what is the music scene like? (great)

[censusdata]

Personally, I love the Jazz Factory. They usually have shows everyday, with tickets to mid week shows usually $3. Weekend shows can ran $15-$25

[frankmaraschino]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I forgot to mention that several area radio stations play a lot of local artists. 93.1 and 105.1 both play an hour of local bands only on Sunday night. In addition, all Friday concerts at the Jazz Factory are replayed on WFPL on Sunday morning (known as "Late Set @ the JF")

WFPK offers free streaming over the net

91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville | Program Grid - Weekends


Here is some more of FattLabb from the J-F in November

YouTube - FattLabb @ The Jazz Factory "Black Satin"

FPK is a local treasure. Stream it.

[louroclou]

I went to a concert last night that reinforced and finalized my conclusion that for a music fan, particularly an indie fan, Louisville is a sweet, sweet place to live.

The concert was at the 930 Art Center in Germantown. The Center is part of the community outreach of the church it's attached to. I really know nothing about the theology of the church itself, but anyplace that welcomes, encourages, hosts, supports the kind of music and art they do - without restriction, censorship, control - is an asset to the city. And it's typical of the kind of odd, ragtag, boundary-ignoring spirit of Louisville.

As always, the lobby of the Center was filled with provocative art - this time deep and disturbing and ultimately uplifting work by and about the homeless. It's worth the trip even without the music...

Ahhh, but the music... the night opened with an all-too-short, set -ethereal ambient turned glitch turned Cocteau Twins turned ... something else. Tara Jane O'Neal is part of the Louisville scene of the early 90's that put the city on the map: Slint, Rodan, June of '44, Shipping News. She is a boundless musician and artist, and that bigness and unpredictability is characteristic of those who have grown up here. Tara Jane now lives in Portland, Oregon, but she was passing throught her old hometown. The room was scattered with Mom and Dad, aunts and uncles. It was a fascinating reunion and return...

Next was Kings Sons and Daughters. Absolutely gorgeous, intense, inspiring... and a collection of sounds and musicians that are part of Louisville: Joe Manning, a young, dazzlingly dark lyricist and guitarist; Rachel Grimes, a member of the chamber post-rock band, Rachel's, a classy, legendary local band with an international reputation. Todd Cook, bassist, currently in the rebirth of the ground-breaking band Slint - and also of neo-metal band Dead Child. Louisville music really loves to play at the edges, leap over boundaries. In KSandD, you could hear the dark poetry of Will Oldham, the off-harmony, near-classical sound of Shipping News and Rachel's, even the arena-rousing crescendoes of My Morning Jacket. Just great music.

Finally Shannon Wright, backed by KSandD's rhythm section. She opened with a singer and piano Tori Amos meets Fiona Apple by way of Kurt Weill mini-set, then picked up her guitar nodded to drummer and bassist and became Patti Smith. At one point her athletic, manic guitar playing reached orgasmic peaks. Literally jaw-dropping.

The audience that filled the room - maybe 150 folks - was both wildly appreciative and reverentially attentive the whole night. I've never been to a concert where between songs, after big ovations, the crowd was stone-quiet... no chatter, no cell-phones, nothing but respectful anticipation of the next song (a marked contrast to the social bottle-dropping, cel flashing noise of Headliner's audiences).

I had a great night. It was a Louisville music night, full of peaks and surprises, of sudden juxtapositions, of echoes from the past and glints of the future.

If you're looking for music, this is the place.

[rattlehead]

I think it is. The city has been trying to build the music scene latley. Thanks to Churchill Downs doing concerts now, I think HUGE bands will come to play. Megadeth will be coming april 19. they haven't come to Louisville for years.

[censusdata]

Here is an article about the new amphitheater which should be done by 2010. It will cost about 1/10th of what the new arena will, but will probably have as big an impact on the local concert scene

KY Sports Authority |

[louroclou]

Hmmm... looks good. Somebody should also start booking the Iroquois Amphitheatre with music acts -mid-range ones, at least. I have been disappointed by the number of tours of major and mid-range acts Louisville has lost to Indy and Cincy. I was really upset last year when Indy got Broken Social Scene. Personally, my tastes do not run to the big names. I think it's great we had the Stones at Churchill Downs, but they're not the kind of band I'd go to see. I'm 62, and supposed to have atrophied into boomer musical taste, but, except for going to see Tom Waits - now that was a coup- and being willing and eager to see Neil Young before he quits, I'd stay away from superstars except for acts like, say, Portishead if they now go on tour, or Bjork or Radiohead.

The Waterfront Park concert by Arcade Fire was supposed to be a test to see if Louisville is ready to move up a notch in its bookings. I thought the crowd (and the concert!) was great, but I haven't heard what promoters thought (funny, I saw Arcade Fire in Rochester NY, where I used to live. It was about 6 months before they broke out big. They were an opening act for The Unicorns and they were playing at the Bug Jar, a bar about a third the size of 930 Art Center. I was practically sitting on one of the violinist's laps. What a concert, what a surprise). That's the kind of bigger name act I'd us to start seeing here. Headliner's gets some good stuff - The National, Mono, Silver Mt. Zion, Pelican, Joanna Newsom, Interpol, Walkmen, etc. - but they need some competition - and some manners from bartenders and audiences.

I would rate the number, accesibility, quality of local bands a definite A. But our booking of national acts is about a C+.

[stx12499]

This 930 place sounds intriguing...is there a church element to it? I am not into the church thing, even an urban alternative church....

[louroclou]

When you go to hear music or check out the art at 930, there's no indication you're actually in a church complex: no brochures, no religious posters, no symbols. And there's clearly no censorship of image, lyrics, or content. These just seem to be some very hip people whose main religious tenet is that Civitas matters: They list as one of their core passions 'Loving Louisville' and their tagline is 'in the city, for the city.'

The 930 website [The 930 Art Center] has one small mention of the church, way at the bottom: 'sponsored by Sojourn Community Church' [http://www.sojournchurch.com/] (broken link).

I am delighted when I see a band I like - local, and more and more, national acts - is playing there. I know there will be fascinating art in the lobby, there will be free Sunergos coffee, there will be a crowd of true music lovers. They obviously don't serve booze, but I'll sacrifice the drink for good music heard by a listening crowd, and no clanking bottles and inane loud chatter when the music has quiet passages. It's the anti-Headliners with Headliners music.

[louroclou]

I was checking out backseatsandbar.com a couple of days ago and they had a piece on a local band I had never heard of: The Instruction. There was a stream of a video and they just blew me away. There was mention of a cd, so I ran to EarX - nobody there had heard of them. I went down to the new Cherry Bomb and saw Brett Holsclaw, who is in a number of bands, said he hadn't heard of them. My only hope is that I can hear them at the battle of the bands at Headliner's at the end of the month. Go to backseat and check them out!

I got a call from a niece of ours telling me she had gone to see Over the Rhine and Ben Sollee, who is from here, opened and just took her breath away. A lot of people had said I had to hear him. He has a link on backseat. Check him out.

Something I have been waiting for a long time is the new cd by The Photographic, my favorite unsung local band. They're having a release gig at the Pour Haus on Saturday. They, too, have a link of backseat.

Backseat Sandbar

I love this town.

[louroclou]

Oh, and Ben Sollee is playing at the Pour Haus on Thursday... He was, by the way, named on of the Ten Great Unknown Artists of 2007 as chosen by NPR:
NPR Music: Top 10 Great Unknown Artists of 2007