Two of reggae music’s top artists are coming to Nashville October 6. Grammy and Emmy winner, musician, producer, activist and humanitarian Ziggy Marley along with the famed bandleader Burning Spear, will be appearing at the Ryman Auditorium as the “Do The Reggae” Tour comes to Music City. Ziggy is the eldest son of Bob and Rita Marley. He first sat in on recording sessions with his father’s band, Bob Marley and the Wailers, when he was ten years old. From that beginning he was eventually joined by his brother Stephen and sisters Sharon and Cedella in becoming the Melody Makers.…
Author: Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Jon Batiste is both a prolific and extremely popular art-ist, as well as an extremely versatile one. Batiste, who’ll be appearing October 1 at the Opry House along with Diana Silvers and special guest Andra Day, took a surprising direction with his eighth studio LP “Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1).” It was released last November on Verve Records/Interscope and was the first in a series of projected solo piano recordings. It spotlighted Batiste’s interpolations of some of Beethoven’s most iconic works, reimagined through an expansive lens. It was the follow-up to 2023’s “World Mu- sic…
The McCrary Sisters are unquestionably one of the nation’s premier vocal groups, both a greatly respected local institution and a nationally acclaimed ensemble. The daughters of the late Rev. Samuel McCrary, a founding member of the seminal gospel group The Fairfield Four, Alfreda, Regina, Ann and their late sister Deborah grew up surrounded by music legends, both spiritual and secular. “But although gospel was our first love and is still our favorite music, our father always allowed us to listen to other music so long as the lyrics were clean,” Regina McCrary told the Tribune last week. “We’ve been fortunate…
NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville’s Jacorey Jones just turned 29 a few days ago, but he’s already forged an impressive and varied resume in both business and the arts. A graduate of both Cambridge High School and the SAE Institute, Jones initially thought his career path would be in the music industry. He not only enjoyed some local notoriety as a rapper, but also learned the other ends of the business, engineering and technology. He subsequently moved from that field into the area of clothing and fashion, becoming very knowledgeable in matters of style and taste. Both those prior careers paved…
Nashville is losing, at least for now, another talented musician. Trombonist Roland Barber, one half of the remarkable Barber brothers duo, will be heading to North Carolina shortly to pursue getting his doctorate. But before he departs, he’ll be headlining one last concert at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. That event will be this Sunday, July 27, when a specially assembled quintet under Barber’s leadership will be performing. Roland Barber has amassed an impressive resume both locally and nationally dating back decades. As a musician he’s played with a host of greats in jazz and popular music. That list includes the…
Megan Piphus is an extremely talented and versatile artist who excels in several areas. She’s the first full time Black woman puppeteer on “Sesame Street.” Piphus just released last week the children’s LP “Cinderella Sweep,” and its first single “A New Cinderella” has already attracted lots of attention. The album features 53 girls from the nonprofit organization “Saving Our Daughters.” They support adolescent girls of color through mentorship and the arts. Piphus’ talents can be enjoyed in live performance this week as she’s appearing at the Black Music Museum Saturday afternoon. In addition to performing material from her LP, there…
One of the finest vocalists among contemporary R&B stylists returns to Nashville this week. Howard Hewett will be performing at the City Winery Saturday night. His brilliant career dates back to his childhood years on the gospel circuit, where he worked with his older sisters in the Hewett Singers group. He switched to secular music as a teen, working in the funk band Lyfe. But his first big break in the R&B world came with the beloved trio Shalamar. They were one of the biggest groups on Dick Griffey’s SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) label. Hewett teamed with Jody…
By Ron Wynn One of gospel’s finest groups and the son of a legendary blues musician will be appearing in Nashville to get April underway in fine fashion. They are both coming to the City Winery, with the Blind Boys of Alabama slated to appear there April 1 and Cedric Burnside on April 3. Also known at other times as the Five Blind Boys of Alabama or Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys, this famed gospel ensemble’s origins date back to 1939, and they’ve maintained a loyalty and devotion to gospel and spiritual music while weathering the loss of…
When Fisk University announced it was starting gymnastics back in the fall of 2022, the general feeling was great in terms of symbolic importance, but beyond that, what would be the impact? As the first HBCU to venture into this athletic area, there was no precedent, nothing to make a comparison with or to beyond simply wanting to do well. That first team in 2023 was profiled everywhere from CNN to CBS and on the NCAA’s website. Their first major recruit was Morgan Price, a high school phenom and five-star recruit who was initially headed to Arkansas before coming to…
Vocal groups aren’t exactly flourishing these days in R&B/soul circles, which makes the trio known as the Levert Experience quite unusual. But they also have extremely impressive credentials. Marc Gordon was a producer and original founding member of the famed trio Levert, teaming with Gerald and Sean Levert to make a series of hits from the late ‘80s into the early and mid-90s. Later, he was also part of a second act known as the Levert Reunion. Joe Little was the lead vocalist of the group the Rude Boys, while Dave Tolliver had that same role with the duo Men…