There are several Mr. P’s Hot Wings locations in the Memphis area, and at least some of them feature live music, but I wasn’t aware of the new location in Olive Branch, Mississippi, so when I heard they were having a live music event, I made plans to head down there with a friend. The band for the occasion was called the Lyrics Band, and they provided soulful backing for two superb vocalists, Stephani McCoy and Tierney Jackson, the last of which was a new name to me. There was also a DJ, as well as a spoken word artist and a rap group whose name I never caught, but the whole event was quite a lot of fun.
Hill Country Blues With The Duwayne Burnside Band at Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis
Considering the close distance between Holly Springs, Mississippi and Memphis, it is strange that blues legend Duwayne Burnside doesn’t appear more often in Memphis. In fact, I only recall seeing him perform at the Beale Street Music Festival or the Levitt Shell, usually with Kenny Brown or the North Mississippi All-Stars, so when I saw that he and his band had been booked to play the new Lafayette’s Music Room, I made it a point to go. Duwayne is a first-rate guitarist, of course, and he performed with his brother Garry Burnside as well, featuring a number of classic blues songs, some from the Hill Country tradition of his Dad R. L. Burnside and the late Junior Kimbrough, others from Elmore James and other sources. Duwayne performed two long sets of great blues, and brought the house down. I definitely hope we’ll see more of him here in Memphis.
Memphis Music Industry Mixer at Juicy Jim’s with Chinese Connection Dub Embassy @SuavoJ88Bones @Preauxx @BristerStreet
On Friday, November 14, 2014, the good folks at Brister Street Productions (the people that bring us BristerFest each year) sponsored a Memphis Music Industry Mixer at Juicy Jim’s on the Highland Strip near the University of Memphis campus. It was originally scheduled to be held at Newby’s, but had to be moved after the latter institution was padlocked. The event featured information and sales tables from a number of local music and clothing firms and organizations, as well as great live music from the Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, backing a number of rap artists, including C Beyohn, Quentin “Rico” Fields, Preauxx and Suavo J. Throwing a cloud over the evening was the unexpected death of Memphis rapper Fathom 9 AKA Avenging Wind, who was repeatedly commemorated during the event. But for the most part, everyone had a good time.