The most promising event this week has to be the Phatidef Music Techno Rap Show, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 2nd, at the International Shell Complex (806 E. Brooks Road). Put together by local hip-hop production company Phatidef, the event promises over 20 artists — a mix of techno DJs from the mecca of electronic music, Detroit, and rappers from Memphis, though no names have been announced. The event will begin at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20. For more information see Phatidef’s Web site — www.phatidef.com.
Nashville singer-songwriter Kate Campbell has captured the people and culture of the modern South in song since her mid-’90s debut. Campbell’s latest record, Wandering Strange, is a Southern gospel album recorded at Fame Studios, the Muscle Shoals birthplace of some of the greatest soul music of the ’60s, with studio icon Spooner Oldham in tow. Campbell will perform at the Center for Southern Folklore on Saturday, June 2nd.
Accomplished post-bop pianist Mulgrew Miller, who served a stint in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the mid-’80s, will be performing at Centenary United Methodist Church (584 East McLemore Avenue) on Saturday, June 2nd, at 7 p.m. There is no cover charge for the event, but the performance is being given to benefit the church’s summer youth camp, so don’t be stingy when the offering plate gets passed around.– Chris Herrington
Any band that can entice Buck Owens to record with them has my seal of approval. And while I was once leery of the Austin-based Derailers — their sound was too muscular and showy for my country music tastes — their 1999 release Full Western Dress turned me right around. From their duet with Owens to their gender-inverted cover of the Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me,” I was enthralled. They found that elusive groove where classic country meets mid-century pop and penned gritty, heartfelt lyrics that would make even the great Harlan Howard proud. While their live shows are fueled by the kind of energy that can only be described as punk, these guys never lose their pure, honky-tonk sound. And though they lack the ragged sincerity of the Two Dollar Pistols, the virtuosity of BR5-49, and the plain-talking charm of Dale Watson, the Derailers rank high in the pantheon of country revivalists. I’ve recommended them a number of times in the past and recommend them again now. Any chance to scoot your boots with these guys should be taken. So get your Stetson re-creased. The Derailers hit the Hi-Tone Café on Saturday, June 2nd. — Chris Davis
