window?” Raised in a house full of music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, music was an integral part of Jade’s childhood, and she began writing songs at a very young age. This past fall, Alexis Jade signed on to Blue Tom Records at the University of Memphis. Under Blue Tom Records, Jade will be releasing her first solo single, “Return to Sender.” Out to pave a new path for women in country music, Jade has her sights set on bringing a new sound to the time-old tales of heartbreak and loss.
Trinity Adair
Trinity Adair Miller is a Junior Music Business major at the University of Memphis. Trinity was born in a small town in Illinois and grew up in Nashville. Her parents, Everett and Annetta Miller, have always supported her dreams in pursuing music and have pushed her to become the artist she is today. Trinity has an original single titled “If Only” and will be performing that today. Trinity would like to shout out Morgan for the opportunity to be able to showcase her talent and for considering her to perform tonight. She is so honored to be performing alongside other talented female artists and is excited to continue her journey as an artist and student.
Sarah Spain
Sarah Spain is a Memphis singer-songwriter and student at the University of Memphis studying creative writing. Sarah has participated in many vocal ensembles and has her own solo career. She works as a vocal instructor at the Memphis School of Rock. On top of these endeavors, she has a small business called Strange Moon Mystics where she makes eclectic jewelry by hand. Taking Over is honored to have her as a part of our line-up.
Toni Mack
Memphis-based singer/songwriter, Toni Mack, has been honing her skills in music for the past several years. Pulling inspiration from her own personal experience as well as those around her, she has been able to produce a sound that is not often heard in her hometown, Alternative Soul. Her music consists of soft vocals intertwined with melodic guitar chords. She is currently still attending college, working hard to perfect her craft. She pulls influence from artists like Lianne La Havas, Corrine Bailey Rae, Esperanza Spalding, and many more talented musicians. She hopes to inspire others to find themselves and to be able to relate to her music. Allowing it to be the spirit guide through it all.

Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents THRILLING BLOODY SWORD
2022-03-31 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents THRILLING BLOODY SWORD at Crosstown Theater.

Hsin-Yi Chang / 1981 / 89 minutes / Rated R
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!) at Crosstown Theater
If He-Man and the Masters of the Universe dropped acid with the Shaw Brothers while knocking out a martial arts horror-fantasy movie, that movie would be THRILLING BLOODY SWORD. This head-spinning slice of Taiwanese psychotronic cinema builds a movie out of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, impossible fight scenes, and wild monsters that include a cyclops, a pterodactyl, and Satan himself! A comet impregnates a queen. She gives birth to a fleshy egg. In disgust, the king tosses the egg in the river. Seven little people stumble onto the egg. They stab it with a knife and find a cute baby inside —one who grows up to be a beautiful princess. One day, she runs into a prince, who is fighting a multi-headed dragon. Of course, the two royals fall in love. Unfortunately, a group of dastardly wizards want to keep them apart, and they’ll use every creature at their disposal to do it! Previously only available via VHS bootlegs, Gold Ninja Video is proud to present this hallucinogenic fantasia in a new 2K preservation from the only known 35mm print in existence.

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

Bang on a Can All-Stars
2022-03-29 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents the Bang on a Can All-Stars, an ensemble that crosses the boundaries between genres, at Crosstown Theater.
TICKETS: $25 first-level seating | $20 second-level seating
$10 students (with student ID at the door)
Doors open at 7:00pm / Performance at 7:30pm
Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
“A fiercely aggressive group, combining the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble.” – The New York Times
Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.
Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group’s celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley’s In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett and others. The All-Stars were awarded Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year and have been heralded as “the country’s most important vehicle for contemporary music” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Current and recent project highlights include “In C”, a new dance collaboration with Sasha Waltz & Guests based on Terry Riley’s minimalist classic; Dance Party, a brand new multi-media concert pairing composers and choreographers; a new recording of legendary composer/performer Meredith Monk’s MEMORY GAME; Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power for Bang on a Can All-Stars and orchestra, a multi media concert exploring the sonic landscape of the late 1960s; Road Trip, an immersive and visually stunning concert collaboratively-composed by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe to commemorate the 30+ year journey of Bang on a Can; the touring performances and recording of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winning Anthracite Fields for the All-Stars and guest choir; Julia Wolfe’s acclaimed Steel Hammer, plus a moving theatrically staged collaboration with SITI Company and director Anne Bogart; Field Recordings, a major multi-media project and CD/DVD now featuring 30 commissioned works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Anna Clyne, Bryce Dessner, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, Jóhann Jóhannsson, David Lang, Christian Marclay, Steve Reich, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and more; the Lincoln Center Festival 2017 world premiere of Cloud River Mountain, a collaboration featuring Chinese superstar singer Gong Linna; the world premiere performance and recording of Steve Reich’s 2×5 including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, and much more. With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group’s distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have become a genre in their own right. The All-Stars record on Cantaloupe Music and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.

Crosstown Arts Resident Artist Talk
2022-03-29 13:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts Spring 2022 resident artists Lucy Wang, Kate Roberts, John Rash, Gunter Guapp, and Jasmine Marie will present artist talks.
Free and open to the public. Masks are encouraged at this event.

Lucy Wang is an award-winning published and produced writer, mentor, and performer. Her plays have been performed throughout the U.S. and abroad. Her poetry and prose have appeared in literary and trade magazines. After Wang sold a half-hour TV comedy pilot, feminist icon Gloria Steinem urged her to do stand-up, which was so exhilarating that Wang developed and performed two one-woman shows to sold-out audiences. Her manuscripts are archived at the Huntington Library and CEMA collections at UC Santa Barbara.
Lucy’s work is largely dedicated to fighting for social justice, creating more inclusive roles, and inciting laughter.
“I am a founding member of Honor Roll!, an action advocacy group of women+ playwrights over 40 as well as our women+ over 40 allies, that fights for more inclusion, more visibility in theater. One of the ways I champion change is through comedy. Comedy is revolutionary. I can’t force you to think something is funny. Laughter is involuntary. We all know what canned laughter sounds like. Real laughter has the power to connect us, open our hearts, and change our minds. I never met anyone who said, please, stop, no more laughter. That’s why I love to share stories that tackle complex issues with joy and laughter — it will improve our health and understanding of each other. Live, love, laugh.”

Kate Roberts is an artist and educator working in Memphis, TN. Her practice is a mediation on time and its role in the decay of memories, objects, and the spaces they exist within. Inspiration is drawn from historical objects, the architecture around her, or events and choices that shaped a site. Primarily working with clay in its unfired state, Roberts questions the permanence of these objects and sites. The results are installations that explore the connection between the vulnerabilities of the nature of clay in its many forms from dust, to wet slip, to unfired and the mortality of people, objects, and places. The moments of fragmentation found in-between act as metaphors for change, impermanence, and devices for reinterpretation. Distorted and ghostly, the sculptures and installations result in a fleeting, fragile reminder of the consequences of nature, time, and circumstance.
“I grew up in the Southern part of the United States. The landscape is lush and bountiful and at times can be hauntingly visceral. This is due to the areas’ humidity. It causes the pace to be slow … nearly stagnant. Time does not move in a linear fashion, but is suspended. As southerners we live in suspension between myth and truth, between appearance and reality, between life and death, and between the past and present. In my work I try to find that similar moment in-between.”

John Rash is an artist and documentarian working in lens-based media across the mediums of photography, video, audio, and installation. John’s work is primarily centered on representations of outsider identities, counterculture communities, and alternative lifestyles with a commitment to accountability and promotion of social and racial justice. These stories and images utilize the traditions and innovations of documentary fieldwork and are retold through experimental methods of visual storytelling that highlight the human condition.
“All documentaries are collaborative portraits framed and assembled by a subjective narrative. No story is too small and every person has at least one worth hearing.”

Gunter Guapp is a composer and music teacher based in Memphis, TN, whose work combines interests in noise composition and genre music. His recent work utilizes folk melodies, chaotic textures, and improvisation to explore themes of interpersonal connection and accessibility. Recent premieres include collaborations with Hypercube, the Julius Quartet, Four Corners Ensemble, and Ensemble PHACE to present new pieces in Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Vienna.
“At its best, I think concert music should be physically engaging and allow performers to immediately connect to listeners and invite audiences into performance spaces”

Jasmine Marie (she/her) is a queer Black multidisciplinary artist born and based in Memphis. Her work centers stories of Black southern heritage, spirituality, and black femme identity, most often through afro-surrealist/futuristic imagery. She is half of NuJas, a multidisciplinary art house centering black women and queer folks.
“I think overall I want to make work that holds black folks close and moves us to imagine how love and community free us. Even in pieces that aren’t intentionally futuristic, I want us to feel bigger. Like we are part of something that transcends time and challenges our understanding of our place in the world.”

Arooj Aftab with Ouri at Crosstown Arts
2022-03-27 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Arooj Aftab at Crosstown Theater with an opening performance by Ouri. This concert is presented in part by Sonosphere, Inc.

Tickets: $25
Doors at 6:30 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.

Arooj Aftab
Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Arooj Aftab came to prominence in Pakistan in the early 2000s when she developed a style that combines Sufi-mystical poetry with the spirit of independent rock. This sound catapulted her to stardom from a then-fledgling underground and online music community in Pakistan. She eventually moved to the U.S., earned a degree at the Berklee School of Music, and now lives in New York City.

Her music is inspired by the poetry and musicality of Rumi, Abida Parveen, and other Sufi poets, as well as the reworking of classical Pakistani and North Indian forms like khayal and kafi. She says Sufi words have impacted her writing: “It is very much about the feeling that (Sufi poetry) leaves you with: calmness, peace, patience, simplicity. And then sadness, longing, wandering, searching, openness, oneness. I try to take all these qualities and weave them into my music.” She is adamant that her music not be defined as retro; instead, she’d prefer that her music be understood as a new approach to an old form. She says her music is, “something new that’s both musically and politically resonant for the contemporary moment.”

In 2011, NPR listed Arooj as one of the Top 100 Young Composers of today, alongside names such as Grammy Award-winning Esperanza Spalding and Fusion Jazz piano virtuoso Vijay Iyer. The New York Times included Arooj in their list of Best Concerts of 2012. TimeOut Magazine rated one of her collaborative projects in the Top 10 Classical Albums of 2013. Most recently, Curious Animal Magazine has listed Bird Under Water among the 10 best albums including Bjork, Sufjan Stevens, and Kendrick Lamar.

Arooj has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Meshell Ndegeocello, Esperanza Spalding, DJ /rupture, and Abida Parveen to name a few. She has performed her music at major venues such as the Lincoln Center, Highline Ballroom, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She has also been invited to perform at festivals such as The Big Ears Festival, The Ecstatic Music Festival, and the SF Jazz Festival to name a few.

OURI

Ouri is both a producer and a performing artist, a DJ, a cello & harp player, a vocalist, songwriter and composer. Heralded in the electronic music space for a breadth of sound that reaches into the variety of her abilities, Ouri grows beyond its confines for the next phase of her career as a solo artist.
Ourielle Auvé, known professionally as Ouri, grew up in France in a family of afro-carribean descent before arriving in Montreal at the age of 16 to pursue a degree in composition. Here her artistry and vision were able to flourish, establishing herself in the city’s music community as a producer, collaborating with peers like Helena Deland and Mind Bath, and circulating Montreal’s rich, underground rave culture with wizardry late-night DJ sets.
Tapped for Red Bull Music Academy’s 2017 Montréal Bass Camp, it was a quick ascent for the producer turned songstress. Opportunities quickly followed suit. She was invited to headline Boiler Room’s Montreal show, signed to Ghosty (international) & Make it Rain Records (Canada) for the release of her EP ‘Superficial’ — dubbed a “startling, exploratory piece of digital soul” by Clash Magazine — and was asked to make official remixes for the likes of Tokimonsta, Selah Sue, Busty and the Bass and others.
Invited to support Jacques Greene, Yves Tumour & Kllo live in concert, Ouri toured the world through 2019, popping up in America, Europe, the UK and Mexico across a busy year supporting the release of her EP and growing notoriety, as affirmed by millions of streams and praise from Fader, Line of Best Fit, Clash, Jamz Supernova, Red Bull and Majestic Casual.
It was in the many collaborations through Ouri’s journey as a producer that the itch to explore her own abilities as a vocalist and songwriter took shape. Arriving in Montreal Ouri dreamed of being a composer, hiding her identity and womanhood in an enigma behind the laptop, staying hidden and ambiguous as a means of survival. Yet, with a burning sense of limitation, masked in compromise between herself as a producer and the accompanying vocalist, swirled with the catalyst of a breakup spinning ideas of new beginnings, Ouri embraced the inevitable. What comes next is the first manifestation of said change, an initial offering of a project fully imaged and executed by Ouri, the producer, the song-writer and the voice.
Recent times have seen Ouri embrace a period of realignment, finding solace in her artistic practice while staying close to home to work on a new project poised for release next year. On it, she stretches beyond the boundaries of electronica for a deliberate synthesis of moods and sounds that allow for a purity that no longer lives inside her computer.
Ouri’s multi-instrumental talents and classical training steer her approach to melody and bass in entrancingly emotive, bold and playful ways. Pairing traditional song structure with abstract spatial dynamics she creates unparalleled tension between aggressive rhythmic progression and soothing harmonic fluidity. At the centre of it all lies Ouri’s ethereal voice; her words and melodies lay ground for a soulful emotional honesty that swirl around deftly produced arrangements of harp, cello, steel guitar, synthesizer and a mélange of percussion.
Ouri is both fierce and delicate in its most evocative balance as expands her sonic spectrum in her next offering. With single ‘Shape of It’ — a song composed exclusively of her performance on cello and harp — Ouri exposes her bare vocals to find space for vulnerability. She sings of fear in a manner in which to look past it, to build a safe place after abuse, to desire hope as a means of generating hope, to celebrate sex, to celebrate creation, all while in these times of crisis.

Maeve Gilchrist
2022-03-26 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents Edinburgh-born harpist and composer Maeve Gilchrist in The Green Room.
TICKETS: $20 plus fees
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
Described by one critic as “a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity”, Maeve Gilchrist has taken the Celtic (lever) harp to new levels of performance and visibility.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Maeve‘s innovative approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. She is as at home as a soloist with an internationally renowned orchestra as she is playing with a traditional Irish folk group or using electronic augmentation in a more contemporary, improvisatory setting.
She tours internationally as a band leader as well as maintaining a number of collaborations including the progressive folk quartet, DuoDuo (featuring percussive dancer Nic Gareiss, cellist Natalie Haas and Yann Falquet of Quebecois super-group Genticorum), a more electronics based project with Viktor Krauss and as a member of the Irish Music Network-commissioned Edges of Light quartet: a multidisciplinary group featuring the piper David Power, dancer Colin Dunne and the fiddler Tola Custy. Maeve is also a member of the prestigious Silkroad Ensemble. She has appeared at such major music events as Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the World Harp Congress in Amsterdam and the historic opening of the Scottish Parliament. She has played with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Es- peranza Spalding, Tony Trishka, Ambrose Akinmusire, Darol Anger and Kathy Mattea.
Maeve has released five albums to date, including her most recent recording, Vignette, on Adventure Records, with bassist Viktor Krausse while, on her own label, her solo Ostinato Project is a beguiling ex-ploration of the possibilities of her instrument. In 2018 Maeve was a featured soloist on the Dreamworks blockbuster movie soundtrack, How to tame your dragon: The hidden world.
Maeve was the first lever harpist to be employed as an instructor by her alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she taught for five years before switching to being a visiting artist in 2018. She has written several instructional books published by Hal Leonard Music. She is also an in-demand composer and arranger, with past commissions including a ground-breaking concerto for lever harp and symphony orchestra co-written with North Carolina-based composer Luke Benton and most recently a new piece for harp and string quartet premiered at the Edinburgh International Harp festival last spring. Maeve is the co-artistic director of the new Celtic Roots and Branches Festival launching in Rockport MA this summer and the assistant music director of WGBH’s Christmas Celtic Sojourn.

Soul Kids (Memphis Premiere + Performance)
2022-03-26 14:00 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Featuring in-person Q&A with Director Hugo Sobelman and subjects of the film + performance from 926, the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band
Event presented by Indie Memphis, Stax Music Academy, and Crosstown Arts
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Tickets: $15

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

*In accordance with Crosstown Arts’ COVID-19 policies, any Indie Memphis event hosted at Crosstown Arts will now require that attendees show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in order to attend.

In Memphis, one of the USA’s most distressed city, the Stax Music Academy is an oasis. Founded in 2000, the academy continues the legacy of Stax Records, the legendary 60s soul label which was a refuge and an active space for dialog during the Civil Rights movement. By learning and understanding soul music in after school programs, teenagers embark into Black Americans legacy and open themselves to new future prospects. Soul Kids is a musical odyssey through history and the concerns of a new generation.

Craig Brewer’s Secret Screening with special guests Lucky 7 Brass Band
2022-03-25 15:00 - 17:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents CRAIG BREWER’S SECRET SCREENING
with special guests LUCKY 7 BRASS BAND at Crosstown Theater.
Doors open at 7:30 PM | Screening begins at 8:00 PM
$5 DOLLAR TICKETS AT THE DOOR
Join Crosstown Arts and filmmaker and Memphian Craig Brewer in the Crosstown Theater on Friday March 25th for a special, mystery screening of one of Craig’s most favorite films! What is the film? You will have to come and find out as Craig will be on hand to introduce the film himself! GUARANTEED TO BE A GOOD TIME!! With music by LUCKY 7 BRASS BAND. $5 DOLLAR TICKETS, CHEAP!

The PRVLG
2022-03-25 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents musical twin duo The PRVLG in the Green Room.

Doors open at 7pm | Show begins at 7:30pm
Tickets: $15 in advance | $20 at the door (plus fees)

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
The duo, consisting of twin brothers Christian and Christopher Underwood, grew up surrounded by music. The brothers developed a very unique musical connection, which is on full display in their live performances. As bass and drum players, the pair have the ability to lock in a powerful rhythm and bass foundation, effortlessly making up for each other’s shortcomings and complementing one another’s strengths.
Growing up in a musical family and listening to their father – a guitarist – play classics by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, and Earth Wind & Fire, it was only natural for them to begin writing together at the age of 16 and continue to develop their writing talent from then. Since officially forming in early 2017, the duo named themselves The PRVLG, chosen due to the privilege they experienced by growing up playing music together and connecting with others through the universal language.
It ain’t trap but it’ll have you hooked
Groove and feel so infectious got the whole world shook
Play it on a date and you’re bound to get to home base
The way it make you feel one could call it a soul mate
It’s From the south, and Like a glass of sweet tea, perfect for any occasion, just as previous revolutions
It’ll sweep the nation
How about a quick flip..
For absolutely any occasion, it is perfect,
like a wine aged for 100 years, the wait is worth it
A breath of fresh air, right from a Maple tree, with the melody of a hummingbird singing so sweet
It’ll having you feeling free, free as strangers Skinny dipping
Lyrics meticulously seasoned, like grandma’s casserole so savory it’s finger-licking
Leaving you nourished and satisfied
But salivating for more
Like the last song being played before the encore

Sinta Quartet
2022-03-25 12:45 - 13:45 | East Atrium, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
East Atrium Stage
Masterclass at 5pm (free and open to the public)
Concert at 5:50pm (free and open to the public)
Presented by Crosstown Arts and the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.
The Sinta Quartet, First Prize Winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition, has earned praise from audiences and critics alike for its virtuosic performances, compelling recordings and distinctive repertoire. Hailed as “…a tight-knit ensemble exploding with power and virtuosity and an un-concealable ambition to connect with its newly found listeners” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), the Sinta Quartet performs entirely from memory, which strengthens an already palpable connection with its audiences. Named for its mentor, legendary University of Michigan Saxophone Professor Donald Sinta, the quartet’s additional competition successes include a Gold Medal at the 2018 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, First Prize at the 2017 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the 2013 Coleman Chamber Music Competition and First Prize in the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition.
Sinta Quartet’s repertoire is diverse, ranging from commissions by today’s emerging composers to standards from the saxophone quartet literature to transcriptions by master composers such as Dvorak, Schubert and Shostakovich. In 2019 they released their debut recording, Collider, on CAG Records featuring new works for saxophone quartet. In 2011, The group gave the World Premiere of Bolcom’s own transcription of his Concerto Grosso with Concert Band, joining the University of Michigan Symphony Band in 2011 for performances at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts and the Shanghai Conservatory. The quartet’s subsequent concerto recording garnered praise: Audiophile Audition declared them “superb musicians” and American Record Guide called it “the highlight of the album.” They have also made radio appearances on New York’s WQXR and Interlochen Public Radio, and is featured frequently on American Public Media’s Performance Today.
​Recent career highlights include Sinta Quartet’s New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall, Purdue University Convocations, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Chautauqua Institution, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, and in Michigan at the Great Lakes Music Festival the Detroit Institute of Arts. Among the ensemble’s extensive educational outreach activities, they recently enjoyed extended residencies for Joplin Pro Musica (MO) and Anchorage Concert Association, both culminating with performances as part of their season series.
Featured international appearances include recitals in Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Strasbourg, France (for the 17th World Saxophone Congress); St. Andrews, Scotland (as part of the 16th World Saxophone Congress); Paris, France; Geneva and Montreux, Switzerland; and Thessaloniki, Greece; as well as a trip to Japan as one of a select group of ensembles chosen for the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.
​Equally committed to education and community engagement, the quartet has presented clinics and performances at numerous colleges and universities including the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Eastman School of Music, the University of Delaware, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, SUNY-Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, and many others, as well as a residency at Grand Valley State University. The quartet has also presented workshops and performances at dozens of public schools across the US.
As advocates of new music, the quartet runs the National Saxophone Quartet Composition Competition, which selects two new quartet works from up-and-coming composers each year. Additionally, Sinta Quartet has commissioned and premiered works by David Biedenbender, Kyle Blaha, Matthew Browne, Patrick Harlin, Kristin Kuster, Marc Mellits, Roger Zare, and many others. ​
Founded and still based in Michigan, Sinta Quartet’s members are all Selmer-Paris Artists and perform exclusively on Selmer saxophones.

jaimie branch: FLY or DIE
2022-03-24 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents trumpeter jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE in the Green Room.
Tickets: $15 in advance | $20 day of show
Doors open at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
There is a moment near the top of jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE LIVE, the new album recorded by the trumpeter’s quartet in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 23rd, 2020, which feels like it bears the weight of both that specific pocket of time, and a prophecy for all that was soon to come. branch and her Fly or Die crew — cellist Lester St. Louis, double bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer/percussionist/mbira player Chad Taylor — had just kicked off the concert at Moods, with the opening tracks off their then-new studio album FLY or DIE II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, the second of which, “Prayer for Amerikkka” is among the best political songs written during the Tr*mp Era, and when the moment in question pops off.
The multi-part “Prayer” begins as a goth-blues stomp, its moaning ghosts flying around the room. A week into a European tour and after three months of constant live performance, Fly or Die is at home in this new song’s contours, messing with its internal machinery while guiding its meaning. By now, “Prayer” had gained a tough spoken-word intro, bringing the context as it slowly gearshifts the intensity: “It’s a song about America,” off-the-cuffs branch while the band seethes behind her, “but it’s about a whole lotta places — ‘cause it’s not just America where shit’s fucked up…” Then arrives the climax, at once site-specific and far-reaching: “…and it’s not always time to be neutral, do you know what I mean?” The gathered Swiss crowd knows, understands, and responds vocally, as Taylor’s backbeats cue branch to bring the trumpet to her lips, and let out a high- pitched wail. Her horn doesn’t know what’s about to happen to our world, and yet, somehow, it does — with only the catastrophic details needing to be worked out. For the next 12 minutes, “Prayer” careens through its twists of wide-eyed racism and family separation, Ajemian and Taylor driving branch’s punk-jazz Morricone horn line. “This is a warning, honey…” cries the song, and over the ensuing 70 minutes, the band echoes its sentiment, filled with glee and terror.

Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents BREATHLESS
2022-03-24 14:30 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents BREATHLESS at Crosstown Theater.

Jean-Luc Godard / 1960 / 90 minutes / Rated M
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!) at Crosstown Theater
Small-time crook Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) steals a car and murders a policeman. While on the run, he reconnects with Patricia (Jean Seberg), a journalism student living in Paris, and tries to convince her to go on the lam with him.

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

CRAIG TABORN Solo Piano
2022-03-23 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents jazz pianist Craig Taborn performing solo in the Green Room.

Doors open at 7pm | Show starts at 7:30pm
Tickets: $20 in advance | $25 at the door (plus fees)
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
*Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test required at check-in for this event.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Craig Taborn has been performing piano and electronic music in the jazz, improvisational, and creative music scene for over twenty five years. He has experience composing for and performing in a wide variety of situations including jazz, new music, electronic, rock, noise and avant garde contexts. Taborn has played and recorded with many luminaries in the fields of jazz, improvised, new music and electronic music including Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Lester Bowie, Dave Holland, Tim Berne, John Zorn, Evan Parker, Steve Coleman, David Torn, Chris Potter, William Parker, Vijay Iyer, Kris Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Susie Ibarra, Ikue Mori, Carl Craig, Dave Douglas, Meat Beat Manifesto, Dan Weiss, Chris Lightcap, Gerald Cleaver, and Rudresh Manhathappa.
Taborn is currently occupied creating and performing music for solo piano performance (Shadow Plays / Avenging Angel), piano trio (Craig Taborn Trio), an electronic project (Junk Magic), the Daylight Ghosts Quartet, a piano/drums/electronics duo with Dave King (Heroic Enthusiasts) and a new trio with Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith as well as piano duo collaborations with Vijay Iyer (The Transient Poems), Kris Davis (Octopus) and Cory Smythe. He is also a member of the instrumental electronic art-pop group Golden Valley is Now and performs frequently on solo electronics. Craig lives in Brooklyn.

BlueTom Live
2022-03-20 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts and BlueTom Records present BlueTom Live on Sunday, March 20.

Doors open at 7pm | Show starts at 7:30pm
Tickets: $10 general admission (FREE for University of Memphis students and faculty with university ID)

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

*Crosstown Arts is requesting proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test for this event.
BlueTom Records, the student-run record label at the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, is proud to present BlueTom Live on March 20. Join BlueTom at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts as they feature five artists from the label performing R&B, Pop, and Hip-Hop.
Artists Performing include the following:
Josh Dedrick – Josh Dedrick is a pop singer/songwriter from Memphis, TN.
Rochel – Rochel is Hip-Hop/R&B artist from Memphis, TN.
LaDarryl – LaDarryl is Hip-Hop artist from Memphis, TN.
Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM with a special performance by DJ Bryce Todd.

2022-03-20 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts and BlueTom Records present BlueTom Live on Sunday, March 20.

Doors open at 7pm | Show starts at 7:30pm
Tickets: $10 general admission (FREE for University of Memphis students and faculty with university ID)

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

*Crosstown Arts is requesting proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test for this event.
BlueTom Records, the student-run record label at the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, is proud to present BlueTom Live on March 20. Join BlueTom at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts as they feature five artists from the label performing R&B, Pop, and Hip-Hop.
Artists Performing include the following:
Josh Dedrick – Josh Dedrick is a pop singer/songwriter from Memphis, TN.
Rochel – Rochel is Hip-Hop/R&B artist from Memphis, TN.
LaDarryl – LaDarryl is Hip-Hop artist from Memphis, TN.
Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM with a special performance by DJ Bryce Todd.

Pierre Bensusan
2022-03-18 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts presents French-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Pierre Bensusan in the Green Room.

Doors open at 7pm | Show starts at 7:30pm
Tickets: $20 in advance | $25 at the door
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
*Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test required at check-in for this event.
French-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Pierre Bensusan, surnamed “Mister DADGAD”, has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe.
Winner of the Independent Music Award for his triple live album “Encore”, voted Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine reader’s Poll, winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his debut album, Pierre is recognized as one of the greatest guitar players of the 21st century.
Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, when France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan’s family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond. He signed his first recording contract at 17, and one year later his first album, “Près de Paris”, won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.
Described by the L.A. Times as “one of the most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans in the world music scene today”, Pierre’s name became synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius, long before the terms New Age or World Music were invented. He has literally created a style of playing with the ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band as he brings the audience on a mesmerizing musical journey. And yet, Bensusan is more than what any musician or music lover expects from a guitarist. He is a composer as well as a bilingual and original and improvisational vocalist, with his own scat technique.
Immortalised by the tune “Bensusan” written in tribute by the late Michael Hedges, and referenced as an important inspiration to many other great musicians, Pierre Bensusan is a one-of-a-kind artist whose music transcends genre and time, with an uninhibited sense of musical freedom and expression, a sense of something both playful and serious, otherworldly yet right here right now. His “manner” of playing defies classification – crossing world, classical, jazz, traditional, folk, pop and more. None can be isolated as simply “World Music”, “Celtic”, “Arabic” or “French”; rather, they represent Pierre’s genuine vocabulary and the best part of our world in its current state, a world sharing itself. Not to be missed!

Back to the Light: Songs & Stories hosted by J.D. Reager
2022-03-17 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join J.D. Reager for “Back to the Light: Songs & Stories”, featuring performances and conversations with special guests HEELS, Cory Branan, Alicja Trout, Graham Burks, Michaela & Will Forrest, and Jeff Hulett.
The Green Room
Tickets: $15 in advance | $20 at the door (plus fees)
Doors open at 7pm | Show starts at 7:30pm
Purchase Tickets Here

*Crosstown Arts is requesting 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.
J.D. REAGER
Memphis musician/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist J.D. Reager is a veteran of several TN-based touring and recording acts, including Glossary, Pezz, Two Way Radio, Snowglobe and The Passport Again. He has opened for heroes and appeared on MTV and released two critically acclaimed solo records, but is in no way famous. In 2020 he launched a podcast, network and label called Back to the Light, and he has since finished a new solo album of his own (due later in 2022), and produced a new album for Memphis underground icons The Subteens.
HEELS
HEELS is the combined effort of Joshua McLane and Brennan Whalen. A two-piece band from Memphis, TN. They started as a stripped down acoustic outfit in 2015. Over the course of the last few years they have evolved into a fast paced electric punk outfit with a more heavy and melodic sound. Equal parts ragers and conversationalists, HEELS writes pop songs for a dying planet.
CORY BRANAN
Over the last two decades Cory Branan has released five albums to much critical acclaim from NPR, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone among others, who called him, “A country boy with a punk-rock heart.” He has toured extensively, appearing on stages from Letterman and the Ryman to your town’s shittiest punk bar.
Branan’s songs have been covered by such artists as Frank Turner and Dashboard Confessional. He has also collaborated with the likes of Jason Isbell, Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!), and Craig Finn (The Hold Steady), who have been included as featured guests on previous records. Branan has even been mentioned in the Lucero song, “Tears Don’t Matter Much” with the lyrics, “Cory Branan’s got an evil streak, and a way with words that’ll bring you to your knees.”
ALICJA TROUT
Alicja Trout is a Memphis-based rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with the synth-heavy Lost Sounds, which she started with Jay Reatard. Her current band, the River City Tanlines, were named an essential Memphis band by Spin Magazine in December 2007. Trout also owns and operates Contaminated Records, her own independent record label.
GRAHAM BURKS
Graham Burks is a multi-instrumentalist and producer who has toured and played with Pezz, Sweet Knives, Magic Kids, Jeremy Scott, Small Room, Perfect Vessels, Infinity Stairs, Recoil, and more. Graham released a new album with his solo project Loose Opinions in 2021.
MICHAELA & WILL FORREST
Michaela and Will are a husband and wife duo from Memphis. As a duo, they specialize in covering Southern soul and Blues. Their full band, Rosey, can be found on Spotify and Bandcamp at yesorrosey.bandcamp.com.
JEFF HULETT
Memphis musician Jeff Hulett started playing drums at 16 years old. Around 21 he knew he wanted to be a songwriter and band leader. Today, Jeff plays in several Memphis bands, including Snowglobe and Me & Leah, as well as leading his own band. His music is eclectic, simple, and always a tad surprising.
