MUSIC MADNESS: Live at last! The Salty Dogs get out to play SoMa

The Salty Dogs — Brad Williams (top left) and Bart Angel, Brent LaBeau (bottom left) and Nick Devlin — play live Friday at the SoMa Outdoor Dining Room on Little Rock’s Main Street.

(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
The Salty Dogs — Brad Williams (top left) and Bart Angel, Brent LaBeau (bottom left) and Nick Devlin — play live Friday at the SoMa Outdoor Dining Room on Little Rock’s Main Street. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

The Salty Dogs will perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the SoMa Outdoor Dining Room, on the parking lot at 13th and Main streets, Little Rock. Admission is free.

"We haven't rehearsed since probably late January, but last time we played was back in August," says Salty Dog drummer Bart Angel. "Newport has an outdoor concert series there downtown... the Newport gig was a lot of fun and the Lord smiled on us in that it was a tad cooler than a typical Arkansas August evening. But the skeeters were typical. The lady in charge told us to be done and gone by 8 p.m. because that's when the mosquitoes came over the levee.

"We were running a little late and I'll be danged if she wasn't right. Like, right on the money. 8 p.m. Boom. Here they come. Pretty sure I heard 'Flight of the Valkyries.' We hustled out of there. Anyway, the gig was a ton of fun. We played surprisingly well for not even seeing each other for months. Seeing the guys was a good part, too.

"I don't want to speak for the other guys – but I'm going to anyway... I think it's pretty safe to assume we're pretty stoked to play again."

Adam Faucett, along with Mike Dillon’s Tropical Exotica Show and EC Haynes, plays live on the steps of Laman Library in North Little Rock’s Argenta Saturday. Four Quarter Bar is the sponsor.

(Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Matt White)
Adam Faucett, along with Mike Dillon’s Tropical Exotica Show and EC Haynes, plays live on the steps of Laman Library in North Little Rock’s Argenta Saturday. Four Quarter Bar is the sponsor. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Matt White)

◼️ Mike Dillon's Tropical Exotica Show will perform at 7 p.m. Friday and Adam Faucett, with EC Haynes, will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday outside the Argenta branch of the Laman Library, 420 Main St., North Little Rock, in shows sponsored by the nearby Four Quarter Bar. (The Library was originally the main North Little Rock Post Office).

◼️ Jason Campbell will perform from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday at The Hangout, 10840 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock. Admission is free.

◼️ The Rodney Block Collective will perform at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Butler Gazebo at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. It's the inaugural performance in the park's "Music in the Wild," a socially distanced, limited-seating series of outdoor concerts. Take your own blankets and chairs; beverages are available by donation. Tickets are $20. Visit tinyurl.com/y32v48vp.

◼️ Percussionists of all levels and skills are invited to a Drum Circle that continues Saturdays through Nov. 21, at Bernice Garden, 1401 Main St., in Little Rock. Searcy Ewell will facilitate. Donations are encouraged, masks are required and physical distancing will be practiced. Drums, chairs and hand sanitizer will be supplied. No musical experience is needed.

LIVE IN HOT SPRINGS

John Calvin Brewer will perform at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at The Big Chill, 910 Higdon Ferry Road, Hot Springs. Admission is $5.

◼️ Brett Stafford Smith will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Trough Bar and Grill, 833 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Admission is free.

◼️ Jacob Flores, a singer-songwriter-guitarist, will perform from 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Whittington Place Spotlight, 301 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs. Admission is free.

◼️ Bad Habit will perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the 420eats Food Truck Court, 420 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs. Admission is free.

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE

There will be a 50th Anniversary of Hot Springs Village concert at 7 p.m. Friday, and GMG Band will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, at The Beehive Neighborhood Bar & Grill, 220 Minorca Road, Hot Springs Village. Admission is free.

CONWAY

Greasy Tree will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Hayefield will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Kings Live Music, 1020 Front St., Conway. Admission is free.

Memphis musicians Amy Lavere and Will Sexton play live Saturday at The Grange at Wilson Gardens in Wilson.

(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Memphis musicians Amy Lavere and Will Sexton play live Saturday at The Grange at Wilson Gardens in Wilson. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

WILSON

Memphis musician Amy LaVere, along with her opening act and husband, Will Sexton, will perform an outdoor show at 6 p.m. Saturday at the The Grange at Wilson Gardens, 15 S. Jefferson St., Wilson. Patrons should take chairs or outdoor blankets for seating.

Tickets are $25 and can be bought at the door or online at Eventbrite.com.

STAY TUNED

Paragould-born singer-songwriter Iris DeMent has released a new nine-minute plus song, "Going Down to Sing in Texas," which addresses gun violence, corruption in the church, discrimination against Muslims, the war in Iraq, economic inequality in America, police brutality, racial justice and more.

To listen to the song, go to YouTube, where the video contains the lyrics. The song is available on Bandcamp, with proceeds going to The Poor People's Campaign and food banks.

DeMent's music has been famously used before: Her song "Our Town" was featured in the movie "Northern Exposure"; "Let the Mystery Be" was heard in the opening scenes of the movie "Little Buddha"; and she sang the old Southern Baptist hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" at the end of the Coen brothers' version of the movie "True Grit," based on Arkansan Charles Portis' book of the same name.

◼️ Rosanne Cash just released a new topical song, "Crawl Into the Promised Land," which features her guitarist/producer/co-writer husband, John Leventhal.

The song's video is on YouTube; Cash released a statement: "I've been a bit quiet lately, as I've been working on something really important to me. The vortex we find ourselves in at this moment of suffering, fear, outrage, but also a faith in our better angels, led me to write the lyrics to (the song). John Leventhal wrote the music. It's out now and I hope you listen."

The song is available on YouTube, Apple Music, iTunes Store, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal and Soundcloud.

◼️ Area musicians' tribute to the late John Prine raised some $3,000 for Washington Elementary School in Little Rock, according to a recent news release. More than a dozen musicians — including Amy Garland — took the stage at the SOMA Outdoor Dining Room, where tables were set up in accordance with social distancing and fans were asked to wear masks.

◼️ "The Doo Wop Project: Live in Your Living Room," a virtual theatrical concert, will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $50 for VIP Stream Pass and $75 for VIP Stream Pass with a Meet-and-Greet Ticket. Tickets are available at TheDooWopProject.com.

Cast members are veterans of the shows "Jersey Boys" and "Motown: The Musical."

◼️ Yo-Yo Ma: A New Equilibrium, live sessions 1, 2 & 3 will be shown Friday through Sunday on Facebook.

◼️ "Whole Lotta' Celebratin' Goin' On: 85 Years of the Killer," a celebration of Jerry Lee Lewis' birthday will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will feature Elton John, Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Ringo Starr, Keith Richards, Joe Walsh, former President Bill Clinton, Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, Andy Grammer, Tom Jones, Billy F. Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Brenda Lee, Chris Isaak, Chris Janson, Drew Carey, Gavin DeGraw, Jacob Tolliver, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Ann Womack, Linda Gail Lewis, Lindsay Eli, Marty Stuart, Mike Love, Nancy Wilson, Peyton Manning, Priscilla Presley, Randy Houser and Tanya Tucker. John Stamos will host the event.

The celebration will be shown on Lewis' official Facebook and YouTube channels and JerryLeeLewis.com. The event will benefit World Vision, a Christian organization that works to help communities lift themselves out of poverty.

◼️ What would have been Tom Petty's 70th birthday Friday will be celebrated with radio and live concert coverage.

Sirius XM's Tom Petty Radio will kick things off at 3:30 p.m. with an audio broadcast. The Petty estate will then join forces with Amazon Music's Twitch channel and TomPetty.com at 6 p.m.

The radio broadcast will feature Dawes, Jason Isbell, The Killers, Kurt Vile, The Raconteurs, Grace Potter, Larkin Poe and others. The video will feature Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers, Adam Sandler, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, Chris Stapleton, Dave Stewart and many more.

The event is a benefit to raise awareness for Save Our Stages (NIVA), Arts in Medicine, Digitunity and Musicares.

◼️ Trey Anastasio of Phish is hosting "The Beacon Jams," an eight-week virtual residency, live from New York City's historic Beacon Theatre, every Friday at 8 p.m. through Nov. 27. The events will be steamed free exclusively on Twitch.

◼️ "Big Night (At The Museum)," the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, that is, will allow museum staff to safely remove historic instruments from exhibit cases to be played, from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday. It will feature Alison Brown, Kane Brown, Carlene Carter, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Keb' Mo', Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Dan Tyminski, The War and Treaty and Lucinda Williams.

The museum closed in mid-March due to covid-19, and has suffered significant financial losses. During the event on Wednesday, donations can be made via YouTube Giving and a text to donate option: Text "donate" to (833) 977-2643.

CORRECTION: The Salty Dogs will perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the SoMa Outdoor Dining Room. An earlier version of this article listed an outdated time.

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