7 minute read
THE TO-DO LIST
BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE
VELVETINA’S LITTLE BURLESQUE SHOW
SATURDAY 5/21. STICKYZ ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CHICKEN SHACK. $10-$15.
Memphis burlesque performer Velvetina Taylor prides herself on “ultra-glamorous, classic burlesque with extravagant costumes, charming, vintage dancing and a witty sense of humor,” and that’s what you can expect for this Stickyz show, featuring Taylor and performers Jada Coco and Felicity Fox. It’s part of a “Pistons and Pasties” tour, in which Taylor is riding her 1200cc Harley Davidson across the South, performing burlesque along the way. Get tickets at stickyz.com.
Have we, at long last, reached a turning point in the pandemic? Here’s hoping. When we went to press for this issue of the Arkansas Times, artists and hospitality industry workers alike were still in recovery from calendar limbo, so if you’re still staying in, now’s a great time to buy a gift certificate from your favorite bar (buy your future self a beer!) or order merch from your favorite local musician. If you’re going out, tote that vaccination card with you and consider that gathering safely for live performance is still a work in progress; be on the lookout for cancellations, policy changes or date changes, and handle them with all the grace you can summon.
JESS HARP, ADAM FAUCETT
THURSDAY 5/5. WHITE WATER TAVERN. 8:30 P.M. $10.
Or, “a study in two ethereal voices.” If road warrior Adam Faucett’s otherworldly howl is made of grit and earth, Jess Harp’s (pictured) breezy delivery is made of air and clouds, as is evident on “Jessy Baby Forever,” Harp’s May 5 release on the Fayetteville-based Gar Hole Records. Like fellow labelmate Nick Shoulders, Harp’s croon is a pristine one, and one which Harp honed through years of choral singing and later, across the basements and dimly lit rooms of the Northwest Arkansas DIY scene. That voice is framed these days as the centerpiece of a soaring full band sound; see “I Took a Drive,” recorded at Fayetteville’s East Hall Recording Studio. It’s lush, gorgeous stuff, a confection of a contrast to Faucett’s sage, haunting wail. Get tickets at whitewatertavern.com.
BALLET ARKANSAS: LIVE AT THE PLAZA
THROUGH 5/8. ARGENTA PLAZA. FREE-$75.
Two weekends of free public performances and recreational classes lie ahead, with instruction from professional ballet dancers at Ballet Arkansas including, company director Michael Fothergill noted in a press release, “fan favorites from our 21-22 season (The Great Gatsby, Coppélia & the Toymaker, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons), as well as the fiery Act III Don Quixote pas de deux, the ethereal Act II Giselle pas de deux and additional contemporary works. There will be something for every taste.” Saturday morning recreational classes include Pilates at the Plaza, Jazz at the Plaza, Ballet on the Grounds and Dancing with Dogs, and weekday classes include Rise & Shine Pilates and Rise & Shine Movement. And, because the final performance lands on Mother’s Day, the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau is also hosting a special Mother’s Day VIP Reception to accompany the performance at 3 p.m., which includes access to a shaded area; a picnic basket of Arkansas treats; and two drink tickets. All classes are free and open to all ages and abilities; see balletarkansas.org/plaza for a full schedule.
COURTESY OF AMOS LEE
FRESHGRASS FESTIVAL
Next stop on the Waltons’ quest to make Northwest Arkansas culturally enviable to all within earshot: bringing names like Margo Price and Emmylou Harris and the Red Dirt Boys to town, along with Amythyst Kiah, Hayes Carll, Dispatch, Amos Lee, Son Rompe Pera, Lost Bayou Ramblers, The Gravel Yard, Alison Brown, Arkansauce, Old Crow Medicine Show and folk art curated by one of the genre’s most forward-thinking ambassadors, Willi Carlisle. That’s all part of the FreshGrass Festival, a two-day marathon of concerts on the lawn of the Momentary, the Crystal Bridges-adjacent museum that went up in a former Kraft cheese factory in 2020. Get tickets at themomentary.org.
MELISSA BRAWNER
ARTS & THE PARK
THROUGH SUNDAY 5/8. DOWNTOWN HOT SPRINGS.
Though its residents would consider Hot Springs an art-focused town year-round, it’s during the annual Arts & The Park Festival when that focus takes to the streets — and the trails, and the sidewalks. Among the fest’s 2022 events are performances from string band entertainers Sad Daddy, a Henry Glover-inspired songwriting contest, a gallery of reproduced works by Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer, a series of artworks installed along the Hot Springs Creek trail on 30-inch-by-40-inch metal sheets, storytelling and dance from members of the Quapaw tribe, studio tours, a gallery walk, a children’s book giveaway and more. Check out the full schedule at hotspringsarts.org/arts-the-park-2022.
THE EXPLOROGRAPHER
BLOOD MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE
SUNDAY 5/15. THE SKY. 10:29-11:53 P.M. FREE.
The total lunar eclipse in mid-May is what they call a “Blood Moon,” since the moon turns a reddish hue when it moves into the Earth’s shadow. Wild, right? It’s because even when the Earth is completely keeping the Moon from reflecting any sunlight into our view, Earth’s atmosphere refracts light and scatters certain wavelengths of color while letting others pass — namely, the red and orange bits of light. You can see this one without any special equipment; just look for the Moon in the late evening of May 15 beginning at around 8:32 p.m., with the peak of the eclipse landing at around 11:11 p.m.
MARK WAGNER
SATURDAY 5/7-SUNDAY 5/8. GOVERNOR’S MANSION DISTRICT. NOON-4 P.M. SAT., 1-5 P.M. SUN. $15-$150.
Calling all admirers of historic and/or quirky homes: The Quapaw Quarter Association’s annual Spring Tour of Homes is back, giving ticketholders a peek into six homes in Little Rock’s Governor’s Mansion District — seven if you spring for the special candlelight tour. Up this year: the Rogers House at 400 W. 18th St., the Old Methodist Parsonage at 401 W. 18th St., the Cochran House at 320 W. 18th St., the Max Mayer Cottage at 317 W. 17th St., the Pierce House at 1704 Center St., the Farrell House #2 at 2111 S. Louisiana St., the Reyburn-Lasker House at 2200 S. Arch St. and, for the top-tier Saturday night tickets, the Kirby House at 1221 Louisiana St. Trolleys run between homes during the tour’s timeframes, or get a bike tour ticket and power your own tour, either with your own bike or one from QQA partner Rock Town River Outfitters. A Sunday brunch ticket gets you food, mimosas and Bloody Marys at Curran Hall, and a preview party ticket for Friday evening gets you food, drink and live music from LLC. See quapaw.com for details on all tour times and options.
AMY GARLAND BAND
FRIDAY 5/13. WHITE WATER TAVERN. 8:30 P.M. $10.
Whether you know Amy Garland for her wide-ranging playlist on KABF-FM, 88.3’s Friday evening show “Backroads,” her jovial musicianship in the Wildflower Revue, her 2013 record “Hang a Light,” the custom leather guitar straps she fashions under the Stone County Strap Co., or just because she seems to know everyone between here and Minden, Louisiana, you probably also know her inimitable voice, seemingly forever surrounded by a wealth of Arkansas talent — Nick Devlin, Bonnie Montgomery, Cindy Woolf, Mandy McBryde, Mike Nelson, Jeff Coleman, Brad Williams and her husband, Bart Angel — on her studio albums and on the stage. Get tickets at whitewatertavern.com.
A BLACK SUMMER’S NIGHT: MAXWELL/SADE TRIBUTE CONCERT
FRIDAY 5/27. REV ROOM. 9 P.M. $15-$25.
Taking its name from the slow-burn trilogy that neo-soul pioneer Maxwell released across the span of a decade, this tribute concert engages some of the city’s most reliably inventive interpreters: trumpeter Rodney Block, vocalists Bijoux and Tawanna Campbell and others. Expect to be guided through Maxwell’s catalog, and that of Nigerian-born British singer-songwriter Sade, whose longstanding disdain for the publicity limelight means most fans became devotees — and stayed devotees — based solely on her music (gasp!). Nearly 40 years after it was released, 1984’s glassy “Smooth Operator” was completely of its era and yet still holds up. Whether that tune is the entirety of your Sade knowledge or you can sing every silky-sweet line of “Soldier of Love,” this’ll be a good time. Get tickets at revroom.com.
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
SATURDAY 5/28. THE HALL. 8 P.M. $25-$65.
For two genres so often considered diametric opposites, guitar metal and classical music sure have a lot in common: demanding technical cadenzas, a tendency to glorify virtuosos and divas, a penchant for the epic and the operatic. And though Swedish superstar Yngwie Malmsteen — maligned or revered, depending on who you ask — was far from the first to make those connections, he did cement them into the 1980s pop culture zeitgeist. “When I heard Paganini,” he told Guitar World last year, “that was the biggest moment. Nobody was playing those crazy arpeggios. Everybody was just playing the box. But I wanted to play that shit on guitar.” He’s joined on this bill by musician and actor Kurt Deimer. Get tickets at littlerockhall.com.
