Book artist Lyall Harris grapples with complex subjects

Book artist Lyall Harris doesn’t shy away from difficult and complex subjects, but dares to approach them more closely and pick them apart piece by piece to rebuild them. “Art is a language, a place to put things, to work stuff out,” says Harris. “My conduit.” Whatever her subject, recurring themes of identity and place […]

Album reviews: Britta Phillips, La Sera, The Dandy Warhols

Britta Phillips Luck or Magic (Double Feature) Though Luck or Magic is her first album, Britta Phillips has just about done it all. After providing the singing voice of Jem (of the “Jem and the Holograms” cartoon), she appeared alongside Justine Bateman and Julia Roberts in the lightweight girl-band film Satisfaction. Joining alt-rock darlings Luna […]

Jason Flom on making hit records and freeing the innocent

Jason Flom was born into wealth and privilege. His father, Joseph Flom, made a name in legal circles as a mergers and acquisitions savant, a man who built one of the largest law firms in the country and is sometimes known as “Mr. Takeover.” As a youth growing up in New York City, the younger […]

ARTS Pick: Mavis Staples

Genre-defying, freedom-fighting diva Mavis Staples has woven her music into a fabric of gospel, soul, folk, pop, R&B, blues, rock and hip-hop for the past 60 years. A pioneer of the Delta gospel sound created in the 1950s, Staples flourished as a solo performer and in her family group, The Staple Singers. She has collaborated […]

ARTS Pick: Keith Morris & the Crooked Numbers

Gritty, heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll meets gut-spilling soul on Keith Morris & the Crooked Numbers’ new album, The Dirty Gospel. Written during a period of mourning, the songs are personal, accessible and emotionally charged. Sarah White and The Pearls and Mister Baby open the CD release bash. Friday 4/8. $10, 7pm. The Ante Room, 219 W. […]

Cellist Ben Sollee bridges the gap between traditional and modern

Ben Sollee answers the phone but isn’t ready to chat. He’s still talking to his son, Oliver, and his mom. They’re in the car, “cruising down the road.” Turns out this is typical of Sollee, who’ll play The Southern Café and Music Hall on April 8. Scattered might not be the right word, but he […]

ARTS Pick: Lee Ann Womack

Hardly a lavish wedding goes by where Lee Ann Womack’s 2000 crossover hit, “I Hope You Dance,” isn’t played to the delight of a tearful aunt or grandma. The Grammy-winning country music singer has earned a pile of country music awards (CMAs, ACMAs and CMTs), and her latest record, The Way I’m Livin’, followed suit […]

Tom Tom Festival is all grown up

As Tom Tom Founders Festival Director Paul Beyer sits in the audience during Founders Summit talks and hears fellow entrepreneurs and creative visionaries speak about the early days of their startups, the successes they celebrated and obstacles they faced, he can’t help but draw a parallel to the festival itself. The ideas for the festival […]

Jonathan Teeter takes us back to KNDRGRDN

During a recent KNDRGRDN gig at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, frontman Jonathan Teeter looked up from his guitar mid-song. Bodies were packed in tightly, close to the stage, and he could see people bobbing up and down and singing along to “Your Shadow.” “Your shadow is coming in / Coming into my room / Your […]