Guest column
By taking a chance on playing a concert at Rhodes College, Marsalis gave the Curb Institute credibility and paved the way for appearances by George Coleman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Harold Mabern and Charles Lloyd.
At a Chicago church, on the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Mississippi-bred bluesman Otis Spann delivered what arguably remains the most profound musical response to the tragedy.
Actor Princeton Echols, rapper Marco Pavé and producer Adrian Ford are among the familiar Memphis faces seen and heard in Netflix's hit feature film, “Uncorked,” about a Bluff City family.
“There wouldn’t have been a Select-O-Hits had Jerry Lee not married his 13-year-old first cousin,” Johnny Phillips said of the family-run business that has transitioned from vinyl to cassettes to CD's to digital production. “Who would’ve thought that?”
Levitt Shell hopes to reschedule the Wilco show for Spring 2021.
Like a “Memphis music milkman,” artist Graham Winchester makes personal deliveries of his new vinyl single, while Opera Memphis vocalists take requests for outdoor neighborhood performances.
With three hit singles, two turf-grabbing country covers, definitive secular and religious anthems and some of the most tender pop music ever recorded, 1973's "Call Me" is Al Green's finest moment.
The orchestra will salute Beethoven’s 250th birthday with Symphony No. 9, perform a tribute to Aretha Franklin and revisit “Romeo and Juliet” with the help of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company.
Gerald Jenkins travels the globe as a keyboardist in a soul band. But demand for the music he performed in Memphis' 1990s rap scene led him to put his keys down and pick up the microphone again for a Japanese tour.
The free event will include headlining performances from Southern Avenue, MonoNeon and Ben Nichols of Lucero.
For the era of inclusion, Moody seems to have come straight out of central casting. He’s 52 but he could pass for 38. He doesn’t mind a stunt, like conducting the theme to "Jurassic Park" in a T-Rex costume."
Memphis artists confirmed to appear include Don Bryant & the Bo-Keys, Moneybagg Yo and Al Kapone.
Mark Anthony Lee spent the early '80s strumming and skating at the same time. But after years on the sidelines of Memphis soul, a Los Angeles record label has tapped his 1982 single for a compilation of unsung Memphis artists.
A remix for Memphis rapper Duke Deuce's “Crunk Ain’t Dead” features Atlanta’s self-proclaimed “King of Crunk” Lil’ Jon, as well as the Arcade, the Orpheum and Crystal Palace.
Levitt Shell officials are planning four ticketed benefit concerts to aid in preservation of the park.
The 41st annual Blues Music Awards will be held at the Cannon Center with an after-party in the lobby of the Renasant Convention Center.
In advance of a performance at Crosstown Theater, Booker T. Jones reflects on his recent visit to Memphis and the meaning of homecomings.
Three Memphis-connected albums – from Julien Baker, Mark Edgar Stuart and Margo Price – cracked the list.
Several artists who will join the 41st class of the Blues Hall of Fame have connections to Memphis.
Entertainment lawyer Bruce Newman’s annual benefit concert will support Protect Our Aquifer. Musicians Maria Muldaur, Ruthie Foster and Dom Flemons are among the performers.
The Stax school's 20th anniversary celebration will include talent shows, a public Black History Month production, a three-day livestream Memphis music marathon and a huge birthday bash that coincides with International Music Day.
“Audiences aren’t paying to hear me read the phone book,” Wilson says. “It’s about telling a story. That’s really important to me.”
Forty years after his own gospel heyday, former Memphis disc jockey Juan Shipp is relaunching his D-Vine Spirituals label in a partnership with record producer Bruce Watson, who says he wants to bring the music “out of the church building.”
Songwriter Frederick Knight originally conceived “Ring My Bell” as a song for teens about talking on the phone, but it became a hit for older audiences in the disco-era when it came out on Anita Ward's debut album.
Eight musicians, whose work spans 100 years of contributions to American music, will be recognized at a ceremony at the Cannon Center.
The third Mempho Music Festival kicked off on Saturday at Shelby Farms Park. This year's festival included an increased emphasis on Memphis musicians, food and vendors.
Jackson, who was married to the late Memphis trumpeter Wayne Jackson, is dedicated to hunting down money many local musicians didn't know they had earned.
The nine-member rap crew Wu-Tang Clan, a headliner at Mempho Festival, has a history of relying on Memphis soul for inspiration.
Justin Timberlake and other musicians collaborated for two days in August with students at Stax Music Academy and with help from the Levi’s Music Project – and a $100,000 donation from JT himself – have provided a huge boost to the academy’s work.
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