Tag: Minglewood Hall

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Built to Spill at 1884 Lounge

Boise, Idaho, indie-rock legends Built to Spill play 1884 Lounge this Tuesday night. Formed in the early ’90s by guitarist Doug Martsch, the band immediately gained notoriety for their folk-infused indie rock, and by 1995, the band landed a deal with Warner Bros. Records, the label they still call home today. Built to Spill’s latest album, Untethered Moon, was released in April of 2015, just in time for Record Store Day. Untethered Moon sees the band staying in the same lane as many of their classic albums, even though it took six years for the band to release, making for the longest drought in the Built to Spill discography. While many of the relics of ’90s indie rock should have hung it up at the turn of the century, Built to Spill’s music still sounds as authentic as ever without re-treading what made the band popular in the first place.

Built to Spill

Touring with Built to Spill is Lenguas Largas, the Tuscon, Arizona, group that has loose connections to Memphis and Goner Records. The soft-psych band has been kicking up dust for nearly a decade, and their latest LP, Abba Daddy, was released this April on Red Lounge Records, the label that’s brought you music from bands like Lover, Overnight Lows, and the Hussy. The single from Abba Daddy, “Heavy Bubbles,” is as chill as psych-rock gets, with hazy vocals overtaking an acoustic guitar riff that floats behind a solid bass groove.

Rounding out the bill is Whispering Wires, another band that hails from Tuscon, Arizona. Whispering Wires are also a psych/indie band, but they’ve got a little more aggression in their sound compared to fellow Arizonans Lenguas Largas, and the exposure Whispering Wires receive on this tour should lift the band from their relatively unknown status. Tuesday’s gig is 18 and up, and you might want to purchase tickets ahead of time.

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Haim live at Minglewood Hall Tuesday

Minglewood Hall is staying busy with big-name shows this month, the latest being an appearance from indie-pop band HAIM this Tuesday night. The project of three sisters (Danielle, Alana, and Este), HAIM exploded onto the indie-rock scene in 2007, although Este Haim had spent time as a touring guitarist for Jenny Lewis and Julian Casablancas (formerly of the Strokes). On the surface HAIM come across like the musical embodiment of an Urban Outfitters, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a band using some of the same studio tricks that made artists like Phil Collins and Fleetwood Mac household names.

Tom Beard

And while the band definitely owes something to the indie-pop acts that came before them (Twin Sister), there is something distinctly mainstream about the music HAIM creates, with the group citing Justin Timberlake as well as Beyoncé as influences. Since releasing their debut album Days Are Gone in 2013, the band has been on the major festival circuit, making friends with Grimes and Taylor Swift, with Swift offering the band select opening dates on her massive 1989 World Tour.

Opening for HAIM is Cam Avery, the Australian multi-instrumentalist who is most known for his contributions to Tame Impala. Avery’s music is nowhere near as commercially viable as HAIM’s, as he creates mellow pop ballads with hints of lounge-music thrown in here and there. The airy music that lingers in the background of Avery’s songs makes way for his deep, crooning vocals, and, although he does play in a few psychedelic bands other than Tame Impala, you won’t find hear any fuzzy psych-rock when Avery takes the stage Tuesday night.

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Unknown Mortal Orchestra at the 1884 Lounge

Psych-pop band Unknown Mortal Orchestra hit Memphis this Friday for a show at the 1884 Lounge inside Minglewood Hall. The project of songwriter Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra have been rising in the indie-rock ranks since forming in 2011 by fusing the weirder parts of psych rock, indie rock, and R&B. The band’s 2015 album, Multi-Love, served as Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s coming-out statement, and the title track from Multi-Love is one of the most original indie rock songs of the last five years.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s latest creation is the result of musicians who are completely confident in their abilities and not afraid to turn the conventional indie/psych-rock world on its head. Their songs consistently change on a dime, but while Unknown Mortal Orchestra definitely fit the mysterious, left-field persona they’ve developed over the past few years, the band still keeps their main priority obvious when playing live: They just want you to dance. Jagjaguwar (Small Black, Sharon Van Etten, Foxygen) released their last two albums, but it wouldn’t be a stretch at all to see Unknown Mortal Orchestra signed to a major label in the near future.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

On tour with Unknown Mortal Orchestra is Chicago indie band Whitney. Formed by ex-Smith Westerns members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich, Whitney have generated a remarkable amount of buzz for a band that hasn’t released a debut album, but if their single “No Woman” is any indication, the hype is well-deserved. Ehrlich also spent time in Unknown Mortal Orchestra, connecting the dots to this stacked tour that stretches across the country. Whitney’s debut album is out this June on Secretly Canadian.

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Deftones Live at Minglewood Hall

Metal megastars Deftones hit Memphis this Tuesday for a show at Minglewood Hall. Formed while three of the members were still in high school, Deftones have become one of the biggest bands in alternative metal, with a Grammy award and around 10 million total albums sold. The band’s fanbase is notoriously loyal, and albums like White Pony and Around the Fur are classic examples of mid-’90s nu-metal, before it got repackaged by major labels for MTV consumption. The band also paved the way for indie experimental metal bands like Glassjaw to gain traction, and it could be said that Deftones are one of the first bands to mold nu-metal/experimental metal into what it is today.

Opening for Deftones is Code Orange, the Deathwish Inc./ Roadrunner Records band from Pittsburgh. Formerly known as Code Orange Kids, the four-piece definitely owes a lot of their song structures and writing style to Deftones, although they are most commonly referred to as a hardcore punk band. The band recorded their second album I Am King with Kurt Ballou, a producer who once recorded the first album by Memphis’ own Nights Like These, even though the label they were on eventually asked the band to re-record the album with another producer. Sadly, that session has never been officially released. Code Orange are definitely flying the modern metal-core flag high, and their upcoming album for Roadrunner Records will likely see the band move in a more mainstream direction. Tickets moved fast for this one, and as a result the show is sold out.

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Lamb of God Returns

CREDIT: Travis Shinn

As arguably one of the biggest acts to emerge from the mid-’00s “undergrounding” of high-profile metal, Lamb of God was riding its long and continuing ascent in June 2012 when attention on the band began to increase exponentially on the back of a most unfortunate turn of events. A good six months into the touring cycle behind his band’s seventh studio album, Resolution, Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe was arrested by Czech police on suspicion of manslaughter and charged with “committing intentional bodily harm.”

The charges concerned a concert from two years earlier when a fan sustained head injuries (immediately leading to a coma and eventual death several weeks later) after being pushed from the stage by Blythe. Lamb of God was caught totally by surprise, as they didn’t even remember the specific show and were unaware of the damning European press coverage following the event, or that the Czech police had already investigated and charged Blythe, simply because no one was contacted by the United States Department of Justice after the D.O.J. turned down overseas requests for assistance.

Blythe was swiftly put behind bars in a Czech prison for what remained an open-ended incarceration, due to the challenges of meeting a bail figure that was repeatedly increased. Thus began an unpredictable and authentically dramatic saga unlike any other in metal’s long and dark history of finding itself on the wrong side of the law. In March of 2013, after a six-day trial that could have easily ended badly, the Czech court arrived at a verdict that removed Blythe’s criminal liability regarding the incident. Many readers might be aware of how things played out, as there was much media coverage and an astonishing amount of support that traversed and transcended the metal community.

The Richmond, Virginia, band formed as Burn the Priest in 1994 and operated at the underground DIY level for six years, releasing several demos, two split-EPs, and one self-titled, full-length debut in 1999 before a name change to Lamb of God was implemented based on a desire to avoid being misinterpreted as a Satanic metal band. The next album and first to carry the Lamb of God moniker was 2000’s New American Gospel. A progressive combination of rewired and intensified thrash metal informed deeply by Pantera’s mid-tempo groove and breakdowns, New American Gospel appealed out of the gate to a fan base that would grow behind the band’s next two years on the road.

2003’s As the Palaces Burn attracted some nice reviews in mainstream media outlets like Rolling Stone and scored high in the metal press’ year-end tallies. The Lamb of God sound was well-established by this point and filled a need with its less cartoonish, more streamlined metal onslaught that spoke to both young and old fans of the form, unlike the then-waning silliness of Slipknot or the overt faux intensity of System of a Down. The increased airplay of the album’s three singles laid the groundwork for Lamb of God’s proto-breakthrough, Ashes of the Wake, their first for major label Epic Records. It debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over 35,000 and remains the band’s best-selling back catalog title as it approaches gold certification.

But Lamb of God’s next two albums, 2006’s Sacrament and 2009’s Wrath, would secure the band’s status as a global force and perhaps the biggest Trojan horse to sneak otherwise mainstream-untenable elements of metal extremity to a wide audience since Pantera’s similar coup during the ’90s. Both album’s debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and had first-week sales of over 60,000 and collectively yielded three Grammy nominations for Best Heavy Metal Performance for “Redneck” (perhaps Lamb of God’s best-known calling card) in 2007, “Set to Fail” in 2010, and “In Your Words” in 2011, respectively.

This period brought many other next-level “firsts,” and the band spent the better part of six years on the road and satiated fans between studio efforts with two live album/DVD titles. In 2010, the band released the 10-year anniversary Hourglass career retrospective that featured a much-drooled-over “Super Deluxe” edition packaged in a big coffin. The package contained a three-CD anthology, a career-covering vinyl box set, The Art of Lamb of God book, a 4-by-6 “Pure American Metal” flag, and, most notably, a Mark Morton Signature Series Jackson Dominion D2 guitar. The aforementioned seventh album, Resolution, was released in January of 2012 and added some thrashier guitar riffs and song structures to Lamb of God’s meat-and-potatoes metal to keep things out of an artistic rut.

Then, as covered previously, everything went to hell a few months later, and a short hiatus followed as the band waited for the outcome of Blythe’s case and figured out what to do next. For a minute, Lamb of God’s future as an active band was up in the air, but the five-some returned to the studio, and out came last year’s VII: Sturm und Drang, an album informed by the inevitable influence of Blythe’s situation but also one with more sonic surprises than the band is known for. The record included the distinct vocals of guest Chino Moreno of the Deftones on a track, plus Blythe’s most extended venture into clean singing on the song “Overlord”.

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Versace Python

This Friday night, Riff Raff, aka Jody Highroller, aka the Peach Panther, aka Iceberg Simpson, aka the Versace Python, aka the Turquoise Tortoise, aka the Flamboyant Flamingo will descend upon Minglewood Hall. Born Horst Simco, Riff Raff first entered the American consciousness when he appeared on the second season of the MTV show From G’s to Gents, complete with a giant MTV logo freshly tattooed on his neck. Though Riff Raff was eliminated from the show during the second episode, the damage was already done, and his brand was born.

After mixing it up with Soulja Boy’s label S.O.D. Money Gang, Riff Raff collaborated with big name artists like Action Bronson and Diplo before signing a multi-record deal with Diplo’s label Mad Decent. Most recently, Riff Raff announced a partnership with the BMG label, a deal worth $4 million. The deal will launch his new label Neon Nation Corporation and put him and his longtime manager Russell Redeaux at the forefront of an empire investing in music, movies, and talent from across the globe.

Simply put, Riff Raff is a walking billboard for MTV spring-break culture, but while he’s collaborated with plenty of flash-in-the-pan MCs (Kitty Pryde, Deezus), his staying power is something to behold. After all, it’s certainly no easy feat for a white guy with cornrows to stay relevant with rhymes that were undoubtedly conceived on a steady diet of Xanax and prescription cough syrup. If America is ever put under a microscope by an alien life form, rest assured Riff Raff will break the petri dish. In celebration of Riff Raff coming to Minglewood Hall for the first time, I’ve selected a few of his more poetic lyrics for further evaluation.

Lyrics: “When I got grown and dropped out of school, nobody was broke but me, but now they all wanna roll with me.” Song: “Time”

Ah, the perils of fame. You’d think the Peach Panther would welcome a posse of like-minded individuals, but apparently even Riff Raff can tell when people are out to abuse his wealth. This lyrical revelation comes from the 2014 song “Time,” one of the only R&B songs that Riff has created and a track that would surely make someone like Uncle Kracker proud.

Lyrics: “I done fucked around and sang a hook like Anita Baker.”

Song: “Tip Toe Wing in My Jawdinz”

Let’s get one thing straight. At no point in his career will Riff Raff sound anything like Anita Baker. Ever. That being said, the intro to “Tip Toe Wing in My Jawdinz” is one of Riff’s most recognizable choruses and kicks off a pretty amazing song where he talks about his collection of Jordan brand shoes and how he used to drive a Ford Focus but still rocked Jordans. Who can’t relate to that?

Lyrics: “I’m at a slumber party. Girls only got you mad, but you can sleep outside. Here’s my Versace sleeping bag.”

Song: “Tip Toe Wing in My Jawdinz”

Here we get a glimpse into what a generous soul Riff Raff really is. He knows the girls are only interested in what the Cranberry Vampire has to offer, but he’s still willing to give up his designer sleeping bag just so you don’t sleep out in the cold. After all, he could have just kicked you out of his party. Generous with his designer goods whilst also being a sex symbol? What a guy.

Lyrics: “I’m catchin’ interceptions on you innocent pedestrians.”

Song: “How to be the Man”

This is one of Riff Raff’s strongest lines on his debut album Neon Icon and touches on his propensity to use sports references in almost every one of his songs. Throughout his musical career, Riff Raff has claimed (either on social media or in song) that he could have played for the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders, the Toronto Raptors, and the Los Angeles Clippers. With all that talent possessed by one man, I suppose we’re all lucky he decided to stick to the rap game, although I think getting him in the NBA celebrity game during All-Star Weekend is a no-brainer at this point.

Lyrics: “Rap game Tony Danza with the hot handles. No tint on the glasses, Colonel Sanders.”

Song: “Doctor Pepper”

Although it would be impossible to scour the annals of YouTube to be 100 percent certain, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that Tony Danza and Colonel Sanders have never been mentioned in the same song, let alone the same line. Does Tony Danza even have hot handles? How can we ever know? And why has Colonel Sanders never worn sunglasses? These are the questions Riff Raff’s genius lyrics bring to mind, among many, many other things. Mind=blown.

Lyrics: “I can freestyle to a dolphin and a tambourine.”

Song: “Aquaberry Dolphin”

Wait, what?

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Wolfmother returns to Memphis

In 2005, Sidney, Australia’s, Wolfmother arrived when one rock heyday was in its 11th hour and another underground metal-originated movement was just about to find wider-scale popularity. This fortuitous timing and combining of influences from both movements brought quick success to the power-trio, which was sustained until after the release of its second album Cosmic Egg in 2009. The past five years have seen some ups and downs for the festival-favoring, hard-rock/’70s-metal endeavor of founder Andrew Stockdale and different backing lineups, but it looks like the recently released Victorious might help return at least some of the spotlight the band enjoyed earlier in its career.

There’s no doubt that the 2000-2005 era was one defined by near or full-on mass acceptance of guitar bands offering up their version of a style that was already well-established by whatever underground movement happened to respectively birth and develop it over the preceding years. This gave us the Strokes and Interpol, plus brought the White Stripes and the Hives up from their more grassroots origins. A ton of other bands and factors played into this as well, but by mid-decade it had given way to a widespread re-embracing of heavier fare, thus giving different modicums of higher exposure and success to Dead Meadow, Queens of the Stone Age, the Sword, Sweden’s Witchcraft, and, in some indirect manner, this helped contribute to the blindsiding mega-success of the far more commercially viable Wolfmother.

Guitarist/vocalist/principle songwriter Andrew Stockdale, bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross, and drummer Myles Heskett cherry-picked the right characteristics from both the former “new rock” era and the latter “retro-metal” salad days, and the Wolfmother name came not long before playing their first live show in spring of 2004. Signed to Australian major-label imprint Modular Recordings by August of that same year, the trio released their debut four-song, self-titled EP a month later, and it gained respectable purchase on the ARIA Australian Singles Chart. The EP was recorded in Detroit by Dirtbombs bassist Jim Diamond, best known for recording the first two White Stripes albums then suing the post-fame version of the duo over crediting disputes (Jack and Meg won the dispute).

Wolfmother toured for months in support of the EP and signed an international record deal with Modular parent label Universal Music Group. The trio’s self-titled, full-length debut was released in Australia at the end of October 2005 and elsewhere around the world on subsequent dates. Recorded by in-demand, hard-rock/metal producer Dave Sardy, the album was certified 5x platinum in Australia as well as gold in the U.K. and U.S. by 2007, where it peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200. Much of the stateside success was due to the 2006 mega-hit “Woman” (the fourth single released from the album), which took the 2007 Grammy award for “Best Hard Rock Performance.”

Wolfmother is a deft, hard-rock repurposing of the White Stripes, is stuffed to the gills with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin riffs, and is presented as a more melodic, less “scary,” and much more commercially viable stoner-metal package than what the Sword or High on Fire had to offer. Tall, skinny, well-dressed, and coifed somewhere between Grand Funk Railroad’s Don Brewer and the MC5’s Rob Tyner, Stockdale added the appropriate guitar moves and cut a figure built for the festival stage. Once the debut broke in the U.K. and U.S. by mid-2006, Wolfmother was soon assuming prime slots at festivals around the world. The band followed up the album with the four-song Dimensions EP in 2006, then a live video album titled Please Experience Wolfmother Live in 2007 and contributed the song “Pleased to Meet You” to the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack that same year.

In early 2008, Wolfmother’s label announced via press release that “irreconcilable personal and musical differences” had ended the band. However, Wolfmother’s sophomore follow-up album was already in the works, and after a brief spell with the Raconteurs drummer, Patrick Keeler, Stockdale reassembled what he called “Wolfmother Phase II,” a quartet with Ian Peres on bass/keyboards, Aidan Nemeth on second guitar, and Dave Atkins on drums. The lineup was made official by January of 2009, and, later that year, the longer, heavier, and all-around bigger Cosmic Egg appeared and peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and sold boatloads in Australia.

As a sign of the changing musical landscape, the next few years were not as commercially fruitful for Wolfmother, and Stockdale had to steer the band through more lineup turmoil and other challenges. He released what was to be the band’s third album, 2013’s Keep Moving, under his own name, then two months later resurrected the Wolfmother moniker for a string of live dates. In March of 2014, Wolfmother’s third proper full-length, New Crown, was released out of nowhere as a digital download on Bandcamp. Self-produced and self-released without any promotion, the album still sold well in Australia and cracked the Billboard 200 at No. 160. Signaling a return to the band’s earlier years, this month the fourth Wolfmother album, Victorious, was released by Universal Music Enterprises (or UMe). It was recorded by noted producer Brendan O’Brien (also former vice president of Epic Records) at Henson Recording in Hollywood. Stockdale wrote everything on the album and performed all of the vocals, guitars, and bass himself, with keyboards contributed by regular touring bassist Peres and drums handled by Josh Freese and Joey Waronker.

The tour that brings Wolfmother to Memphis is known as the “Gypsy Caravan Tour” and will feature a trio configuration of the band with Peres on bass and Alex Carapetis on drums.

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Oh! You Pretty Things

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Days before tons of Memphis musicians gather to pay respects to the Thin White Duke, we caught up with Graham Winchester — the Memphis Does Bowie tribute show organizer — to find out more about the unique benefit concert. –Chris Shaw

Flyer: How soon did this idea come to you following David Bowie’s death? What was the motivation behind it?

Graham Winchester: It was the day after David Bowie died I had the idea. I read Facebook comments of people saying they wished they could have seen him play live. I also saw that people were having a vinyl listening party in his honor, so I thought, “Why not throw a live show in his honor?” The motivation was to turn a sad and tragic moment in music history into a catalyst for positivity. St. Jude’s involvement makes the tribute and the charity work a doubleheader of amazingness.

How open was Minglewood to doing the show?

They have been very cool and helpful about everything. I sent a text to Brent Logan at Minglewood Hall hoping maybe the 1884 Lounge would be open, and it was. He messaged me back within five minutes, and it was a done deal until our Facebook event started exploding with numbers, so we got the big stage cleared for use that night.

What’s the response from local musicians been like since you announced the show?

There was an overwhelming amount of musicians asking to play. Everybody was immediately stoked on the idea. Even visual artists, vendors, and caterers have shown their support and have requested involvement, which Minglewood and I are trying our best to organize and make happen. We have so much musical talent in Memphis, and it’s been truly touching how many people I admire have reached out about the event.

How about local David Bowie fans?

It’s the people’s enthusiasm and support that has ignited hype and increased anticipation about the benefit. The reactions to the show have been 100 percent positive. Social media has made me even more aware of the general buzz about what’s going down Saturday. Local fans have expressed their desire to dress up, wear Bowie face paint, and create their own tribute by representing Bowie’s style. People’s sentiments have been full of nothing but gratitude and support.

 

How did you pick the bands and musicians who are participating?

After announcing the show online, a wealth of talented musicians and bands responded immediately asking to play. Trying to honor a first-come, first-served mentality, I responded to initial inquiries first. I also made sure a few of my bands were playing, since I love Bowie’s music and know my bandmates do too. It is a stroke of serious luck that the bands performing and the songs they’ve chosen truly reflect Bowie’s expansive career through all of its eras. Our local musicians and artists are extremely versatile too. I only wish I could have found a time slot for every band and musician that asked to play.

 

Where does St. Jude come in?

I’ve orchestrated benefit shows in the past, and it’s something that I truly enjoy. I play plenty of regular shows, and it feels nice to give back. I’ve always wanted to work on a benefit for St. Jude, and I saw this as a shining opportunity. Both St. Jude and David Bowie have had so much global influence, and music is the great healer of the universe.

As for the logistics of the show, how are the sets going to work? How long will each set be?

Bowie’s timeless music will go from 6 p.m. sharp to midnight. Most bands are playing two to four songs, and I am allowing five minutes per song with five-minute set changeovers. Most Bowie songs are under five minutes, so that allows for extra changeover time in the end. There is a total of 17 artists/bands performing. Towards the end of the night, Clay Otis and Luke White’s new group (that I’ve luckily been asked to be a member of) is going to do a final eight-song set. I couldn’t be happier with the overall lineup.

 Who are you most looking forward to seeing? How many sets are you playing?

I’m performing with six groups: Brian Sharpe, Chris Johnson and Landon Moore, Clay Otis and Luke White, the Graham Winchester Band, and the Sheiks and Staniel Brown. As far as what I’m looking forward to? All of it. I am particularly hyped about Richard James singing “John, I’m Only Dancing” and the Incredible Hook doing “All the Madmen.” Overall, there is just too much great music scheduled to express my excitement in one interview.

What do you have planned for the grand finale?

To be perfectly honest, I hardly know what to expect of the “Heroes” finale. What I do know is it’s gonna be a hell of a finish. The things that are finite are the rhythm section and the five lead vocalists for each verse. However, every musician there will be involved and onstage, whether it’s singing the chorus or shaking a tambourine. The musicians and fans are all going to celebrate a night of Memphis community and a night of tribute and benefit to arguably one of the greatest artists to ever live and what is absolutely the greatest hospital in the world.

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Lucero Announce Family Block Party

Lucero

After a successful Christmas show and their first Family Picnic in Memphis, Lucero has recently announced a block party set for April 23rd at Minglewood Hall. The show will feature St.Paul and the Broken Bones, with more acts announced closer to the show. Minglewood will be blocking off S. Willett Street and the surrounding areas, and a portion of the proceeds generated from the show will go to charity. Check out the show flyer and Lucero’s latest video below. Tickets go on sale Friday (January 8th) and can be purchased here. Or, if you can’t wait, fan club tickets are available through Lucero’s website here. 

Lucero Announce Family Block Party

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Lucero Family Christmas at Minglewood Hall

CREDIT: Jamie Harmon

Lucero kick Christmas off early this year when they play Minglewood Hall Saturday night. The band will play two sets — one acoustic and one electric — and a portion of the night’s proceeds will go toward an undisclosed charity. More than 1,500 people attended Lucero’s Family Picnic this summer, and a turnout that size on Saturday is a safe bet. 2015 saw a new record from Lucero called All a Man Should Do, and singer Ben Nichols described it as an effort that took 25 years of mistakes to get done, in addition to calling it the album he’s wanted to make since he was a teenager. All a Man Should Do was recorded at Ardent Studios with Ted Hutt (a producer the band has worked with multiple times) and features a cover of the Big Star classic “I’m in Love With a Girl.” Jody Stephens is featured on the recording of that track, and one can only hope Lucero brings him onstage for a live version this Saturday. While they might be a national treasure to alt-country fans nationwide, Lucero is still definitely a Memphis band, and the upcoming Christmas show as well as the block party are testaments to their love for the Bluff City.

Jamie Harmon

Lucero

After releasing All a Man Should Do, Lucero hit the road. Currently on tour in the South, the Family Christmas gig will serve as a homecoming show as well. The band is also set to tour Europe extensively early next year, presumably making Saturday’s show the lone local Lucero show in the immediate future. If you feel like starting the party early, the second annual “Deck the Hall” event that benefits Le Bonheur kicks off at 4 p.m. at Minglewood. Ben Callicot, Drew Erwin, and more will perform. Both events are all ages.