A very young Ronnie Hawkins leads The Band in a spirited version of “Who Do You Love,” captured for the film “The Last Waltz.”

Northwest Arkansas has been home to many a musician.

Perhaps none of them are more influential, more regarded and more important than Ronnie Hawkins.

On Saturday, the Huntsville native will be inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame. Former President Bill Clinton and longtime friend Don Tyson will be on hand for the ceremony.

A Canadian newspaper near the music legend’s home in Stoney Lake, Canada, chatted with The Hawk about the honor. Take a look at the story here.

Hawkins’ mark on Northwest Arkansas’ music scene — and the greater rock ‘n’ roll community as a whole — is undeniable. He was an owner of the legendary local rock venue The Rockwood Club, which attracted Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty and more during the early days of rock ‘n’ roll.

Hawkins, who attended the University of Arkansas, later moved to Canada, where he became one of the biggest names in that country’s music scene. It was there he found Canadian musicians Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson, who, with the addition of fellow Arkansan Levon Helm, later became The Band.

A well-deserved accomplishment for one of this area’s own, and one of the most interesting characters in rock ‘n’ roll.

Future Rock

Hailing from Chicago, the trio known as Future Rock call themselves “electronic sensory overload.” Their sound comes courtesy of live loops, synthesizers and an electronic drum kit, and it is augmented with a vivid light show. The group, which has been touring across the country and performing at festivals, will visit Fayetteville tonight (Nov. 14) for a concert at The Gypsy on College, 1930 N. College Ave. The electronic/dance pop act was described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “way retro, like an Atari game come to life.” Admission to the 9 p.m. show is $10.

First Night, which takes place annually on Dec. 31, is also moving.

Last year’s event, as in years past, took place on the Fayetteville Square. Pop rockers Fastball, who had a few hits in the mid-90s, were the headlining act and helped Fayetteville usher in the New Year.

This year’s event will take place at the Northwest Arkansas Mall with the idea that it can become a regional event. Read more about the changes here.

They’ll use Big ‘Uns as the headlining act, and the band will perform at the nearby Arkansas Music Pavilion. Afrique Aya, and several other local acts, are also scheduled to perform.

It’s too bad there won’t be a national headliner, although it makes sense. Last year, we understand, only 40 people or so braved the cold to watch Fastball perform.

Secretly, the blog was hoping the Baha Men would be available.

Marc Roberge of O.A.R. belts it out for a collegiate crowd at a Nov. 10 concert on the U of A campus in Fayetteville. Photos by KEVIN KINDER, Northwest Arkansas Times.

O.A.R. is not a rock band.

No, wait. Hear me out on this one.

Watching the Maryland-based group perform on Monday night in Barnhill Arena on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville on Nov. 10, I couldn’t help but think that O.A.R. is not a rock band, perhaps to the point they purposely try to avoid becoming so.

Though it’s clear they balance on the fringes of that genre, and their drum-bass-guitar-and-more combination of instruments certainly might drop them into the same category as many other rock outfits, O.A.R. did their best to change between piano pop, jazz and reggae, scuttling past rock for a palatable, good-natured blend of sounds.

But as for out-and-out rocking? There wasn’t much to be had.

Click the ‘more’ link below to continue reading about O.A.R.’s performance in Fayetteville.

Marc Roberge and Richard On

Nothing the band does is heavy; the bulk of the show is built around drum-and-bass fills that extend and bulk up their airy studio tunes and allow vocalist Marc Roberge to strum and sing, saxophone player (and occasional guitarist) Jerry DePizzo to bellow and lead guitarist Richard On to add jazzy riffing to the sound.

Throughout the band’s set — which approach 2 hours and 15 minutes in length — O.A.R. was rarely faithful to the studio versions of their tracks, instead filling and adding, such as the steel drumming segue during the crowd-pleaser “Hey Girl” and the 10-minute long take on the evening’s closing track, “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker.”

The set list dipped back between the old (“Untitled,” “So Moved On”) and new (“This Town,” “Whatever Happened” and current radio hit “Shattered,” a song that was not on the published set list but was delivered late in the set).

As for the crowd, it was very much a college-aged group, perhaps 6,500 strong, that showed up to see this band. It was the type of crowd that was very familiar with all of the songs, and I’d bet for a good number of those present, this was not their first O.A.R. concert. It’s amazing how dedicated their fans are.

O.A.R. got its start by playing the fraternities and sorority houses of The Ohio State University, the band member’s alma mater. Although O.A.R. has graduated to much larger stages — they’ve previously sold out Madison Square Garden — it was very much a fraternity and sorority kind of concert at the University of Arkansas. Through student fees and the Headliner Concerts Committee, university students were able to obtain free tickets, and it showed. Some 75 percent of the crowd, maybe more, were in the 20s, a few still a little young for that or just a smidgen beyond.

Like all the Headliner concerts, this one was alcohol free, and therefore fairly subdued, except for a few misplaced undergrads who decided it would be fun to get drunk — or otherwise intoxicated — and scream out phrases such as “Obama!” or “We Can Change!” during the later part of the evening. They were the worst part of an evening that, by design, was meant to be — and generally was — a very pleasant affair.

No, it wasn’t often rocking, with the notable exception of the cover song “With a Little Help From My Friends,” performed with help from opening act Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights and done much more in the style of Joe Cocker than The Beatles.

But I didn’t see many who were upset. They got exactly what they’d come to love about the band: an evening of indistinct — but distinctly catchy — songs.

A note about the opener:

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights have been to Fayetteville several times, including a couple times already this year at George’s Majestic Lounge. But they certainly hadn’t performed for this many people here before, as perhaps 4,000 had arrived by the time they took the stage promptly at 8 p.m. I can’t imagine they disappointed many who were there.

It’s tough to open for a band with such a ridiculously devoted fanbase (such as O.A.R. has) but they did a good job at keeping a level of interest by launching into tempest-causing blues rock while still managing to sound a bit like Oasis, an odd statement considering the band calls Texas home, but true nonetheless. They received the most reaction from their barnstorming take of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic.”

O.A.R. set list, as pulled from the stage: Note: It looks accurate to me, but I know for certain that “Shattered,” a song not on the list, was played between “Get Away” and “With A Little Help From My Friends.” The official set list also included a cue to mention the Razorbacks.

1) Living in the End; 2) Wonderful Day; 3) Whose Chariot?; 4) This Town; 5) Untitled; 6) So Moved On; 7) About An Hour Ago; 8) Whatever Happened; 9) Love and Memories; 10) On My Way; 11) Hey Girl; 12) Heard the World; 13) Get Away; 14) Shattered; 15) With A Little Help From My Friends (with Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights)

Encore: 16) I Feel Home; 17) War Song; 18) Poker

George's Majestic Lounge got an unexpected skylight on Tuesday morning.

Brian Crowne got quite a surprise early this morning: a phone call saying some of the roof had collapsed at his club.

The garden (large back room) of George’s Majestic Lounge has a retractable roof, and a canvas top protects the area underneath from the elements. But a few loose cables and a deluge of water caused a bit of pooling, which sent the top crashing into the venue, Crowne said.

Crowne told Tuned In that all concerts at the venue will continue as schedule and the roof will be replaced as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Until then, the heaters will be cranked up for the Empty Bowls Benefit, which will continue as planned.

But, alas, the gig scheduled for Halloween night at George’s Majestic Lounge was canceled, and rather suddenly, too.

A little bit more information is coming out about that cancelation. In a blog post on the band’s MySpace page, it seemed that there were some problems with the group’s lead singer, Travis Warren, who replaced the late Shannon Hoon.

Here are some juicy excerpts from the band’s MySpace page:

“God dropped a Stradivarius down Travis’s throat, but the reality is that he treats it like a broken pawnshop fiddle. It is very difficult to maintain a rigorous touring schedule while chain smoking.”

“He complained about being underpaid and overworked (we all make the same thing and we all work as hard as he does).”

And…

“None of us want to be in one of those bands that is held hostage by a single person’s whims and demands. Travis’s talent is enormous and deep, but after two gut-wrenching years and countless setbacks and heartbreaks, we can no longer work with him.”

Ouch.

The post later details that a new singer has been working with the band, but that he is not ready to complete the second leg of the band’s tour.

John D. Levan, left, and bandmate Dave Clark jam at a session at The Green Door on College Avenue in Fayetteville. The venue closed at the end of October. FILE PHOTO.

It’s ironic that one of the best-attended concerts at the Green Door, 1404 N. College Ave., would be the venue’s last.

Although the notice of closure came suddenly, those at the Green Door had been thinking about closing the venue for a while, said April Lizana, who has managed the bar since it opened in January 2006.

The venue’s last show was a sold out Punkinhead reunion concert on Oct. 31.

Lizana said she and owner Robert Hatfield were making too little money for the amount of effort it took to keep the place open.

“We decided when we got into it, if we ever got to that place, we were going to get out,” she said.

It’s a sad day on the live music scene. The Green Door was unique, a five-night-per-week live music venue in a town where too few of them exist. It was also unique for the type of music played there. Fayetteville is lacking in blues clubs, the types of places that cater to crowds not interested in the rigmarole of Dickson Street.

It was also a place where the legends of Northwest Arkansas’ music scene hung out. I saw Terry Cagle, nephew to Levon Helm (drummer for The Band), on a couple of occasions. Rockabilly Hall of Fame member John D. Levan had regular gigs there, and also jammed occasionally. The Pioneers of NWA, a group of players who toured the country at the genesis of rock ‘n’ roll, gathered there twice yearly for a jam session and to reminisce. Helm himself made an appearance there in September 2006.

We can only hope they all find a new home in Fayetteville.

The venue is currently available, and with a private club liquor license available, it could become a live music venue again, Lizana said.

Above, O.A.R. performers “Shattered.” No doubt they’ll do that song, and many of their other hits, when they perform Nov. 10 on the University of Arkansas campus.

O.A.R. — Of A Revolution — is one of those bands that seems to be either loved or loathed.

A friend of mine owns all of the band’s recordings (six studio albums and some live material, too) and was euphoric when I told them the band was performing locally.

A former roommate hates them, and use to make a point of turning off the O.A.R. CDs that were practically on repeat during my collegiate days.

Another friend has seen O.A.R. at least a half a dozen times, maybe more, and he’s driving 4 1/2 hours to see the concert that will take place Nov. 10 at Barnhill Arena on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

Regardless of one’s opinion of the group, this much is clear: the band has a rabid, screaming, dedicated fanbase, something that bassist Benj Gershman acknowledged when he spoke with the Northwest Arkansas Times a during a tour break a few weeks ago.

In addition to the group’s fans, Gershman also chatted about O.A.R.’s efforts to live green, about how the band’s newest record, “All Sides,” is a step forward and about living in the present.

Read the story here.

Tickets for the general public are available through Ticketmaster for $25. Since the concert is supported by student fees and is produced by the university’s Headliner Concerts Committee, UA students can pick up free tickets from the University Programs office, located on the sixth floor of the Arkansas Union on campus.

At least one band members is also scheduled to make an on-campus appearance before the concert in support of the group’s environmental efforts. We’ll update you when more information is available.

We’ll see you at the show.

Well, Well, Well...

A frequent performer on the local music scene and a featured artist on “The Local X” radio program on KXNA 104.9 FM, Fayetteville-based Well, Well, Well… will release its debut album at a concert Saturday night at Club Froggy’s, 402 W. Dickson St., in Fayetteville. The thrash- and punk-flavored group cites bands such as Black Flag, Minor Threat and Bad Brains as influences for the group’s self-produced debut, “Circle of Fifths.” The show begins at 9 p.m. today with guests Kilroy, The Family Dogs and The Plaid Jackets. Admission is $5.

Before you go, here are a few tunes to check out. Both come from “Circle of Fifths,” the album that will be released on Saturday night.

“Exile”:

Exile

“When We Decide”:

When We Decide

We’re doing some routine maintenance that will eventually provide us with a few more features.

In the meantime, please bear with us while we work through the bugs.

Thanks,

The Northwest Arkansas Times Features Department