Featured Shows; Week of 9/29/13

Sunday 9/29

Starting out this week in music, we have Austin-Based Soul band, Mingo Fishtrap playing at Levitt Pavilion Arlington on Sunday. These guys met at UNT in Denton back in the 90's and have since gone on to become a nationally touring, festival circuit band. Check 'em out, and did I mention it was Free? Show info here.



Monday 9/30
Impulse of Will plays the Magnolia Motor Lounge on Monday. Self-describing their music as Black Sabbath meets Weather Report, these guys put on a hell of a show. More info can be found here.



Tuesday 10/1
Bryan Joyner is at Adair's Saloon on Tuesday for a little Alt/Country music. Whether playing alone and acoustic, or playing with the band Hard country, there should be something for every country loving cowboy. Adair's is always Free, show info here.



Wednesday 10/2
A night of Ska at the Grotto in Ft. Worth with Rude King, Stop The Presses, The Holophonics. Check it out, and bring those dancing shoes! Show info located here.



Thursday 10/3
Two very talented Drummers/Percussionists, Mike Dillion & Earl Harvin play at the Kessler on Thursday. Dillion, who beats the hell out of a vibraphone and fronts an exquisitely trippy ATX party act, has collaborated with fellow virtuosos Les Claypool and Stanton Moore. Harvin, a top-shelf Dallas percussionist known for both jazz and rock chops, boasts credits with Seal and Jeff Beck. Show info here.



Friday 10/4
MilkDrive is at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton on Friday for a night of Jazz-grass. They bring their Folk/Bluegrass/Jazz music to Denton from their hometown of Austin TX. More info here.



Saturday 10/5
And Saturday is the Canned Fest in Denton with musical acts: Menomena, The Helio Sequence, Joe Pug, Pageantry, Hares on a Mountain, AM Ramblers.

That is all for this week, thank you for reading. Go out and support some live, local music, and report back to us! We would love to hear from you; what you like, what you don't like, if there is a band we should feature. You name it. Have a great week everybody and keep jammin' my friends!
SW

Big Sam's Funky Nation @ Levitt Pavilion 6/7/13

Levitt Pavilion, in the heart of Down Town Arlington, is filled with music-goers and their families. Levitt is an outdoor pavilion that offers FREE live music all summer long, and I figured Big Sam’s Funky Nation was the show to check it out.

I’d only ever been to Arlington for Texas Rangers’ games or one of the amusement parks. But after this show, Levitt Pavilion will definitely be one such amusement park on my list! Let me paint the scene for you; Levitt lists capacity on their website at 2,500, which would easily quantify the patronage for Funky Nation. Almost completely full, Levitt Pavilion housed families with lawn chairs and blankets, seemingly arriving way before my friends and I did (30 mins before performance) to snag a great spot.

We start at the back, not wanting to upset these nice families who have waited, but the Upbeat, Funk/Rock seemed to be lost on all but the small children. As expected the music was excellent, but it was a family-type function, which made for significantly less Funk-tion. 

 

“Big Sam” Williams, a New Orleans Trombonist/Singer/Band Leader, got his start with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the age of 19.  After one year with the Dirty Dozen, Williams began a broadening his musical goals. Big Sam played with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint in 2006 on their Grammy-nominated "The River in Reverse" album and ensuing international tour. Big Sam's Funky Nation has become his main band, touring nationally, internationally, and at major festivals such as Bannaroo, Gathering of the Vibes, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Voodoo Music Experience, South by Southwest, & Austin City Limits.

Big Sam’s Funky Nation describes their sound as a “signature Noladelic Powerfunk sound masterfully combin[ing] a rock sensibility with improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that’s the hallmark of big band funk.”

In my opinion the highlight of the show was, after the band had left the stage, our music-going group started to chant the Parliament lyrics “We want the funk, gotta have that funk!”. The band came back out for an encore performance which combined of several songs; “The Treme Song”, “Everybody Needs Somebody”, and a special shout out to yours truly with the camera-phone “You Better Tweet About Me”. They invited people from the audience up on stage, and what had started out as an encore, quickly became a dance party!

All and all, this was a great, did I mention FREE, community event put on by Levitt Pavilion and the city of Arlington. I’d highly recommend catching some more of those shows, I know I will, and will keep ya’ll updated on what will be playing when. 

Thanks Big Sam and Funky Nation for a funky good time, and keep on jammin’ my friends!

SW

Peace, Love, and Understanding brothas and sistas, is what makes the world go round.

Free Music Player for Myspace at ReverbNation.com

FREE Live MUSIC Summer Concert Series @ Levitt Pavilion in Arlington

While I love everything live music, and I would guess so would many of you, it truly is a pleasure when I get to bring music to others. By far, my favorite aspect of this whole thing is getting to tell you guys about FREE MUSIC. You read that correctly, FREE. A week or so ago I posted about the FREE music at Sundown at Granada, but today I will be sharing about the FREE summer MUSIC series put on by Levitt Pavilion Arlington.This is a really cool thing, I'd highly recommend to see as many of the free shows as you can!

The Levitt Pavilion Arlington, is located in Downtown Arlington. Families and friends of all ages are welcome to experience 50 nights of free music every year. The Levitt is a unique experience to see live performances, as well as the star-filled sky above in the heart of Arlington Texas!  Their concert calendar includes artists from all around the world as well as right in our own DFW backyard; from jazz to hot Latin rhythms, home-grown country to Indie rock, and culturally diverse world music, the list goes on and on.

 With that being said, there is one show in particular I would like to highlight. That show is Big Sam's Funky Nation on Friday June 7th, 2013. For those who are not familiar, Big Sam’s Funky Nation combines funk, rock and New Orleans jazz for a sound that makes you want to get up and dance.



Funky Nation has an established presence in the New Orleans music scene, with "Big" Sam Williams exploding onto stage as the trombone player and band leader. Big Sam, formerly of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, is said to be “the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Big Sam has played with the likes of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dave Matthews, and Widespread Panic. He has also shared the stage with U2 and Green Day at the re-opening of the Superdome in New Orleans, which broadcasted Monday Night Football. Funky Nation also had a recurring role on the HBO series, Treme.

A full list of events can be found here, they've got something to suit every taste. So check it out, and keep on jammin' my friends!

SW

Mix Magyk @ Indie in the Big D 5/25/13

Saturday May 25th, located on some property east of Downtown Dallas, the "Indie in the Big D" was underway. It was a hot day, and while the event was well put together, there was not much variety. A small vendor village had been erected, but consisted of mainly local clothing designers who had shared the same screen printer (The Alexa Machine Company who coordinated the event), and not much else. The musical entertainment was stale, numerous computer loops and profanity-laden rap attempts. But amidst all this mediocrity, Mix Magyk, a Local jazz/funk band rocked the house with their short 3 song set.

It would be an understatement to say that these guys were the highlight of the event. Not that I have bad things to say about "Indie in the Big D", it is just new (1st annual) and trying to find it's groove. Needless to say, I needed to find out more about this fantastic Jazz group here in DFW.

Mix Magyk was started back in 2009, when friends Craig Kleinman, Matt Garcia, and Jullian Ayacannoo decided to make an attempt to create a hip-hop group. They were all acquainted through their Tarrant County College Jazz class, but were unsure how to start this new project. While striving for a hip-hop sound, their music transformed into an instrumental jazz combo, upon not being able to recruit a serious lead vocalist. Additional members would come along later including the other current members Marcus Ybarra, Marquise Jones, and Michael Daniels.

Self described as Neojazz/Jam/Funk/Fusion, Mix Magyk has been creating a name for themselves in DFW. They have played at many local venues including Trees and House of Blues, and are even nominated for best Jazz Band in Ft. Worth Weekly.

Entering their 4th year together, Mix Magyk is on the cusp of breaking into the next level. The plan is to release an EP sometime soon, expected this summer. With all this good fortune, and a groovin' contemporary jazz set-list, Mix Magyk is definitely an up-and-coming name in the DFW live music scene. If you have not had a chance to see them, I highly recommend it! It won't be difficult as I expect we'll be seeing a lot of them.

Keep jammin' my friends!
SW

(Left to Right) Marquise Jones - Tenor Sax, Matt Garcia - Bass, Marcus Ybarra - Tenor Sax, Julian Ayacannoo - Keyboard, Craig Kleinman - Drums. (Not Pictured) Michael Daniels - Guitar.

"Indie in the Big D" Setlist:
G.C.
Inevitable
Turismo

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