As in…
“HeyMama…JaWannaMakesomeMUSICwithMe for some great causes‽
Live on the
Harrison Square’s hot new Entertainment District
and inside the always-cool Lyric Theater
3:00PM–11:00PM
Saturday, June 10, 2023
Join us on June 10, from 3:00–11:00, both in the Lyric (7–11) and on the Harrison Square (3–6) for the first ever Mama JaWanna Music Festival—showcasing talented female performers from our area who have banded together to raise funds for Hope Cottages and The Sanctuary, Inc. of Boone County!
7 Hours of multi-genre music on 2 stages, featuring women singer/songwriters of the area, supported by local musicians.
Singers include: Susan Swanson, Sierra Schwanz, Brooke Albright of Angels and Outlaws, Rachel Hewitt-Groves, Snowflake Henson, Susan Boone-Rowan, Denise Dore, Maggie Lee, and Shelly Watson.
Article Under Construction…but Mark Your Calendar…and check out these videos from our featured performers!
Matt Schofield
Maybe the Best British Blues Guitarist Since Clapton, Page, and Beck!
Friday, February 17, 2023 at 7:00PM
Join us on February 17 at 7:00PM, for the music of the man whom the Los Angeles Daily News called “the best Blues guitarist from any country in decades… head and shoulders above the herd,” while Guitar & Bass Magazine rated him in the top ten British blues guitarists of all time ranking him with icons Eric Clapton and Peter Green: Matt Schofield! Though he holds a British passport and is an inductee of the British Blues Hall of Fame, Matt Schofield has been making his mark globally as one of the top players in the new class of six string wunderkinds. Born in the industrial city of Manchester and raised amongst the rolling hills and locked in time Cotswolds, Schofield began playing guitar at the age of 12. “My dad relocated to America, but before he left he gave me a BB King video. I watched it before school every day; it was three or four tracks from a concert. Later, when I was in California with my father, he showed me BB King with Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan on video. It was like, ‘I’ve got to do this.’ There’s something about the way the three of them were jamming. B.B. really was majestic. As an 11-or 12-year-old watching him, I was mesmerized but didn’t think there was any way I could ever do that. It was too special. But when I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan playing with him, I thought maybe I could. Stevie made it seem accessible to people. I taught myself, working my way through my Dad’s great blues record collection. I did my first gig age 13, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Article Under Construction…but Mark Your Calendar!
Eli Cook
Maybe the Best Vocals
in Today’s Blues…and the Guitar Work
is Top Notch, Too!
At the Lyric for a Class and a Concert
Saturday, October 22, 2022 Class at 3:00PM — Concert at 7:00PM
Join us on October 22 at 7:00pm, for the guitar mastery and rich baritone voice that brought the writers of Blues Matters magazine to rank him as a “top international solo artist” above Devon Allman and Elvin Bishop…before he had reached his 30th birthday: Eli Cook’s busy hands and feet (resonator and 12-string, plus tambourine and stompbox) are coming back to the Lyric this Fall!
Even Better: Join us earlier in the day, too: from 3:00PM to 5:00PM Eli Cook’s Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop returns! Ages 13 and up with a moderate skill level and an interest in “Blues-based music” are welcome. You must bring an acoustic guitar (no electric instruments will be allowed this time). If you know basic chords and want to play the Blues or incorporate its influences into your playing, there will be something here for you; if you know more than that, there will be something here for you, too! BUT: Get your concert tickets first, so that you save $10 on this class! (More info below!)
AllMusic noted that Eli Cook “has what it takes to be the best blues singer of his generation.” Blues Matters! stated that Cook is “among the top 3 solo blues artists world-wide.” Arnie Goodman’s words in Elmore Magazine immediately make sense when you consider Eli’s main influences—John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine—
What Eli is doing is giving an authenticity to the blues, but giving it the energy a modern rock band would give it. That’s the key to it.
As Eli himself says, “Everything I do is always deeply rooted in classic blues—meaning the feeling of it and the music theory aspect of it. It’s especially rooted in what they call pre-war blues, the more acoustic, rootsy stuff.” Joe McSpadden, writing in the roots music quarterly No Depression sums it up this way:
On the seventh album of his career the phenom from Nelson County, Virginia reins in his inner guitar god and makes his most focused roots blues album yet. High-Dollar Gospel finds Cook showcasing his acoustic mojo and the result is the most satisfying record of his career.
That album—released to universally rave reviews in 2017—was a blend of Cook’s love of country pickers to blues rockers and included covers from Muddy Waters and Roosevelt Sykes that have been in his live shows for years, as well as an outstanding cover of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.”
Through the years, Cook has performed and recorded both acoustic and electric blues, and his Primitive Son album (2014), contained guest appearances by Vinny Appice and Artimus Pyle (drums); Tinsley Ellis, Eric Gales, Leslie West, Pat Travers and Harvey Mandel (guitar); Sonny Landreth (slide guitar); Rod Piazza (harmonica); and Reese Wynans (Hammond B3 organ). He has shared the stage with B. B. King and other greats from Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, and Robin Trower to Shemekia Copeland and Parliament-Funkadelic, appearing every where from the Kennedy Center to the South by Southwest festival…and now we are pleased to welcome him back to The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks,Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater!
“Everybody knows the story of the crossroads, where blues guitarists go at midnight to trade their souls to the devil for musical prowess. It’s just a myth, of course, but if it were true, firebrand Eli Cook could have bragging rights, as his scarifying solo-country blues chill like a hellhound on your trail.” – Guitar Player (2007)
Eli Cook is a mystifying soul. He’s a keen observer and a provoking thinker…but with swagger!
Under the messy blonde hair is a passionate heart with fingers of silver and gold that recalls John Lee Hooker, Chris Smither, and Chet Atkins, mixed in with a dirty, grungy sound. It’s clean playing mind you; it’s just his fingers are covered in the dirt left over from the crossroads.
Coming from Albemarle County in Virginia at the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Eli Cook grew up listening to the blues, country, classic rock, and alternative rock. He grew up with no TV, but radio shows like Prairie Home Companion were his Saturday night entertainment. Life moves slowly in this rural area of the world giving him time to hone his skills with his voice and guitar chops. At 18 he was opening up for B.B. King—a few years later he’s playing in Canada the one week and then the next week he’s blending in with his hometown locals.
“It’s what was around me, and I just tried to pick up on everything and everybody, including Doc Watson and Chet Atkins. In fact, hearing Chet fingerpick made me realize I didn’t need a band.” – Guitar Player (2007)
Tickets are available now for Eli Cook’s Saturday, October 22 performance at Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater, now celebrating its 90th year. This is a venue perfectly constructed for a performer like Eli, with the maximized ‘live’ acoustics that were necessary for the first generation of talking motion pictures—and the dedicated Lyric fans that consistently fill our seats for blues concerts will make for the sort of electric environment this acoustic blues concert deserves, so choose your seats early for what promises to be an outstanding evening!
Classic turnarounds, walking patterns, tricks for transitioning between chords, and signature riffs and licks will all be included and discussed from both a player’s technical standpoint and from a historical perspective, using examples from players such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Albert King, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. This class will have something for anyone who wants to play Blues guitar or just enjoys the music and wants to learn more about it.
Fifty Years Later, the Music of
Led Zeppelin Still Holds Up…
Especially, when It’s…
LIVE at the Lyric!
Saturday, September 14 at 7:00PM
Join us September 14 at 7:00pm for the rock you’ve loved your whole life! When Tim Taylor, Billy Youngblood, and Will Youngblood won the OAC’s 2018 Battle of the Bands, they decided not to use the concert opportunity that was part of their prize simply to put their band on the stage for a full-length show, but to gather other musicians to pay tribute with them to the most influential rock band in history. Tickets are available now…for only $5, ifyou buy now!
Poster courtesy of Susan Boone of SR Graphics, (870) 204-3316. Click image to see more.
Top Solo Blues Artist Eli Cook Heads to The Lyric for a Class and a Concert!
Saturday, October 5 at 7:00PM
Join us on October 5 at 7:00pm, for the guitar mastery and rich baritone voice that brought the writers of Blues Matters magazine to rank him as a “top international solo artist” above Devon Allman and Elvin Bishop…before he had reached his 30th birthday: Eli Cook’s busy hands and feet (resonator and 12-string, plus tambourine and stompbox) are coming to the Lyric this Fall!
PLUS: Eli Cook’s Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop October 5 from 3:00–5:00! Ages 13 and up with moderate to advanced skill levels and an interest in “Blues based music.” You must bring an acoustic guitar (no electric instruments will be allowed this time). If you know basic chords and want to play the Blues or incorporate its influences into your playing, there will be something here for you; if you know more than that, there will be something here for you, too! BUT: Get your concert tickets first, so that you save $10 on this class! (More info below!)
AllMusic noted that Eli Cook “has what it takes to be the best blues singer of his generation.” Blues Matters! stated that Cook is “among the top 3 solo blues artists world-wide.” Arnie Goodman’s words in Elmore Magazine immediately make sense when you consider Eli’s main influences—John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine—
What Eli is doing is giving an authenticity to the blues, but giving it the energy a modern rock band would give it. That’s the key to it.
As Eli himself says, “Everything I do is always deeply rooted in classic blues—meaning the feeling of it and the music theory aspect of it. It’s especially rooted in what they call pre-war blues, the more acoustic, rootsy stuff.” Joe McSpadden, writing in the roots music quarterly No Depression sums it up this way:
On the seventh album of his career the phenom from Nelson County, Virginia reins in his inner guitar god and makes his most focused roots blues album yet. High-Dollar Gospel finds Cook showcasing his acoustic mojo and the result is the most satisfying record of his career.
That album—released to universally rave reviews in 2017—was a blend of Cook’s love of country pickers to blues rockers and included covers from Muddy Waters and Roosevelt Sykes that have been in his live shows for years, as well as an outstanding cover of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.”
Through the years, Cook has performed and recorded both acoustic and electric blues, and his Primitive Son album (2014), contained guest appearances by Vinny Appice and Artimus Pyle (drums); Tinsley Ellis, Eric Gales, Leslie West, Pat Travers and Harvey Mandel (guitar); Sonny Landreth (slide guitar); Rod Piazza (harmonica); and Reese Wynans (Hammond B3 organ). He has shared the stage with B. B. King and other greats from Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, and Robin Trower to Shemekia Copeland and Parliament-Funkadelic, appearing every where from the Kennedy Center to the South by Southwest festival…and now we are pleased to welcome him to The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater!
“Everybody knows the story of the crossroads, where blues guitarists go at midnight to trade their souls to the devil for musical prowess. It’s just a myth, of course, but if it were true, firebrand Eli Cook could have bragging rights, as his scarifying solo-country blues chill like a hellhound on your trail.” – Guitar Player (2007)
Eli Cook is a mystifying soul. He’s a keen observer and a provoking thinker…but with swagger!
Under the messy blonde hair is a passionate heart with fingers of silver and gold that recalls John Lee Hooker, Chris Smither, and Chet Atkins, mixed in with a dirty, grungy sound. It’s clean playing mind you; it’s just his fingers are covered in the dirt left over from the crossroads.
Coming from Albemarle County in Virginia at the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Eli Cook grew up listening to the blues, country, classic rock and alternative rock. He grew up with no TV and radio shows like Prairie Home Companion were his Saturday night entertainment. Life moves slowly in this rural area of the world giving him time to hone his skills with his voice and guitar chops. At 18 he was opening up for B.B. King—a few years later he’s playing in Canada the one week and then the next week he’s blending in with his hometown locals.
“It’s what was around me, and I just tried to pick up on everything and everybody, including Doc Watson and Chet Atkins. In fact, hearing Chet fingerpick made me realize I didn’t need a band.” – Guitar Player (2007)
Tickets are available now for Eli Cook’s Saturday, October 5 performance at Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater, now celebrating its 90th year. This is a venue perfectly constructed for a performer like Eli, with the maximized ‘live’ acoustics that were necessary for the first generation of talking motion pictures—and the dedicated Lyric fans that consistently fill our seats for blues concerts will make for the sort of electric environment this acoustic blues concert deserves, so choose your seats early for what promises to be an outstanding evening!
Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop tuition is $45—but only $35 if you have a concert ticket and use the code on it when you register! In this class, we will discuss the key elements of Blues based guitar playing. This entails crucial rhythmic and melodic concepts and touches on both acoustic and electric styles as well as various finger- and thumb-picking techniques and provides an overview of what makes good Blues guitar.
Classic turnarounds, walking patterns, tricks for transitioning between chords, and signature riffs and licks will all be included and discussed from both a player’s technical standpoint and from a historical perspective, using examples from players such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Albert King, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. This class will have something for anyone who wants to play Blues guitar or just enjoys the music and wants to learn more about it.
Devoted to the King…
…Devoted to His Fans…
…Devoted to Harrison! Tony Award-nominated and recognized by Elvis Presley Enterprises as the “Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist” Cody Ray Slaughter!
Saturday, June 15, 7:00PM
Photo by Eva Brand
Cody Ray Slaughter is a Harrison original: a true Southern boy whose passion for the music and memory of Elvis has driven him to a life dedicated to serving the King’s fans. Cody has performed all across the country as “Elvis” in the traveling production of the Tony Award-winning sensation “Million Dollar Quartet” and was nominated as best featured actor for his role. This June 15, he returns home to Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater with the raw talent and passion that Elvis himself exhibited. Tickets go on sale online at 12:01 am on Saturday, March 16 and the Lyric box office will be open to sell tickets for his concert to those attending the Lyric’s 90th Anniversary concert with Guinness World Record setter Screamin’ Freeman that evening.
Cody Ray Slaughter is hailed as one of the most talented, young Actors, Singer and Elvis Tribute Artist in the country. Born and raised in Harrison, Arkansas, gateway to the beautiful Ozark Mountains, Cody Slaughter began entertaining at the young age of 13. A true Southern boy, Cody’s true passion for Elvis’ music and memory has directed his career path.
Cody has performed all across the country as Elvis in the traveling production of the Tony Award-winning sensation Million Dollar Quartet and was nominated as best featured actor for his role. Slaughter has performed in many theaters in Branson, MO, such as Tony Roi’s Elvis Experience, Legends In Concert, 50’s At The Hop and The Liverpool Legends as well as in Pigeon Forge, TN where Cody was the featured entertainer at The Tennessee Shindig for over a year at the young age of 17. Cody also appeared on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 and Late Night with David Letterman. Slaughter has performed at special events, corporate functions, and entertainment venues throughout the United States, Canada, and the UK. His uncanny portrayal of Elvis Presley exhibits his amazing love for whom he calls, “the greatest entertainer of all time.”
“My greatest joy is when I’m paying tribute to Elvis, his music, and keeping his spirit alive with his fans.“
Cody Ray Slaughter, 2011 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Harrison, AR
Among some of Cody’s most exciting accolades were winning The People’s Choice Award during Elvis Week 2008. In July of 2011. At the Las Vegas Elvis Fest, Cody received The New Horizon Award for best new Elvis Tribute Artist. The award was given on the same stage where Elvis made history at the Las Vegas Hilton
It Hurts Me from Elvis’s ’68 Comeback Tour,
performed by Cody Ray Slaughter
Representing Tupelo, Mississippi (Elvis’ Birthplace) Elvis Presley Enterprises’ named Cody the 2011 ‘Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist’ in Memphis TN in 2011.
Cody Slaughter has the raw talent and passion that Elvis himself exhibited when he first started. Apart from his tribute to Elvis, Slaughter has a budding career as a country music singer and songwriter. But in spite of his repertoire and building a reputation with his own music Slaughter still says “My greatest joy is when I’m paying tribute to Elvis, his music and keeping his spirit alive with his fans.”
The doors of the Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks—Harrison, Arkansas’s historic Lyric Theater—will open at 6:00 for a 7:00 performance on Saturday, June 15. Adult beverages and general concessions will be available throughout the concert, and tickets are available in advance for $25.00–$35.00; at the door, they will be $5 more.
Rough Winter?
The Mother of Ozark Gospel Blues is Bringing the Cure: Brick Fields is Coming to the Lyric!
Friday, April 5 at 7:00PM
If the ‘official’ end of winter on March 20 finds you not quite recovered from it all, join us at ‘The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks’ on April 5 at 7:00, because Brick Fields is coming to provide you with the Blues Therapy you need to have a healthy outlook for Spring—and the rest of the year! “An unleashed cleansing of the soul” is how the Nashville Blues Society described Brick Fields’ music, and the New Classic Music of Tomorrow music review blog makes it clear why: “Brick Fields is by far the most soulful artist I’ve heard in years!”
Brick Fields is an Arkansas original musical group fronted by the ambrosial voice of Rachel Fields. With her husband, Larry Brick, who has spent over 40 years in the music business as a guitar player and songwriter (and was a worship leader during the California Calvary movement of the 1970s), there is a ‘two talents expressing one flesh’ vibe throughout the music—a unity of purpose in music and vocals that is neither forced nor self-conscious, but just is. Rachel cut her musical teeth first in the Arkansas River valley, by way of her Uncle Mike “Burger” Scoggins, then in the jam band circuit touring in the late ’90s east and west coast festivals, opening for acts like Government Mule and later singing on a tour with the Jerry Garcia Band. Together, they bring a true Americana Soul feel—weaving Folk, Gospel, and Blues together in such a way that former Buffalo River Concert Association president Rick Hinterheuer told Rachel, “You’re going to have a good time playing at the Lyric!”…because Rick knows what we like!
Brick Fields’ current core band is a treasure of solid creativity including Ben Sass, Kevin Bonner, Hoobie Daniels, and Chris Parker.
Ben Sass of Jerusalem, Israel is the vibrant enthusiastic steed on and off stage, possibly one of the world’s finest up-and-coming harmonica players on the scene.
Kevin Bonner is from Northwest Arkansas and honed his drumming chops in the Cate Bro’s garage; he has been the backbone for numerous of NWA’s most loved bands.
Bass player, Hoobie Daniels, of Southern Mississippi (via Austin Texas), joined Brick Fields in 2016 after retiring to the Ozark Mountains where he is continuing his musical journey.
Chris Parker adds his Tulsa guitar stylings with influences that largely play themselves out between Chet Atkins and BB King.
Comfortable with themselves and numerous surprise guests, it’s not unusual at a Brick Fields show for the night to end with a few or as many as 20 players on stage. As musicians’ musicians, Brick Fields has been called a magnet for other musicians and music lovers alike. Ever evolving, this couple’s original music can charm venues in an intimate relaxed setting with the acoustic duo telling stories of musical roots or bring a full-on band experience that brings the house to its feet.
The Ozark Arts Council is pleased to welcome Brick Fields to The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater, on Friday, April 5 at 7:00. Tickets are just $10 in advance, but $15 at the door; just click any of the ‘Get Tickets’ links here on our website and you’ll be taken to our ticketing page, or call Jules or Dill at (870) 391-3504 or visit Dill at the OAC office M-W-F 8:00–2:00 (or Jules by appointment).
Roots Rock: Black Stone Cherry Celebrates Their “Family Tree” Live at The Lyric!
Friday, February 15 at 7:00PM
Join us on February 15 at 7:00pm, as Black Stone Cherry returns to the Lyric! If you know their songs White Trash Millionaire,In My Blood, or Please Come In, you won’t want to miss the driving southern rock of Black Stone Cherry live in support of their new album, Family Tree.
For 17 years, Black Stone Cherry has put forth a new, vicious breed of Southern rock, injecting youthful vitality and a myriad of fresh new influences into the beloved American rock tradition. To date, the band has released five critically-acclaimed studio albums and one well-received blues EP. Black Stone Cherry has also rocked 12,000-cap arena shows, topped the UK charts, and shared the stage with a diverse roster of superstars, including Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Motörhead, and ZZ Top.
Family Tree is the much-anticipated follow up to 2016’s Kentucky, which debuted at #5 on the Official UK Album Chart and went to #1 on the Billboard Album
Anya Svirskaya for Antihero Magazine
Chart. Drummer John Fred Young says, “Family Tree showcases all of our collective musical influences and how we have taken those to create something that is truly our own unique Southern American rock ’n’ roll sound.” Two special guests appear, one bringing the concept of family full circle: lead guitarist/vocalist Chris Robertson’s 5-year-old-old son contributes backup vocals on the swaggering You Got The Blues, while the other, revered jam-band musician Warren Haynes (Allman Bros/Gov’t Mule) offers a guitar cameo and vocals on the delta stomp of Dancing In The Rain. “I remember coming to New York when we first were signed, and hearing Warren’s voice behind me the minute my feet hit the street,” recalls bassist Jon Lawhon. “Hearing him play on this track all these years later gave me chills.”
We grew up in the Kentucky Headhunters’ rehearsal space, looking up at posters of Cream, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, the Stones, Montrose, and the Faces. We were like kids someone took in a time capsule and put in the woods.
— John Fred Young
Family Tree rocks hard with the immediacy and spontaneity of in-the-moment takes, and Chris Robertson mixing perfectly fits the loose, creative process that birthed the album—and makes it so easily translate to the ever-evolving jams of their incredible live show.
The concept of family looms large in the world of Black Stone Cherry’s four band members. John Fred Young’s father Richard and his uncle Fred, are founding members of the Grammy Award-winning country rock n’ roots band, The Kentucky HeadHunters. BSC’s four high school-aged friends—Young, plus frontman/guitarist Chris Robertson, guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Jon Lawhon—grew up honing their craft in the Headhunters’ practice house, an abandoned property on the Young family’s farmland. John Fred says, “We grew up in the Kentucky Headhunters’ rehearsal space, looking up at posters of Cream, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, the Stones, Montrose, and the Faces. We were like kids someone took in a time capsule and put in the woods.”
It’s a great time for Black Stone Cherry to return to the Lyric, “The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks,” as they have recently moved to Mascot Label Group, home of some of the finest blues icons of this generation, such as Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Walter Trout, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Gales, Jonny Lang, Robben Ford, Bernie Marsden, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Sonny Landreth. The move came with the release of their EP of blues covers, Black to Blues, which shows both the foundation and the progress of music through the past century. The band selected 6 of their favorite tunes by Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and Albert King, and reimagined them with the meaty moxie of classic BSC.
“It’s amazing to me how four good old boys from nowhere Kentucky can still be around 17 years later,” singer/guitarist Chris Robertson says. Guitarist Ben Wells concludes: “I don’t remember how life was outside of Black Stone Cherry. The four of us are family.” Every album, every concert, is a family reunion, and Black Stone Cherry is happy to have you join the family this October.
With the support of a great team of sponsors—including the “Boulder Bankers” at Stone Bank, the Harrison Convention and Visitors Bureau, and media sponsors ESPN Arkansas 104.3 (“Hit That Line!”), KHOZ 102.9 (“102.9 the Z”), and the Harrison Daily Times—the Ozark Arts Council is pleased to welcome Black Stone Cherry back to the historic Lyric Theater on Friday, February 15 at 7:00. Tickets are just $25 in advance, but $30 at the door (in the unlikely event that any are available); just click any of the ‘Get Tickets’ links here on our website and you’ll be taken to our ticketing page, or call Jules or Dill at (870) 391-3504 or visit Dill at the OAC office M-W-F 8:00–2:00 (or Jules by appointment).
Nowhere else in Arkansas can you get this opportunity to study under guitar virtuoso Laurence Juber. LJ will hold a two hour class in the afternoon before his 7:00pm concert at Harrison’s “Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks,” the historic 1929 Lyric Theater! The price for this class is $50—but, if you have a ticket to the concert at the Lyric on Saturday evening (or to Friday’s concert at Sunrise Guitars adjoining venue Sunrise Stage in Fayetteville), you only pay $40!
James White (local guitarist and vocalist and columnist for the Harrison Daily Times) writes, “Although some people refer to ‘Up Close with LJ’ as a master class, he thinks of it as a workshop. He says it’s multi-level and addresses a range of fundamental concepts, some advanced musical information and general guitaristic ‘tune-ups.’ There is a component he calls ‘guitarology,’ in which he explores differing finger style patterns that go back to the beginning of the instrument.
LJ has released 17 critically acclaimed solo albums which feature his celebrated arrangements of popular tunes and genre-crossing compositions. In Fall 2010, he released the highly anticipated LJ Plays the Beatles Vol. 2. He was voted “Guitarist of the Year” by the readers of Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine and named one of the top acoustic guitar players of all time by Acoustic Guitar Magazine—and he is on its cover again for the October, 2018 issue, as he releases his new album, which traces the roots of fingerstyle guitar. From classical to the Beatles and Hendrix, LJ is a master of it all, and is coming to share his insights with you!
This two-time Grammy-winner (once with Sir Paul McCartney’s “Wings” and once as a solo artist) thrilled the Lyric audience in 2015, and is returning to continue to dazzle us with his wit, which is as evident in his playing as his absolute mastery of his instrument—not only in its standard implementation, but through a variety of tunings that allow him to express far more than one normally associates with the playing of a single acoustic guitar.
As an award-winning fingerstyle acoustic guitarist also known for his electric work as lead guitarist in Wings, LJ has a large following among guitar fans and Beatles/classic rock fans. His shows feature his original compositions along with amazing covers of Beatles and classic rock songs like “Layla” and “Little Wing” where he literally plays every melody of the song on just one guitar!
Pete Townsend of The Who simply exclaims, “A master!”
As a studio musician, LJ can be heard on recordings from artists as diverse as Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks to Seal to Barry Manilow, plus he is featured on the soundtracks to hundreds of TV shows such as Home Improvement and movies including the academy award-winning Dirty Dancing, Good Will Hunting, and Pocahontas.
You like video games? LJ co-composed the soundtrack of the award-winning video game Diablo III.
You watch the news? LJ crafted the score to the NBC Dateline documentary Children Of The Harvest. His music is also featured in the Ken Burns’ documentary The Tenth Inning.
In other words: You’ve Heard Him Even if You Haven’t Heard of Him!
LJ has released 17 critically acclaimed solo albums which feature his celebrated arrangements of popular tunes and genre-crossing compositions. In Fall 2010, he released the highly anticipated LJ Plays the Beatles Vol. 2. He was voted “Guitarist of the Year” by the readers of Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine and named one of the top acoustic guitar players of all time by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
A dynamic, entertaining performer and an accomplished clinician, LJ brings his passion for the guitar to venues around the world, creating a multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument. In Spring 2013 Laurence Juber released Under an Indigo Sky on Solid Air Records with a special limited edition vinyl for Record Store Day, and has just released LJ Can’t Stop Playing the Beatles.
At the heart of LJ’s sound and style breathes a near-flawless technique where a fiercely emotional underbelly, alternate tunings, and keen sense of melody and rhythm coalesce into something uniquely his own……you don’t have to be a solo-happy guitar worshipper to appreciate his talents.
– Inland Empire Weekly
has been making his mark globally as one of the top players in the new class of six string wunderkinds.
A—
international solo artist” above Devon Allman and Elvin Bishop…before he had reached his 30th birthday: 
for Spring—and the rest of the year! “An unleashed cleansing of the soul” is how the 
River valley, by way of her Uncle Mike “Burger” Scoggins, then in the jam band circuit touring in the late ’90s east and west coast festivals, opening for acts like Government Mule and later singing on a tour with the Jerry Garcia Band. Together, they bring a true Americana Soul feel—weaving Folk, Gospel, and Blues together in such a way that former Buffalo River Concert Association president Rick Hinterheuer told Rachel, “You’re going to have a good time playing at the Lyric!”…because Rick knows what we like!
For 17 years, Black Stone Cherry has put forth a new, vicious breed of Southern rock, injecting youthful vitality and a myriad of fresh new influences into the beloved American rock tradition. To date, the band has released five critically-acclaimed studio albums and one well-received blues EP. Black Stone Cherry has also rocked 12,000-cap arena shows, topped the UK charts, and shared the stage with a diverse roster of superstars, including Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Motörhead, and ZZ Top.
