June is bustin’ out all over — with the arts, to borrow a phrase from the Rodgers and Hammerstein song. For our art scene, it is a month for new beginnings and renewal.
June is National Smile Month, according to an events calendar I’ve seen. In our area, maybe all of the upbeat music on offer has something to do with that. Events on tap here feature Broadway, classical and sacred melodies. It is that music that will likely bring on the smiles and good will.
“The Flight Portfolio,” the new novel from the author of the best-selling “The Invisible Bridge,” is a literary epic, intimate romance and page-turning historical thriller.
The blues. Delta blues. Twelve-bar blues. Got the blues. The crossroads. The deal. Full dance floors and sweaty walls in the smallest of rooms, bars and dives in the Deep South. These are all parts of the legend that come to mind when the truest of art forms is brought up.
The opening strains of “Framed” brought Chris Knight his first hit single and national acclaim, but the kudos were long overdue. Knight, who grew up in Slaughters, Ky., had been toiling on Music Row for years; he had publishing deals with major songwriting houses long before his voice was he…
“It was a time of civil unrest, but to many of us, cars were an escape to a more peaceful environment.”
The advice comes from sports figures and entrepreneurs, and is often movingly down-to-earth.
Dylan Leblanc has a new album coming out on June 7. It’s titled “Renegade” and is more stomp than careful whisper. His past recordings were ethereal songs about swings and misses and characters that would have welcomed bad luck instead of their absence of any at all.
Chris Knight worked in the coal mining field for 10 years before moving to Nashville as a full-time songwriter.
Live music brings many moods. For the final worship service today at Church of the Good Shepherd Presbyterian in Anniston, it brings a sacred calm, joy and hope.
Attaching stereotypes to country music has always been sport for some. Cliches about sad men, trucks, etc., are some tired examples. But don’t stick the “tortured troubadour” label on Jordan Davis. He’s all about a good time; evidence was found in the rain and singalongs at the Knox Outdoors…
Alex McFry never imagined showing a film at an international film festival, especially one whose main character was a reflection of himself.
Tom Hutchinson is a watercolorist who works from photos sent to him but puts the subjects in a different environment.
Growing into their worlds — essentially “growing up” — is still hard for the characters that populate the works of Karen Russell. Witness any of the eight astonishing stories in “Orange World and Other Stories,” her latest book.
Musicians are intrinsically built to collaborate and create with others. These unions can often bring more heartache than headway. Egos, scheduling conflicts and label politics are the usual culprits. Not many with the musical credentials of Corin Tucker and Peter Buck get the opportunity to…
“Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells,” the new book from Time magazine travel writer Pico Iyer, is a poignant meditation on the evanescent nature of life in general and of traditional Japan in particular.
For young artists and actors, exploring the direction of their training can spark growth. And later, the exposure and recognition of their work encourages them even more. For area students, an art exhibit this month and art camps in June could be just the opportunities that fuel their artist…
John Paul White is a musical auteur of the highest rank. His Grammy-nominated work as one half of The Civil Wars brought him to prominence. His songwriting craft and haunting voice have kept him there.
Of all the writers who have speculated as to why Harper Lee abandoned her true-crime book, I believe that Casey Cep comes closest to the truth.
The crime at the core of “Murder by the Book” by Claire Harman stunned London for months. Yet Harman’s book is not so much focused on the uncovering of a murderer as it is on dissecting the London not only of Queen Victoria, but the London of Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray as well.
Not only are there many reasons to visit Anniston, there are many reasons to live here, especially if you have interest in the town’s cultural life.
Some country, some soft rock and all open sky, Jamestown Revival’s new album and accompanying tour are upon us.
“Cemetery Road” is the new book from Greg Iles, author of the Natchez Burning Trilogy. That trilogy brought to a close the exploits of Mississippi lawyer Penn Cage (who first appeared in “The Devil’s Punchbowl”) and his efforts to put to rest the Double Eagles, a clandestine offshoot of the …
Euterpe, the muse for which the Euterpean Study Club was named, was a goddess in Greek mythology of lyric poetry, music and song. If we can add that the arts she inspired helps fuel the sharing of history, then Euterpe should get at least some credit for two important events this spring.
Brandon Butler is a Calhoun County native who has been playing in bands or performing at church since his teenage years. After a couple of decades of starts and stops, his career is rolling with true momentum. He’s playing all the familiar haunts and booking venues outside his hometown. His …
