Events

An inside look at The Elephant 6 Recording Co., the ’90s rock collective that launched Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Terror Control, The Apples in Stereo, and other bands. Around 1985, a group of Louisiana high schoolers began experimenting with whatever random instruments and gear they could find. Influenced by psychedelia, and with little to distract them, they birthed a musical revolution.

Celebrate the opening of the autumn/winter exhibitions by Ahmad George, Noah Thomas Miller, and Coe Lapossy with an evening of art, conversation, and food at Crosstown Arts. The menu for the evening is prepared by Chef Cole Jeanes, founder of Kinfolk Restaurant, and the food is generously provided by Ben E. Keith Co.

Stalwarts of the Memphis music scene for over 30 years, The Reba Russell Band has traveled the world, released eight albums and four singles. The band received a prestigious Brass Note on Beale Street in 2018 and continues to record and perform their dynamic original blues to audiences everywhere. Vocalist, producer, songwriter Reba Russell is a prolific studio backing vocalist on a variety of projects including artists, Al Green, Tracy Nelson, Duane Betts, U2, and a host of others. A song recently written by Russell, WHY NOT YOU, (Sister Lucille Band) is currently nominated for Song and Video of the year by the Josie Awards, based in Nashville.

Memphis Listening Lab/WYXR’s Record Swap and Crosstown Arts’ eighth annual Zine Fest are coming together for one awesome event in the Crosstown Concourse Central Atrium!

Larry & Joe is the duo of Joropo maestro Larry Bellorín (Monagas, Venezuela) and GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime star Joe Troop (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). These two virtuosic multi-instrumentalists fuse their respective Venezuelan and Appalachian folk traditions on the harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, upright bass, guitar, and maracas to prove that music has no borders. Their bilingual (esp / eng) program includes storytelling, humor, and singalongs.

Memphis Listening Lab/WYXR’s Record Swap and Crosstown Arts’ eighth annual Zine Fest are coming together for one awesome event in the Crosstown Concourse Central Atrium!

An off-the-wall comedy documentary about the greatest rap band that never was. Documentary filmmaker Nina Blackburn (Kasi Lemmons) infiltrates the behind-the-scenes world of rap's most controversial band. Meet the fast-talking philosophical Ice Cold (Rusty Cundieff), the short-tempered militant Tasty-Taste (Larry B. Scott), and their spiritual center, D.J. Tone Def (Mark Christopher Lawrence). See them in the recording studios, jam with them on stage, hang with them and hear their philosophies on music and life. Featuring hilarious videos of all their biggest hits, plus the “gangstas”, the girls and the guns. A wonderfully funny spoof.

Pedal and lap steel guitar ace Roosevelt Collier, so proficient he’s affectionately known as “The Dr,” released his solo debut, Exit 16, on GroundUP Music. It’s a potent mix of blues, gospel, rock and, in his words, “dirty funk swampy grime,” as overseen by producer and Bokanté bandmate Michael League (from the Grammy-winning Snarky Puppy). Brought up in the House of God Church in Perrine, Florida, Roosevelt built his “sacred steel” guitar prowess alongside his uncles and cousins in The Lee Boys, known for their spirited, soul-shaking live performances.

Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” DC resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls “the poster-child for intersectionality,” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation called Matthews’s gift “a reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides.” A former drum major and classically-trained clarinetist turned folk singer, Matthews is using her voice to answer Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to be “a drum major for justice.” Crys Matthews’s thoughtful, realistic and emotional songs speak to the voice of our generation and remind us why music indeed soothes the soul.

Talented, ambitious, and backstabbing hairstylists gather for a competition in England, only to find one of their own murdered before judging can begin. Winding through neon-lit halls and backstage dressing rooms, competitors unspool long-simmering resentments and secrets as they search for the killer among them, in this devilishly funny whodunit from debut filmmaker Thomas Hardiman.

The sonically innovative harpist, Brandee Younger, is revolutionizing harp for the digital era. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first Black woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney. Her current album, Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre, and cements the harp’s place in pop culture.

The Crosstown Strictly Jazz Series, presented by Crosstown Arts in collaboration with Strictly Jazz Entertainment, is designed to salute classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends.

John Fullbright’s debut album was called “preternaturally self-assured,” while NPR said “it’s not every day a new artist earns comparisons to great songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Randy Newman, but Fullbright’s music makes sense in such lofty company.” The Wall Street Journal crowned him as giving one of the year’s 10 best live performances, and the album also earned him a GRAMMY nomination for Best Americana Album and the ASCAP Foundation’s Harold Adamson Lyric Award.

In the attempt to pioneer a new sound while exploring his Eritrean origins, trumpeter Hermon Mehari composed an album entirely influenced by the harmonies, rhythms, and melodies of Eritrean music. However this work, "Asmara" (Komos), doesn't only come from his musical side — the songs have an emotional bent and express the different aspects of his perspectives towards his relationship with family and the culture.

The story of the album art design studio, Hipgnosis, who created some of the most iconic album covers of all time. Whether you’re a fan of Pink Floyd or not, chances are you know exactly what the album covers of The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here look like. But you might not be familiar with the creative duo behind those iconic images: Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, aka the innovative design studio Hipgnosis. 

For this performance, Ben Ricketts (piano/vocals/electronics) will be joined by the Vanishing Imaginary Orchestra, a small ensemble featuring Julia Rice (guitar), Dylan Van Zile (bass), and Kole Oakes (tapes/synthesizer/samples). This performance ensemble recreates and reimagines songs from Ricketts’ wide-ranging catalogue, bringing them to life with a mix of tight arrangements, adventurous improvisation, and expansive audio exploration. Local songwriter Rachel Maxann will be opening the show.

The Vietnamese  American Community of West Tennessee, Crosstown Arts, and Crosstown Concourse are partnering to present the Mid-Autumn Festival! There will be a lion dance, a youth performance, a soccer game, a magic show, arts, crafts, and more. 

The collective vision of trumpeter Marc Franklin, guitarist Joe Restivo, and vocalist John Németh has earned the ensemble favorable responses from the public and press alike. The Memphis Commercial Appeal noted the band’s immersive qualities, transporting listeners to a pivotal scene in which jazz and blues maintained influence over Memphis’ soul burgeoning sound. Writer Bob Mehr lauded the band for “re-conjuring a sound and style that was dominant in Memphis, and that would have a formative influence on the young artists who would come to stock the rosters of Stax Records and Hi Records in the decades to come.”

Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, an ongoing jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This iteration’s performance will feature jazz pianist Keiko Matsui.