Upcoming Shows
Amy LaVere & Will Sexton
Thursday May 9, 2024
Doors – 7pm
Show – 8pm
All Ages Admitted
Just when you think Amy LaVere is at the top of her craft, it grows into something even more powerful. Her songs are both original and timeless, making her well known among songwriters and critics alike. NPR’s Robert Siegel says she “specializes in lyrics that are more barbed than her sweet soprano prepares you for.” Amos Perinne of No Depression has written of Amy saying “Her songs have a level of detail comparable to a photo. LaVere has a knack for documenting simple moments and making them riveting. “Her growing catalog of material and steady critical acclaim suggest a first-tier presence on the Americana and indie-folk circuits.
Her record ‘Painting Blue’ (2019) showcases her depth and creative storytelling, beautifully. The production is gorgeous, original and naturally ‘Amy’, captured perfectly by producer and husband, Will Sexton. Mojo Magazine gave the project 4 out of 4 stars.
Amy’s live performances are anything but predictable. She captivates her audiences and never fails to take them on a memorable journey. Her performances have been called hypnotic, mesmerizing and legendary. She’s never had trouble finding top tier players like drummer Brady Blade, Violinist Bob Furgo or guitar players WIll Sexton and David Cousar to travel and perform with her to support her stellar songwriting material. Her voice is unique and beautiful and she’s been honored by having been voted ‘Best Of Memphis’ on three separate occasions and been nominated many times.
Amy has performed in venues as wide-ranging as St. Andrew’s Hall in London to Memphis’ famed dive bar Earnestine and Hazel’s. She’s been featured at festivals such as Bonnaroo and Beale Street Music Festival and also performed in intimate clubs and house concerts around the world. Be it a small listening environment or a grand festival stage, there’s no room she can’t find an audience in and charm it to pieces.
Outside of Detroit and only just entering high school, Amy formed her first band and began writing and performing. She moved to Memphis, TN in 1999 and began hitting the local music scene hard with various live projects, performing regularly on Beale Street and the dive pub Murphy’s where she also spent time tending bar.
Music fans first discovered this “sweet soprano” on This World is Not My Home in (2005), but it was her Jim Dickinson-produced breakout album Anchors & Anvils two years later that put Amy LaVere on the map. Stranger Me, the (2011) release on Archer Records, was called “the break-up album of the year” by Spin. Paste said it was “among the year’s best,” and it earned a first listen feature from NPR’s All Things Considered. She followed it in 2014 with another critical smash: Runaway’s Diary (2014), a concept album based on her own experience as a teenage runaway, produced by Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars). American Songwriter called it “boundary pushing… heartfelt, reflective, challenging and consistently compelling.” NPR Music’s Robert Christgau said it was her best yet. Of Hallelujah I’m A Dreamer (Archer Records, 2015) No Depression said simply: “pure bliss.”
In addition to her solo records and a tireless touring schedule, Amy enjoys working with other artists. She joined an all-star collaboration called The Wandering, composed of Amy, Luther Dickinson,Valerie June, Shannon McNally and Sharde Thomas They released Go On Now, You Can’t Stay Here (2012) to critical acclaim and sold-out shows.
Amy and Luther also collaborated on Sisters Of The Strawberry Moon (2019). This project featured Allison Russell, Amy Helm, The Como Mammas, Sharde Thomas and Lily May Risch.
Amy LaVere also has three releases with the band ‘Motel Mirrors’. The self-titled Motel Mirrors (2013), In The Meantime (2018) and Gotta Lotta Rhythm (2019). This band features Will Sexton, Shawn Zorn and John Paul Keith and Will Sexton.
Amy has been sought out to be a part of MANY great projects over there years. Notably, Luther Dickinson has called on Amy to join his band “The Collaborators” on live performances and also his solo records, including record ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Blues’ and his Grammy nominated record, ‘Blues And Ballads: A Folksinger’s Songbook’. Todd Snider called on Amy to sing backing vocals on the ‘Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker’. Seasick Steve features her on a hidden track duet cover of ‘I’m so Lonesome I could Cry’ on his record ‘Man From Another Time’.
There is so much more to come from Amy. Her 8th studio record is in the works. Recording on this project begins in October 2022 with Grammy winning producer/engineer Matt Ross-Spang.
She’s already begun recording songs for ‘Volume Two’ of ‘Hallelujah I’m a Dreamer’.
Do yourself a favor and keep your ears open for future works from this artist.
*Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, this future bard moved continuously throughout childhood due to her father’s job. She spent notable parts of her life in Louisiana, Ontario and Quebec Canada, East Texas, Baltimore Maryland, Central Ohio and South East Michigan. She now calls Memphis TN home.
Lucious Spiller Band
Friday May 10, 2024
Doors – 730pm
Show – 830pm
Ages 18 and Up Admitted
Born in St. Louis, Lucious Spiller discovered at an early age that God had blessed him with a special gift. Gospel, blues, and R&B music permeated his home and he absorbed it all. His father gave Lucious a guitar when he was four and taught him his first chords. Lucious was a natural. He hails from the Spiller family that has contributed to and enhanced the musical experiences of countless people across the country and the world. His family, founders of “Black Prairie Blues”, have their own permanent marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Macon, MS. His early memories include watching his father Lucious Spiller Sr, his uncle “Magic Sam”, his cousins, Eddy Clearwater, Vernon and Joe Harrington, and many other blues greats perform during family reunions. Lucious was itching to play. He started out playing bass guitar in church. And the rest is history!
Relocating to Arkansas at the age of 18, he forged his way through the ranks with an energy and fervor that to this day remain undiminished. He attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock and graduated with a degree in Elementary Art. Children are drawn to him, and his original children’s blues song “Pat Your Foot” has kids and adults of all ages patting their feet.
Lucious’ musical ability and showmanship have catapulted him to the top of the music scene. Lucious lists his greatest influences as his father, Lucious Spiller Sr, Magic Sam, John Kilzer, Larry “Totsy” Davis, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Ruby Russell (his godmother). He has performed with, recorded with, and/or opened for countless well-known musicians and legendary artists spanning several genres including Bo Diddly, James Brown, Temptations, Black Crowes, Larry “Totsy” Davis, Michael Burks, Albert King, Fenton Robinson, Calvin Leavy, Koko Taylor, Gregg Allman, Eric Gales, Gary Clark Jr, Coco Montoya, Debbie Davies, Becky Barksdale, Big Jack Johnson, Marion “Doc Tomato” Oliver, T-Model Ford, Henry “Gip” Gipson, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, John Kilzer, Ritchie Havens, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Super Chikan”, Bobby Rush,Tower of Power, Leon Russell, Zach Brown, CeDell Davis, Mark “Muleman” Massey, Billy Boy Arnold, Johnny Drummer, William Bell, Cedric Burnside, Sam Carr, Arthur Williams, Luther Allison, Eddy Clearwater, Vernon Harrington, Merle Perkins, Joe Harrington, Little Johnny Taylor, RJ Mischo, RL Boyce, Robert Lockwood Jr, Leo “Bud” Welch, Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, Bobby Jones, Keith Pringle (pianist and choir director for Rev. James Cleveland), Rev. Jerry Black, Gerald Thompson, Leonard Givens, Gladys McFadden & the Loving Sisters, and many, many others.
In 2014, Lucious won 2nd Place in the Solo/Acoustic Category Finals at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. He missed the top spot by 1/2 point to a Canadian, making him ” #1 in the USA, #2 in the world.” His self-produced acoustic blues CD, “Born to Sing the Blues”, is a favorite of blues fans all over the world. Lucious was also featured in 2014 on New York’s LEGENDS TV. He is featured in the award-winning documentary, “True Delta” and the new streaming reality series “Moonshine and Mojo Hands”. In 2015, Lucious kicked off the inaugural bus tour of the Americana Blues Triangle with a stunning solo performance in Helena, AR. He has performed and been interviewed twice by Sonny Payne of the legendary “King Biscuit Time” on KFFA radio in Helena, AR and has been asked back for a third visit. In 2015, the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History interviewed Lucious and many other blues artists for a compilation of video interviews and recordings of the blues legends of the Delta. These interviews were released in October 2017. Lucious was joined by Cam Kimbrough on April 2017 for a performance during a live broadcast of “Thacker Mountain Radio Hour”. In June 2017, Lucious performed with Robert “Bilbo” Walker in CNN’s Great Big Story “The Last Joint”. Lucious is also featured in a National Public Radio (NPR) Night Owl video which was aired October 2017. In September 2017, Lucious was humbled to receive one of his most treasured honors: a sign of his likeness was mounted in downtown Clarksdale, MS. His sign hangs alongside the likenesses of Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, Tennessee Williams, John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Big Jack Johnson, Vera Mae Piggee, Tennessee Williams, W.C. Handy, and so many others who were/are influential to the culture of Clarksdale, MS, the world epicenter of the blues. Lucious is presently working on his next studio CD, “Still Paying Dues”, due out in 2018.
Lucious Spiller is a truly gifted artist, songwriter, singer, musician, teacher and mentor. He has inspired, influenced, instructed, and encouraged many up and coming blues artists such as Seth Freeman, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Zack Bramhall, Heather Crosse, and Akeem Kemp. Seth Freeman recorded a version of Lucious Spiller’s original song “Put the Blame on Me” for his debut album.
Lucious Spiller’s music, rooted in blues and gospel, is unique and fresh yet embodies the spirit of the traditional. He blends all of his gift and influences into a performance straight from his soul. He IS the music, all of it. He plays what he feels, and he feels what he plays. There is nobody like Lucious Spiller, and everybody who hears or sees Lucious Spiller perform is blown away. In the October 2013, Living Blues Magazine featured Lucious and dubbed him a “driving force for the blues”. Travel Tips and Pics (March 2017) said: “…Lucious Spiller,…isn’t just playing the guitar, he IS the guitar – kind of like when good actors become the part instead of just playing a role.” And in April 2017, the Associated Press had this to say: “Red’s showcases under-the-radar, brilliantly talented musicians like Lucious Spiller, whose performances will make you realize why the blues still matter.” He is not to be missed!
Bad Habit
Saturday April 6, 2024
Doors – 7pm
Show – 8pm
All Ages Admitted
Four high school musicians formed BAD HABIT in 2015 and have been rocking the Little Rock music scene ever since. They have enjoyed considerable success playing the local club circuit, community events, and private functions. With live sets that span the classic rock of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, complemented by more modern hits from today, live entertainment by Bad Habit is the perfect choice to make your good event a great one!
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