What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/920204
July 6 JASON ISBELL and SHERYL CROW Walmart AMP With Willie Nelson & Family, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real, and Particle Kid On the week of July 4 Willie Nelson and Blackbird Presents brought a full-on, one-day music festival to the Walmart AMP. Started last year in Scranton, Pa., the Outlaw Music Festival grew up to be a touring production of rotating Americana and country acts and brought a phenomenal lineup to Northwest Arkansas. Nelson and his family band have performed at the AMP before, but this time his two sons' bands — Micah's Particle Kid and Lukas' Promise of The Real — joined him on the ticket, as well as rising Americana star Margo Price, roots rocker Sheryl Crow, and the Americana/rock of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. I'll confess I was only able to catch Crow, Isbell and Willie, as the show was in the middle of the week, but Crow and Isbell alone would have been worth a tired day at work. After 10 albums and more than 20 years of performing, Crow is still seriously rocking. I wasn't the only person in the crowd impressed by her vocals or her guitar chops. But I've got to say Jason Isbell was the standout of the festival. The depth of Isbell's soul- tinged Southern rock and the simple lighting on stage gave the concert an intimate feel, and his expressive songs made for a performance I won't soon forget. Aug. 7 MATCHBOX TWENTY Walmart AMP With Counting Crows & Rivers and Rust I said at the beginning I couldn't choose a favorite performance of 2017, but if I were absolutely forced to, Matchbox Twenty might be it. Before arriving at this show, I remember thinking, "Sure, Matchbox Twenty. I like them when they're on the radio." But I didn't realize how good they really are. In truth, the band and lead singer Rob Thomas blew me away. The vocals were every bit as strong as the recordings, the talent of the musicians was abundant, and their stage presence was exuberant. The massive light effects enhanced the performance, but Thomas and the three other musicians would have been just as captivating without them. Oct. 7 "HARRY POTTER" Symphony of Northwest Arkansas Walmart AMP I'm not sure if one of the most memorable performances I saw this year would be considered more concert or film, but live performance was involved, so I count it. In October, an 82-piece orchestra — primarily from the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas with some additional musicians from New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa, Okla., and Eugene, Ore. — performed the score of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on stage at the AMP in front of a huge projection of the film. The audience was encouraged to cheer, boo and otherwise react to our favorite characters and moments in the film, promoting a camaraderie among us you usually don't get at a movie. The orchestra was difficult to see from my blanket on the lawn, making it easy for them to fade into the background, but the flawless performance made it that much more impressive each time we were reminded of their presence. It also doesn't hurt that the score by John Williams is one of my all-time favorites, making the experience all the more magical. The second and third films in the franchise are also part of the "CineConcerts" program and will be touring the country in the future. Oct. 14 HUNTERTONES Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville Walton Arts Center jazz curator Robert Ginsburg makes a point of stacking the Starrlight Jazz Club Series with innovative and stirring jazz performers, who both fit traditional conventions of the genre and discard them completely. New York-based, (mostly) Ohio natives Huntertones — who performed at Starrlight Theatre inside the Walton Arts Center in October — meet both those standards, in a way. To call the group simply a "jazz ensemble" doesn't do it justice, but at the same time, the six-piece invokes the elements that historically made jazz a "social event": improvisation and interaction. And I'll say this for them: I've never seen a show like Huntertones. Watching videos on YouTube, listening to their recordings, doesn't begin to encompass the high-spirited energy and interplay between instruments as you experience at the live show. Watching a group of musicians this young, talented and joyful on stage had me enthralled, my cheeks sore from smiling. The excitement in the audience was palpable. It's refreshing to encounter the unknown and be at once thrilled and fulfilled. DECEMBER 31, 2017-JANUARY 6, 2018 WHAT'S UP! 41 Concerts Continued From Page 7 2017