[Herman’s Picks] Vol. 6, No. 33

by Herman Snell
April 30, 2008

As the summer season approaches, outdoor music concerts are in full swing. Whether the cost of gas has you grounded in town or you’re up for a weekend getaway, we have you covered with options.

This weekend kicks off with the big Miller Lite Crawfish Boil and rock fest at the Coliseum Fairgrounds. Friday’s schedule: Red 5:10 p.m., Cowboy Mouth 6:20 p.m., Corey Smith 7:30 p.m., Gavin Degraw 8:40 p.m., Good Charlotte 10:10 p.m. Saturday: Southern Culture 3:35 p.m., Candlebox 6 p.m., Finger Eleven 7 p.m., T-Pain 8:25 p.m., 3 Doors Down 9:45 p.m. Get more information at http://www.millerlitecrawfishboil.com, or buy your advance tickets at Be-Bop.

The New Orleans Jazz Fest finishes off nicely this weekend with Widespread on Thursday; Stevie Wonder and The Bad Plus on Friday; Jimmy Buffet, Steel Pulse and Spearhead on Saturday; Santana, Grupo Fantasma, The Nevilles, The Raconteurs, Derek Trucks, Thelonius Monk Jr. and many others on Sunday. For yet another festival option, the Memphis Beale Street Music Festival is also this weekend with Ben Folds, Charlie Musselwhite, Joan Jett, Arrested Development, My Chemical Romance, Sheryl Crow, Cat Power, Lou Reed, Santana, Spearhead and the Black Crowes.

Millsaps College will host the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra: “Pianos with Pizzazz II” this Friday night in the Millsaps Academic Complex. Three up-and-coming young pianists will join the MSO for this benefit concert. It’s $25 for the 7:30 p.m. concert, $15 for the Benefit Gala After Party in the Leggett Center. Call 601-960-1565 for details, or go to http://www.msorchestra.com.

This Sunday, the creatives at 121 Studio, at 121 Millsaps Ave., in the Millsaps Arts District (close to Pearl River Glass Studio) are hosting a throw-down indie art-jam for the 18-and-over crowd, at 7 p.m. Members of Questions in Dialect will present improv instrumentation for your listening pleasure. Joining Philip Blackwell and TTOCCS REKARP are Foxhole and the Louisville band, Interstates. They bring the back beat and rhythm section to the self-described “delay-heavy synth patterns and ambient soundscapes” art party. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/weareinterstates.

Get out in the beautiful Natchez Trace sunshine next Friday, May 9, for the popular annual Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Pepsi Pops/Rockin’ the Rez concert at the Old Trace Park in Ridgeland. Picnics are welcome for the family-friendly event starting at 4:30 p.m. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and features music from “Oklahoma!,” John Williams and others. $15, $5 for people under 18. Find more information at 601-960-1565 or http://www.msorchestra.com. Also next Friday, Ground Zero in Clarksdale is hosting its third annual Delta Groove Blues Revue with area favorites from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. for $25.

On Saturday, May 10, take a 30-minute drive down I-55 to the Robert Johnson Celebration Blues Jam at Chautauqua Park in Crystal Springs for the Muddy Water Reunion Band, Howling Wolf Reunion, Honeyboy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin, Willie “Big Eyes,” Hubert Sumlin, Mookie Brill, Malina Moye, Midnight Express, Tyler Bryant Band, TK Soul, Jesse Robinson and the 500 lb Blues Band, 11 a.m. until, $12, $6 kids. It’s a beautiful state park with a great outdoor amphitheater and treetops walking trail that’s easy to see, about 1 mile east of the I-55 Crystal Springs exit on Highway 51. http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org.

If you’re planning a road trip this summer, be sure to check my regional calendar at http://www.jacksonfreepress.com before you go. Here are some of the highlights: Erykah Badu in Memphis, May 28; B.B. King in Vicksburg, June 12; Ringo Starr in Biloxi, July 5; Lollapalooza in Chicago, Aug. 1-3; Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson in Memphis, Aug. 2; and Crosby, Stills & Nash in Biloxi, Aug. 6.

 
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