SUNDAY 7/3
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND
7 p.m., Ozark Folk Center State Park, $35.
CROSS-COUNTRY COLLABORATORS: Dana Falconberry and Matt Bauer bring their beautiful harmonies and delicate, folky arrangements to the Art Church in Hot Springs.
n The question of who was the first country rock band is a subject of intense debate among guys who don’t have girlfriends and spend too much time at the record store. Was it Gram Parsons’ International Submarine Band or The Byrds circa “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” or Michael Nesmith’s post-Monkees outfit The First National Band? Though they weren’t the first, the case could be made that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was the truest country rock band. Take a listen to 1972’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” an album littered with top-tier country guests like Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson. Now that’s country. Or a rock band playing country. Or something. Anyway, what’s not up for debate is that the band is one of the longest running of the first wave of such acts. Although the years have seen some lineup changes, the core trio of founders Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden and longtime member John McEuen remains.
MONDAY 7/4
POPS ON THE RIVER
5:30 p.m., Riverfest Amphitheatre, Free.
HOME-TAPING IS SAVING MUSIC: And it’s all thanks to twisted pop pioneers like R. Stevie Moore, who plays at The White Water Tavern. those points. And he hasn’t stopped since then. See, these cats like Moore and Bob Pollard can’t really help it. The muse is screaming in their ears and the only way to shut her up is to churn out pop gem after frazzled, fractured, warped pop gem. Lucky us. To be sure, there’s some rough surrounding the diamonds, such as the occasional sharp turn into a lengthy piece of tape experiment/musique concrete, but the mine is deep and it is well worth exploring. You might get lost in there, but you probably won’t miss the outside world. So God bless fellow traveler Ariel Pink, who cites Moore’s influence on his own brand of mutated AM sounds and has helped shine a light on his sonic forbearer. While Moore has played occasional live shows over the years, this is his first full-scale tour, and he’s backed by Tropical Ooze, from Brooklyn. Little Rock’s Sea Nanners open the show.
Once more, with feeling: Do not miss this.
SPA CITY METAL FEST 5 p.m., Maxine’s, $8 adv., $10 door
n Now this right here is what you call a good ol’ fashioned grip of Arkansas metal bands, headlined by one of the state’s best acts of any era or genre. If you don’t know Rwake by now, you need to get out from under that mossy rock. The sludge band’s 2002 album “Hell is a Door to the Sun” was just remixed, remastered and reissued by Relapse Records, and the group is set to drop “Rest,” its fourth album, later this summer. This show starts early. After all, including Rwake there are eight bands on the bill: From Which We Came, Legions Await, Murder in August, Seemless, This Island Earth, Vail and She Breathes Fire.
n Even the most Godless, America-hating, terrorist-coddling, climate-change-insisting, gun-grabbing, Kenyan-born-presidentsupporting, lamestream-media-believing, big-government-loving, tofu-dog-eating, tinfoil-hat-mocking, wealth-redistributing, latte-sipping, hybrid-driving, capital-“L” Liberals love a bitchin’ fireworks display. They can’t even help it, overpowered as they are by the expression of our nation’s singular badassness via the radiant splendor of bombs bursting in air. Now don’t even bother trying to verify that statement with any so-called evidence, because it’s not based on some egghead professor’s junk science. Rather, it’s purely a bald, faith-based assertion by a Real American, and is therefore undeniably true. Don’t forget to vote in the finals for Oh, Say! Can You Sing? at 6:30 p.m. (Democracy!). Amphitheater seating is first-come, first-served (Manifest Destiny!), but bring a blanket or folding chair (Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps!). No pets and no coolers, as vendors will be selling refreshments (The Free Market!). And even though it seems like some sorta socialist handout, it’s free to get in. Cash and non-perishable food donations will be accepted on behalf of hunger relief organization Arkansas Rice Depot.
■ inbrief
THURSDAY 6/30
n Kick back and relax to the sounds of DJ Greyhound in the comfy confines of Deep Ultra Lounge, 10 p.m. Sway offers a cure for the summertime blues with DJs Sleepy Genius and Silky Slim, 9 p.m., $5. Singer and songwriter Adam Faucett explores the outer edges of desperation, heartache and wonder, returning to bring us nuggets of the finest folk-rock you’re likely to encounter anywhere, Maxine’s, 9 p.m., free. Check out a comedy about three con artists being thwarted by their elderly mark in “Everybody Loves Opal” at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. through July 23, $23-$33. Check calendar for other times. It’s your last chance to catch the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Othello” at 7:30 p.m., UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall.
FRIDAY 7/1
n The Arkansas Shakespeare Theater brings The Bard’s comic romp “As You Like It” to the Argenta Community Theater for the first of four performances, 7:30 p.m., $25-$35. It’s a big damn mess of rock ’n’ roll with San Antokyo, Brother Andy and The Drunken Angels at the White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. Gold Diggin’ Mothers pay tribute to the Southern indie-boogie giants Kings of Leon at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $6. Get your dance on with DJs Frankie Vega, Bobby Rainmaker, Ewell and Joseph Holmes at Downtown Music, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 door. Blues breakouts NeverTrain join host and emcee Epiphany for a rooftop party at the Peabody, 8 p.m., $5. Nine Lives Spent rocks the Fox and Hound at 9 p.m., $5. Catch some early fireworks for free at Spa Blast!, 5 p.m., Oaklawn. Based on the memoirs of famed burlesque striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, “Gypsy” returns to The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m., $12-$20.
SATURDAY 7/2
n Throw Down aboard the Arkansas Queen with The One Love Crew’s “All Everything Party Cruise,” with plenty of R&B, reggae, blues, hip hop and old school jams, 10:30 p.m., 100 Riverfront Park Drive, $25. All aboard for Mojo Depot, which headlines an evening of bluesy funkified jamming at Cajun’s, 9 p.m., $5. Big-time country chart-topper Rodney Atkins takes to the stage at Magic Springs’ Timberwood Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m., free with paid admission or an extra $5-$10 for reserved seating. Check out “Moonlight and Magnolias,” a farce that depicts the last-minute re-write of the entire script of “Gone With the Wind,” at Hot Springs’ Central Theatre, 8 p.m., $22.50. www.arktimes.com • JUNE 29, 2011 21