Things are heating up at the Levitt Shell this weekend, with four shows taking place between Thursday the 28th and Sunday the 31st. Hurray for the Riff Raff kick things off Thursday night, bringing the critically acclaimed folk rock of Alynda Lee Segarra (pictured) to the Overton Park stage. Originally from New York City but now based in New Orleans, Segarra cites everything from political poetry to the punk scene on the Lower East Side as inspiration for her brand of socially aware music. Segarra’s trip to Memphis is in the middle of a full U.S. tour that features a plethora of up-and-coming openers, including Brooklyn artist Juan Wauters on select dates.
The AJ Ghent Band keep things moving on Friday night with some legendary lap-steel guitar shredding from Ghent and company. Ghent comes from a long line of world-renowned lap-steel guitar players, and his grandfather Henry Nelson created the lap-steel sound known as “sacred steele,” a genre kept alive today by guitarists like Robert Randolph. Ghent cut his teeth playing with the Col. Hampton Band and also jammed with the Zac Brown Band before releasing his debut album Live at Terminal West earlier this year.
Saturday night brings New Orleans trombonist Glen David Andrews to the Shell, an artist who’s been riding the wave of good press since releasing Redemption last spring. If you’re in the mood for a history lesson on New Orleans music, don’t miss Andrews perform Saturday evening. Blues singer Earl Thomas closes things out on Sunday, an artist who has played with Ike Turner and written songs for Etta James. Thomas has been in the game for a while now, and has been called one of the best blues singers in the world, which makes him an excellent closer for a weekend that showcases unique Southern songwriters.
All shows at the Levitt Shell this weekend start at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free.
