Black Cream with Abe Partridge
2019-05-08 15:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for a performance by Memphis-based soul group Black Cream with opening act Abe Partridge (a singer/songwriter from Alabama).
Tickets: $5
Doors open at 7:30 pm | Performance at 8 pm

About Black Cream:
Black Cream is a newly formed conglomerate of some of Memphis’ musical prodigies. Lead guitarist and good soul TO Crivens flies high with his attention to feel and detail during his solos that make the room stand still.
The Band is anchored by bassist, Dr. Derek Brassel, the coolest cat in every room, is unofficially certified as the groove doctor and his bass lines are spell binding. On drums and vocals, Courtney Barnes displays jaw-dropping skill and vocal finesse, oftime harmonizing with his brother, Chris Barnes, who rounds out the Black Cream team on vocals and percussion with the charismatic presence of a baptist preacher and the vocal abilities of your favorite soul crooner.

About Abe Partidge:
Abe Partridge is a singer/songwriter and visual folk artist from Mobile, AL. People have said that Abe Partridge sounds older than his chronological age, and there’s a very good reason for that – he’s packed a lot of living into his 37 years.
Those experiences, ranging from the earthy to the surreal, the spiritual light to the depths of depression, come together with gripping intensity on Partridge’s second full-length album, Cotton Fields and Blood for Days. Over the course of ten songs, this troubadour draws listeners in with a combination of southern gothic storytelling and a dark humor reminiscent of the late Townes Van Zandt – delivered in a gravelly tone that conjures up images of Tom Waits in his barstool warming days.

Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series: Memphis Bi-centennial Boogie with Blueshift Ensemble
2019-05-09 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)
MEMPHIS BI-CENTENNIAL BOOGIE WITH BLUESHIFT ENSEMBLE (FOUND FOOTAGE, 2019)
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the City of Memphis, Memphis Bi-Centennial Boogie is an introspective visual meditation on the history of the City featuring a live, improvised score created and performed by the innovative Blueshift chamber ensemble. The Blueshift Ensemble features several accomplished Memphis musicians, including Director Jenny Davis (flute) and Jonathan Kirkscey (cello). Jonathan is an accomplished film composer, whose credits include acclaimed documentaries Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal and Won’t You Be My Neighbor. The found film footage is used with the kind permission of the Memphis Public Library & Information Center and the personal collections of several Memphians.

BLUE
2019-05-09 - 2019-07-28 | Crosstown Arts Galleries, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
A regional quilt challenge in conjunction with Stitched: The Art of Quilting. The BLUE challenge features over 230 quilts in blue made by quilters and artists from the Mid-South.
Artists were asked to design traditional, modern or art-focused quilts. These range from appliquéd, pieced, collaged, fused, engineered, hand- or machine-stitched, 3-D, painted, sculpted, and any variation in between. The only thing they have in common: 3 layers and stitching.
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.

Stitched: Celebrating the Art of Quilting
2019-05-09 - 2019-07-28 | Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Crosstown Arts welcomes Stitched: Celebrating the Art of Quilting from May 10-July 28, 2019. This festival will feature two art exhibitions, public quilting workshops, and a Gathering of the Guilds showcase.

EXHIBITIONS
On view: May 10-July 28
Both exhibitions are on view Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 am-8 pm; Saturdays, 10 am-6 pm; and Sundays, noon-6 pm. Crosstown Arts galleries are closed on Mondays.
Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric
Mark your calendar for this international quilt show illustrating the diversity of quilting today. These works of art represent a range of styles across the abstract art spectrum. From 1965 through today, the art quilt movement has grown to become one of the most exciting art forms of the 21st century. The Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric show brings artwork from 29 internationally known artists working in the quilt medium to Memphis.
BLUE: A regional quilt challenge
A regional quilt challenge in conjunction with Stitched: The Art of Quilting. The BLUE challenge features over 230 quilts in blue made by quilters and artists from the Mid-South. Artists were asked to design traditional, modern or art-focused quilts. These range from appliquéd, pieced, collaged, fused, engineered, hand- or machine-stitched, 3-D, painted, sculpted, and any variation in between. The only thing they have in common: 3 layers and stitching.
Opening weekend events
May 10, 2019 – Opening reception, 6 -9 pm
May 11, 2019 – Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 years of Innovation, 1 pm
Learn more about the art of quilting from Martha Sielman, the curator of the Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric show and author of Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 Years of Innovation.

WORKSHOPS
May 18, 2019 — Family Crest Workshop
Join Amie Plumley, author of the popular Sewing School books, to create your own Family Crest. Each family grouping can work together using quilting techniques.
June 26, 2019 — Community Quilt Workshop
Join Maria Shell, internationally recognized quilter, to create quilt blocks that will be assembled into a community quilt.

MEETUP
June 8, 2019 — Memphis Quilts
Bring your favorite quilt, one you made, or one that someone else made, and show it off. You will have one minute — and only one minute — to do some serious flaunting and bragging. Bring it on! We will be presenting the longest show-and-tell in history in the Central Atrium of Crosstown Concourse. And, Nancy McDonough, quilt appraiser, will make presentations throughout the day about the value of quilts. Bring your guild, family members and friends to the celebration of all things quilting! Sign up for a presentation time here.

Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric
2019-05-09 - 2019-07-28 | Crosstown Arts, West Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
These works represent 29 internationally recognized artists working in the quilt form who have been featured in the new book Art Quilts International: Abstract & Geometric by Martha Sielman. Participating artists come from Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, and across the US. The works of art represent a range of styles across the abstract art spectrum.

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.

Opening Reception — Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric
2019-05-10 13:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, West Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
On view through July 28
International quilt show illustrating the diversity of quilting today. These works of art represent a range of styles across the abstract art spectrum.
From 1965 through today, the art quilt movement has grown to become one of the most exciting art forms of the 21st century. The Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric show brings artwork from 29 internationally known artists working in the quilt medium to Memphis.

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.

Opening Reception: BLUE
2019-05-10 13:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, East Gallery, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
On view through July 28
Opening reception for a regional quilt challenge in conjunction with Stitched: The Art of Quilting. The BLUE challenge features over 230 quilts in blue made by quilters and artists from the Mid-South.
Artists were asked to design traditional, modern or art-focused quilts. These range from appliquéd, pieced, collaged, fused, engineered, hand- or machine-stitched, 3-D, painted, sculpted, and any variation in between. The only thing they have in common: 3 layers and stitching.
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.

Will Kimbrough at The Green Room
2019-05-10 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
As an Alabama native and former Memphian (now living in Nashville), Will Kimbrough zig-zags the world singing songs and playing guitars, often solo, but also in many other collaborations. Kimbrough is a former member of Todd Snider and The Nervous Wrecks. His most recent solo recording, “I like it Down Here” is his 9th solo release since 2000.
Opening act: Jeremy Stanfill

Tickets: $10

About the artist:
As an Alabama native and former Memphian (now living in Nashville), Will Kimbrough zig-zags the world singing songs and playing guitars, often solo, but also in many other collaborations. When not touring Will spends his days writing songs, producing artists, recording music in a studio, being creative with band members and spending time with his family.

Will’s most recent solo recording, “I like it Down Here” is his 9th solo release since 2000. His two most recent releases were an album of duets with Brigitte DeMeyer in 2017, called “Mockingbird Soul,” and the just out “Daddy Let’s Do This!”, Daddy’s Third album (with Tommy Womack), soon to be in full distribution. Other collaborations include Alabama power group Willie Sugarcapps. As Americana Music Association 2004 Instrumentalist of the Year recipient, Will’s solo albums have always been well-received, critically acclaimed and always well supported at Americana Radio.
The same can be said of his other collaborations. And as any a songwriter can dream of, Will’s songs have been recorded by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Todd Snider, Little Feat, Hard Working Americans, Jack Ingram and many others throughout the years.
Will Kimbrough’s guitar and multi-instrumental prowess makes him an in-demand producer and session musician. Some of his latest productions include Doug Seegers, Shemekia Copeland, Radney Foster and Jimmy Buffett. During his years as a touring guitarist, will toured with Todd Snider, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris, among other notable artists. There are many others with whom he has shared the stage, including Mavis Staples and Allen Toussaint.
Deeply rooted in classic rock n roll, old school country, gospel, traditional blues and folk music. This is a man who loves, and lives, real music.

Story Time & Music with Jamie Purnell
2019-05-11 05:30 - 06:30 | Crosstown Concourse, Big Stair, 1350 Concourse Ave., 2nd floor Central Atrium, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
From award-winning singer-songwriter Jamie Purnell, Proud Penguin tells the feel-good tale of a penguin whose spirits are lifted from building a new friendship with a seagull. Proud Penguin will delight and entertain families as they read and sing along to the free downloadable song and story that embodies a universal message of kindness and self-acceptance.
This interactive event includes a discussion of penguins and seagulls, a reading of the story, singing and dancing to a live performance of the “Proud Penguin” song by Jamie Purnell, and a booksigning, all promoting the message of Proud Penguin: BE HAPPY TO BE YOU. A fun event for all ages.

Art Quilts Unfolding
2019-05-11 08:00 - 09:00 | TN
Informative and inspiring presentation by Martha Sielman, the Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates, the world’s largest organization dedicated to the art quilt. Sielman is the author and curator of “Masterworks: Abstract & Geometric,” a traveling exhibit which comes to Crosstown as part of STITCHED. She will talk about the Art Quilt Movement, based on the research for her highly-acclaimed book, Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 Years of Innovation.
Fifty years is both a long and a short time. The quilting industry has changed. Sewing machines have changed. Computers and the internet have changed. Time and technology have influenced the evolution of art quilting as it has grown to embrace thousands of makers worldwide. These include leading artists who are featured in her book such as Jean Ray Laury, Nancy Crow, Michael James, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry, Katie Pasquini Masopust, and many more from around the world.
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.

TN Screamers at The Green Room
2019-05-11 15:00 - 18:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join for in The Green Room for “real-deal country music” by the TN Screamers. Featuring Jesse Davis (aka Yesse Yavis), Keith Cooper, Frank McLallen, and Graham Winchester. Also featuring DJ Andrew McCalla.
Tickets: Pay what you can
Doors open at 7 pm | Performance starts at 8 pm

Double Feature: The Lock-In 1 & 2
2019-05-13 05:30 - 06:15 | Northwest Prep Academy, 1266 Poplar, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Students from Northwest Prep Academy High School are some of the most brilliant, unheard voices in Memphis. Watch their creative minds and talents on display at this intimate screening of their new film, THE LOCK-IN 2. This is a sequel to the 2017 film THE LOCK-IN, which was created by Northwest Prep students, in collaboration with Crosstown Arts, that year. Both films will be shown in a double-feature.
Light refreshments available at 10 am.

Open Crit
2019-05-14 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: Curator Kimberly Jacobs
Presenting artists: Kaitlin Haven, Lance Layman, Rory Golden
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.

Ted Ludwig Trio at The Green Room
2019-05-14 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Enjoy an evening with New Orleans-based seven-string jazz guitarist Ted Ludwig with drummer Brian Brown and bassist Joe Vick at the Green Room at Crosstown Arts.
Tickets: $10
Doors open at 7 pm | Performance at 7:30 pm

Acclaimed seven-string jazz guitarist Ted Ludwig (b. 1974, New Orleans, LA) has been a part of the jazz scene in New Orleans since 1997. Throughout that time period, he has performed for numerous club performances, festivals, and recordings. He has released 4 albums as a leader and many more as a versatile sideman and co leader.
Ted earned his Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the University of New Orleans Jazz Studies Program, under the direction of the legendary pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. He received an ASCAP award, the Louis Armstrong award, and the Overture to the Cultural Season award for his outstanding musicianship and creativity. Inspired by the recordings of Joe Pass, Pat Martino, and Wes Montgomery, Ludwig soon became one of the most sought after guitarists in the New Orleans jazz scene, working professionally as a soloist, and accompanist.
He has performed with notable contemporaries such as; Ellis Marsalis, Peter Bernstein, Bob Dorough, Larry Coryell, Nathan East, Nicholas Payton, Howard Alden, Mundell Lowe, Rick Margitza, Julian Labro, Steve Masakowski, John Ellis, Tony Dagradi, Mike Pellera, Jason Marsalis, Ron Eschete’, Johnny Vidacovich, Herlin Riley, and many more.
In 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Ludwig created his own eclectic Jazz Trio gaining instant accolades from critics and musicians alike for his astonishing virtuosity and prolific originality.
Since 2007, Ted has maintained a fruitful association with the Infrared Record Label. He has recorded, produced, and released four albums as a leader and has continuously performed on many other recordings as a co-leader and sideman. In 2016, Ludwig had the great opportunity to perform with orchestra an original Jazz Guitar Concerto entitled “Katrina”. The piece was composed by D.J. Sparr and commissioned by The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Ted received rave reviews for his performances of the concerto.
In 2016, Ted was the youngest inductee into The Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame.
He continues to dazzle audiences from around the world.

Green Room Sessions — BiSOULtennial: 200 Soul Classics for 200 Years of Memphis
2019-05-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is celebrating the Memphis Bicentennial with BiSOULtennial, a unique list of 200 indelible soul songs recorded in Memphis between 1957 and 1975. From Stax stars Otis Redding and Sam & Dave to Hi Records royalty Al Green and Ann Peebles, and all artists, labels, and studios in between, the list covers dozens of artists who recorded at studios throughout Memphis during that golden era of soul music.
The museum invites everyone to participate and vote for their Top Ten.

Listen to the Top 200: http://tiny.cc/MemSoul200Playlist
Vote for your Top 10: http://tiny.cc/MemSoul200
Join us for a special ballot release and conversation event taking place on May 15. The listening party and conversation event will feature an all-star panel of Memphis musicians, fans, DJs, scholars, and writers will discuss the song selections. Panelists include Dr. Charles Hughes (Rhodes College), DJ Eddie Hankins (WEVL-FM), Tonya Dyson (Memphis Slim House), Kameron Whalum (Stax Music Academy artist in residence and Bruno Mars’ trombone player), and Jared Boyd (The Daily Memphian newspaper). Each panelist will select and discuss two songs from their choices for Top Ten.

Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series: Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains
2019-05-16 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)
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS (NARRATIVE, 1982)
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains is the story of Corinne Burns (Diane Lane), a recently orphaned 17-year-old girl whose life is almost instantly changed through a happenstance interview with the local news. Corinne attends a concert to self-promote her band The Stains, which is made up of her, her sister, and cousin. The Stains end up going on tour, radically changing their look and proclaiming on stage, “We’re the Stains, and we don’t put out.”
Along the way, the girls get famous, manipulate the pre-internet news media in their favor (for a moment at least) and steal a song and sound from their less interesting male tour mates. Featuring appearances by Steve Jones and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols and Paul Simonon from the Clash, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains was a box-office failure but gained a large cult following on late-night cable television.
Watch the trailer

Songwriters in the Round
2019-05-16 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us in The Green Room for Songwriters in the Round, featuring Will Sexton, Marcella Simien, and Delta Joe Sanders.

Tickets: $10
Doors open at 7:00pm
Performance at 7:30pm

About the musicians:

Will Sexton
Will is a respected artist, songwriter, and producer with a list of acclaimed solo albums to his name. Keeping his old ties deep in the heart of Texas, Will now calls Memphis home with his wife, singer-songwriter Amy LaVere. Will and Amy have been touring and playing together for a couple of years and have a full schedule playing in the U.S. and Europe in the coming months. Their new CD, Hallelujah, I’m A Dreamer is spare and tight, showcasing Will and Amy’s fine playing styles and beautiful harmonies.

Marcella Simien
As Willie Mitchell’s son, the Memphis legend Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell puts it, “[Simien 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.”
In 2015, Bill Bentley (L.A. Weekly, Warner Bros. Records, Vanguard Records) reviewed Marcella and Her Lovers debut EP release on themortonreport.com. Bentley said “Marcella Simien heard it all as a youngster, no doubt, and once she double-downed with the Memphis sound, she found a totally striking new attack on Southern soul.”

Delta Joe
“Joe Sander’s heart is shaped like Mississippi. Through it runs a Big Blue River spawning tributaries and capillaries like snakes, gentle but dangerous — above which hands kudzu, wisteria, and other strange vegetation unnameable except by some half-mad, half-genius horticulturist. His tunes are rare Delta Thundersong birds (endangered and exotic) rising from the mud Byhalian and Greenwooded, strong meat for most of us who lift our beaks for the plastic manna in squared cellophane. Some of his brilliance pops up unnoticed – queer mushrooms grafted amongst our quotidian grapes, teaching our souls to say ‘more’ while our understanding reels backward. Joe offers no gratuitous sanctuary. Listening, one must braid one’s own thread into rope and knead one’s own bread into baked buckets – then dip into th eliving water of Joe’s Big Blue River.” Grace and Peace – John Kilzer
Delta Joe Sanders has been a regular in the Memphis music scene for the past 30 years. From the church house to the out house, he plays every venue from the Whiskey A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip to the Sugar Ditch Social Club in Tunica County. Delta Joe has kept country blues alive. A consummate story teller, Joe sometimes uses common Blues themes to spin his yarns. Songs of lost love, liquor, and bad behavior fill his repertoire. Some are romantic odes colored with southern imagery often with a skewed nostalgic sentiment —“I never did like this beautiful old place.” Some make bold statements of pious, prophetic poignancy,” I am gonna quit drinking after the Super Bowl.”

NUJAS Roll Call Pop-Up & Film Screening
2019-05-17 13:00 - 16:00 | TN
Roll Call is a pop-up exhibition and film screening devoted to offering a platform for women and queer artists of color, who often have trouble finding space or platforms for their work. A majority of the artists represented are Memphis based. This event is curated by NuJas, a multi-disciplinary co-operative dedicated to creating programing and content that is relevant to black women and LGBTQA + Memphians.
Doors at 5 pm | film at 6 pm
Pay what you can
Organized by the artist

Voices of the Mississippi with William Ferris
2019-05-17 13:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Theater, 1350 Concourse Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Short films based on the life’s work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with an unwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South.
** Featuring Q&A with Filmmaker William Ferris
*** FREE RSVP REQUIRED HERE: http://bit.ly/2vxRDSs
William Ferris was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1942. Growing up on a working farm, Ferris began at a young age documenting the artwork, music, and lives of the people on the farm and in his local community. The archive of recordings that he created and the documentary films that he had a hand in producing have served as powerful tools in institutions of higher learning for decades.
Featured in this screening:
GRAVEL SPRINGS FIFE AND DRUM (10 mins)
RAY LUM: MULE TRADER (18 mins)
FOUR WOMEN ARTISTS (24 mins)
BOTTLE UP AND GO (18 mins)
HUSH HOGGIES HUSH (4 mins)
Indie Memphis Nights presented by Orion FCU
Presented with Crosstown Arts

Grace Askew feat. Marcella Simien
2019-05-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join Crosstown Arts in welcoming Memphis’ own Grace Askew, in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts. This will be a fully curated, Southwestern/Southern-Gothic full-band show, including all musicians featured on the much-anticipated Summer 2019 album release, plus a screening of old road footage and many more aesthetic surprises. The Swamp-Soul queen herself, Marcella Simien, to kick things off.
Other featured musicians:
Cello (Jana Misener) Violin (Krista Combest), Bass (Landon Moore), Drums (Stephen Chopek), John Asbell (dobro, pedal steel, lap steel), Logan Hanna (lead guitar), Marcella Simien (Accordian), Erin Bakken (harmonies/backup vocals).

Tickets: $15
Doors open at 6:30 pm | Performance at 7 pm

About Grace Askew:

Spin calls Grace Askew “astoundingly defiant.” Rolling Stone calls her “sultry” while praising her “raw, real and righteous” songwriting.
With six studio albums and nearly a decade of touring under her belt, Grace has solidified herself as a relentlessly creative artist and a powerhouse of talent. She cut her first records at the legendary Ardent Studios & Sun Studios in Memphis, and has been a regular on the singer-songwriter circuit. She mostly hits the road accompanied only by her truck, Wanda, though she has also joined the likes of James McMurtry, Leon Russell, Marty Stuart, T-Model Ford, Jesse Winchester, Lisa Marie Presley, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Colter Wall, and Hayes Carll. She took home 1st place in the Unsigned Only, International, and John Lennon Songwriting Contests and made it to the final 32 on Season 4 of The Voice in 2013.

Family Crest Workshop
2019-05-18 05:00 - 10:00 | TN
What makes your family special? Tell the story of your family by creating a hand-sewn crest. Family groups will work together to design and stitch a one-of-a-kind appliquéd wall hanging. Family groups can be up to 6 people and must include at least 1 adult. All materials will be provided and no prior sewing experience is needed.
Two sessions:
10-11:30 am
1:30-3 pm
Sign up here
Amie Petronis Plumley is the co-author of Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make and School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing, Sewing School Quilts, and the upcoming Sewing School Fashion Design published by Storey Publishing. The books sell worldwide and have a combined total of more than 150,000 copies in print. Amie is an elementary school teacher at Grace-St Luke’s Episcopal School in Memphis, TN where she inspires students to sew in the classroom, in an after-school sewing club, and at a wildly popular summer sewing camp.
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.

Babu Press presents Once Upon a Star
2019-05-18 06:00 - 07:00 | Crosstown Concourse, Big Stair, 1350 Concourse Ave., 2nd floor Central Atrium, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Come enjoy Once Upon a Star, an original children’s story featuring audience participation and musical accompaniment by members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Created by MSO principal oboist Joseph Salvalaggio, Babu Press performances use classical music to help kids develop an appreciation for the arts and foster a love of reading. The performances are entertaining for audiences of all ages, from toddlers to adults.
This performance features MSO musicians Barrie Cooper (violin), Nobuko Igarashi (clarinet), and Joseph Salvalaggio (oboe). Narrated by Todd Berry.
Free and open to the public
About Once Upon a Star:
When Nate wishes on a star for a shiny new spaceship, he gets more than he bargained for. Between a narrow escape from a hundred cranky Martians and almost getting flattened by a rolling planet, he has a lot to tell his mother when he gets home. Join Babu Press on a fantastic journey through the solar system set to excerpts from Gustav Holst’s The Planets and Mozart’s Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman, otherwise known as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Workshop Series — Simultaneous Contrast: Experiments with Color
2019-05-19 05:30 - 11:30 | Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Lifeworks, in conjunction with Crosstown Arts, is pleased to host Los Angeles-based artist, Pamela Jorden, to lead a painting workshop. In Simultaneous Contrast: Experiments with Color, Jorden will guide participants through considerations of color, texture, and unexpected juxtapositions that inspire experimentation with paint and process.
Registration fee $125 (materials not included). Lunch will be provided.
Space is limited. To register please email laurel@crosstownarts.org.
Workshop Description:
At Black Mountain College, Joseph Albers gave his students an exercise called the matière inviting them to explore their surroundings and collect materials, paying close attention to their visual and tactile qualities. Matières are ephemeral sculptural arrangements comprised of found materials. Amy Sillman and Munro Galloway created an assignment called Color Walk that asks participants to wander within their environment following a color or colors considering the use, context, and associations related to specific colors or combinations. Both exercises encourage careful consideration of what might usually be overlooked and ask the observer to notice context and contrast, similarity and difference.

Inspired by these prompts, participants in this workshop will be asked to take a walk in a particular location that influences how they think about their artwork. Participants will be asked to observe color and texture and the material qualities of this location and to bring found materials back into the studio. Consideration of color, texture, and unexpected juxtapositions will inspire our experimentations with paint and process. Further instruction and suggested reading to follow.
This event is supported by Lifeworks in conjunction with Crosstown Arts.
About the artist:
Pamela Jorden (b. 1969, Knoxville, TN) received her BFA from University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1992 and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 1996. Recent exhibitions include The Day in the Night with Katy Cowan at Philip Martin Gallery in Los Angeles. Jorden has had solo exhibitions at Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery (New York, NY); Romer Young Gallery (San Francisco, CA); David Patton Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA); and Mason Gross Art Gallery, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ).
Selected group exhibitions include Around Flat, Knockdown Center (Maspeth, NY); NOW-ISM: Abstraction Today at the Pizzuti Collection (Columbus, Ohio); Alice Konitz, Pamela Jorden, Jeff Ono at Samuel Freeman Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Forms of Abstraction at the Irvine Fine Arts Center (Irvine, CA). Her work has been reviewed in numerous print and online publications including Art Forum, Art in America, ArtNews, and ArtPractical.
A monograph, Pamela Jorden 2004-2014, with an essay by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer and a conversation with Kaveri Nair and Alice Könitz has been released through Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery and Black Dog Publishing. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Michael Shults Quartet at The Green Room
2019-05-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join us for a very special evening with award-winning improv saxophonist Michael Shults with Carl Maguire, Alan Maguire, and Alvie Givhan.
Tickets: $10
Doors open at 6:30 pm | Performance at 7 pm

About Michael Shults:
Saxophonist Michael Shults has been praised for his “strong, imaginative” improvisations (Downbeat Magazine) and “fresh and intelligent musical ideas” (The Pitch). A first-call musician on the Kansas City jazz scene for nearly a decade, Shults remains an active performer in the Fountain City and beyond, and has twice appeared as a sideman on the Jazzweek National Radio Airplay Charts. In 2018, Dr. Shults was selected to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference Friday night headline concert as a featured soloist along with Branford Marsalis. As a graduate student at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Michael was a finalist in the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Artist Competition, and was the winner of the Graduate College Soloist category in the 2012 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards Issue.

As a concert saxophonist Michael Shults has been praised for his “jaw-dropping” and “authoritative” technique (Bill Brownlee of theKansas City Star) and has recently performed by invitation at the College Band Director’s National Association conference, the North American Saxophone Alliance biennial conference, the Minnesota Music Educator’s Association Conference, and the University of Iowa Festival for New Music. Dr. Shults is a founding faculty member of the Kansas City Saxophone Workshop along with Zach Shemon, alto saxophonist of the PRISM Quartet. He has also served on the faculty of the Eugene Rousseau Saxophone Workshop at Shell Lake Arts Center and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. He is currently the alto saxophone chair in the Coalescent Quartet. Michael is Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of Memphis and previously held the same position at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
He is a Yamaha and D’Addario performing artist and performs on their instruments and reeds exclusively.

Garrison Starr & LOLO at The Green Room
2019-05-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
The secret is out! Join us in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts for an intimate, acoustic performance from Garrison Starr and LOLO.
Tickets: $15
Doors at 6:30 pm | Performance at 7 pm

About Garrison Starr:
Memphian Garrison Starr is a full-time songwriter now living in Los Angeles. Her songs have been featured on numerous films, TV shows, and commercials. In 2016, Starr collaborated with long time friend, Margaret Cho, and produced “American Myth.” The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Comedy category.
Garrison’s love for truth-telling, good whiskey, and human connection has made her a darling of the singer-songwriter world.
About LOLO:
From Jackson, TN, LOLO is a show-stopping singer who has “so much music flowing through [her] that it fills two people” (Associated Press). She has proven herself a venerable songwriter, from penning hits for Panic! At The Disco’s recent #1 blockbuster album to writing a New York Times raved about off-Broadway musical, “Songbird”.
Her album, In Loving Memory of When I Gave a Shit, is a come-to-Jesus moment for the songstress who moved back to Tennessee after exploring her path on the stages of New York and time in London – a literal reflection of LOLO’s journey on the road back home. With a daring and emotionally charged voice, her music evokes a hot southern night – rough around the edges but with a velvety quality that soothes the soul.

Micro Cinema: Memphis Women in Film
2019-05-21 14:00 - 16:00 | TN
Monthly short film screening series, presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts. This month is a Memphis in May salute to Memphis presented with the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission.
This month: Memphis Women in Film
Join us as we focus on Memphis women filmmakers with a retrospective of their work in short films over the years.
Doors at 6:30 pm | Screening at 7 pm. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

Spotlight Concert Series ft. Andrew Crust and Members of the MSO
2019-05-21 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join Andrew Crust, Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and a chamber orchestra comprised of members of the MSO for a special evening of music at the Green Room at Crosstown Arts. The program was selected by Andrew Crust and features works by Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler, and Richard Wagner. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche will perform as soloist for the Mahler selections. Also a talented visual artist, Andrew Crust will be displaying some of his artwork available for purchase at the concert.
Doors open at 7 pm | performance starts at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $10 | $5 at the door with Student ID

Program:
Gustav Mahler, arr. Riehn – Kindertotenlieder
Alma Mahler, arr. Crust – Die Stille Stadt
Richard Wagner – Siegfried Idyll
Stephanie Doche, soloist
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.

Artist Bios:
ANDREW CRUST is the newly-appointed Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (beginning in 19/20) where he will conduct a large number of subscription concerts, Kids concerts, Pops, as well as the innovative Annex Series and Tea and Trumpets Series each season. He is a versatile conductor with broad experience conducting orchestras, ballet and opera across North and South America and Europe.
Crust was Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra from 2017-2019 where he conducted over thirty-five concerts each season. He also served as Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony Program. As the Assistant Conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra in Maine from 2016-2018, he conducted a variety of concert series, helped coordinate the orchestra’s extensive educational programs, and helped lead a program for concertgoers under 40 called “Symphony and Spirits”.
Crust was the Assistant Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA) in the summers of 2017 and 2018, assisting Michael Tilson Thomas on an Asian tour, as well as Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop and James Ross at Carnegie Hall and in a side-by-side performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also served as Cover Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony and Nashville Symphony, Assistant/Cover Conductor of the Boulder Philharmonic and Assistant Conductor of Opera McGill. As a winner of the 2018 Ansbacher Fellowship, selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic, Crust was invited to the Salzburger Festspiele throughout August 2018 with full access to all Festival performances and rehearsals. Furthermore, Crust was the only American invited as a semi-finalist for the 2018 Nestlé and Salzburg Festival‘s Young Conductors Award, and worked with the Austrian Ensemble for New Music in May of 2018.
Praised for her “fervent, commanding vocal prowess,” French-American mezzo-soprano STEPHANIE DOCHE (rhymes with posh) was a Handorf Company Artist with Opera Memphis for the 2018-2019 season. While in Memphis she sang the roles of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Toledo in the professional premiere of new American opera, The Falling & the Rising. Stephanie is also an Encouragement Award recipient for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, West Tennessee district.
In 2018, Stephanie garnered recognition for her “boldly convincing” performance as Idamante in Idomeneo with Opera NEO in San Diego. Other operatic highlights include Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Mére Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, and La Suora Zelatrice in Suor Angelica. Stephanie performed as Meg March in Little Women with UT Austin Butler Opera Center under the guidance and praise of the opera’s composer, Mark Adamo.
Impassioned with a desire to connect through creativity, Stephanie loves introducing opera to new audiences. As a Handorf Company Artist, Stephanie was a core member of 30 Days of Opera, an annual event that presents free opera in Memphis and its surrounding areas every day in September. Also in 2018, Stephanie performed in the premiere of the new children’s opera, Jack and Jill and the Happening Hill, with Salt Marsh Opera. During this community outreach, Stephanie and company presented the opera to over 5,000 students in Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Stephanie has been a featured soloist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, University of Texas Wind Symphony, Rocky Ridge Music Center, and the Austin based chamber ensemble, prismatx, with whom she performed Schoenberg’s ‘Pierrot Lunaire.’
Stephanie was born in France to an American mother and Canadian father. When she was four years old, Stephanie and her family moved to Rochester, New York, where she was raised.

Spit and Image
2019-05-23 13:00 - 16:00 | TN
A one-night art event featuring new works by Jeshua Schuster, Meredith Lones, Sara Moseley, and Stacy Kiehl. With DJ Damp Velour.

Chris Milam
2019-05-23 14:30 - 16:30 | Crosstown Arts, The Green Room, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Doors at 7:00pm | show at 7:30pm
$15 at the door | $10 in advance (purchase on Eventbrite)
Chris Milam’s Kids These Days (2017) debuted in the iTunes Top 40 amid critical acclaim. The album’s stunning poetry, infectious melodies, and innovative sonic landscape earned the Memphis artist a wider audience and rapturous reviews:
“Invites–and earns–the Paul Simon comparisons.” –American Songwriter
“Offers something deeper.” –Paste
“A world class set of songs…Best of 2017″ –Skin Back Alley (UK)”Highly recommended…beautifully-layered, dark, dynamic, and close to overwhelming.” –No Depression
“Pure poetry…heralding fine things from a songwriter who should be heard.” –Popshifter”Top 20 at SXSW…an introduction to America’s finest.” –Concentus (UK)
The momentum of Kids These Days took Milam from clubs to festivals, from Los Angeles to Liverpool, and all points between. Now, after a year on the road, Chris Milam’s back in his favorite place (Memphis), doing his favorite thing (writing new songs). With the next album in mind–and pen in hand–Milam’s 2019 performances will offer a sneak peek at what this acclaimed songwriter has in store.

Crosstown Arts Weekly Film Series: Stranded in Canton
2019-05-23 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)
STRANDED IN CANTON (DOCUMENTARY, 1974)
Stranded in Canton is photographer Wiliam Eggleston’s infamous, shot-on-video document of what was happening in and around his world in 1974. Described as “strange, otherworldly, and Southern Gothic,” for those of us who spend our nights in Memphis bars, the scenes will seem uncomfortably familiar — long nights of drugs and drink and conversation.
The film features a slew of Memphis Midtown notables like Alex Chilton, Lesa Aldridge, Randall Lyon, legendary tough guy Cambbell Kensinger, bluesman Furry Lewis, and the for-real outlaw country singer Jerry McGill. Stranded in Canton is pieced together from over 30 hours of footage by Eggleston and directed by Robert Gordon, whose MUST-READ It Came From Memphis covers the wild life and times of some of the very people featured in this documentary.
Watch the trailer

Join us for an after-party in The Green Room with The Thank You Friends Alex Chilton Revue Band. Celebrate the chaos, the cacophony, the characters and the music of a time and place that only William Eggleston and Alex Chilton could create and capture in sound and vision. Screen the film, Stranded in Canton, at Crosstown Theater and then re-live the music with Ross Johnson, The Klitz (Amy Starks, Gail and Marcia Clifton), Adam Hill, and others at an after-party in The Green Room. More info here.
