INsite Atlanta May 2019 Issue

MAY 2019

C

INSITEATLANTA.COM

7 YEARS! 2 G N I T ELEBRA

Jazz

in the City

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 42 YEARS! . . . featuring Kandace Springs

VOL. 27, NO. 10 FREE

PG 2 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

CONTENTS • MAY 2019 • VOLUME 27, NO. 10

EARS! ING 27 Y T A R B E CEL

Atlanta’s

INTERVIEWS

12

12 OK Cello 14 Styx 15 Krunk Orkestra 16 Amanda Palmer 16 Gangstagrass 17 Rick Allen 17 Blind Boys of AL 18 Nils Lofgren

14

atlantafestivals.com

Entertainment Monthly

FEATURES 09 ATL’s Best Tapas 10 Spring Festivals 12 Jazz Fest Line-up 13 Continuing Ed 15 Amelia Island

COLUMNS

16

04 Around Town 05 On Tap 06 Atlanta on a Dime 07 Under The Lights 07 New Releases 07 Station Control 17 08 Movie Reviews

may 25 & 26 memorial day weekend piedmont park

insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Steve Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com Art Director / Web Design Nick Tipton nick@insiteatlanta.com Managing Editor Lee Valentine Smith lee@insiteatlanta.com Local Events Editor Marci Miller marci@insiteatlanta.com Movie Editor Steve Warren s.warren@insiteatlanta.com Music Editor John Moore john@insiteatlanta.com

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Contributing Writers / Interns: Alex. S. Morrison, Dave Cohen, Benjamin Carr, Demarco Williams Advertising Sales Steve Miller (404) 308-5119 • ads@insiteatlanta.com MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 76483 Atlanta, GA 30358 WEBSITE • insiteatlanta.com Editorial content of INsite is the opinion of each writer and is not necessarily the opinion of INsite, its staff, or its advertisers. INsite does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor do the publisher or editors of INsite assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. No content, i.e., articles, graphics, designs and information (any and all) in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from publisher.

MAY 2019

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 27, NO. 10 FREE

S! TING 27 YEAR CELEBRA

© Copyright 2019, Be Bop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Check out this year’s Jazz Festival Line-up on Page 12.

Jazz

in the City

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVA L CELEBRATES 42 YEARS! . . . featuring Kandace Springs

insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 3

Around Town MAY 2 - JUNE 2

NATIVE GARDENS

Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville

Neighbors clash in a dazzling new comedy about a battle for the backyard. In one yard, Frank and Virginia – a well-established D.C. couple – trim a prize-worthy pristine garden. In the other, ambitious attorney Pablo moves in with his very pregnant wife and doctoral candidate Tania, a woman with a penchant for native flora. When a disagreement over the property line quickly escalates into a war, taste, class and entitlement push them all over the hedge. Visit AuroraTheatre.com for tickets.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 11 & 12 TINY HOUSE FESTIVAL Atlantic Station

The two-day event features more than 20 real tiny houses in a true-to-life tiny house neighborhood. Guests will be able to tour the movable Tiny Village and newly expanded Skoolie Spot, hear from micro-living experts, enjoy bites from local food trucks and sip on tasty beverages. All ages are welcome with interactive activities and games for the tiny attendees. Tickets available at AtlanticStation.com.

SUNDAY, MAY 12

Events and Performances taking place this Month

The Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell is offering great nighttime entertainment this summer. Their Sundays on the River Concerts series is held the second Sunday of each month. Come out to their opening night and see the fantastic Bluegrass stylings Lindsay Lou on Sunday, May 12. Visit chattnaturecenter.org for tickets.

FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MAY 17 - 19 MARIETTA GREEK FESTIVAL

Greek Orthodox Church in Marietta

This popular festival brings all the aromas, sounds, tastes and traditions of Greece to your doorstep.

Enjoy authentic Greek food and pastries, cooking demonstrations, church tours, music, and dancing with special audience participation. The festival takes place Friday through Sunday at the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church 3431 Trickum Road in Marietta. Tickets available at MariettaGreekFestival.com.

FRIDAY, MAY 24

CONCERTS IN THE GARDEN Atlanta Botanical Garden

SUNDAYS ON THE RIVER

Chattahoochee Nature Center

Concerts in the Garden is a summer concert series by Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Enjoy Old Crow Medicine Friday, May 24.

FRI/SAT JUN 14/15

Bring blanket and chairs for general admission seating on the lawn. Other performances this summer include: Ricky Skaggs (June 2) and The Mighty O.A.R. (June 14).

Tickets available at Atlantabg.org.

FRIDAY - MONDAY, MAY 24 - 27 SALUTE TO THE TROOPS Stone Mountain Park

Come to Stone Mountain Park Memorial Day Weekend for a special salute to the troops, extended fireworks finale, and the Lasershow Spectacular in Mountainvision® with breathtaking fire effects. Marvel as the skies above light up in a specially choreographed musical tribute honoring the brave men and women who protect our country. Active duty, veterans, and retired military personnel will receive one FREE All-Attractions Pass with valid ID. Visit stonemountainpark.com.

SATURDAY. MAY 25 BREW AT THE ZOO

Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park

One of Atlanta’s favorite Memorial Day weekend festival traditions returns at Brew at the Zoo. Tickets include sampling of more than 70 beers, select wine sampling, and live music on stages throughout the Zoo. Brew at the

2019

© 1990 Twentieth Century Fox

FRI/SAT/SUN OCT 25/26/27

SAT NOV 30/SUN DEC 1

PG 4 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

2019

Zoo is a 21-and-up event; guests under 21 will not be admitted.

SATURDAY - SUNDAY, JUNE 1 & 2 BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL

Chattahoochee Nature Center

The "Butterfly Encounter Exhibit” allows visitors to the festival to hand-feed more than 250 free flying butterflies. Enjoy the show when masses of butterflies fly free and land on kids and flowers after their release in front of the Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion. Learn about the ways you can help bring more butterflies to your garden.

Featuring live music, entomology exhibits, arts and crafts, face painting, butterfly parades, food trucks and more. A great event to kick off summer and enjoy nature.

Visit chattnaturecenter.org.

MONDAY - SUNDAY. JUNE 3 - 9 FRINGE FESTIVAL

Heritage Hall Sandy Springs

The Atlanta Fringe Festival’s 7th annual installment brings 23 performance groups from around the country putting up live theatre, dance, comedy, storytelling and more across six venues throughout four jam-packed days. This year’s festival will also feature a free outdoor stage for family-friendly shows. Visit AtlantaFringe.org.

SAT OCT 12

2019

FRI/SAT MAR 13/14

2020

2019

BUY TICKETS NOW TICKETMASTER.COM

WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER BOX OFFICE ASO.ORG/MOVIES

On Tap this Month MAJOR EVENTS COMING TO ATLANTA

May 11: Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater

LISA KELLY

e mesmerizing angelic voice of Lisa Kelly returns to the Fred to deliver an amazing night of music. A singer of both classical and Celtic music, Lisa is a founding member of the musical group Celtic Woman and former lead member of the American production of Riverdance. Performing in numerous musical productions including 9 albums as part of Celtic Women, 3 solo albums. Get tickets at Amphitheater.org.

presents

tickets on sale now FOR THE 2019 concert season! lisa kelly SATURDAY, MAY 11 dennis deyoung: The Music of Styx friday, May 17 The Grand Illusion 40th Anniversary Album Tour

joan jett & The Blackhearts sunday, june 2 kool & the gang SATURDAY, JUNE 15 The Robert Cray Band & Marc Cohn saturday, june 22 featuring Special Guest Vocalists Blind Boys of Alabama with Special Guest Shemekia Copeland

May 15: Cobb Energy Centre

CRUEL INTENTIONS

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1999 silver screen classic with this all-new musical. e ’90s Musical is based on the classic cult film starring Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillipe and Sarah Michelle Geller.

Featuring favorite throwback hits by artists like Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, REM, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears. NYC’s most intoxicating new musical is a fullon ’90s party. Get tickets at Cobbenergycentre.com.

The Ultimate Queen Celebration saturday, june 29 starring Marc Martel

Spin Doctors & 10,000 Maniacs saturday, july 20 music and a movie - bacon brothers saturday, july 27 starring michael and kevin bacon

The Lost 80’s saturday, august 3

A Flock of Seagulls, The Motels, The Vapors, Naked Eyes, Bow Wow Wow, Real Life, Boys Don’t Cry, Farrington & Mann

MJ Live saturday, august 10

with special guest Electric Avenue, the 80's MTV experience

an evening with chris botti SATURDAY, august 17 George Thorogood and the Destroyers SATURDAY, october 5

May 17 & 18: Atlanta Symphony Hall

JAWS IN CONCERT WITH THE ASO Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the concert hall ... e original summer movie blockbuster, with an Academy Award®-winning score Jaws takes over symphony hall. Now for the first time, audiences will have the chance to experience the power of a live symphony orchestra performing the entire score in sync with one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. Tickets available at Atlantasymphony.org.

May 18 - 27: Jim R. Miller Park, Marietta

YAARAB SHRINE CIRCUS AND FAIR e largest Shrine Circus and Fair in North America is back this month and packed with more excitement than ever. is year’s Tarzan Zerbini Circus features several new acts under the Big Top including the Johnny Rockett’s Cycle Circus Live and the exhilarating FMX freestyle entertainment show. Enjoy 35 exciting carnival rides and attractions, as well as lots of carnival food. Visit 2019ShrineCircus.com for more info.

May 25 & 26: Piedmont Park

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL Celebrating over 40 years of musical mastery, the festival returns to Piedmont Park with three days of music over Memorial Day Weekend. e festival weekend offers KidZone areas with games and inflatables. National and international musicians will perform on two stages. e Atlanta Jazz Festival is the perfect way to spend the holiday with family and friends. Admission to the festival is free. Visit atlantafestivals.com.

June 7 - 9: Cobb Energy Centre

THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, e Lightning ief: e Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed theatrical adventure that has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, e Lightning ief is mesmerizing and proves lightning can strike twice! Get tickets at Ticketmaster.com.

The Good To Be Bad Tour - 45 Years of Rock

For more details, visit www.amphitheater.org order tickets by phone at 877.725.8849

BAVARIANFEST Memorial Day Weekend!

Saturday, May 25th 6 – 11 pm ★ Live German Band ★ Dancing ★ Import Beers ★ Domestic Beers ★ Wines ★ Wursts & Hot Dogs ★ Pretzels & Snacks ★ Family Friendly Active & Retired Military & Veterans receive FREE ADMISSION & guest with ID. All other Adults $8 Oktoberfest Festhalle Friends

For additional information & Tickets visit HelenChamber.com or call 706.878.1908 1074 Edelweiss Strasse • Helen, GA 30545 insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 5

EVENTS HAPPENING FOR SMALL CHANGE IN ATLANTA

Know of a low cost event happening? Event@AtlantaOnADime.com

By Marci Miller

e Decatur Business Association is inviting all to the free May concerts series. e Saturday Concerts on the Square will begin at 7pm and end at 9:30pm. e Wednesday Blue Sky Concert (May 15) will begin at 12 noon and end at 1pm.

ursday, May 9th for a special Mother's Day edition of Movies in the District.

Enjoy a free screening of Mamma Mia! outdoors on the big screen and sing along to ABBA's greatest hits. ere will be some seating available on a first-come, firstserved basis. Guests may bring blankets and lawn chairs. Friendly dogs are welcome. e movie begins at dusk (usually around 8:30pm), but get there early to claim your spot.

Saturday & Sunday May 4 & 5

Friday, May 10

Brown Park in Downtown Canton Free Event; cantonartfestival.com

W. Ponce de Leon Ave. Decatur Square Free Event; decaturartsfestival.com

May 4, 11, 15, 18, 25

ON THE SQUARE CONCERTS

Downtown Decatur; Free Concerts decaturDBA.com

DECATUR LANTERN PARADE

CANTON ARTS FESTIVAL

e 16th annual Canton Festival of the Arts features a juried Artist Market, the Serenity Garden, a celebration of literature, live entertainment, a kids area and a food court. With the charm of a historic river town, Canton offers views of the North Georgia Mountains and provides a delightful setting for the annual festival.

Thursday, May 9

MOVIES WITH MOM

Celebrate the arts and the start of summer at the Decatur Lantern Parade. Gather at Color Wheel Studio at 508 E. Howard Ave. after 8 pm, then parade to the downtown square along with the Black Sheep Marching Ensemble. Make your own lantern at home or attend a lantern-making workshop. Lanterns must be battery powered while flying lanterns are forbidden.

e family-friendly Neighborhood Jazz Series will kick-off with a free, live concert at Washington Park on Saturday, May 11 from 4 – 8 p.m., featuring performances

by Groove Centric and Julie Dexter. Additional concerts at various parks around Atlanta. All Neighborhood Jazz events are hosted by Atlanta City Council members in parks located in their districts.

Saturday & Sunday May 11 & 12

DUNWOODY ARTS FESTIVAL Dunwoody Village Parkway; Free Event; splashfestivals.com

e Dunwoody Arts Festival attracts top artisans from across the country. Along with the creative artist market, a fun-filled Kidz Zone awaits youngsters with great rides, sand art, imaginative crafts and games. A relaxing stage with continuous live music also offers festival goers a chance to unwind. ere is also a food court with great eats from neighborhood restaurant fare to tasty funnel cakes.

Sunday, May 12

CONCERTS BY THE SPRINGS

Heritage Green Sandy Springs Free concerts; heritagesandysprings.org Join Heritage Sandy Springs Museum and Parks newest event, the Taproom Concert Series. Each Concert by the Springs event will be preceded by the ticketed eventTaproom Concert Series, offering attendees the chance to sip and stroll around the park while tasting a selection of craft beers before the concert officially begins.

Friday, June 21

DECATUR BEACH PARTY Downtown Decatur Square Free Event; decaturdba.com

Come and celebrate the kick-off of summer where the beach meets the street.

Featuring pop-up performances, a DJ, live music, a sandy “beach,” and more. Best of all, admission is now free! Gather up those sand toys and come ready to play in 80 tons of sand on Ponce De Leon Avenue.

DECATUR LANTERN PARADE W. Ponce de Leon Ave. Decatur Square FREE EVENT decaturartsfestival.com

Saturday & Sunday May 11,12,18,19

Atlantic Station @ District Ave; Free atlanticstation.com

NEIGHBORHOOD JAZZ SERIES

Various Parks around Atlanta Bring your Mom to Atlantic Station on atlantafestivals.com RECEIVE UPDATED EVENTS WEEKLY. SIGN UP BY EMAILING SUBSCRIPTIONS@ATLANTAONADIME.COM ENTER ON THE SUBJECT LINE: SIGN ME UP INSITE!

Your Neighborhood Pizzeria!

Atlanta’s Favorite Pizza!

Multiple Atlanta Locations: JohnnysPizza.com PG 6 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

Under The Lights NEW ON ATLANTA STAGE

THE CAKE

Horizon Theatre May 17 - June 23 (404) 584-7450 HorizonTheatre.com When Della, a North Carolina Baker and devout Christian, is asked to bake a wedding cake for her best friend’s daughter, she is overjoyed. But that joy is short-lived when she learns that the intended is another bride.

Struggling to reconcile her deeply-held belief in “traditional marriage” and the love she has for the woman she helped raise, Della finds herself in strange new territory.

Inspired by a story still in the headlines, this marvelously funny new play by Bekah Brunstetter (TV’s This is Us) is proof that love is the key ingredient in creating common ground.

JUMP

Actors Express May 29 - June 23 (404) 607-7469 ActorsExpress.com

Jump by Charly Evon Simpson is a gorgeous new play about self-discovery, healing and finding beauty in unexpected surprises. It follows Fay, a twentysomething still reeling from the death of her mother who

seeks solace on a nearby bridge looking for a good place to vape, but what she finds is a journey of self-discovery. In the whimsically theatrical world of Jump, lights flicker, hearts heal – and you never know what surprises will literally fall from the sky.

THE LATEST DVD, BLU RAY & VOD RELEASES

By John Moore

JOHNNY THUNDERS MADRID MEMORY

(Cleopatra/MVD Visual) In 1984, when punk guitar Godfather Johnny Thunders was in the midst of a reunion tour, he was on the downside of he’s popularity and clearly not drug free.

But as this live show from the capitol of Spain, originally shown as TV broadcast, proves he could still put on a brilliant set. A little sloppy, as it should be, a lot of awkward between song down time (tuning guitars, combing his hair), but when Thunders and The Heartbreakers, including Jerry Nolan and Sylvain Sylvain, tear through classics like The New York Dolls’ “Personality Crisis” or “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,” you realize just how remarkable this band could be. The set comes with a DVD and CD version of the show.

TICKLED

(Magnolia Home Entertainment) You’d hardly expect a documentary about competitive tickling to be so suspenseful. But New Zealand journalist David Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve have managed to pull it off with this wildly entertaining look into the highly secretive people behind online tickling videos. The duo flies across the world

Station Control

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

Game of Thrones

THE LIGHTNING THIEF

June 7 - 9 Cobb Energy Centre (800) 982-2787 Ticketmaster.com

BY BENJAMIN CARR

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed theatrical adventure that has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike. The Greek gods are real, and they're ruining Percy Jackson's life. As a son of Poseidon, Percy has newly discovered powers he can't control, monsters on his trail, and is on an epic quest to find Zeus's lightning bolt to prevent a war between the gods. Nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, The Lightning Thief is "mesmerizing" and proves "lightning can strike twice!" (TheaterMania).

Music and lyrics are by Rob Rokicki and the play is directed by Stephen Brackett.

HOME THEATER

NEW RELEASES

TV

to the U.S. to interview former video subjects who were blackmailed and harassed by organizers, who turn their focus on the filmmakers as a result they face legal threats and a bizarre stream of homophobia. Suspenseful up to the last few minutes, Tickled takes to a bizarrely niche corner of the Internet and comes back with a fantastic documentary.

MASTER OF DARK SHADOWS

(MPI Media Group) It’s been more than five decades since Dan Curtis premiered his bizarre Gothic black and white vampire soap opera on network TV in the middle of the day, but its impact is still considerable. From the mediocre Johnny Depp movie to a slew of other films, bands, fashion and pretty most of Tim Burton’s career, the influence of Dark Shadows is strong. This documentary, narrated by Deadwood’s Ian McShane, does a masterful job of diving into the series, it’s creator, Dan Curtis, and the legacy surrounding both through interviews with everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to True Blood creator (and Dan Curtis acolyte) Alan Ball.

E

VERY SHOW ENDS EVENTUALLY. As two major hits that have defined culture for the past decade are making their way to the exit, new sorts of shows are emerging to change the way we look at television and the world. We have only a matter of weeks to follow the storylines of Game of Thrones and watch our favorite characters from The Big Bang Theory, but viewers should appreciate these shows for the entertainment they brought and be encouraged at what’s to come.

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

Winter has come to Westeros, as promised, and the armies of the dead are marching upon the Seven Kingdoms. A battle is set to ravage Winterfell, leaving all of our favorite characters devastated and some worse than that. Game of Thrones has always thrived on its element of surprise and its bloodthirst for its main characters. Since the death of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) in the first season, no one has been safe. The show’s brazenness made it a must-watch shocker, one of the few fantasy series to ever work on television, and the ending - with the final three, super-sized episodes of season eight airing this month promises to be killer.

Questions remain as the ending approaches, and it stands to reason that showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff will likely answer most of the questions. Game of Thrones should not end with a sudden fade-to-black, like The Sopranos did. A well-told tale, which the show has always been, should have a satisfying end.

Among the questions to be answered: Who will take the Iron Throne? Will Jon (Kit Harington) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) end their affair now that they know they’re related? Which of the Starks - if any - will survive? Will Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) defeat their sister Cersei (Lena Headey)? Will they destroy the Night King or die trying?

It promises to be epic and unpredictable, though in this world the good guys rarely come away unscathed.

THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)

For twelve years, the geeky Pasadena scientists of the giant hit sitcom have remained consistently entertaining, friendly and worth watching.

And the characters

have grown and changed. Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) started as neighbors, then became lovers and married.

The bizarre, anti-social, picky and weird Sheldon (Emmy winner Jim Parsons) even grew past his many, many quirks to gain and accept the love of his girlfriend and partner Amy (Mayim Bialik) in the show’s best story arc. And Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) have grown and found love, as well.

Set to end May 16, the finale should be funny and romantic, likely culminating in the season-long arc of Sheldon and Amy’s pursuit of a Nobel Prize in Physics. Expect happy endings all around on this show, maybe even some surprise pregnancies, for show creator Chuck Lorre has filled the show with a lot of heart and very little cynicism, unlike his previous hit Two and a Half Men, which fizzled out. This one, as the title suggests, should end with a bang.

SPECIAL (Netflix)

Looking at new shows, viewers are likely to embrace shows about sorts of characters they’ve never seen before. With the recent Hulu sitcom Shrill and the eight-episode Netflix gem Special, streaming services are giving the spotlight to types of people usually left in the dark.

While Shrill centered on Saturday Night Live star Aidy Bryant as a plus-sized beauty demanding that the world give her all she’s worth, Special does something even more remarkable, putting a gay man with cerebral palsy at its center. Ryan O’Connell developed the show from his own memoir and stars in the series.

As the show opens, Ryan, who walks with a limp because of his condition, is hit by a car.

A misunderstanding at his new job lead his co-workers to believe that the car accident caused his limp, and he goes along with the ruse. People act differently toward a situation they understand - a car accident - than they do toward a lifelong disability from birth, so Ryan’s life becomes better and more open as he navigates what it might be like not to be dismissed outright for his disability.

The more people see themselves on television and in stories, the more they feel seen.

There is something profound and beautiful about Special, and it is bracingly honest about sexuality and damn funny. It is one of the year’s best. insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 7

MOVIES

Movie Reviews

BY STEVE WARREN

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (PG-13)

 Wow. Simply wow. The three-hour (including 13 minutes of credits with no extra scenes) marathon that concludes what we now know to have been a twenty-twology (Is there another word for it?) shouldn’t work, but it does. It has too many characters, too much history, too many subplots; and yet most of it can be followed by the most casual fan of the series. The more avid fans will be rewarded by catching more of the inside jokes and subtle references. The haters are still gonna hate and I wouldn’t recommend this as an introduction to the Marvel Comics Universe, but directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have done the impossible in weaving all this together in a coherent form and working in virtually every actor (or their character, if the actors changed along the way) who had a major role in the first 21 films, if only for a photo or one-liner. Most importantly, the late Stan Lee, father of it all, has his cameo. Five years after the end of Infinity War, when Thanos (Josh Brolin) destroyed half the life on Earth, the remaining Avengers reassemble, mostly using their mortal names instead of their superhero names. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) still bicker a little but they’re on the same side. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) comes up with the idea of time-traveling (You’ll have to pardon the blasphemous Back to the Future jokes) through the Quantum Realm to collect the infinity stones before Thanos can use them, thereby reversing the damage he did. This requires going to New Jersey and other remote parts of the universe before a climactic battle that’s almost anticlimactic and an epilogue that goes on too long when the only question most viewers will have at this point is, When can I go to the bathroom? One spoiler: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is out of shape. Now that’s acting!

ALL IS TRUE (PG-13)

1/2 Kenneth Branagh is a great actor, almost as great as he thinks he is. When he directs himself, as he does here, we see an ego display of Trumpian proportions. (I still can’t believe they’ve greenlit his Death on the Nile remake after what he did to Murder on the Orient Express.) William Shakespeare (Branagh) retires in 1613 after the Old Globe Theatre burns down in a scene eerily reminiscent of the recent fire at Notre Dame. This is the story of the last nearlythree years of the playwright’s life, and it affirms why no one in the last 400 years has cared what he did when he wasn’t writing. The plot puts Shakespeare in the soap sphere as he returns to Stratford-on-Avon and his neglected family –

ALL IS TRUE PG 8 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

wife Anne (Judi Dench, who can do no wrong but isn’t given enough to do right); unhappily married daughter Susannah (Lydia Wilson), and unhappily unmarried daughter Judith (Kathryn Wilder), whose twin brother Hamnet died 17 years ago at the age of 11. Women being even more undervalued then than they are now, Hamnet was his father’s favorite, and the man devotes himself to creating a memorial garden for the boy. Various scandals erupt within and around the family; and there’s a sidebar in which Will receives a visit from the Earl of Southampton (Ian McKellen), on whom he had a possibly unrequited crush, and they offer dueling recitations of Sonnet XXIX. Visually, All Is True will make you feel like you’ve gone back four centuries in a time machine; but what’s happening there will make you eager to return to the present.

ANIARA (R)

1/2 Where are Sandra Bullock and George Clooney when we need them? That must be what some passengers on the Aniara are thinking as they drift aimlessly in space, after being knocked off course and jettisoning their fuel while they were emigrating to Mars. I love old-school science-fiction that doesn’t involve the Star Wars universe (although those are good too), but this Swedish effort gave me too many reasons to temper my affection. It borrows elements from such greats as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running and Gravity, not to mention Lost in Space and Titanic, and adds some original concepts (most notably the Mima Room, where a computer relieves people’s stress by flooding them with their most peaceful memories of “Earth as it once was”); but the screenplay, based on a 1956 epic poem

by Nobel Prize winner Harry Martinsson, glosses over too many details. We’re told the ship contains an algae farm which produces enough oxygen and food for the desperate passengers as well as a water purification plant; but how, after several years of a voyage that was supposed to last three weeks, is the bar still fully stocked with liquor? Is there no way to communicate with whatever’s left of Earth? How did these people get aboard?

Are they wealthier than they look or was there a lottery? Whatever becomes of what was hoped to be a rescue probe? There’s no time to sweat the small stuff when there’s a lesbian romance with bisexual wanderings to deal with and we have to watch the captain grow facial hair. Despite many good points, including the implied need to take care of the planet we have, if I were lost in space with only one movie to watch for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t want it to be Aniara.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME RED JOAN (R)

 Directed by Trevor Nunn, better known for his stage work, Red Joan is old-fashioned in a good way. Its style will appeal to fans of TCM, not MCU. With a minor cleanup it could have been one of the best pictures of – I don’t know, maybe 1948. Most of it takes place in the decade preceding that year, in flashbacks from 2000, when octogenarian Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) is arrested for treason. Interrogated by the police, she recalls her days at Cambridge when Joan (Sophie Cookson), a shy, virginal physics major, is befriended by Sonya (Tereza Srbova), a vivacious, Russian-born Jew. Sonya happens to have a hot cousin, Leon (Tom Hughes). So much for the virginal part. Joan gets involved in Communist rallies on campus, but upon graduation she still qualifies for top secret work with a government organization that’s trying to develop an atomic bomb – collaborating with Canada but racing against the U.S. and U.S.S.R., even though all are Britain’s allies. She becomes romantically involved with her boss, Max (Stephen Campbell Moore), the only man who appreciates her intelligence. As Sonya says in recruiting Joan, “No one would suspect us. We’re women.” The title and her arrest in the opening scene leave little doubt that Joan will pass atomic secrets to the Russians. What’s interesting is that she does it for the sake of mutual deterrence, the idea that if all the countries have nuclear weapons, none will dare use them against each other, a concept that would help the planet survive the Cold War. Cookson probably has five or six times as much screen time as Dench, and as fine as both are, it would be fair to say they make an equal impression. Let she or he who wasn’t radicalized in college watch Avengers. This is a true-ish story the rest of us can relate to to some extent.

STOCKHOLM (R)

1/2 If you don’t know Stockholm is supposed to be a comedy, you may think the humor is unintentional and it’s just a poorly made drama/ thriller destined for camp status. Apparently the true story it’s based on was just as strange, although the people involved didn’t see the humor at the time. An opening bookend explains that the incident we’re about to see gave birth to the term “Stockholm Syndrome,” in which a hostage/kidnap victim bonds with their captor. In Stockholm in 1973 we meet Lars (Ethan Hawke) as he prepares to singlehandedly rob Kreditbanken, “the biggest bank in Sweden.”

He’s dressed in leather with a longhaired wig, as if he were attending the nearby rock festival.

The action is unconvincing for several reasons as Lars quickly takes over the bank, letting most of the employees and customers go but holding two secretaries, Bianca (Noomi Rapace) and Klara, as hostages. The bank manager and chief of police are cooperative, the latter releasing Lars’ mentor and friend, bank robber/killer Gunnar Sorensson (Mark Strong), from prison to join him in the bank; but the Swedish prime minister essentially refuses to negotiate with terrorists. A third hostage is taken, a man who is

such a cipher we anticipate a big reveal about him that never comes. The siege goes on for 24 hours or so, time enough for Bianca, a wife and mother of two, to become romantically involved with Lars because she can see his tender side. Lars was born in Sweden but raised in the States. Fortunately for him (and us), everyone he encounters speaks fluent English. Writer-director Robert Budreau is sloppy about details but keeps Stockholm generally diverting, though not on a par with the Steve McQueen movies Lars favors.

THE WHITE CROW THE WHITE CROW (R)

1/2 Rudolf Nureyev defected from the USSR to the West on June 16, 1961, while Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet was in Paris for five weeks on their first postwar Western tour. That historical fact is one of the few things I found believable in this film about the events leading up to that Event. Even in his teens Nureyev is portrayed as a diva who puts the “rude” in Rudolf, whose ego and temperament developed faster than his talent. “I’d rather die than live under the rules,” he says. From what little I know of the Soviet Union in that period (the mid-1950s), I would think a child who behaved that way would have been sent to a labor camp, rather than allowed to stay in a prestigious dance academy. I also question why a Russian boy in that era would have wanted to learn English, even if his teacher was a German fellow dancer/friend with benefits. Rudi keeps his secret service escorts busy in Paris, but if he was gay and was going to break rules about curfews and associating with locals, why did he spend all his spare time with a platonic female friend, Chilean heiress Clara Saint (Adèle Exarchopoulos)? I suppose you’ll have to ask screenwriter David Hare (The Reader, The Hours) or director Ralph Fiennes, who also appears as Rudi’s preferred instructor.

The film begins with the dancer’s birth on a train in 1938 and includes frequent flashbacks to his childhood, shown in near-monochrome.

From 1955 on Nureyev is played by Ukranian dancer-actor Oleg Ivenko, who does a good job of making him unlikable, if that was the intent.

Though no Nureyev, his dancing is admirable, down to showing his subtle flaws as a teenager.

The film’s technically well made but left me feeling I didn’t know the whole story.

See the rest of our movie reviews at insiteatlanta.com/movies.asp

In the Mood for . . . TAPAS! Popular Atlanta restaurants offering small plates Eclipse di Luna

764 Miami Circle 404.846.0449 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody 678.205.5862 eclipsediluna.com

Upon entering Eclipse di Luna you feel like you’ve been transported into an exotic locale.

Take in the festive, high-energy dining experience with an artsy setting as a backdrop. With over two dozen tapas to choose from there is something to please any taste. Their cheese based tapas are great choice to start with.

Try the Quesos Espanoles, a tasting of Spanish cheeses with assorted accompaniments. Eclipse di Luna features a variety of meat dishes like the Pollo a la Parilla, a chicken breast grilled and marinated with red pepper salad and avocado. On the beef side, The Brocheta de Bistee is a red wine marinated skirt steak skewered with chimichurri. There are also several seafood dishes to choose from including the Gambas al Ajillo which is sautéed shrimp & garlic with calabes pepper. Eclipse di Luna has been voted Best Tapas by INsite readers several years running. Both locations offer patio dining.

BABALU®

33 Peachtree Place @ Peachtree Midtown Atlanta 404.900.9595 eatbabalu.com

BABALU® features scratch made Latin inspired dishes with a touch of southern flair.

Sample and share more than a dozen small plates to choose from their menu, like Albondigas made with braised lamb, chorizo and beef to guest favorite Patatas Bravas, crispy smashed fingerling potatoes with roasted garlic aioli and spicy tomato sauce. All tapas are $1 off during Social Hours, Monday through Friday 3pm – 6pm.

At BABALU®, tacos reign with twelve flavors that are made with house recipe corn tortillas. The best time to try them all is on a Taco Tuesday, when they are just $2 each.

Located in Midtown on the corner of Peachtree Place and Peachtree Street, BABALU’S® patio offers both covered and uncovered options with stools at the outside bar and plenty of casual couch seating. Come early so that you can snag a spot and sip on house-made seasonal sangria or their award-winning Baba Rita®.

It’s no surprise that BABALU® was named one of Atlanta’s Best Group Dining spots.

Their community tables and Chef’s counter are perfect for friends and families that want to share and enjoy tapas for a night out. BABALU® is steps away from the Midtown MARTA station and they will also validate parking tickets in the garage located behind the restaurant.

Loca Luna

550-C Amsterdam Ave. 404.875.4494 loca-luna.com

Samba. Salsa. Merengue. They have it all at Loca Luna, where you'll find live Latin music nightly and savory dishes from Spain, South America and Latin America. Their location on Amsterdam Ave offers a spacious main dining room, ample bar/lounge area, tropical outdoor patio with Midtown skyline view, and a private VIP area upstairs. Enjoy a wide range of tapas including Snapchat worthy selections like: Spanish Style Ribs, Mini Cuban Sliders, Pao de Queijo, Brazilian Cheese Rolls, Emapanda de Carne, carne asada steak skewers, Ceviche De Camarones, lamb meatballs; garlic and lemon aioli. Come for free Salsa Lessons from 8-9pm on Wednesdays with Orquesta MaCuba Salsa Band and $5 Skinny Drinks. Make sure to try their world famous Mojito while you're here, it has been voted best in Atlanta. The happening bar is open till 2:30am on weekends with a wide selection of exotic cocktails, top shelf liquor and many wines to complement a good meal or a night of dancing. Loca Luna has also been voted best late night venue, patio, appetizers, Latin music and girls night out, among others, by both local and national publications. They feature live Latin music every night on their large dance floor and the hottest DJ's spin late night on Fridays and Saturdays. There is plenty of free parking and free valet available.

Escorpion

800 Peachtree St. Midtown 678.666.5198 escorpionatl.com

This delightful Mexican restaurant from restaurateur Riccardo Ullio offers the same philosophy behind his successful Italian concepts – to offer guests authentic, indigenous flavors while incorporating the eclectic, modern vibe of Atlanta’s Midtown area. Step into this rustic Mexican cantina and take a seat at the 360-degree bar area. Escorpion’s food and drink menus are rooted in indigenous flavors and culture. They offer a variety of tacos, each one unique and a classic. These include the Pastor (marinated pork, pineapple & caramelized onions); pan seared Baja Fish and Seta (poblano peppers and portobello mushrooms) as well as menu favorite - braised chicken Tinga. Escorpion is also known for their tasty Antojitos (small street-inspired bites). These include the Seasonal Ceviche (fresh fish) and Pork Tomale. Escorpion is a short stroll from The Fox Theater and when there’s no show the restaurant creates its own with salsa dancing and live music on select nights.

Mediterranean Grill

N. Decatur Plaza 404.320.0101 Midtown 404.917.1100 East Cobb 678.996.0045 Athens 706.543.5000 mediterraneangrill.com

Mediterranean Grill has consistently been voted "Best Mediterranean" in Atlanta. They serve authentic regional dishes like gyros, falafel, Greek salad, kabob and lamb shank. You will find great Mediterranean Tapas on the menu too. Start with one of their artfully prepared appetizers like Hummus, Baba Ganouj, Tabouleh Salad Calamari or homemade Spanakopita. Try the Business Lunch Combo offering Shish Kabob, Kufta Kabab & Gyro slices w/rice pilaf, salad, pita and drink for just $8.40. Mediterranean Grill has tasty sandwiches including: Gyro, Kufta Kabob, Chicken Kabob, Falafel and a Grilled Vegetable sandwich. Mediterranean Grill is also popular for catering. Their menu can be found online or by calling any of their three locations. Give them a call or come in for an authentic Mediterranean experience.

Best Tapas Best Salsa Band Best Latin Music Best Salsa Dancing Best Girls Night Out

loca-luna.com 550 Amsterdam Ave NE • Atlanta, GA 30306 insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 9

SpringFESTIVALS Georgia Renaissance Festival

from Tasting.

Tickets available at HelenChamber.com or (706) 878-1908.

The 2019 Georgia Renaissance Festival is now running in its 33rd Season and continues for 8 consecutive weekends through June 2nd, including Memorial Day. Festival guests will be greeted by Queen Anne Boleyn and her Court, merry minstrels, fair maidens, gallant Knights and a full-day of entertainment on 10 stages, food fit for kings, and a marketplace of over 150 master artisans. This year features a new Renaissance adventure or special promotion each weekend. Visit GArenfest.com.

Chastain Arts Festival

Fairburn / Peachtree City

Spring Bierfest Helen, GA Festhalle

THRU JUNE 2

MAY 11

Head to the mountains of Helen, GA for the 4th annual Craft Beer Tasting and Spring Bierfest. This year offers over 100 beers to sample. The event takes place on Saturday, May 11.

Beer tastings from noon - 5pm with Bierfest after party 6pm - 11pm. Free admission to After Party with arm band

Chastain Park, Buckhead

MAY 11 & 12

This award-winning, two-day festival features over 185 display tents of art and crafts, including many local and regional artists and artisans. In addition to the abundance of unique art, there will be a children's area in the adjacent green space, local gourmet food, beverages and a small stage for acoustic musical performances. To find out more regarding this free event visit ChastainParkArtsFestival.com.

Sweet Auburn Festival Sweet Auburn District

MAY 11 & 12

Celebrating 35 years, the original Sweet Auburn Springfest takes place Mother’s Day Weekend May 11 - 12 in the historic A u b u r n A v e n u e District, birth place of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in Downtown Atlanta. Over 100,000 are

expected to attend over the weekend.

Enjoy fun, food and entertainment for the whole family. Visit SweetAuburn.com

East Atlanta Beer Festival

East Atlanta Farmer’s Market MAY 18

East Atlanta Beer Festival has moved to the East Atlanta Farmers Market.

Sample over 150 craft beers and visit shops and restaurants in East Atlanta Village. Enjoy live local music on the festival's main stage and a wide array of food. Proceeds benefit the community. EastAtlantaBeerfest.com

Kirkwood Spring Fling and Tour of Homes Bessie Branham Park

MAY 18

Don't miss being part of the 17th Annual Kirkwood Spring Fling & Tour of Homes on Saturday, May 18. Celebrating the historic and eclectic in-town neighborhood of Kirkwood, this familyfriendly festival offers a fun-filled opportunity to enjoy the warmth of spring with a 5K run,

artist market, diverse lineup of live music, creative kids' activities, Blue Ribbon BBQ Cook-off and Tour of Homes. The event will take place at Bessie Branham Park, rain or shine. Festival is free, with ticketing for the 5K and Tour of Homes. Visit KirkwoodFling.com.

Yarab Shrine Circus & Fair Jim R Miller Park, Marietta

MAY 18 - 27

The largest Shrine Circus and Fair in North America is back for its 77th year!

Packed with more excitement than ever, this year’s Tarzan Zerbini Circus features several new acts under the Big Top. New this year is the Johnny Rockett’s Cycle Circus Live.

The FMX freestyle entertainment show combines the top action sports athletes in the world and the crazy antics of world famous comedy daredevil Johnny Rockett.

Also witness the Human Bullet “Saturn” flying high above the crowds below. The Great Daredevil “Garcia” on the Wheel of Thrill will keep everyone on the edge of their seats. In addition to the circus, there are 35 exciting carnival rides and attractions, as well as lots of carnival food. The Sneak-a-Peek Ride-A-Thon begins Friday

CHECK OUT OUR SUMMER GUIDE ISSUE ON THE STREETS JUNE 28

S ummer Guide C E L E B R AT I N G

27 YEARS!

Be in the Know and Like INsite Today! insiteatlanta.com

PG 10 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

Decatur Arts Festival

MAY 24 - 26

Decatur Square

Decatur's biggest arts event takes place over Memorial Day Weekend. Get started Friday evening, May 24, with the ArtWalk all around Decatur.

The fun continues with the new dance festival, literary arts performances, musicians all day long on Decatur's community bandstand, a juried artists market, the fine arts exhibition, a special Kids and Teens Arts Festival and more. For additional info visit DecaturArtsFestival.com.

Bavarianfest

At Festhalle in Helen, GA

MAY 25

Come to the mountains of Helen, Georgia and celebrate Bavarianfest! This festive Bavarian atmosphere consists of a live German band and plenty of dancing. This Memorial Day Weekend help honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Import and domestic beers & wines, wursts on a bun, hot dogs, pretzels and more. Active and retired military receive free admission. All others $8.00. Visit HelenChamber.com.

Alpharetta Street Fest Downtown Alpharetta

MAY 25 - 27

Come on out to the City of Alpharetta in the new Village Green for the Alpharetta Arts Streetfest over Memorial Day Weekend. This three-day event will host more than 90 regional and national artisans whose colorful and whimsical artwork will certainly make a splash in this charming district of Alpharetta. The popular Streetfest will feature live music, entertaining and hands-on children’s activities along with great cuisine from local eateries and street eats in the food court. Visit SplashFestivals.com.

Atlanta Jazz Festival Piedmont Park

MAY 25 & 26

Celebrating over 40 years of musical mastery, the festival returns to Piedmont Park with three days of music over Memorial Day Weekend.

Artists scheduled for 2019 include Kandace Springs, Alicia Olatuja and Marcus Strickland.

In addition to the Memorial Day Weekend Festival, 31 Days of Jazz events will be put on throughout Metro Atlanta.

The final weekend offers KidZone areas with games and inflatables. National and international musicians will perform on two stages. The Atlanta Jazz Festival is the perfect way to spend the holiday with family and friends. Admission to the festival is free. Visit atlantafestivals.com.

Candler Park Music Festival

Candler Park, Atlanta MAY 31 & JUNE 1

Candler Park Music & Food Festival returns on Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1 at Candler Park in East Atlanta. The two day event features a huge music lineup, food trucks, an artist market, interactive experiences and the exclusive Terrapin

Brew Lounge where attendees can experience craft brews, and adult field games. The event draws more than 20,000 attendees. For ticket information visit CandlerParkMusicFestival.com.

Virginia-Highland Summerfest

ARTS ALL AROUND

DECATUR.

Virginia-Highland Neighborhood SATURDAY, JUNE 1 & SUNDAY, JUNE 2

The 36th annual Virginia-Highland Summerfest offers an Artist Market featuring works of over 250 artists booths, plus delicious food from an array of festival vendors and local restaurants. The Kidsfest offers games, crafts and activities for children of all ages. Live music will be on stage with a variety of local musicians along with nationally acclaimed singer songwriters.

Over a 1,000 runners will compete in the Summerfest 5K on Saturday through the neighborhood streets of Virginia-Highland.

Visit vahisummerfest.com.

Decatu

Memorial

r Arts

Festiva Day Week l end

VISITORS CENTER 113 Clairemont Ave., Decatur 30030 | visitdecaturga.com

Decatur-in-site-may-2019.indd 1

5/1/19 1:48 PM

Tunes From The Tombs

Historic Oakland Cemetery JUNE 8

Now in its ninth year, Tunes from the Tombs is a day of incredible music and performances at one of the city’s most unique music venues: Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery. This year’s lineup includes Futurebirds, Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics, The Haraway Brothers, and more. In addition to three stages of great local and regional talent, you can enjoy Atlanta craft beer and local food trucks, visit some of Oakland’s famous residents on free mini-tours, and find one-of-akind souvenirs at the artist market.

Purchase your tickets at Freshtix now.

STES A T L TAI

Food That Rocks

City Green at City Springs JUNE 8

The Fourth Annual Food That Rocks takes place Saturday, June 8th, in Sandy Springs from 6:30-11:00 p.m. The signature culinary event, held under tents on the Green at City Springs, features tastings from more than 30 of the city’s top restaurants, along with beer, wine, cocktails and live entertainment.

Participating restaurants include: Battle & Brew, Bishoku, Bogartz Food Artz, Breadwinner Café & Bakery, Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop, Casi Cielo, Chef Rob’s Caribbean Café, Cibo e Beve, City Barbeque, District M, Flower Child and more. Popular ‘80s cover band The Biffs will play while DJ Jimmy will be mixing tunes for the crowd.

Tickets at FoodThatRocks.org.

june 8th

at the city springs city green

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT

FOODTHATROCKS.ORG

BEER WINE C O D CK FOO

May 17. Midway opens Monday through Friday at 5 p.m.; Saturday at 10 a.m.; Sunday at Noon, and Memorial Day at 10 a.m. Visit 2019ShrineCircus.com for more info.

A Day in Decatu

Atlanta Summer Beer Fest

Historic 4th Ward Park JUNE 15

The Atlanta Summer Beer Fest features over 200 beers from local and other great breweries from all over the country. The event takes place Saturday, June 15 from 4 - 8pm at the Historic Fourth Ward Park. Besides the suds, the Fest also offers a selection of wines. There will be live music and plenty of fun attractions. Be sure to check out their Facebook page to get all of the updates. Purchase tickets at AtlantaSummerBeerFest.com.

A Day

of Music and Spirits Featuring

Futurebirds

Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics | The Artisanals The Haraway Brothers | She Returns From War | Kylie Odetta Mike Killeen | Caryn Lee Carter | Distilled butter band

SATURDAY JUNE 8 | 12PM - 8PM

oaklandcemetery.com | Tickets at freshtix

insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 11

MUSIC

CELLO BY CHOICE

Okorie “OK Cello” Johnson Blends Genres and Tells Stories

was standing all around. I loved that it was a nontraditional space and it went over wonderfully.

I was definitely channeling my classroom skills and my reading-the-room skills. I was really using my instrument to be as demonstrative as possible and it turned out to be one of the best gigs so far this year, just because it was so different. That’s where the personal storytelling comes in, ‘cause a lot of my life is an open book.

It’s personal but it’s not precious. I’m just being honest and vulnerable at the same time. I’m not worried about what I’m putting out because I’m comfortable sharing it in a song or a story.

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

M

When: Saturday, May 25 from 11 am to 11 pm Sunday, May 26 from 11 am to 11 pm Where: Piedmont Park Three Stages: Park Drive, Oak Hill, & Meadow Admission: The event is FREE and open to the public

The complete 2019 Atlanta Jazz Festival schedule: SATURDAY, MAY 25

PARK DRIVE STAGE: 12:30 pm ...Avery Dixon, Sax Extraordinaire 2:30 pm ...... Joel Ross ‘Good Vibes’ 4:30 pm ...... Christian Sands 6:30 pm ...... Makaya McCraven OAK HILL STAGE: 1:30 pm ..... Ofer Assaf Quartet 3:30 pm ..... Delfeayo Marsalis 5:30 pm .....Takuya Kuroda 7:30 pm .....Richard Bona MEADOW STAGE: 1 pm .........Alicia Olatuja 3 pm .........Stefon Harris + Blackout 5 pm .........Rhonda Ross & Rodney Kendrick 7 pm ......... Marcus Strickland ‘Twi-Life’ feat. Pharoahe Monche 9 pm .........Lizz Wright

CHRISTIAN SANDS

RICHARD BONA

LIZZ WRIGHT

SUNDAY, MAY 26

PARK DRIVE STAGE: 12:30 pm ...Rialto Jazz for Kids 2:30 pm .....Nicole Banks Long 4:30 pm .....Slim Gambill 6:30 pm .....Michael Mayo OAK HILL STAGE: 1:30 pm .....The Kenny Banks, Jr. Trio 3:30 pm .....OKCello 5:30 pm .....Freelance 7:30 pm .....Kandace Springs MEADOW STAGE: 1 pm ......... The Milkshake Quintet 3 pm ........... Alex Lattimore 5 pm ........... Gary Motley 7 pm ........... Rhonda Thomas 9 pm ........... The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra

SLIM GAMBILL

FREELANCE

MILKSHAKE

Visit atlantafestivals.com for more information!

PG 12 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

USICIAN OKORIE JOHNSON performs as “Ok Cello,” playing his well-worn instrument with live-soundlooping and flights of solo improvisation. His latest album Resolve weaves traditional jazz with elements of classical, EDM, funk and reggae, wrapped around dynamic, personal storytelling.

His narrative pieces frame the story of the DC-born, former English teacher and movie producer. Now playing solo after long collaborative stints with India Arie and Doria Roberts, the Atlanta-based musician’s set at this year’s Jazz Festival is a must-see event. INsite caught up with Sunday, May 26 • 3:30pm the musician by phone as he Atlanta Jazz Festival planned his set.

Oak Hill Stage

It must be a great challenge to not have a band to fall back on. It’s all on you, in the moment.

And I’m ready to do it. The looper is a very powerful tool.

It’s a way to have a band but it’s just me. That way, I know what I want to do and that’s it. I do miss playing with people but this a great way to control the expression. The solo career that I have now is really a by-product of me just playing for my own sanity.

OK CELLO

With your music, people have to actively pay attention. It’s not just background noise.

I’m working on really pointing my set towards the outdoor space and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope it’ll be a good chance for people to see me play live in the middle of all this incredible music, enjoy the beautiful weather and really make an outing of it.

You seem to be ready for the challenge of playing a festival.

I have played some rough spaces. I’ve opened for people who have a very loyal following who may not be into the opener. But in those spaces, I’ve done very well. And the thing about me, I’m not just a cello player like you’d see in a chamber setting. I beat on my instrument and there’s this one drum-and-bass tune that I actually get up and dance to. I may save that one for the end and just dance right on out into the audience.

Your music tends to be very personal.

It is and I find what people really gravitate toward is the storytelling aspect of it. I have some interesting stories that are both very personal and imaginative. I used to be an English teacher so standing in front of a crowd and getting their attention and then managing that attention is not beyond me.

You had a very interesting show at MODA (Museum of Design Atlanta) recently. Tell us a little bit about that performance.

They had a really beautiful exhibit of expresso machines and they wanted me to do a full-on show right in the middle of the gallery. They wanted to do something a little bit different and what was interesting about that is I didn’t use a mic, I just set up right in the middle. So I played amongst the expresso machines and everyone

Playing solo, you can improvise the entire show if you so desire.

I like really taking a risk and not falling back on something that’s tried and true, and trying to see if the audience will come along with me. I find that those are some of the coolest moments of the show.

That’s the very definition of jazz.

Exactly and you know what I might do? If the crowd is really listening, really giving feedback and we have a good dialog, I might take a suggestion of a word or a color. Then just build a song on it, totally in the moment.

How did the cello become your instrument of choice?

It wasn’t popular when I was a kid. The thing that was popular was the violin. If you’re going to play an orchestral instrument it’s usually violin.

But violin classes were full. My mother’s sanity would not abide percussion so that was out.

Woodwinds were out. I was small, so the bass was out. So really what was left was viola and cello. My mom played the viola in school and she said, ‘Why don’t you try something different than me?’ So there was the cello. You know, I was thinking the other day that a lot of things in my life chose me. I’m thinking the cello was one of the first ones. The cello has been more sure about me then I’ve been about it. It’s always been waiting for me. It wasn’t until I turned 40, I finally realized I just can’t leave it. It grounds me.

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With our degree completion option, you can transfer your previous credits earned and complete an Oglethorpe degree in as few as 30 credit hours. This is the perfect opportunity to finish what you started and earn the college degree you’ve always wanted. Oglethorpe’s small, in-person classes are held year-round and eight-week sessions allow you to complete a full-time course load while concentrating on only two classes at a time. You can complete your degree entirely at night, or choose from any of our daytime courses for additional flexibility. Adult students at Oglethorpe enjoy a complete college experience, with full access to Oglethorpe’s campus, activities and benefits. For upcoming dates and information, visit adults.oglethorpe.edu or call 404.364.8314. Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30319.

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NATION’S BEST COLLEGES BY FORBES AND THE PRINCETON REVIEW insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 13

MUSIC

MISSION: POSSIBLE

Styx Mixes Old Favorites with New Progressive Concepts

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

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TYX DEBUTED IN CHICAGO IN 1972 at the height of the progressive rock movement. As the ‘70s passed, the band began to incorporate pop elements into the mix. By 1981, they were one of the most successful bands in the world, eventually charting 16 Top Forty singles including “Lady,” “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” and “Too Much Time On My Hands.”

This month, music fans can hear two different versions of the band’s greatest hits at area amphitheaters. At Chastain, the current band - featuring co-founder James “J.Y.” Young and guitarist Tommy Shaw - offer selections from their catalog and tracks from The Mission, a concept album that echoes the best of the bands’ ‘70s experimentation.

Across town, original lead singer Dennis DeYoung will bring his “Music Of Styx” show to The Fred.

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter James Young spoke with INsite by phone from his home in Illinois.

music available, people can have an easier time finding what really appeals to them.

For us, being really out of the race for so long, now all-of-a-sudden we’re back in the horserace. We’re not selling records like any of the current young bands do, but it’s very reinforcing after this many years of making records. We started in ’72, and if we make it to the 50-year mark, it’ll be 2/22/22!

Any plans in the works for that incredible anniversary?

Not yet. There’s a lot of things we could do.

But right now we are focused on 2019 and ’20.

One thing I really like about The Mission and the best of the Styx oeuvre is that it’s powerful, progressive music - but this one doesn’t have a sweet little pop song that jars you away from the story arc.

Ah, you’re a rocker. That’s where I come from, too. In the original make-up of the band, we were all very broadly placed. But if you look at The Beatles, McCartney was a balladeer but he also did a lot of rockers. You Now that you’ve had a know, like doing a Little couple of years to live Richard song and making Saturday, May 26 with it, what do you think it sound legit. So we’ve of [2017’s] The Mission in Cadence Bank Amphitheater had the range to do that retrospect?

Chastain Park but the choices could be I like it. We hadn’t done confusing. There’d be the chastainpark.org a new record in 14 years sweet pop ballad in there at that point. But a writer from Dennis DeYoung writes and Tommy likes to write. Our record and then a hard rock song from me and company Universal - which had swallowed then something sort-of in-between from up Polygram, which had swallowed up A&M Tommy. But the good thing about us is we’ve where we were for our heyday - said we gotten away with never really being pinned should go forward and make another one, so down. The Beatles did that, too. Not that I’m we did. Now we’re actually starting to write comparing us in any way, shape or form to the next record. them - except for the fact that our musical palate is very broad.

You finally did a full-album performance of it not too long ago.

Yet there’s still a band sound, which Yeah, we did it back in January at a fantastic is very hard to achieve with such venue, The Palms in ‘Vegas. It had been a year varied songwriters. and a half since it came out at that point. It Yeah, knock on wood. I certainly didn’t went really great and we had these big visuals agree with everything we did, but now to go with it. in hindsight it looks like genius! (laughs).

Collectively anyway, so I’ll go with that.

How’d the crowd react? With the industry the way it is now, half the crowd might not I’ve always enjoyed your songs on the have heard it yet. albums because it was like the Keith It was huge. It wasn’t at a 20,000-seat hall, it Richards moment of the collection. was a 3,000-seat hall, but it got an amazingly Well I’ve probably the most inspired by the powerful reaction. It was reinforcing for blues of all of us. I grew up with the offspring us - after making records for all this time of Willie Dixon and Bo Diddley, they’re good that something new can generate that kind friends of mine. I went to high school with of response.

Jimmie Reed’s son in Chicago.

STYX

It’s very encouraging that with today’s single-track mindset, you’ve issued a good, old-fashioned concept album that’s actually worthy of extended attention.

Tommy had a great idea for it and our manager embraced it. Once the record company heard some of the music, they embraced it. I wasn’t… well, my name is not Thomas but I was a bit of a doubter. I mean, concept records? Our last one [2003’s Cyclorama] just dropped like a lead balloon.

Times, tastes and the industry were all very different, even then.

That’s true. Now everything is kinda available to everyone. It’s not like you’re looking to your local radio station to play your new music. There’s satellite radio with so many choices at any given moment of the day. I think, even though there’s more PG 14 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

Chicago has always been such a hotbed of

rock’n’roll and R&B. Yeah and the jazz scene was big, too. Of course, New York had its moments, but a lot of great jazz came from Chicago. And a lot of good pop bands from the ‘60s, of course.

The Buckinghams, The New Colony Six, even The Shadows of Knight. Just a wealth of good music of all kinds.

on the musical landscape. What was it like from the inside?

Yeah, in 1981 we sold out 110 arenas across North America. It was wild and crazy and wonderful. We went to Japan right after that North America tour. The first and only time the heyday line-up went there, we sold out six arenas, including The Budokan.

You can definitely hear those threads within your stuff.

Everything is definitely influenced by what preceded it. As a child, I was exposed to all kinds of good music on the radio in Chicago.

What did you think of the Japanese audiences?

They weren’t as Americanized as they are now. We’d play a song and they’d applaud wildly for ten seconds, then they’d be absolutely quiet. Every song. We thought we were bombing! The promoter said no, that’s how it is. The Japanese audiences were taught to be polite and respectful and you wait for whatever the next offering the revered artist has to offer. It was a definite learning experience for these idiots from the United States of America.

When Styx came along, ‘70s Prog was at a commercial peak.

Oh yeah it was really going with people like Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. We kinda hopped on that bandwagon and then Kansas followed and a host of others after that. It was our bread and butter and people still love hearing “The Grand Illusion” and all the big bombast from Styx.

It’s not easy to cross prog with pop, but you managed to do it right.

Well we’d bring fans in with one record and then alienate part of them with the next one.

But we were the first band to have four three million sellers in a row. It’s been superseded since then of course, but we managed to be the first with a few things.

There was a time that Styx was inescapable

You’ll finally be back at Chastain for the upcoming show. But the audience won’t be as quiet as at The Budokan.

No, but we definitely have fond memories of that place. We played there with the Atlanta Symphony back in the mid-‘90s.

And we played there with Kansas and again with Foreigner but we haven’t been in quite a while. We’re really looking forward to it.

For this leg of the tour, is the entire Mission album in the set?

No, but we are doing a healthy offering from it. Five or six songs from it, at least. What we’ve been doing is basically a two-hour show with a twenty-minute intermission. There’s a lot of songs we want to play. We can’t play all of them, but we try to include something for everyone.

A lot of classic bands are doing full-album 40th anniversary shows. That would place Stix somewhere between Pieces of Eight and Cornerstone at this point.

If we had no new music we might do that, but the fact that we do have new songs to play means we have a lot to choose from now. I’m focused on the new music and digging back into the vault of classic favorites, so maybe you’ll hear one or two that we haven’t played for you before.

MUSIC

TRAVEL

KRUNK UP THE BAND OMNI AMELIA ISLAND Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra Gets it Live PLANTATION RESORT

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

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AISED IN EAST ST. LOUIS, RUSSELL Gunn has written, produced, toured and mentored musicians from every genre imaginable. His credits are diverse with an incredible history of tours with artists as varied as Lou Reed to CeeLo and catalog of recordings that blur the lines of traditional jazz genres.

The two-time Grammy nominated composer, arranger, producer, trumpeter’s new project is The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra. The Atlantabased outfit merges the big band sound with R&B and Southern hip-hop. Their debut album Get It How You Live (Ropeadope Records) was released last year with guest vocalists Dionne Farris and Dashill Smith.

INsite spoke with the busy musician before a recent recording session.

Your entire catalog reflects your diverseapproach. It’s all over the place. And not many people can work with Lou Reed one day and NeYo the next day.

My style just reflects me. It’s all just music at the end of the day. For me, it was never a thing I had to try to do, I just did it. Growing up in St Louis, I was fortunate enough to have a high school band director that basically ran his ensemble the same way I run my ensemble now. We dealt with the whole spectrum of music within a big band setting.

High school is the best time to develop a style and appreciate music history.

Yeah, music history and learning history in general is really a matter of self-learning and it’s always an on-going process. You learn about a musician and you go check him out and you see that person in that play used to play with such-and-such so it has a snowball effect on what you can absorb. It really Sunday, May 26 • 9pm leads to a well-rounded Atlanta Jazz Festival musical education.

This project seems to have its origins in your Bionic album from over a decade ago. How’d it all come together?

Well, I find that as I get stronger as a writer, I tend to write for more people. As a Meadow Stage composer, I’m able to hear You’ve played every type of things in a different way. So venue imaginable. Do you musically, I keep hearing bigger find a difference in the presentation from and bigger things. The main reason I have a big place to place? band now is, which I was writing for smaller A club is different than an amphitheater and ensembles, it was only because I didn’t know how that’s different than an open-air festival, but to write for one this size. But I kept hearing the the principles are the same. If you can connect, larger sound. Now that I know how to write for a there’s no difference from the stage to the big band skillfully, I decided to form this band. front row - if the people are right in front of you or if they’re 100 yards away from you. It So it’s grown organically. just doesn’t matter. If you have the tools, and Yeah, it’s been in steps. Some of my first records the music connects with the people then that’s were just small quintet or quartet type records. all that really matters. The soundman can Then I started writing bigger things and went up handle the volume, it’s the musician that makes to the sextet, septet, the Bionic record we did was the connection. rather large, but it still wasn’t this big. We’ll have 21 or 22 people on stage, with some guests.

Before you recorded Get It How You Live, did you test out the songs live?

Now you’re working in the traditional big Yeah, we are finishing a new record but for band format. the first one, it was a new band. When I start Yeah, it’s the traditional set-up with five an ensemble, I like to work it out like they saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and used to do in the old days. It takes time for a rhythm section. The only thing different is the musicians to get a feel for each other. It’s a actual music that we play. relationship. You have to learn each other’s tendencies. For me, as a writer, I like to learn There’s a number of different genres in the RKJO the strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of sound. Do you call it fusion? the band. It’s like being a point guard. You have Some people do call it fusion, but I just call it to learn the team when you’re dealing with normal, everyday music. I’m not trying to make different personalities. So we did a weekly gig it like fusion, that wouldn’t work. This is an for a year at a club on the Southside called St. organic thing. Since it all comes from the same James Live. And we just worked it out. We place, everything can work seamlessly. It wouldn’t showed up every week and played music. Some sound natural if we forced it. It just wouldn’t of the charts I put in the trash. But after I got sound good. a real feel for the ensemble, I started writing different charts. Then when we went to the It would be contrived. studio, we were ready. We finished the record Yeah, it’s like that old saying, if you try to be in one day. cool, you aren’t cool.

ROYAL KRUNK ORKESTRA

Experience the Wonders of Nature at this Oceanfront Getaway

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MNI AMELIA ISLAND PLANTATION Resort is nestled on 1,350 acres at the tip of a barrier island off the Florida coast just north of Jacksonville. The resort is situated between the Atlantic Ocean, lush marshlands and the Intracoastal Waterway.

RESORT PROPERTY

The resort offers North Florida’s largest pool deck, including two fire pits and one double-sided fireplace, an adult infinity pool, two familyfriendly pools and hot tubs. Just a beyond the pool area is 3.5 miles of private, uncrowded Amelia Island beach. Put your toes in the sand and enjoy a leisurely stroll down the beach as the sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean. Collect shells and shark teeth washed from the tides, splash in the waves, or simply relax in the shade of one of their beachside cabanas.

ACCOMODATIONS

The oceanfront Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort offers the epitome of resort accommodations carefully designed to make guests feel in effortless comfort. Their 404 oceanfront hotel rooms all offer private balconies and patios that face the ocean. Room balconies are a delightful place to welcome an energizing sunrise during breakfast or sip an evening cocktail while enjoying the view. Omni Amelia Island also offers over 350 one-, two- and threebedroom villas.

DINING

A skilled culinary team along with cuisine inspired by the region’s culture and ingredients have earned Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort a reputation for excellence in Florida resort dining. With eleven restaurants to choose from, the resort provides guests with a wide range of offerings from casual to fine dining, for couples, business gatherings and families alike. Todd Ruiz serves as Executive Chef and oversees all culinary operations at the 1,350-acre resort on Amelia Island. Daven Wardynski leads the culinary team and is the mastermind behind The Sprouting Project, a state-of-the-art aquaponics greenhouse with adjoining gardens, apiary and barrel room, beehives and resident chickens. The on-property restaurants include Bob’s Steak & Chop House, Seaglass, Oceanside, Natural Slice, Verandah, Marche Surette, Falcon’s Nest, Marsh View Bar & Grill and Sunrise Cafe.

Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort’s sixth annual “Fish to Fork” culinary weekend takes place May 9-12, 2019. This year’s event celebrates Mother’s Day weekend with an all-female chef lineup. The resort will welcome visitors for a one of a kind “dock-to-dish” experience where they can unleash their inner foodie. Alongside breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and shady tree canopies, chefs from across the country will showcase their fishing and culinary skills in the three-day culinary event.

ACTIVITIES

Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort offers a number of excursions and experiences for those who love adventure. Enjoy 36 holes of championship golf, 23 clay tennis courts, a fitness center, a luxurious full-service spa and salon, a shopping village with 14 boutiques, and numerous other recreational activities.

From paddle boarding to kayaking, there are also plenty of things to do on the water. The

Shops of Omni Amelia Island Plantation features boutiques that provide the perfect escape from the day·to·day grind.

Visit the Salon and Spa to unwind and forget about the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Experience a variety of signature services across more than 20 relaxing treatment rooms. From Reiki healing methods to couples massages, attentive and experienced staff knows exactly how to transport you into a state of pure bliss.

The Health & Fitness Center at Racquet Park is fully equipped with state-of-the art machines and an indoor lap pool plus offers yoga classes and more. Both the men’s and women’s locker rooms boast steam rooms, saunas, sparkling clean showers and are fully stocked with towels and amenities.

Discover the natural wonders Amelia Island has to offer at the Nature Center. Go crabbing, take a wildflower tours, embark on a shell and shark tooth hunt or rent a fishing pole. Build your very own Tanner the Turtle (resort mascot) doll at the Build-A-Turtle station. The Nature Center offers activities for all ages.

At Amelia’s Wheels, guests can experience Segway™ tours and rent bicycles while taking excursions on more than seven miles of treecanopied trails. Guests may also rent Island Hoppers (four- and six-passenger golf carts) for exploring the property.

KIDS ACTIVITIES

Omni Amelia Island Plantation offers fun, supervised activities to keep everyone entertained. Upon arrival to the resort, children receive an Omni Kids Backpack overflowing with surprises including an activity book with fun games and kid-friendly recipes. They offer a variety of age-specific, supervised recreational activities for children, teens and young adults.

Teens may enjoy their Gamers lounge while the whole family will want to take advantage of their movie nights and seasonal beach fires. Parents desiring a vacation day away from the kids or simply needing an evening to dine alone are able to enroll children in Camp Amelia, where kids ages 4-12 will be entertained with everything from arts and crafts to nature adventures.

GROUPS

Omni Amelia Island Plantation offers a total of 80,000 versatile square feet to accommodate banquets, conferences and theme parties. The resort has the flexibility to plan events for 20 to 1,800 people. 80,000 square feet of meeting space.

For more information, visit OmniHotels.com, call 1-888-261-6161 or follow Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort at Facebook.com/ OmniAmeliaIsland, Instagram.com/Omni_AIP and Twitter.com/Omni_AIP. insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 15

MUSIC

TO TELL THE TRUTH MUSICAL CROSSROADS

Amanda Palmer’s Unflinching Look at Brooklyn-born Gangstagrass Blurs the the Human Condition is Pure Art Lines of Traditional Country & Hip-Hop

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

HERE WILL BE NO Intermission is the latest album from singer-songwriter-artist-activist Amanda Palmer. The collection, which Palmer calls “exercises in survival,” is an intensely personal look at loss, life and death.

With sober ruminations on abortion, miscarriage, grief and parenthood, it’s hardly a lighthearted romp, but in Palmer’s hands the songs - and even the album cover - offer naked honesty.

Before her tour began in March, INsite spoke with the candid performer by phone.

ORN FROM A MASH-UP OF STUDIO experiments, Gangstagrass is a clever melding of bluegrass and hip-hop. A crafty Brooklyn-based producermusician, known solely as “Rench,” has taken the best elements of both genres and blended the sound into a remarkably original presentation.

For well over a decade now, Gangstagrass has built a solid following among fans of both seemingly disparate genres. Initially propelled by their recording of the Emmy-nominated theme to FX’s “Justified” series, the band regularly plays a mixture of festivals and theater dates to a rabid fanbase which includes writer Elmore Leonard.

The latest Gangstagrass release is a powerful live album called Pocket Full of Fire, complimenting a solid cache of studio albums including Lightning On The Strings, Thunder On The Mic and 2012’s raw and rustic Rappalachia.

INsite caught up with Rench by phone at his studio in New York.

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Your music has always been a vital artistic expression but There Will Be No Intermission is really on point for the times we’re living in.

It’s a strange time to be alive and I think it’s really lit a fire under the ass of a lot of my artist friends. I think we feel responsible in some way.

Not that it’s our job to try to fix anything but we do have to somehow capture the zeitgeist and bring our A-game.

The job of any fine artist is to hold up a mirror for society and this album does that on a very personal level.

You can’t really capture the moment by shouting about politics. It doesn’t really work that way, especially given what is going on in America right now. It feels like, as a woman, the most politically courageous thing you can do, far beyond marching and voting - all of which are very necessary - is to just simply stand up and shamelessly tell the truth about your experience. It is the sharpest political weapon we have right now.

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But it’s the naked truth this time.

Well, you mean the cover?

That’s a beautiful statement in itself. I mean the record inside the package.

Yeah, I like to think the world has evolved. At the same time, the internet is getting more and more censorious. I can’t put my album cover up on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter without the threat of my account being shut down. But my audience has really risen to the occasion and they’ve started making drawings and paintings of the cover to post!

So it’s becoming a sort of cultural touchstone.

(Laughs) art is the new art! No more photographs, we’ve all gone back to pen and ink and paint because the church allows it.

Truth as a weapon for change.

The truth! Who knew? But the unadorned truth. The And social media is the wall Friday, May 17 • 7:30pm of the cave. truth about what it is like to Cobb Energy Centre be a human female mammal Exactly. We’re headed back cobbenergycentre.com to the cave, when things were on this planet right now. It’s a strange and inspiring time more simple. Make America to be a woman. It feels like cave again, right? people are finally ready to hear things that they just didn’t want to hear until very recently.

The record was released on Woman’s Day and the tour is also very female centric.

It’s an unflinching approach to performance.

That was not an accident. But I kind of squirm There’s something really satisfying about when I think about that. Because I’ve spent my writing a record like this and putting it out whole career not wanting to get stuck in one with no feeling of fear and to not be bracing for ghetto or another. Of not going to get stuck in impact as hard as I might have six years ago. female-singer- songwriter land. I just felt like That’s been my own personal journey. But I I was always trying to outrun getting stuck in also feel like the universe has met me halfway the box that someone up there on the giant lately. There’s always a little bit of a quaking, Supreme Court of the music industry was going especially when you’re releasing something to stick me in, you know? And really balls-out so vulnerable. And if you’ve been pilloried as feminist was not a title I ever wanted for myself. flagrantly as I have in the press for being that It felt like a dangerous place but now I just don’t annoying narcissistically oversharing woman care. I have other, more important things to be that everybody hates. You can’t help but to concerned about, beyond where this record close your eyes and pray that you won’t be is going to land in everybody’s opinion. It just misunderstood. doesn’t matter anymore.

AMANDA PALMER

Many artists have that little moment of “Is this any good?” apprehension before releasing something out to the world.

But I didn’t have that with this album. That’s not where the fear comes from. It really comes from the leftover cultural baggage of getting my face slapped over and over again for wanting to say what I wanted to say. You just start flinching even though you know you’ve got every right to stand there, because you’re traumatized.

PG 16 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

That freedom is the key to making great art. In the wrong hands this record would have been a harrowing listening experience. But you are delivering a universal message.

That’s because it’s the truth. There is not a human being alive who isn’t dealing with or going to deal with grief and suffering. Sorry, that’s just the deal. And that is one of the most beautiful and necessary attributes of art, it helps us feel less alone.

Let’s go back to 2006 when it all began. What was the initial concept for the project?

In 2006, I was pretty deep into mixing country and hip hop in different ways but to me it was mostly from a honkytonk perspective. My dad’s from Oklahoma so I grew up with a whole lot of George Jones, Willie Nelson and stuff like that around the house. I was listening to a lot of Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys and I thought, ‘This is just so ripe to mix together with some hip-hop beats.’

How long did it take to create the first tracks?

I was working on some other stuff but the idea wouldn’t seem to go away. I was eager to get into the studio and try it out.

That’s when I did the studio experiment.

Were you surprised by the positive reaction it received?

Yeah and over time it started to spread. It started out as just a free download because I didn’t know who would actually buy it.

Did you consider playing it live at that point?

I was working on that ‘cause blogs were talking about it there was so much downloading going on. It seemed to be taking off and I thought I really should turn it into an actual band. I was talking to some bluegrass players and some MCs and starting to make some plans when I got a phone call.

Was it from a label wanting to pick it up and distribute it?

Actually from out of the blue, it was some people from the FX network. They were looking to license one of the songs. They’d Googled bluegrass and hip-hop and my download came up. The stuff I’d done came out at the top of the list and they said they liked what they’d heard.

That was the beginning of the Justified theme?

At first they wanted it just for the commercial for Justified. Then when the producer saw the commercial he said that’s what they wanted for the theme song. Then I got a call asking if I could do another song like it but completely original to use as the theme song. So that led even further into getting exposure from all over the place. So it was more like, ‘Just do another one.’ I used the original as the template and created the theme along the same lines.

How many people in the current lineup were on those original tracks?

None! There was actually a lot of turnover just trying to find the right people with a combination of having the vision to be into it and to actually go on tour. It took a while for just the right combination so there was a lot of experimentation with lineups.

With each personnel change, did the overall dynamic change as well?

Yeah, but the thing about blending country and hip-hop is there is no set formula to it, there are an infinite number of ways to bring the stuff to life. That’s part of the fun of it, letting it evolve and seeing the different ways it can go.

You can’t beat the power of TV for instant promotion.

It was the perfect kind of promotion for us because anytime we try to promote this with words and really describe it, people often imagine something really bad. So when something like Justified comes on, there’s the song at the beginning of the episode. It describes how we sound better than us trying to tell people about it.

They just hear it and say, ‘What is that? That’s cool, that works.’

So with the TV show offering priceless promo, you began booking out-of-town shows?

We did, starting with some regional shows.

Eventually we picked up booking agents and started going around the whole country.

What was the initial reaction on the road?

Since the TV show had exposed a lot of people to it, in any given town is going to have a number of people who are already familiar with it. So we got fans from people spreading the word.

Every genre has discriminating fans, but country and hip-hop seem to be especially ripe for snobbery from so-called purists.

Bluegrass itself started by pushing boundaries, bringing together folk instrumentation with traditional blues and gospel. I think I think the biggest section of our audience are people who already have Johnny Cash and Jay-Z on their playlists on shuffle. So when we come along, they’re ready for it.

ART

BRINGIN’ ON THE ART SHOW

Def Leppard’s Rick Allen exhibits “Dreams and Legends” at the Wentworth Gallery

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

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without rules and just be completely in the moment. It was very inspiring.

ICK ALLEN FIRST ARRIVED IN America 39 years ago this month. He Were you ever apprehensive about exhibiting landed in Los Angeles in support of Def your work? It’s a big deal to share something so Leppard’s first album, beginning a whirlwind personal. year of opening shows for such unlikely I was a little at first, for sure. But people tourmates as The Pat Travers Band, Ted Nugent responded really well to it. And it’s given me and Blackfoot while seeing the country he’d only the opportunity to connect with people in a imagined from TV and books. completely different way Some of those early than when I’m on tour moments of discovery with the band. You know RICK ALLEN’S DREAM are captured in the Def Leppard, if we drummer’s latest art AND LEGENDS EXHIBIT with meet people It’s normally exhibit “Dreams and 5-8 pm • Saturday, May 4 quite brief. Just a ‘hi and Legends.” The show is a Wentworth Gallery, Phipps Plaza bye’ kinda thing; maybe mix of iconic faces, flags wentworthgallery.com take a picture and that’s and memories from his it. But this gives me the childhood in the UK opportunity to talk to through his current residency in the United people for longer. I really enjoy getting their States. reactions and seeing what they like about the Before the multi-million selling band plays art. (Laughs) let’s put it this way, it keeps me off a string of European festivals and a Vegas the street corners! residency this summer, Allen will visit Atlanta’s Wentworth Gallery on May 4 for an art show, That’s one of the many uses for art. meet-and-greet and signing session.

It’s very healing, really. It’s a new way to INsite spoke with Allen by phone recently to engage myself with art and the people who discuss the upcoming show. come to the show. Artistic endeavors tend to be interchangeable. I’ve always been into art People know you from your musical career, and photography but then I discovered music. of course, but has visual art been an ongoing Then I came around full circle. When I started pursuit as well? traveling, touring different places all over the I’d always been into painting and drawing but planet, I’ve built an interesting photography I really picked it back up when I started painting collection as well. with my youngest daughter. She would paint

For your art tours, do you present only paintings or do you also include photos?

Sometimes it’s all paint, like total originals, one-of-a-kind pieces. Then other times I’ll do what they call ‘mixed media.’ Sometimes I start out with a print and then I’ll enhance the print with all kinds of paint to make different mediums, different textures. And it’s nice because that way, I can create different price points.

Your website notes that every piece has a specific backstory.

That’s right. It’s kind of a collection of all my life experiences. Growing up in England, then getting into the band and finally making my way to America - it blends my English experience with my American experience. Then when I do a lot of the Legends pieces, I’ll listen to the music of the individual I’m painting, so their story is in there, too.

You’ve incorporated flags into your art as well.

That’s one of the first things I did when I got back into painting was to put my own spin on the flag. With a playful approach, almost childlike. I wanted to soften the meaning of patriotism and what it can really mean.

No matter what country you come from, to embrace the flag is very special.

Def Leppard really played up the Union Jack on album covers and merch, giving the music a distinct geographical and historical base.

It was a fun way to show people where we’re

from and that we’re different, I suppose. But you know, we borrowed it from The Stones and The Who and I’m sure they borrowed it from someone, too. That whole thing has been a theme and it just seemed natural at the time for us to use it.

Flags represent so much to so many people.

Oh yeah, it’s a sense of oneness, of unity. I live in America, so now it’s easier for me to embrace the US flag. But not necessarily in the same way everybody else might. America’s given me so many opportunities and I don’t take my life in America for granted at all. It’s very special to me and it’s given me a lot of freedom. I think the paintings reflect that because I pull from so many influences. Music, of course, but I include all the places I’ve been, work that I’ve done on myself through dealing with PTSD, even working with the Wounded Warriors. It’s a rich life for sure and there’s always plenty of inspiration.

MUSIC

FROM THE HEART

Continuing the Legacy of The Blind Boys of Alabama

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

W

ITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR LATEST ALBUM Almost Home, the Blind Boys of Alabama continue the to keep the spirit of their historic band alive. From their origins in 1939 to today’s line-up, the group’s gospel and soul music is perhaps even more vital and inspired than ever before.

The five-time Grammy-winning group has endured decades of changes and today’s version consists of Ricky McKinnie Jimmy Carter, Ben Moore, Paul Beasley and musical director Joey Williams, backed by keyboards, bass and drums.

This month the Atlanta-born McKinnie will host a special evening of music to benefit his Traditions Cultural Arts Program, a nonprofit organization that supports grassroots music. McKinney spoke with INsite from his recording studio in Kirkwood.

You have two very different shows coming up. First, let’s talk about the show this month at Eddie’s Attic.

I have a non-profit and it’s called Traditions Cultural Arts. The goal of Traditions is to promote, preserve and educate people about music and the arts, and support grassroots music, blues and jazz. So it’s gonna be a great show. A lot of my friends are coming over to work with us to make it an exciting evening. It is gonna be phenomenal; we’ll have different people all singing different styles of music.

Great, will you be performing as well?

Yes I’ll be performing a couple of songs, but we’ll also have a number of guest artists there, such as Randall Bramblett. He wrote the song from the Blind Boys record Almost Home, the title cut. Also Kevn Kinney will be there. He’s in the rock group Drivin’N’Cryin.’ And the singer-songwriter Michael Tolcher will be there. And we’ll have a great gospel singer named Harold Holloway and David Robert King, too. It’s gonna be a good night of music.

And we’ll have a few special surprise guests. Most of all, The Blind Boys of Alabama are gonna be there. We’ll be there to meet everybody and sign autographs and just have a good time. All of us, Jimmy, Joey, Ben, Paul and me.

It sounds like a party.

Oh yeah, a good time, good music, good singing and it’s all for a good cause. It starts at five and it’s gonna be live.

The other show is coming up next month at The Fred, with Marc Cohn and Robert Cray.

That’ll be fun, too. We’ve been working with Marc on and off for a while. We had an opportunity to do a lot of shows with him last year.

When you come see Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys, you’re gonna hear some good singin.’ We do some Blind Boys music and then we get together and sing along with Marc Cohn.

How did you start working with Marc?

Our manager, Charles Driebe brought us all together. He was on Almost Home and wrote some of the songs on there.

What’s Marc like to work with? He seems like a really intense artist.

I like him a lot. He’s kinda quiet but then he knows his art. He’s a real laid-back guy and we just have a good time.

Robert Cray is also on the bill. He’s always solid.

Yeah we worked with Robert a long time ago. It’s good to be back with him. I love his voice. So with him along, he’s doing the blues, we’re doing the gospel and Marc is doing his songwriter thing, I think it’s a great combination. And somewhere in the mix we’ll have Shameka Copeland.

How do you balance the set? Some people want to hear gospel and some want to hear the more worldy stuff. How do you balance it?

We just do songs that have a message. So when you come to concert, you’ll hear some messages and there’ll be messages at both shows.

Almost Home has been out a for a couple of years now. You’ve seen a lot of changes in the industry as you’ve continued to record.

Exactly. I’ve been playing for about 46 years now. The first time I did a record in a professional studio, I was 20 years old. I’m 66 now, so I’ve seen a lot of things change. I think the biggest change I’ve seen is you don’t have to be in the same room anymore. It used to be a one-shot thing and it gave you an authentic sound. It was what it was, you couldn’t go back and clean it up. That’s what made it a good performance.

You’ve had a unique journey into the band.

Yeah, my road to Blind Boys started a long time ago. I’ve been a member for about 30 years now and I managed the group until about 2000. Now I’m the business manager. In 2013 when Billy Bowers passed away, I had to move up front and away from the drums.

You’re definitely keeping the legacy vital and alive.

I always tell people, what’s from your heart, reaches the hearts of others. We sing from the soul and we show that disability doesn’t have to be a handicap. It all works out.

Ricky McKinney hosts an evening at Eddie’s Attic on Sunday, May 19 at 5 p.m., and The Blind Boys Of Alabama sing with Marc Cohn and Robert Cray at Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater on Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. insiteatlanta.com • May 2019 • PG 17

MUSIC

ON THE RECORD: NILS LOFGREN

The Busy Hall of Famer is Back on the Road with a Great New Album

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

HERE’S A REASON WHY legendary rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young have Nils Lofgren in their bands. He’s an incredible musician and a talented songwriter. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has just released his first studio album in eight years, Blue With Lou and he’ll be on the road to support it this month.

After a 50-year career, including 35 as a member of Springsteen’s E-Street Band and his current reunion with Young’s Crazy Horse, the busy musician is in the middle of one his most productive periods.

The morning after returning from a weeklong recording session with Young, Lofgren spoke with INsite by phone from his home in Arizona.

I hear you’re just back from working on the new Crazy Horse project.

Yeah, last year it was good to get back out with the guys and then just as I was getting my show together for this tour, Neil called.

He said he had some songs and wanted to record and see what comes of it. We had no specific layout but we started tracking and recording together. My wife Amy drove me ten hours up there and then came back home to look after our dogs. Then she came back up a few days ago and drove me back. She’s really been logging the miles!

How’d it go?

It was a beautiful experience. I’m sure it’ll be a work in progress throughout the year but it was a great start. It was just good to get back together with Neil and Ralph [Molina] and Billy [Talbot]. Two weeks from now will mark 50 years since I walked in on Crazy Horse playing at the Cellar Door in Washington, DC. To get to play with dear old friends so many years later, after so many chapters of our lives, it just felt great.

Neil really took you under his wing shortly after you guys met.

Yeah, he knew my band was headed to

PG 18 • May 2019 • insiteatlanta.com

L.A. and said, ‘Look me up when you get there.’ True to his word, he immediately turned us on to David Briggs and we jammed at the Corral. David took on the day-to-day work as our producer and they were both just a godsend for a band struggling on their way to a record deal and learning about a business we knew nothing about.

I just need to do what feels right without having to convince somebody else about it. Convincing myself is hard enough.

It wasn’t long before he asked you to be on After The Goldrush was it?

Let’s see, I was 17 when I went on the road with my band Grin and about a year later we’re out in Topanga Canyon with David and Neil. So I guess I was around 18 when they asked me to be on those sessions.

Since you just recorded with him again, how does 2019 Neil Young compare to 1970 Neil?

Well he’s the same guy to me, only better.

He’s very immediate, in-the-moment, very passionate. Then Tonight’s The Night [recorded in 1973] was a special record, too, because we made it all live in the studio. No overdubs, no extra harmonies. It became kind of our “wake” album because it seemed like all our friends were dying, especially [Columbus, Georgia-born] Danny Whitten. Neil’s the same brilliant writer and soulful singer. He keeps you on your toes at all times with his earthy immediacy. Especially in the studio.

And on stage, too. He said last year he didn’t even want to use a setlist for some of those Crazy Horse shows.

Yeah in Winnipeg he said he didn’t even want to bother. ‘Let’s just go out and wing it.’ Not everybody’s got the moxie - or the songs - to pull that off.

wanted to do three right away and so did I. But some got left behind. I always thought Lou would call and say, ‘Let’s take a look at those.’ But tragically we lost Lou. It was a huge loss and I realized that I couldn’t just let those songs sit in the basement. And I wanted to do my own version of “City Your catalog is starting to rival Neil’s Lights,” [originally on Reed’s ’79 album at this point. You have a lot of material “The Bells”]. So it’s six co-writes with Lou floating around. and six of my own. We had about twenty Yeah, last year it’s been 50 years on the songs that we learned when we were road and that’s not a small number. It’s tracking, but these are the cream-of-thea bit startling. I’m excited to finally be crop that I thought would touring with my own band, make the best album. it’s been 15 years. And We’ve got some jams on I don’t even know when there, just because I can. the last time I toured Sunday, May 26 My wife Amy and I have with the same band I’ve & Monday, May 27 the label [Cattle Track made a record with, so Road Records] that put City Winery I’m extra excited to get it out, so we don’t have back out with the same citywinery.com/atlanta some A&R guy going, ‘You people on Blue With Lou. can’t have a six-minute We’ve got Andy Newmark song.’ We got some grooves going. Some of on drums who just got here last night and them ran a long time and I thought, ‘Well Kevin McCormick on bass and my brother that’s what this is all about,’ so it’s fine. We Tommy is coming in. We haven’t worked banned all click-tracks from the studio, together in years. And Cindy Mizelle, who we just let Andy drive us. It was very old sang so beautifully on the record, will school. We were all in the room. I wasn’t be with us. We’ve got about nine days to looking through the window of an iso throw a show together and then we’ll get booth, we just let all the instruments bleed on the bus, hit the road and drive around into each other. We played live, looking the country and sing for people. at each other here in my garage studio. It was kind of a home invasion of musicians Blue With Lou is a strong album and crew. Our latest home invasion started to support.

Thanks! I feel great about it. We recorded last night as we get ready for this tour. But most of it live in the studio, the way I enjoy. Amy’s all for it; she produced the record with me. She’s designing all the t-shirts and posters and oversees the artwork. We’re a Great backstory on it as well. good team. I couldn’t do it without her.

Yeah it was a wonderful accident. In 1979, [producer] Bob Ezrin hooked me up After being on some of the biggest labels with Lou Reed to write. The short story in the world, now you have the luxury of is we wrote thirteen songs together. Lou

NILS LOFGREN

being a completely independent artist.

Yeah I finally parted ways with the labels in the early ‘90s. I was butting heads with the company and I finally just drove to their headquarters, walked in unannounced and begged to be fired. ‘You’ve got to fire me, I can’t live like this.’ They eventually did, but it took a year and a half of hell. I was done. And after that, thanks to technology, I set up a website and the label and now we have a real grassroots operation without the bureaucracy of the music business. I’ve never had any real hit records and there’s not a good deal out there for me anyway.

I just need to do what feels right without having to convince somebody else about it.

Convincing myself is hard enough.

When it comes down to it, the live show is what it’s all about.

You can’t beat walking into a tiny place and someone’s singin’ their heart out.

It touches you. You hear about all these new inventions and holograms and this and that. There’s a lot of cool stuff, but at the end of the day, when you’re in a room and someone’s reaching out through their music, it’s just a beautiful thing that I don’t think will ever go away. We still go out whenever we can to see live music.

We go see all the greats. We went to Red Rocks to see Tom Petty, not realizing at all that would be the last time we’d see him.

They didn’t have a show in Phoenix, so we treated ourselves to go up to Denver and I’m so grateful we did. Then we were waking up every day angry and sad.

We talked about how mad we were that Tom was gone. Then I started writing and [“Dear Heartbreaker”] came from it.

It’s kind of a pep-talk to myself to keep listening to music and enjoying it.

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