A handful of local acts band together at the Hi-Tone Café this week to raise money and awareness for GrowMemphis, a nonprofit organized to support urban farms and gardens in Memphis and to advocate for local food policy. Formerly a program within the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, GrowMemphis has recently spun off into a separate entity.
Headlining the benefit show is the Wuvbirds (pictured), an enjoyable new-ish band made up of a pair of couples with notable Memphis music backgrounds. Corey and Kate Crowder were in Two Way Radio, an indie-pop band that had a bit of a moment in the wake of Kate’s co-starring role in Craig Brewer’s $5 Cover. Jared McStay is a local scene veteran who fronted the beloved ’90s band the Simpletones (late Simple Ones), and his wife Lori Gienapp McStay was the original drummer in the garage-blues band the Porch Ghouls and partnered with Alicja Trout in the ultra-fun Ultra Cats. Together, as Wuvbirds, the quartet concocts a warm, welcoming, finger-snapping pop sound rooted in mid-Sixties soul, girl groups, and Phil Spector-style pop. The band released a debut single last fall.
Rounding out the bill are Jeffrey James Hulett (of Snowglobe and his spinoff band, the Haul), Chris Milam, and the Near Reaches. The GrowMemphis benefit is Saturday, March 31st, at the Hi-Tone Café. Doors open at 9 p.m. For more information on the organization, see growmemphis.org. — Chris Herrington
