By Janice Malone
FRANKLIN, TN — June is Black Music Month. In celebration of this nationally recognized month of music, Nashville area-based progressive band/group Louis York will be featured in concert with their Love Takeover Tour. featuring an unforgettable night of original musical works from progressive band Louis York of the Weirdo Workshop, along with its sister band The Shindellas, are all coming June 22 at 8 pm to the War Memorial Auditorium, 301 6th Ave N., in Nashville.
“We were contacted by the folks at TPAC, last November after they heard about a show we previously did at The Franklin Theater. They were super ecstatic about giving us the opportunity to do a show at the War Memorial Auditorium for this month,” recalls Louis York from their Franklin, TN-based studio. “But this will not be just a mere concert. This show will highlight black music and black history. Back in the day, the War Memorial Auditorium was one of the stops for black musicians when their concerts came to Nashville. Legends like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and many others would perform in this historic building. There’s a long history of black music in this city and we’re so excited to show some of the amazing things that African Americans are doing here in the area of music in this city.”
Louis York says they hope their upcoming show will help reignite the musical traditions that the War Memorial became known for in days gone by but for this generation. Joining Louis York for the show will be surprise special guests, which includes their own very super cool girl band The Shindellas.
This dynamic songwriter/producer duo joined forces less than ten years ago, but they’ve already racked up Grammy nominations and a more than impressive string of superstar clients they’ve created top hits for that includes: Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Michael and Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Rihanna, and Whitney Houston.
Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony created their group’s unique name originated from their respective hometowns. Claude is from (New York City) and Chuck is from (East St. Louis). And therein lies LOUIS YORK.
Louis York is the first act on their imprint Weirdo Workshop, which is another one of their unique moniker creations. These two are known for creating music with clever and creative titles. Their 2015 debut single was titled “Clair Huxtable,” (Cosby Show). And a few months later their second single was titled “Good Drinks, Dumb Jokes.”
But Louis York’s Weirdo Workshop is far more than just an imprint. They also produce various types of events, ranging from live shows and creative artistic workshops for people of all ages and musical genres to their latest new venture—The Tiny Book Club (https://weirdoworkshop.com/weirdo-events/tiny-book-club/)
The gentlemen say their goal is to bring together entire communities within the Nashville and surrounding areas. Their current Tiny Book Club initiative is designed to help bring back the good old fashion human interactions of working together for the creative cause. “There’s no age limit and no barriers,” says Louis. “If you love to read, you love your community and you love music, we invite and welcome all people to join the Tiny Book Club. We send people books that are under 200 pages or sometimes we do audio books.” York adds: “We get together about every six to eight weeks. We share music, talk about books and, we often tryout some of our new music. All you have to do is have read the book and feel comfortable being around other people. There’s never any pressure. The book club kind of takes on a life of its own. The Tiny Book Club is definitely an art outlet that kind of puts out cool experiences for people.”
For the remainder of the summer, Louis York will be traveling the country on The Love Takeover Tour but in September look for a new album the fellas have been secretly working on for months, that will feature several of Nashville’s most talented singers and musicians. They describe the music as being “culturally relevant.” Even though Louis York’s only lived in Nashville for three years, the local creative community has readily embraced this multi-talented duo. Next year they will be working with the Nashville Ballet on a new ballet production. They were commissioned to do the music for this upcoming new ballet by the Nashville Ballet’s Artistic Director. Louis York says, “It’s a completely original work that we’re working on with three different choreographers. It’s going to be a ballet that’s really unique and special.”
To purchase tickets visit: https://wmarocks.com
