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PAST CONCERTS William Lee Ellis and Larry Nager 8:00 PM   Saturday November 22, 2003   Otherlands Coffee Bar   641 S. Cooper   Memphis TN Tickets are $12.00 at Otherlands and Davis-Kid Booksellers William Lee Ellis (Bill Ellis, to readers of the Commercial Appeal music columns) joins with Larry Nager and a number of special guests in this CD Release Concert, celebrating the release of Conqueroo, a song cycle steeped in the musical language of Appalachia and the Delta.. Ellis’s most personal record to date, Conqueroo is also his most eclectic, a place where a cappella gospel, mountain balladry and rockabilly rhythms intertwine, and it features some of the finest musicians in Memphis as well: vocalists Susan Marshall and Reba Russell, soul-group The Masqueraders, and his internationally renowned father, Tony Ellis. Sam Phillips called this “Intuitive music-making at its best.” “His guitaristry and voice are richly colored with the water from the well that nourished him. His art, however, is original and contemporary...timeless”. ...... Jorma Kaukonen. MAMA would like to thank Yellow Dog Records for underwriting the Bill Ellis / Larry Nager concert. Click on the Yellow Dog Records Logo to hear sound bites from Bill's new CD.. SPENCER BOHREN 8:00 PM   Saturday September 6, 2003   Otherlands Coffee Bar   641 S. Cooper   Memphis TN Born to sing in church--that's what people thought when he started singing gospel harmonies at age 8, but when he picked up a guitar during the 60s, he became a student of the blues. Dr. John lured him to New Orleans, where he found a spiritual and musical home. An enduring respect for the American South underlies his music-- traditional folk, blues, and gospel as well as original pieces--all delivered in his warm resonant voice, with a stunning mastery of vintage instruments (especially the lapsteel guitar) and interspersed with spellbinding storytelling. If you heard Spencer's first MAMA concert at Otherlands last June, you know what a great concert this will be! The New Orleans Times-Picayune recently rated Spencer Bohren's Carry the Word "Best CD of 2000 by a Louisiana Artist." In addition, popular radio show A Prairie Home Companion has invited Spencer to perform twice this year--in February and in May. The man is on a roll! MAMA would like to thank Dr. Nancy Chase for underwriting Spencer's concert. Sid Selvidge 8:00 PM Saturday, Aug 16, 2003 Otherlands Coffee Bar, 641 South Cooper, Memphis TN Tickets $12.00 at Otherlands and Davis Kidd Bookseller Memphians who love music love Sid Selvidge. An acoustic artist in the blues, gospel, and folk traditions, his unmistakable tenor voice has been heard from the stage for more than thirty years. Although best known and loved for his solo performances, Selvidge was also part of Mud Boy and the Neutrons in the 70s, along with Jim Dickinson, Jim Crosthwait, and Lee Baker. In 1992, he performed at Carnegie Hall with his son Steve in a program entitled “The Family Tradition.” In 1993, he released his 6th CD, Twice-Told Tales, as part of Elektra/Nonesuch Records’ American Explorer series. Rave reviews followed. Sing Out! wrote, “Selvidge achieves a powerful intensity that is downright scary.” Guitar Player said, “ His rhythmic fingerpicking and emotional slide playing dance around his soulful voice.” All of these well-hewn words simply echo what Memphians already knew — Sid Selvidge is a Memphis treasure. He passes on to us the Delta blues traditions and musical craft that he learned straight from the masters: Furry Lewis, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt. After paying those early dues, Selvidge is a bit more comfortable now as senior producer of the syndicated radio show, Beale Street Caravan, and his performances are not as frequent as they once were — all the more reason not to miss this one! MAMAwould like to thank Archer Records for underwriting Sid's concert. MAMA presents Jim Dickinson The Memphis Acoustic Music Association (MAMA) presents Jim Dickinson at Otherlands Coffee Bar, 641 S. Cooper, on Saturday, June 21st at 8 pm. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at Davis-Kidd Booksellers and Otherlands Coffee Bar. Don McGregor will open for Dickinson at 8. For more information on this or upcoming MAMA shows, call 276-1010 or check www.mamamusic.org. Jim Dickinson's first one-man show for MAMA in 2000 was a sellout. Now he's back with a new show, "The Dog Ate My Set List, " a guided tour of the offbeat and politically incorrect. Accolades abound for Jim Dickinson from the biggest names in music, but Dickinson himself is the best roadmap of where he's been, musically, intellectually, and literally, for the past forty years. With new songs and a new guitar that "presumably more capable of western tunings," Dickinson will take us on an unsentimental journey from Memphis to points beyond, 1960 to present. Tapes, CDs, bizarre merchandise, and memorabilia for sale. Rare collectors' items. Join us for an unforgettable evening of entertainment. The incomparable Don McGregor will open the show at 8. The Willow Band Saturday May 31, 2003, 8 PM String and Things 1555 Madison Tickets are $12.00 at Davis Kidd Book Seller and Otherlands Coffe Bar. If you've attended MAMA concerts regularly for the past few years, you've enjoyed E.J. Jones' bagpipes with the highly popular band Clandestine, probably more than once. You've heard Gerry O'Beirne's guitar virtuosity, and very likely bought his acclaimed first solo album, Half Moon Bay. Now, add to these two talented musicians Rosie Shipley, a Baltimore native who has played fiddle since she was three, and you have The Willow Band. The band grows out of E.J.'s instrumental album recorded in March, 2002, The Willow. Gerry O'Beirne produced the album and accompanies E.J. on 6 and 12 string guitar. E.J. asked Rosie Shipley, among others, to provide accompaniment on several tracks, and the result was stunning. The three decided that music this special should be taken to live audiences, and thus, The Willow Band was born! Don't miss this special musical opportunity at Strings and Things. Refreshments will be available at Melody Lane Café. And, MAMA thanks Ramada Inn Midtown for providing accommodations for the Willow Band. Ramada Inn - Midtown, 1837 Union Ave at McLean Ave., Memphis, TN 38104, (901) 278-4100 (901) 272-3810 (fax). At Ramada Inn, expect nothing less than our personal best. Martin Simpson and Jessica Radcliffe And a second web site: Martin Simpson and Jessica Radcliffe at HighBohemia Records 8:00 PM, Saturday, March 22, 2003 Otherlands Coffee Bar, 641 South Cooper, Memphis TN "Theatrical, spirited, humorous, heart rending, and musically exquisite." Rod Kennedy (Kerrville Folk Festival) "…the finest finger-style guitarist on the planet." Chicago Tribune < …what folk performance should be about." Rock & Reel (England) Superlatives proliferate in any Martin Simpson review, and justifiably so. His style moves effortlessly from traditional ballads to Mississippi Delta blues. Flawless technique is a hallmark of a Martin Simpson concert, but his performances don't end there. The passion of his phrasings will lift you from your seat and hold you spellbound to the last note. In 2002, Simpson was honored for his virtuosity, winning two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for Best Album and Best Instrumentalist. Joining him in this concert is his wife, poet/singer/songwriter Jessica Radcliffe, whose new CD, Nightblooming Jasmine, was inspired by their time in New Orleans. Some of New Orleans' finest musicians, including MAMA favorite Spencer Bohren, contribute to the flavor of Jessica's songwriting.Together, these two artists present a show that carries on a fifteen-year tradition of Memphis appearances. Don't miss it. Tickets are $13.00 at Otherlands MAMA would like to thank John and Luanne Matson for underwriting Martin and Jessica's concert. Artisan-Harmony 8:00 PM, Friday, February 14, 2003 Otherlands Coffee Bar, 641 South Cooper, Memphis TN Artisan are Hilary Spencer, Jacey Bedford and Brian Bedford. They are three friends who decided to sing together for fun way back in 1984 in deepest darkest Yorkshire. "It was pure luck," says Jacey, "Our voices blended so well, right from the start, that we had lots of encouragement from friends and that prompted us to work really hard. Within a couple of years we were being invited to festivals and events all over Britain. By 1988 we were getting so much work that we either had to give up singing or give up the day-jobs. Finally in 1989 we became full-time vocal harmonists. " Since they hit the road they've taken their own brand of harmony and humour round Britain, Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia and Hong Kong. They've played venues both large and small, from folk clubs in upstairs pub rooms to open-air festivals with audiences of thousands. Artisan's special talent is making friends with an audience. MAMA wishes to thank Mid Town Yogafor underwriting Artisan's concert. AN EVENING OF COMEDY Les Barker 7:30 PM, Saturday, January 25, 2003 Otherlands Coffee Bar, 641 South Cooper, Memphis TN Tickets $12.00 at Otherlands Coffe Bar and Davis Kidd Book Sellers "MAMA is doing something completely different for our first concert of 2003. When we learned that Les Barker was in the area in January, we knew we HAD to bring him to our audience, so here's the poet laureate of the British Folk Scene, outrageously hilarious, sly, and as one reviewer called him, a combination of Steven Wright and Monty Python. Opening for Les will be a MAMA favorite, Emily Kaitz, in her third appearance before a MAMA audience. " Les Barker became the leading poet of the British Folk Scene by following his dog onstage one time and ended up chasing that dog all over the world. If Stan Laurel had Sid Caesar's timing, Ogden Nash's word skills, Snoop Dog's rhyming propensity and Utah Philips's populism- it still wouldn't look like Les Barker. Except that he really looks like Stan Laurel, really has Sid Caesar's timing and Ogden Nash's whimsical ability with the language, Snoop's way of coming to a rhyme, and Utah's ability to get angry about something-elephant extinction, for instance- in a poetically focused way. He's not a musician. He has to hire other musicians- Martin Carthy, the Watersons, June Tabor - to sing his songs. And he's not here as often as we'd like, which would be about every third week, because he has to go home to Manchester to tend the grave of his beloved Mrs. Ackroyd, the dog whom he chased all over folk creation, after whom all his backup bands are named, who owned him before she passed away. But he's not serious, folks, not on stage...how can you be serious when your poems are about things like glow-worms falling in love with cigarettes? A knife-thrower who is only FAIRLY accurate? A leopard adopted by a family of zebras? A polar bear drifting on an iceberg into New York harbor, looking for his family... ? MAMA wishes to thank Bill and Kim Schosser for underwriting Les's concert. Emily Kaitz Will Open For Les. Emily Kaitz writes some of the funniest songs in folk music today. Her songs are excellent tongue-in-cheek humor laced with a dose of realism...recommended for those who enjoy thinking and laughing. Her quirky sense of humor will take you by surprise every time. With 6 solo recordings to her credit, her songs have also been recorded by numerous alternative groups such as Trout Fishing in America, The Therapy Sisters, and The Austin Lounge Lizard. Songs receiving national exposure include "The Shallow End of the Gene Pool," "When I'm Dead, Dress Me in Drag,"and "Middle Age Rock and Rollers Are So Damn Cute." Kaitz says she enjoys the freedom of relative obscurity, but anyone who knows the Austin music scene and the fortunate residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas , where she now resides, are either familiar with or part of her cult following. A devoted local fan said,"Pound for pound she is the cutest, funniest human being I've ever met." br> Copyright January 2001, Memphis Acoustic Music Association. Contact the Web Master