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.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Friday, October 15 at 7:00PM
Let’s do the Time Warp again!
Some people like “prop comics” and some people don’t…but everybody loves a whole theater full of happy people adding to a movie’s hilarity because they all have the right props!
On October 15th at 7:00 pm, join your fellow Time Warp enthusiasts for The Rocky Horror Picture Show! In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a scientist. Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”
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.
The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and the Ozark Arts Council Present: Steel Magnolias
Friday & Saturday, August 16 & 17, 7:00PM
Saturday, August 18, 2:00PM
Have a little slice of Southern life and visit the elegant ladies of Chinquapin, Louisiana, a lovely bouquet of Steel Magnolias! Discount tickets are on sale now for Steel Magnolias LIVE at The Lyric Theater in Harrison, Arkansas, on August 16, 17, & 18. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7:00 pm, and the Sunday performance will be at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available through TheLyric.org with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults.
In Truvy’s (Trish Lockridge), beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are anybody come to have their hair done, the shop is abuzz with gossip and coffee and hairspray. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (Katie Blessing), who may or may not be married, the wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoo and free advice to the town’s rich curmudgeon, Ouiser (Mary Bishop), whose 40-year-old bad mood has only sharpened her wit; an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee (Gwen Gresham), who has a sweet tooth for football teams; and the local social leader, M’Lynn (Lisa Johnson) and her vivacious daughter, Shelby (Callie Johnson), who is about to marry a “good ol’ boy.” Filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collisions between the five ladies, the play moves toward tragedy when the spunky Shelby (who has Type I Diabetes) risks pregnancy. Though we see how it much it affects them, we are also shown the strength and love of these women who are delicate as flowers, and tough as steel.
Steel Magnolias will be performed #LiveAtTheLyric August 16 and 17 at 7:00pm, and August 18 at 2:00pm. Proceeds from the August 16 show will go to the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Tickets on sale NOW at TheLyric.org, by calling 870-391-3504, or visiting the office T–F 9:00am–1:00pm.
The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and the Ozark Arts Council Present: Beauty & The Beast, Jr.
Saturdays, July 20 & 27, 2:00PM & 7:00PM
Thursday, July 25, 10:00AM
What you’ve been waiting for all summer is almost here: the enchanting and exciting story of Beauty and the Beast! The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council, under license from Music Theatre International, will present Beauty and the Beast, Jr. LIVE at The Lyric Theater in Harrison, Arkansas, on July 20, 25, and 27. Saturday performances will be at2:00pm and 7:00pm, and the Thursday performance will be at 10:00am. Tickets are available through TheLyric.org with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults.
Shade Roberts and Liani Cash
Don’t let the “Jr.” in the title lead you to expect a watered-down production missing your favorite songs: when Disney commissions an adaptation for young performers, it’s name is still on the line! Based on the original Broadway production that ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, and the Academy Award-winning motion picture, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr. is a fantastic adaptation of the story of transformation and tolerance. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr. features some of the most popular songs ever written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice.
As with many of our children’s plays, rehearsals were preceded by a two-week-long workshop, which focused on vocals, acting, and choreography, as well as the proper etiquette for being in a play and attending a play, all of which culminated in a short performance for the family and friends of the children—many of whom are gracing the Lyric stage for the first time ever. Only then was attention turned fully to this play, where those new or refined acting, singing, and dancing skills could be put into practice for the sellout performances this July will bring.
Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an arrogant young prince and his castle’s servants who fall under the spell of a wicked enchantress when he turns her away from his door. The enchantress turns the prince into the hideous “Beast” until he can learn to love and to be loved in return. The spirited, headstrong village girl Belle enters Beast’s castle after he imprisons her father, Maurice. With the help of his enchanted servants, including the matronly Mrs. Potts, Belle begins to draw the cold-hearted Beast out of his isolation. But when the similarly cold-hearted Gaston and his henchman Lefou decide to destroy the Beast, will Belle be able to save the Beast from eternal doom?
We hope you will join us both for the entertainment and lesson imparted by this classic story and for the building of our community that attendance at Arts events—especially at young people’s theatre—always brings. The OAC and its Member Organizations are committed to having children of all ages learn about the Arts and develop a love for them that reaches beyond their early years, so that they grow up to be well-rounded, empathetic adults. These “Jr.” plays, and the directors who bless us by giving up a portion of their summers, are a huge first step in that direction.
Says Director Debbie Waters:
“I have been blessed with the best cast of young people between the ages of 6-18 who are a joy to work with. We have a cast of 30 who are working hard and excited to ask everyone to ‘Be Our Guest’ at the Historic Lyric Theater during our 90th Birthday Celebration season.”
Our Cast and Crew include:
Caleb Lord and Liani Cash
Belle: Liani Cash Beast: Shade Roberts Gaston: Caleb Lord LeFou: Jacob Cothran Maurice: Logan Cole Mrs. Potts: Alayna Davis Chip: Ivan Hanschu Lumiere: Nicholas Prpich Babette: Chyler Caraway Cogsworth: Bannon Jones Madame de la Grande Bouche: Lexi Sprenger Silly Girls: Brinkley Brewer, Avery Skinner, Emily Still Enchantress: AnneJanette Cole
Ensemble: Kaden Allen, Zoë Arthur, Laura Bracken, Callie Caraway, Ethan Causey, Landon Clements, Joshua Cothran, Ella Domino, Dierdra Goldman, Jadah Gregory, Kalel Lewis, Tarron Lewis, Mia Ostberg, Emma Claire Pruitt, Natalie Sims, Jerome Sweatman, Jenna Wilson
Back: Caleb Lord & Emily Still Front: Avery Skinner & Brinkley Brewer
Join us at The Lyric for this heartwarming tale of the transformative power of love on July 20, 25, and 27. Tickets for Beauty and the Beast, Jr. are available now through TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, by stopping by the OAC office at 115 W. Rush
Ave. between 8 & 2 Tuesday through Friday, or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).
The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra!
Monday Evening, August 12 at 6:00PM
The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra will be swinging back into the historic Lyric Theater on the Harrison, Arkansas square at 6:00 on August 12, 2019! After an initial pre-sale period to Ozark Arts Council members, ticket sales are now open to the public.
(To be eligible for our ticket pre-sales—and to avoid ticket company processing and credit card fees—join the OAC today, and to be always up to date on OAC news, keep watching this site and subscribe to our OAC eNews.)
The first Glenn Miller Orchestra did not make it at all. It was a total and absolute economic failure. But Glenn knew what he wanted, held to that dedication and relentlessly worked to succeed. He launched his second band–the one that lives on today–in March of 1938. The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been a “hit” ever since.
The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all dance bandleaders back in the Swing Era of the 1930’s and 40’s. A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts and the drawing power at theatres, hotels and dance pavilion, built and sustained the momentum of popularity.
Glenn disbanded his musical organization in 1942 at the height of its popularity to volunteer for the Army. There, he organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It went to Europe to entertain servicemen performing numerous live and radio shows. On December 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single engine plane from Europe to precede his band to France, disappearing over the English Channel, never to be seen again. The army declared him officially dead a year later.
With the release of the major motion movie “The Glenn Miller Story” featuring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in 1954, interest and popular demand led the Miller Estate to authorize the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra. On June 6, 1956, and under the direction of drummer Ray McKinley who had become the unofficial leader of the Army Air Force Band after Glenn’s disappearance, the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra performed its first concert and has been on the road ever since. Other leaders have followed Ray including clarinetists Buddy DeFranco and Peanuts Hucko, trombonists Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, Larry O’Brien and Gary Tole, and tenor saxophonist Dick Gerhart. Since January 2012, vocalist Nick Hilscher leads the band.
Today, the 18 member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is owned and operated by Glenn Miller Productions, Inc., under license from the Miller Estate. Glenn Miller Productions, Inc., has the sole and exclusive right to use the Glenn Miller Orchestra name—so, this is not a “tribute to the Glenn Miller Orchestra,” but the orchestra that is in official and unbroken succession to the original.
The big-band business today requires almost constant travel as a result of an arduous schedule of one-night stands. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is “on the road” longer and more continuously than any other in the whole world, having celebrated its 60th year anniversary on June 6. It covers over a hundred thousand miles a year, working most every night for 48 weeks out of every 52-nearly 300 playing dates, performing for an “in person” audience that adds up to more than a half million people annually.
Just as it was in Glenn’s day, the Glenn Miller Orchestra today is still the most sought after big band in the world. But when it comes to seeing the Glenn Miller Orchestra in Arkansas in 2019, there is exactly ONE place to do it: #OnlyAtTheLyric! With the overwhelming response to the special appearance of The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Lyric in 2016, the band has loved returning to Harrison and is doing so again as it’s only Arkansas performance of 2019, 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 12!
Jack Williams is a songwriter, singer, and guitarist with few (if any) peers. HIs songs are a literary record of the joy, brilliance, disappointments, and aspirations of our American experience. His live shows romp through the melodic and lyric wit of the Jazz Era, the sentimental strains of doo-wop, and the birth of rock and roll. This is all set against the backdrop of steamy South Carolina, the wilds of the Sonoran desert, and vast stretches of interstate… on and on he’ll go, until you find yourself in Mama Lou’s kitchen with her wood-fired stove, breathing in the scent of maternal love in the form of fried chicken.
Friday, February 8 is the date and tickets are $10 in advance, whether online or at the OAC Office (115 W. Rush, just to the left of the theater; hours 8–2, M-W-F; phone 870-391-3504) and $15 at the door.
It’s been said already, but I’ll say it again: Jack Williams is a national treasure. When it comes to pulling the
worlds of blues, country, rock and roll and jazz together on an acoustic guitar, I’ve never heard his equal.
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).