Crosstown Arts

Grind City Pre-Meet
2019-05-25 14:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | TN
In order to honor the legacy and works of avid Memphis photographer Eric Janssen, Crosstown Arts has partnered with Grind City Meet to host a “Benefit Art Show” with a goal of supporting the Janssen Family.
Photos from local Memphis photographers such as Alex Cruz, Adarryll Jackson Sr., Connor Ryan Photo & Film, David Roseberry, Ariel Aleks Antonío, Josh Johnson, Erica Haskett, and several others will be available for sale. Proceeds will benefit Eric Janssen’s children’s college fund.

SPINS feat. QEMIST
2019-05-25 16:00 - 19:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A live monthly DJ series at Crosstown Arts
This month: Qemist (house/electronic/dance)
Cost: $5
Location: The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
The SPINS series will feature music as diverse as the City of Memphis. Each month, a rotating line-up of DJs will play everything from old-school Hip-Hop and House to Ultra Lounge and Afrobeat. There’s something for everyone to enjoy. So, come chill. Come hang. Come party!

About Qemist:
From a young age, Memphis-based producer and DJ Qemist has had a taste for innovative electronic dance music. Blending genres like underground house, jersey club, ballroom house, and footwork, Qemist is carving out his niche and finding a place in the vast utopia of internet producer/DJs while also leaving his mark.
Taking influence from a plethora of artists such as Geotheory, DJ Rashad, Jungle, Kaytranada, and LSDXOXO, Qemist has honed into his own lane of genre-bending electronica. His first project ‘9 Club’ released under Rare Nnudes Music was a pivotal shift in his overall style of music making. It was then that Qemist really started to experiment with more off-kilter sounds, smooth melodies, and deconstructed beat patterns. The EP has earned him numerous accolades and has even been compared to the works of Clams Casino and Aphex Twin.
Since its release, Qemist has continued to hone his sound and create genre-breaking music. In 2017, Qemist released his ‘Warm. Volume. Theory’ EP on Future-Everything and continues to release mixes through the label.

The Mystic
2019-05-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
On the last Tuesday of each month join Crosstown Concourse neighbors and friends for The Mystic.
The Mystic is a time set aside each month to experience the undefinable together through music, dialogue and silence. The Mystic is not affiliated with any defined belief system, but is a shared listening experience intended to deepen our understand of one another.
The Mystic is hosted by a rotated panel including Rabbi Micah Greenstein, Chris Miner, Dr. Scott Morris, Dr. Sonia Walker, and Kirk Whalum, with a variety of musical guests.

Artist Residency Information Session
2019-05-29 13:00 - 15:00 | Classroom Glass Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Need information on how to submit a competitive residency application? Crosstown Arts Residency Manager Mary Jo Karimnia will answer your burning questions about what a residency is, where to find the right one for you, and how to present your work and write a strong application.
Crosstown Arts offers multidisciplinary residencies to visiting and Memphis-based artists and curators, working in any creative discipline including visual and performing arts, music, film, and writing in all genres. All residencies include a private studio workspace, a furnished, temporary live space in the Concourse building (if needed), meals five days a week in the cafe at Crosstown Arts and free access, during the residency period, to the Crosstown Arts shared art-making facility. Applications for all 2020 residencies will be open from May 15 – July 15.

The McCain Duo at the Green Room
2019-05-29 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join pianist Artina McCain and trombonist Martin McCain for a special performance in the Green Room at Crosstown Arts.
The McCain duo will perform an eclectic concert from composers around the world. The evening will be filled with personal musings and facts about the works by David Wilborn, Plog, Lebedev, and Marcus Wilcher. Featuring music from spirituals to classical, ragtime to jazz there is something for every musical palette. Come enjoy these rare gems of the repertoire for bass trombone and piano.
$10 General Admission | $5 with student ID
Doors open at 7 pm | Performance at 7:30 pm

About the Artists:
Artina McCain
Described as a pianist with “power and finesse” (Dallas Arts Society), Artina McCain, enjoys an active career as a solo and chamber performer, educator and lecturer. She has performed nationally and internationally throughout Europe, China, and the United States. McCain’s solo and chamber performances have been heard on radio shows in Chicago, Austin, Toronto, and Hong Kong.
Recent performance highlights include guest appearances with Oregon East Symphony, Memphis Symphony and Austin Civic Orchestra. Television appearance include features on CSPAN and a featured inspirational leader in the PBS documentary series “Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact”. An American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings, she will release an album of works entitled “Heritage: The American Composer” on the MSR label. She has won performance awards from the Austin Critics Table and is a three time Global Music Awards winner for the album I, Too (Naxos), a collaboration with soprano Icy Monroe, and the albums Shades and Trombone Czar with husband and bass trombonist, Martin McCain.
A strong advocate of performance injury prevention and alternative care, she has presented numerous lectures at conferences, universities, and hosts an annual Musicians Wellness Forum in Austin TX. She graduated from Southern Methodist University (BM), Cleveland Institute of Music (MM) and University of Texas at Austin (DMA). Currently, Dr. McCain is an Assistant Professor of Piano at University of Memphis. More info at www.artinamccain.com
Martin McCain
“He commands technical facility as a bass trombonist…executes the material on both discs with conviction…his attack is agile and his sound robust…” Textura Magazine (Canada)
Bass trombonist Martin McCain’s career as a musician spans an impressive scope of genres. A third-generation musician, he maintains a versatile performance schedule as a soloist, chamber, orchestral and jazz/commercial musician. Martin has appeared with numerous ensembles and has been a performer and clinician throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
As an orchestral musician, Martin is a member of the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, PRIZM Chamber Orchestra and regularly performs with the IRIS Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony and Memphis Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and many regional orchestras. As a jazz musician, Martin is a member of the NOW Jazz Orchestra, Memphis Jazz Orchestra and performs with national touring ensembles. He was recently named a Global Music Awards Gold Medal winner and was featured in the Billboard magazine.
Martin McCain is an Artist/Teacher of Trombone at Texas State University. For more information, visit www.martinmccain.com.

Indie Memphis Nights: Time for Ilhan
2019-05-30 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Indie Memphis Night presented by Orion FCU
Screening of Time for Ilhan — A documentary on the journey of rising political star Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the nation’s first Somali Muslim Legislator, and her quest to redefine politics in America.
Pay what you can

Luna Nova Music at The Green Room
2019-05-30 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join Luna Nova Music musicians Daniel Gilbert (violin), Sabrina Laney Warren (soprano), and Brian Ray (piano) for Summer Thoughts, a program of works by J.S. Bach, Alfred Schnittke, Claude Debussy, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Samuel Barber.
Luna Nova Music supports performances of a wide range of twentieth century classics, music of established living composers, and premieres by emerging composers. With concerts, masterclasses and private instruction, Luna Nova Music maintains a strong commitment to the education of performers and listeners, and to the cause of new music in educational institutions and beyond.
Pay what you can
Doors open at 7 pm | Performance starts at 7:30 pm
Program
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 1 for Cello, Prelude (arr. for violin)
Alfred Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style, Op. 30
Claude Debussy: Images, Series II
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Summer Thoughts
Samuel Barber: Knoxville: Summer, 1915, Op. 24

About the performers:
Daniel Gilbert is a free-lance violinist in Memphis. He plays regularly with PRIZM, the Memphis Symphony, Luna Nova, and at the Orpheum Theater. He also teaches at the Bellevue School of Performing Arts. Daniel began violin studies with his grandfather Noel Gilbert when Noel was the Music Director of the Germantown Symphony. This early influence planted dual seeds of a love of music and of the violin. Daniel is grateful to Noel for sharing so much of his time and for his patient teaching. Daniel is married to Lori, also a violinist and they have two sons, Isai and Calum.
Praised as a “powerful and finely nuanced soprano” (Rhein-Neckar Zeitung) with “seemingly unlimited vocal possibilities,” (Augsburger Allgemeine) Sabrina Laney Warren has international acclaim and has performed opera, concert, and oratorio works throughout North America and Europe. Solidifying herself as an international artist, Sabrina has performed as a guest artist with the Festival Durance Luberon in France, the Eutiner Festspiele in Germany, the Deutsche-Amerikan Musik Fest in Germany, and the Differdange International Festival in Luxembourg. As the soprano soloist in the European tour of Ein deutsches Requiem, her performance was lauded as “a soft-lined, expressive consolation song full of vocal grace” (Augsburger Allgemeine). She also received critical acclaim for her performance of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, “It was a rare pleasure to hear Warren sing and a pleasure to note the ease in which she soared to the high notes and then plunged into resonant low notes…and after she had committed vocally and emotionally to Agee’s lyrics she had the audience completely in her thrall” (The Oak Ridger).
In addition to private piano instruction at Rhodes College, Brian Ray is the departmental collaborative pianist and also teaches piano classes at the University of Memphis. He has been a soloist with the University of Memphis Orchestra and the Memphis Civic Orchestra and has performed extensively as an assisting pianist in voice recitals. His most recent collaborative ventures have included art song recitals of works by Richard Hundley, Samuel Barber, Libby Larsen, and Rebecca Clarke. He has been a student of Allison Nelson, and he currently studies with Joan Gilbert. His areas of research include the piano works of Joseph Marx, piano repertoire of the 20th century, works for piano ensemble, and harpsichord.

End of One, Beginning of Another
2019-05-30 - 2019-06-01 | TN
Show and sale of paintings by Ethan Taylor
On view: Friday, May 31, 6-9 pm and Saturday, June 1, noon-4 pm
Organized by the artist

Sound Observations: Nadah El Shazly
2019-05-31 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A musical performance series presented by Sonosphere in collaboration with Crosstown Arts.
Tickets: $12 advance | $15 door
Doors at 6:30 pm | Artist talk at 7:15 pm | Performance at 8 pm
Nadah El Shazly is a singer and composer living and working in Cairo. She released her critically acclaimed debut album AHWAR in November 2017 via Nawa Recordings. Backing up her release with extensive world wide touring as a solo set and a four-piece band, El Shazly has been featured in local and international festivals including Le Guess Who?, REWIRE, Best Kept Secret, Supersonic, and many more.
She continues to compose for film and visual art. Two years in the making, Ahwar was composed, written, and produced by El Shazly herself in collaboration with Maurice Louca and Sam Shalabi on co-composition and arrangement duties. The album was crafted across two continents, between Canada and Egypt, and features the best of Montreal’s contemporary-classical and improvised music scene, most of whom are members of Shalabi’s Land of Kush. https://nadahelshazly.bandcamp.com

About Sound Observations:
In this four-part series highlighting new explorations in sound, musicians, composers, and scholars from across the country will showcase their unique talents through performances and lectures. Listen and experience sound as art through a variety of different approaches and mediums.
About Sonosphere:
Sonosphere is a Memphis-based podcast aimed at exploring sound in music and art movements through history and today. Past podcasts have featured ICEBERG New Music Collective, John Cage, Martin Heyne, and Memphis Concrete, among other artists and music events.

Kafé Kirk at Crosstown Theater
2019-06-02 13:00 - 14:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, a monthly jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This month’s guests: Kortland and Kameron Whalum.
Doors at 5 pm | performance at 6 pm
General admission tickets — $45
VIP tickets (includes a meet-and-greet and free CD) — $60

About Kirk Whalum:
Soulful, passionate, stirring … these are the words most often used to describe Kirk’s music. Forged from his Memphis gospel roots and his 1980s initiation into the thriving Houston nightclub scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his.The 80s 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 No. 1 album. Kirk and Bob also 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).

Shoot & Splice: Southern Music Documentaries
2019-06-04 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
Please join Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts for a Shoot & Splice panel discussion on Southern Music Documentaries.
Panelists include filmmakers from The Southern Documentary Project, Mary Knight (SINGING OUT), Rex Jones (BEAUTIFUL JIM), and John Rash (NEGRO TERROR). Moderated by photographer and producer Andrea Morales, the panelists will discuss various aspects of producing music documentaries; from building relationships with musicians to representing diversity in music in the south. To learn more about The Southern Documentary Project, please visit southdocs.org.
Shoot & Splice is a monthly filmmaking discussion presented collaboratively by Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts.
Doors at 6:30 pm | presentation at 7 pm

About the panelists:
Andrea Morales is a documentary photographer based in Memphis, Tennessee and a producer with the University of Mississippi’s Southern Documentary Project. Her photojournalistic work has been commissioned and published by outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, and NBC News. She also works with MLK50.com: Justice Through Journalism.
Mary Stanton Knight is a graduate of the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture with an MFA in Documentary Expression. She earned her Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism with an emphasis in Integrated Marketing Communications from UM’s School of Journalism. Mary received the North Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance Film Grant through the Oxford Film Festival and the Mississippi Film Alliance Emerging Filmmaker Award both in 2018 for her short documentary film, Dear Hubert Creekmore. Her films have been selected by the Oxford Film Festival, the South Georgia Film Festival, and the UM Film Festival. Her short music documentary, Singing Out, was selected to open for filmmaker John Rash’s screenings of his award-winning feature documentary NEGRO TERROR on his North Carolina tour in the summer of 2019.
Rex Jones is a filmmaker with the Southern Documentary Project at the University of Mississippi and an instructor in the MFA in Documentary Expression program at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Rex’s body of work includes FLAG FLAP OVER MISSISSIPPI (2018), LA FRONTERA (2017) and LONGLEAF: THE HEART OF PINE (2016), which were broadcast on select PBS stations nationwide. BEAUTIFUL JIM (2014) won the Programmers’ Choice Award at the Crossroads Film Festival, A TIME TO ALL THINGS (2014) won the Heritage Award in Preservation Education from the Mississippi Heritage Trust, and A PICKUP LOAD OF PIGS (2011) won the Award for Outstanding Media Product from the Wildlife Society. Rex is also the co-author of LECILE: THIS AIN’T MY FIRST RODEO (2015), which was the winner of the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Excellence in Western Literature. Rex’s current film, CAMILLE: THE ORIGINAL MONSTER STORM (2019), will make its broadcast premiere in August.

Songwriters in the Round feat. Don Bryant, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell
2019-06-05 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for Songwriters in the Round at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, featuring Don Bryant, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell.
Tickets: $10
Doors at 7 pm | performance at 7:30 pm
About the artists:
Don Bryant began singing when he was 5. He joined his father’s family vocal group, then formed a gospel quartet for a high school radio gig. The group went secular, singing pop at WLOK on Dick “Cane” Cole’s popular show. After parting with the DJ, they took a very real step toward careers when, as the Four Kings, they began fronting Willie Mitchell’s band.
But the group broke up and Willie anointed Don Bryant as his leading man. Don could also write songs. He was still in his teens when, in 1960, Willie was producing the 5 Royales and Don handed him “I Got To Know.” The 5 Royales put it on wax. Don was hot in the spotlight and in the writer’s room.

As Willie Mitchell carved out his place at Hi Records, Don was close by. He wrote material for other Hi artists, including Janet & the Jays and Norman West. Around 1970, Willie put Don with the Hi label’s newest act, Ann Peebles, who burst on the scene with “Part Time Love.” Don looked at this slight young lady and penned “99 Lbs” for her. The relationship warmed, they co-wrote the hit “I Can’t Stand the Rain” in 1973 and were married the following year.

Memphis artist Susan Marshall began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano in the Rep-Company Light Opera of Manhattan. Shortly after moving back to Memphis in 1990, she began fronting rock-soul band The Mother Station and was signed to a record deal with EastWest / Atlantic Records.
“Better Off Alone” (a song she co-wrote with Austin Carroll) was recorded by American Idol’s Katherine McPhee for her 2007 self-titled debut which reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. Her songs have also been recorded by international blues divas Ana Popovic and Reba Russell to name a few.
Susan has toured all over the world as part of the Afghan Whigs, as well as with Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band. She is also known for her studio and/or stage work with a wide range of superstars; Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ann Peebles, North Mississippi Allstars, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Solomon Burke, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, and Kirk Whalum to name a few.

Reba Russell is a name synonymous with the Memphis Music scene. She is a published songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, backing vocalist, bandleader, and producer, as well as a touring and recording artist.
Reba Russell and her band tour throughout the United States and Europe and have released eight independent albums that showcase songwriting and delivery. She is also a highly respected Memphis studio/session vocalist.
The list of credits for recording artists that Reba has performed backing vocals in session for is vast. A few notable credits are; U2 (When Love Comes to Town, BB King/ Bono). Class of 55 Homecoming featuring: Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins. Huey Lewis and the News, album; Soulsville. Numerous local/blues/regional acts including Tracy Nelson, Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge, and Lucero.

Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series: Thank God It's Friday
2019-06-06 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series is an arthouse-style film series showcasing a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.
Films begin at 7:30 pm sharp.
Tickets are $5 (at the door only)
THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY (NARRATIVE, 1978)
Like a low-rent, disco version of a Robert Altman movie, Thank God It’s Friday takes place on one Friday night at a Los Angles nightclub called The Zoo. Produced by Motown Productions the same year they released The Wiz, look for appearances by The Commodores, Donna Summer, Terri Nunn (Berlin), Debra Winger, and Jeff Goldblum and a score by the legendary Giorgio Moroder.
Thank God It’s Friday includes attempted wife-stealing, kids trying to win a disco dance contest to buy KISS tickets, drugging, instrument theft, hot tub parties, and Donna Summer performing “Last Dance,” which went on to win the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Watch the trailer

The Groove feat. Darryl Sanford & Friends
2019-06-06 14:30 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Darryl Sanford is an incredible pianist with a flare for improvisation. Using his experience in music theory and composition in the gospel world, he applies a spiritual approach to R&B, funk, and soul. He’s bringing a few friends with him to the party, so you don’t want to miss this one.
Tickets: $10
Doors 7 pm | show 7:30 pm
The Groove is a series showcasing some of the funkiest bands and musicians around. In this event, the band — rather than the lead singer or frontman — is the star. Each month will feature performances in the premier listening environment “The Green Room,” the new venue for live music at Crosstown Arts. Groove in an inviting lounge setting highlighting an array of musicians — some you may already know and some you’ll discover.

Screening of Memphis '69
2019-06-07 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Fat Possum Records & No Sudden Movements present Memphis ’69 in Crosstown Theater. This concert documentary, shot over 3 days at the Overton Park Shell (now known as the Levitt Shell) in June of 1969, celebrates an American art form that unites us all. Featuring Bukka White, Furry Lewis, Fred McDowell, and so many more. Memphis ’69 first premiered at Slamdance 2019 in Park City, Utah.
Followed by a Q&A with Bruce Watson of Fat Possum Records and filmmakers Joe and Lisa Lamattina.
Tickets: $7
Doors at 7 pm | film at 7:30 pm
Watch the trailer
Join us for an after-party in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts. Admission is free with a Memphis ’69 screening ticket or $10 without.

Malcolm Holcombe feat. Nancy Apple at The Green Room
2019-06-07 14:30 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join folk singer-songwriter Malcolm Holcombe and Nancy Apple for a special evening of music at the Green Room at Crosstown Arts.
Tickets: $10
Doors open at 7 pm | Performance starts at 7:30 pm

About Malcolm Holcombe:

“Malcolm Holcombe grew up in western North Carolina, home to some of the planet’s oldest mountains and some of America’s deepest musical traditions. Radio and TV fueled Malcolm’s musical passions as a kid, and music became even more important after he lost both his parents relatively young.
He toured with bands and landed in Nashville, where he took up an inconspicuous station at the back of the house – the very back – at Douglas Corner, one of the city’s best singer/songwriter venues. Stories began to circulate about the mysterious dishwasher with the subterranean voice and oracle-like talent. Sadly so did stories of wildly inconsistent behavior – profound sweetness crossed by bouts of stunning abrasiveness.
He flirted with an official music career. But his stunning debut album made for Geffen Records was abruptly shelved, producing melodrama that only exacerbated Malcolm’s drinking and depression. A business that once had a place for complicated genius turned its back on him, and he teetered near the edge.
Moving back to the North Carolina hills proved a powerful tonic. Holcombe let in help where before he’d pushed it away. With deep faith in God and a commitment to his art, Holcombe repaired himself and his career.
And that’s a pretty good nod to the effect of hearing Holcombe sing. If you’ve not seen him in a live setting, this is what you have to do. His presence is spooky and timeless, as one imagines it was like to see Son House or Leadbelly. No emotional stone is left unturned.
While you plan for this important experience, collect Malcolm Holcombe albums… He is cryptic, demanding, polarizing, bold, passionate and free, a combination badly needed in our time of infinite trivia. He’s even more interesting for having made a remarkable journey of recovery and discovery.” — Craig Havighurst, Nashville

Memphis '69 After-Party at The Green Room
2019-06-07 16:30 - 18:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us after the screening of Memphis ’69 for an after-party with the full lineup of Sons of Mudboy at The Green Room. Memphis ’69, a concert documentary shot in Memphis over three days in June 1969, will screen at 7:30 pm in Crosstown Theater (presented by Fat Possum Records & No Sudden Movements). After the film, head to The Green Room for a concert by Memphis underground band, Sons of Mudboy.
Memphis ’69 trailer: https://vimeo.com/nsmcreative/review/334975563/25a06b906d
The after-party is free with movie ticket or $10 without. Movie tickets are $7 and available here or at the door.
About the artists:<
Mudboy and the Neutrons, the legendary underground band formed by Lee Baker, Jimmy Crosthwait, Jim Dickinson, and Sid Selvidge left an indelible mark on Memphis music and the world beyond. As Sons of Mudboy (and actual progeny of the band members), Ben Baker, Cody and Luther Dickinson (of the North Mississippi All Stars) and Steve Selvidge (of Hold Steady) carry on the tradition of song and musical craziness that was that band. The lone surviving Mudboy, Jimmy Crosthwait is with them, playing his 100 year old washboard to keep them on that path. Mudboy and the Neutrons were recently immortalized in Robert Gordon’s latest book Memphis Rent Party.

Memphis Quilts
2019-06-08 05:00 - 11:00 | Central Atrium, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The public is invited to this quilting showcase and community presentation.
Agenda:
Opening statements – 10 am
Appraisal presentations – Nancy McDonough, quilt appraiser, will make a presentation on four different types of quilts and how they might be valued. Presentations are scheduled for 10:15am, 12:15pm, 1:30pm, and 3:45pm
Show-and -Tell – 10:30 am-noon and 1:45-3:45 pm. Bring your favorite quilt, one you made or that someone else made, and show it off. You will have 1 minute, and only 1 minute, to do some serious flaunting and bragging. Bring it on! Bring your most cherished, your most used, or the one that makes you feel good. We will be presenting the longest Show-and-Tell in history in the Central Atrium of Crosstown Concourse. Guilds will be invited to come as a group and tell the story of their guild on stage.
Sign up for a presentation time
This event is in conjunction with Stitched: Celebrating the Art of Quilting — a festival at Crosstown Arts with art exhibitions, public quilting workshops, and a Gathering of the Guilds showcase. Stitched runs from May 10-July 28, 2019.

Sharde Thomas Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band at The Green Room
2019-06-08 15:00 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for a performance by the Sharde Thomas Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, featuring the granddaughter of famed fife player Otha Turner, in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts. DJ Andrew McCalla will be spinning records throughout night around the Rising Stars’ performance.
Tickets: $10
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm

About the artists:
National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow recipient and famed fife player Otha Turner— who founded the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band— loved telling the story of how his granddaughter Shardé Thomas simply strode up to him one day, grabbed a cane, and began blowing into it. Within a few years, Thomas was filling in at recording sessions and performing with Rising Star at picnics.
Thomas is now an American singer and fife player in her own right within the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition. She still makes her fifes by hand out of cane, hollowing it out with a heated metal rod—just as Turner did. Within a region overflowing with musical talent, they stand apart as authentic practitioners of one of the most unique forms of American music. She calls the band “Rising Stars” because, she says, that’s what they are.

Pecha Kucha: Resident Artist Talk
2019-06-11 13:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts, East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, United States
Crosstown Arts summer session resident artists Wi-Moto Nyoka, Stacy Kranitz, James Walker, and Valerie Houston will present artist talks in the Pecha Kucha style.
The key to Pecha Kucha is the 20×20 format: all presenters show 20 slides for 20 seconds each, making each presentation concise and dynamic. If you’re wondering what “Pecha Kucha” means, it draws its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat.”
Pecha Kucha Nights began in Tokyo as an opportunity for artists, designers and architects to show samples of their work through a concise, timed presentation in a relaxed community setting. Over the past 10 years, these events have expanded to hundreds of cities across the globe, and often include a variety of community members sharing a wide array of interesting (and sometimes hilarious) topics.

Open Crit
2019-06-11 13:00 - 15:00 | TN
Crosstown Arts’ Open Crit series is a monthly critique event where visual artists are invited to bring new and/or in-progress studio work for critical feedback and group discussion particular to each artist’s practice.
Facilitator: Kimberly Jacobs
Presenting artists: Cassi Rebman, Eric Painter, Sophia Mason, and Mia Richardson
A dedicated facilitator with experience in a group critique setting will guide discussion for each critique event, which will include up to 4 artists’ work, with 15-25 minutes devoted to the work of each.
All visual artists and anyone interested in joining the discussion are welcome to participate regardless of their level of expertise, prior professional art experience or background/education in fine art. Participation is free and open to the public. Input during the critiques from everyone in attendance is welcomed and encouraged.
No formal preparation is necessary for participating artists, who will have an opportunity to introduce and contextualize their work on view at the beginning of each critique. Participating artists are only asked to be open to (and interested in) considering reactions to their work by the group, which will always be done in a supportive, constructive and casual environment, but could at the same time be challenging.
Special thanks to Art Center Supply Store for donating a $25 gift certificate for each participating artist.

To participate, artists can sign up here:
Open Crit Request form

Contact Mary Jo at maryjo@crosstownarts.org with any questions!
Artists are asked to bring no more than 8 individual pieces (in any medium). Maximum run time for time-based work(s) is 10 minutes.
Participating artists are encouraged to invite friends, peers and colleagues to the open crits, both to see their work in progress and to give constructive feedback.

Spotlight Concert Series: Troika String Trio
2019-06-12 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join the Troika String Trio for a concert featuring works by Franz Schubert, Franz Joseph Haydn, John Harbison, and Scott Joplin in the Green Room at Crosstown Arts. The Troika String Trio features Memphis Symphony Orchestra musicians Jessie Munson (violin), Beth Luscombe (viola), and Mark Wallace (cello).
Tickets: $10 | $5 at the door with student ID
Doors at 7 pm | performance at 7:30 pm
The Spotlight Concert Series showcases members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in the intimate Green Room at Crosstown Arts. The series provides the Memphis community the opportunity to get to know and learn more about the talented musicians that make up the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Each month will feature a different musician or small chamber group as soloist or featured ensemble. Regular symphony-goers and those who are new to classical music are all welcome.

Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series: Suburbia
2019-06-13 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series is an arthouse-style film series showcasing a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.
Films begin at 7:30 pm sharp.
Tickets are $5 (at the door only)
SUBURBIA (NARRATIVE, 1984)
Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris and produced by Roger Corman, Suburbia begins with a toddler being killed and eaten by a stray dog and doesn’t really let up from there.
The story centers around a punk rock squat in a semi-abandoned row of tract housing whose young inhabitants brand themselves with the initials T.R., for The Rejected. There are fights, stabbings, charges of molestation, suicide, funeral crashing, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers putting a live rat in his mouth, The Vandals, D.I., and True Sounds of Liberty! Everything any normal person would ever want in a bleak, depressing film about teenage punks you will absolutely find in Suburbia!!
Watch the trailer

Tameca Jones at The Green Room
2019-06-13 14:30 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for a performance by Austin-based soul singer Tameca Jones in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts. Jones has made a name for herself as the “Queen of Austin Soul,” blowing minds with her tasteful and vibrant interpretations of a diverse list of artists that include Tina Turner, Nirvana, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, and more.

DJ Andrew McCalla will be spinning soul records before and after the show.

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

About Tameca Jones:
When local Austin, TX, native Tameca Jones opens her mouth and sings, jaws hit ground. Her honeyed and powerful vocals have been captivating her hometown for a little over ten years.

Tameca made a name for herself as the “Queen of Austin Soul,” blowing minds with her tasteful and vibrant interpretations of a diverse list of artists that include Tina Turner, Nirvana, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, and more. The Austin Chronicle called her interpretations “sonic pretzels” that “juxtapose(s) crunchy jaggedness with her infectious, honeyed voice.” Her WTF ability to go from soulful wailing to silky coos has won her devoted fans, accolades, and some high-profile situations opening for Austin superstars Gary Clark Jr., Max Frost, Bob Schneider, and other big touring acts. She received major love from Billboard Magazine for her white-hot performance at the 2015 Austin Music Awards, where she paid tribute to late beloved musician Ian McLagan alongside legends like Steven Van Zandt, Charlie Sexton, Alejandro Escovedo, and Patty Griffin. Billboard said she “raised the roof,” while The Austin Chronicle called her performance “showstopping.”
Guitar deity and fellow Austinite Gary Clark Jr., who faithfully attended Tameca’s shows whenever he was in town, asked her to sing on the song “Wings” for his latest album, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. Rolling Stone called the song a “slinky duet,” while Andy Langer for Esquire Magazine called the song one of the best songs in the month of September and noted that “the tweaky processing of Austin soul starlet Tameca Jones’ voice adds an early-Parliament-like trippiness.”
Tameca Jones is set to release her highly anticipated debut EP in spring 2019. There is little doubt that she will soon be the next big name to break out of Texas.

Perfect Imperfections
2019-06-14 11:00 - 17:00 | TN
Tova Odelia Presents: Perfect Imperfections, an art exhibition.
Through all flaws, there’s a beautiful mistake.
Organized by the artist

Cold Sweat
2019-06-14 13:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Arts, East Atrium, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, United States
Crosstown Arts resident Wi-Moto Nyoka — a Brooklyn, NY-based playwright and filmmaker — presents a staged reading of Cold Sweat, a Dusky Projects coming-of-age anthology series about making it to high school in one piece.
Read more about Cold Sweat
Free and open to the public

Jukebox: Blueshift Ensemble, Lucky 7 Brass Band, & 926 Stax Alumni Band
2019-06-14 15:00 - 17:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
You’re invited to a party at The Green Room! Explore Crosstown Arts’ new eclectic music venue with short sets by Blueshift Ensemble, Lucky 7 Brass Band, and 926 (Stax Music Academy Alumni Band). Don’t miss this night of music with soul, brass band, and contemporary classical.
Tickets: $5
Doors at 7:30 pm | performance at 8 pm
Schedule:
8:00-8:30 pm — Blueshift Ensemble (East Atrium stage)
8:30-9:15 pm 926 — Stax Music Academy Alumni Band (The Green Room)
9:15 pm — Lucky 7 Brass Band (The Green Room)
About the artists:

Blueshift Ensemble
Blueshift is a Memphis-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration. By programming both new and existing classical repertoire alongside multi-genre collaborations, Blueshift aims to connect a wider audience to today’s classical music. The ensemble draws upon Memphis’s uniquely diverse musical heritage by combining classical music with popular music genres such as rock, blues, soul, and hip hop and featuring local musicians, visual artists, and composers. The astronomical term “blueshift” indicates an object’s moving closer toward the observer. Blueshift aims to bring concert music and art out of the concert hall and into the Memphis community.

Lucky 7 Brass Band
Comprised of some of the baddest of the bad musicians in Memphis, the Lucky 7 Brass Band has formed a raw, powerful sound that must be heard to be believed. Whether soul, rock, rap, or pop, the Lucky 7 Brass Band always brings the party, so come get lucky!

926 – Stax Music Academy Alumni Band
926 are the singers and musicians who have graduated from Memphis’ world-renowned Stax Music Academy and now work as professional musicians. They have graced concert stages throughout the country and the world, including Australia, Italy, England, France, Germany, New York City’s Lincoln Center, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and Smithsonian Museum Festivals, and here at home at Levitt Shell, B.B. King’s Blues Club, Memphis in May, and other venues.

Exclusive Designer & Maker Market
2019-06-15 09:00 - 17:00 | TN
Presented by Hilton Designs and Re-birth Essentials by Mary O.J.
Fashion show and maker market featuring local vendors and designers. Shop from one-of-a-kind artwork, fashions, jewelry, and more.
Admission: $10
Call 901-246-7421 or 901-493-7363.
Organized by the artist

Memphis Mix feat. Susan Marshall at The Green Room
2019-06-15 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Enjoy an evening of familiar hits from the Stax and Hi Records catalogues performed by a select group of the finest musicians in the city and fronted by one of Memphis’ premiere vocalists, Susan Marshall. This show is a bon voyage of sorts for this all-star group of Memphis musicians before they head overseas to perform at the Memphis in Poland festival.
Joining Susan on stage will be Marcin Arendt, Peewee Jackson, Heather Trussell, Sam Shoup, Rebecca Arendt, Harold Smith, and special guests. This performance will be recorded for broadcast on Memphis own internationally syndicated radio program, Beale Street Caravan.
Tickets: $10
Doors at 7:30 pm | Show at 8 pm

About Susan Marshall:
Memphis artist Susan Marshall began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano in the Rep-Company Light Opera of Manhattan. Shortly after moving back to Memphis in 1990, she began fronting rock-soul band The Mother Station and was signed to a record deal with EastWest / Atlantic Records.
“Better Off Alone” (a song she co-wrote with Austin Carroll) was recorded by American Idol’s Katherine McPhee for her 2007 self-titled debut which reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. Her songs have also been recorded by international blues divas Ana Popovic and Reba Russell to name a few.
Susan has toured all over the world as part of the Afghan Whigs as well as with Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band. She is also known for her studio and/or stage work with a wide range of superstars; Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ann Peebles, North Mississippi Allstars, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Solomon Burke, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, and Kirk Whalum to name a few.

MicroCinema Club: Film Fatales
2019-06-18 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Monthly short film screening series, presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts.
Join us for a selection of short films presented by Indie Memphis and Film Fatales, highlighting underrepresented voices including content by and about women of color and the LGBTQ community.
Indie Memphis Nights presented by Orion FCU
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BECAUSE WE CAN
Elaine Chu | 2018 | 8 min
Kylie and Evan are married, and so not in love.
BUTTER
Jessica Janos | 2018 | 4 min.
BUTTER explores the challenge, power and purpose of our own body fat – the sexuality and suffering of women.
CLEAR
Maya Washington | 2018 | 15 min
CLEAR follows Ember Bearheart Johnson’s first day at home after a 16-year prison sentence for a crime she didn’t commit. Reuniting with her daughter (who was an infant at the time she was incarcerated) is bittersweet as she uncovers how her family’s lives have gone on without her after all these years.
CULT
Wei-Ling Chang | 2018 | 9 min.
In sunny SoCal, a religious zealot tries to recruit a man into his sect but ends up getting more than he bargained for.
I WANT TO MARRY A CREATIVE JEWISH GIRL
Beth de Araujo | 2018 | 16 min.
I WANT TO MARRY A CREATIVE JEWISH is a dark comedy about an Asian American who looks for love in superficial and external ways.
MISDIRECTION
Carly Usdin | 2019 | 14 min.
MISDIRECTION is a coming-of-age queer comedy about a college freshman who falls in love with close-up magic as an escape from her unrequited crush on her roommate and her recently-diagnosed OCD.
MOMSTER
Drew Denny | 2019 | 11 min.
When notorious bank robber the MOMSTER (Amanda Plummer) catches her daughter Angel (Brianna Hildebrand) mid-gunfight, Angel thinks she’s being rescued… until she realizes she has to do the saving.
THE NEXT RIGHT THING (Pilot Episode)
Dionna McMillian | 2018 | 10 min.
De’Adra and Claire make a pact to be on their best behavior for date night, but find themselves surprised by what their suitors bring to the table…
TRANSMISSION
Emily Mkrtichian, Anahid Yahjian | 2019 | 15 min.
After a deadly car crash, a queer activist couple are flung into parallel realities and must embark on a search between worlds to find each other again.
