Ryan Bingham, second from right, and the Dead Horses

Ryan Bingham photo by Anna Axter, Special to the Times

Ryan Bingham’s life sounds a little bit like something that would have been featured in a country music song.

He came from a broken family. He ran away from his New Mexico home and traveled the country as a professional bull rider. He found he had an aptitude for music, then begin playing anywhere he could, trading the backs of bulls for roadhouses.

A good story, sure. And one that is all too true.

Bingham continues his journeys as songwriter, person and gypsy soul with a series of concerts that kicks off July 8 at Neumeier’s Rib Room and Beer Garden, 817 Garrison Ave., Fort Smith. The concert is free and is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

We chatted with Bingham recently about his new album, “Roadhouse Sun,” his growth as a songwriter and about finding his musical muse. Read our story here or find a partial transcript below.

See you at the show.

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Filed under: Concert Reminders, Music Industry News, NWA Music News, Read More Here by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: July 3, 2009 at 6:05 am
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Jenny Lewis

Last time Jenny Lewis came through town, it was as an opening act. Not this time. The indie songstress returns to George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St., for a July 7 performance in support of her well-received 2008 solo album, “Acid Tongue.” It is the second solo album for Lewis, who also is the lead vocalist for indie rockers Rilo Kiley. Prior to her singing days, she was a child actress. Opening the show will be The Heartless Bastards. Tickets to the 9:30 p.m. show are $18 and available at the venue or through its Web site.

Filed under: Concert Reminders, Music Industry News, NWA Music News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: July 3, 2009 at 6:03 am
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The Paper Chase

Traversing the eastern half of the country in support of a newly released record, the Dallas-area group The Paper Chase will visit Fayetteville for a July 6 show at George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St. In late May, the group dropped “Someday This Could All Be Yours,” an album the band has described as an exploration of an existential crisis. The band will be joined by The Counterlife, Perpetual Werewolf and Mount Vicious. Admission to the 9 p.m. show is $7.

Filed under: Concert Reminders, In the Spotlight, Music Industry News, NWA Music News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: July 3, 2009 at 6:01 am
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What is hip? These guys, Tower of Power, are hip. They’re coming to Fayetteville, too. That makes them even more hip.

Pollstar is reporting that George’s Majestic Lounge is going to get an injection of funk and soul. According to the live music Web site, soul icons Tower of Power will perform at the Dickson Street venue on Oct. 2, a Friday.

The horn-heavy act has been making music together since the late 1960s.

No word on ticket information. We’ll update you as more information comes available.

Filed under: Concert Announcements, Music Industry News, NWA Music News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: July 2, 2009 at 3:33 pm
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This shouldn’t come as news to anyone, as it’s been dominating news coverage since it happened yesterday afternoon.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died yesterday. Although details about his unexpected death are still to come, early indications point toward cardiac arrest. He was 50.

Clearly, his influence on — and for a time, dominance of — the music world cannot be overlooked.

Each of us here at What’s Up! and the Tuned In blog thought we’d share a few thoughts about Jackson. Click the ‘more’ link below to continue reading.

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Filed under: Read More Here by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: June 26, 2009 at 10:29 am
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Robert Cray performs “My Last Regret” with his band. Cray and company will highlight the lineup today (June 26) at the Riverfront Blues Festival in Fort Smith.

It’s hard to get much for $5 these days, but that’s all it will take per night to attend the 19th annual Riverfront Blues Festival at Harry E. Kelley Park in Fort Smith.

Chad Kennedy, the president of the Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Society, spoke with the Northwest Arkansas Times about what fans can expect at this year’s event. That story can be found here.

The festivities will start today (June 26) with harmonica player and vocalist Curtis Salgado taking the stage at 7 p.m., followed by Roomful of Blues at 8:30 p.m. and The Robert Cray Band at 10:15 p.m. Recently, Cray took time to chat with the Times about his cameo in the famed movie “Animal House” and his latest album — among other topics. That story can be found here.

On Saturday (June 27), four acts will take to the main stage, beginning with The Soul of John Black at 5:30 p.m. and Eric Lindell at 7 p.m. The festival will come to a close with a performance by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at 8:30 p.m. and Jackie Greene at 10:15 p.m.

For more details, visit the festival’s Web site.

Filed under: Concert Reminders by Steve Schmidt. Posted on: June 26, 2009 at 6:10 am
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The Big Bopper sings his famous song, “Chantilly Lace,” on “American Bandstand.”

If you read our What’s Up! preview piece on “John Mueller’s Winter Dance Party” today, you’ll notice that we interviewed Jay Richardson, son of the legendary J.P. Richardson, known to rock ’n’ roll fans as The Big Bopper and famous for the song “Chantilly Lace.” He, along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, died in a plane crash Feb. 3, 1959, while traveling to Fargo, N.D., for a concert at nearby Moorhead, Minn., as part of their ill-fated “Winter Dance Party” tour.

A good part of our conversation, however, had nothing to do with the show in which he’ll perform this Tuesday night at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. The topic was something we weren’t sure we would even bring up as it wasn’t germane to the tribute show to Holly, Valens and The Big Bopper. Frankly, it was kind of macabre. But it made the news during the past couple of years, and the upbeat, friendly Richardson was willing to talk about the subject without much prompting. So we jumped in.

Click the “more” link below to continue reading.

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Filed under: Music Industry News, Read More Here by Sandra Cox. Posted on: June 26, 2009 at 6:06 am
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Ben Miller Band

Although they hail from Joplin, Mo., the Ben Miller Band likely considers Fayetteville a second home. The bluegrass group performs regularly in the area and will on July 2 appear at Party on the Patio, which takes place beginning at 7 p.m. at Powerhouse Seafood and Grill, 112 N. University Ave., in Fayetteville. The band, in addition to original songs, regularly converts folk songs by artists such as Bob Dylan into stomping bluegrass numbers with instruments such as guitar, homemade bass, washboard and more. Admission to the concert is $5.

Filed under: Concert Reminders, NWA Music News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: June 26, 2009 at 6:01 am
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When you want some freaky gypsy folk (and awesome mustaches), you can always count on Gogol Bordello. They are performing in July at Tulsa’s DFest. The song is “Wonderlust King.”

We know this event isn’t in Northwest Arkansas, but, well, we know a lot of you are willing to travel outside of our fair (but really super oppressively hot right now) region and state to see live music.

Which brings us to DFest, an annual concert festival in Tulsa, Okla, just two hours away from here. We just discovered the day-by-day lineup yesterday.

The concert festival, featuring two days of headliners and a metric ton of unsigned bands, will take place July 24-25 in the area between First, Second, Detroit and Elgin streets.

Scheduled to play are The Black Crowes, Gogol Bordello, Cake, Blue October and dozens more.

Passes are $32/one-day and $47/two-day and are available on the Web site.

Filed under: Concert Announcements, Concert Reminders, Music Industry News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: June 24, 2009 at 1:23 pm
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The Band sings “It Makes No Difference” during the concert film “The Last Waltz.” Does it make a difference to fans that one of its members, Arkansas native Levon Helm, didn’t sing at a local concert?

Perhaps a text message I got in the moments following Levon Helm’s concert on June 18 at the Walton Arts Center said it best.

It was a friend and fellow Helm fan who was also at the show who sent it:

“[My] heart is crushed that he didn’t sing. [My] heart is ridiculously happy otherwise.”

That pretty much summed it up.

It was hard not to be dazzled by the Levon Helm Band, a 12-piece collection of musicians that thundered through cuts by The Band, the group that made Helm famous, and other tracks that spanned the blues, zydeco and many more.

It was hard not to be wowed by the local talent that joined him onstage, as cameos by longtime friends The Cate Brothers and Helm’s nephew, Terry Cagle, must certainly be included in the highlights of the evening.

It was also hard not sit wishing, waiting, praying even, that Helm would offer his butter-on-gravel Southern drawl on at least one song, or offer at least one hello to the sold-out venue in his native state.

There would be nothing of the sort. Helm, though active on his kit the entire night and in his mannerisms following each song, remained silent for the entire concert.

Still today, I write and wonder: Was the concert what I expected? Did the fans get wait they paid for? I’m not sure those questions are easily answered.

Click the ‘more‘ link below to continue reading about Levon Helm’s concert at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville on June 18.

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Filed under: Concert Wrap, Music Industry News, NWA Music News by Kevin Kinder. Posted on: June 19, 2009 at 1:56 pm
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