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Forbes
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Morgan Freeman And Eric Meier On ‘Symphonic Blues Experience' Tour
Eric Meier (left) and Morgan Freeman (right) co-own Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, ... More Mississippi, partnering for this summer's launch of the 'Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience' concert tour Since 2001, actor and narrator Morgan Freeman has owned and operated Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, celebrating blues music in the birthplace of the artform. Located just about a mile from the infamous crossroads at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49, where lore has it that legendary bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil, Ground Zero showcases the sound of blues artists young - like 26 year old phenom Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, who was born in Clarksdale - and old - Bobby Rush, 91. While he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, later moving to places like Chicago, Illinois and Gary, Indiana, Freeman was raised in Charleston, Mississippi, about an hour northwest of Clarksdale in the Mississippi Delta region, where he discovered blues music. 'Well, my mother was a musician. And she played the piano. So, me and music were kind of intimate early on,' Freeman explained during a recent video call. 'I don't know when I first actually heard the blues - but I was no more than 5. I don't know that it actually resonated with me - it was just sort of there. But I think by the time we got up to rock and roll, I knew where rock and roll came from.' Co-owned by legendary actor Morgan Freeman, Ground Zero Blues Club has operated in Clarksdale, ... More Mississippi, the birthplace of blues music, since 2001 Freeman, 88, was born in June of 1937, a year before Johnson's death at the infamous age of 27, about two years prior to the start of World War II and 14 years before Ike Turner's 'Rocket 88' began racing up the charts as arguably the first rock and roll single. This summer, Freeman traces the evolution of the blues as part of 'Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience,' a concert tour launching Friday, July 25, 2025 in San Francisco, California, crisscrossing North America into November. The show itself features a live symphony orchestra backing a blues band on stage in each market in addition to a visual component narrated by Freeman tracing the unique path of the blues as it moves north out of the Delta through places like Memphis and into Chicago, where it was first electrified, as well as its impact on rock and roll, influencing British Invasion acts like The Beatles and Rolling Stones. The 'Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience' concert tour launches July 25, 2025 in San ... More Francisco, running across North America into November 'This is kind of like any start up where you keep prototyping and piloting it but the general concept is remaining the same, which is, how do you take kind of the soulfulness and energy of blues music and pair it with kind of the refinement and gravitas of the symphony? It's super hard to do,' said Ground Zero president and co-owner Eric Meier. 'What is music about? Rhythms,' added Freeman. 'And classical music and blues music you're able to synthesize. By that, I mean you're able to bring the two together seamlessly. It's surprising how well it works.' On paper, adding blues to classical music doesn't necessarily add up. Blues is driven by improvisation whereas classical is a far more precise, exacting sound. But on stage it does, with the live orchestra providing a cinematic backdrop that helps Freeman drive the narrative. CLARKSDALE, MS - SEPTEMBER 23: Actor Morgan Freeman poses on the pool table at Ground Zero blues ... More club on September 23, 2005 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. (Photo by) Following pilot performances in Savannah, Georgia, Dublin, Ireland and Salzburg, Austria, the 'Symphonic Blues Experience' examines the roots of a distinctly American sound. 'Look, it's storytelling, right? It's emotion,' Meier explained. 'And we're very blessed to have our music director, Martin Gellner from Vienna,' he said, referencing the versatile composer who frequently collaborates with famed film score composer Hans Zimmer. 'But the beauty of what Morgan is doing is really providing that backdrop of this 100 year journey. And, obviously, we're doing some very cool photo imagery to accompany the storytelling that kind of helps you fill in the pieces,' Meier explained. 'When we did the Savannah venue, we didn't have that. Now we've started and I think it adds a lot of depth to the exercise and to the event,' Freeman concurred. 'You think of the symphony orchestra and you don't think of storytelling. It's just classical music. Now, with the blues, it's storytelling. Put those two together and I think what happens is that the blues is enhanced.' The legendary crossroads of highways 49 and 61 outside Clarksdake, Mississippi. In the juke joints ... More around Clarksdale, Mississippi, Robert Johnson was known as the kid who could barely play the guitar he often carried. Stories are told of musicians inviting Johnson to join them on stage, knowing that, before he got very far, the audience would be laughing. He disappeared for a while. When he returned, no one who heard him could believe he was the same man. He blew everyone away, playing the songs that would make him famous, among them "Cross Road Blues" and "Me and the Devil Blues." Rumours started and a myth was born: Johnson did a deal with the devil here at the crossroads of highways 49 and 61 and sold his soul in return for his musical abilities. | Location: Clarksdake, MS, USA. (Photo by Louis Quail/In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images) For Freeman, this tour is an opportunity not to portray the experience of another but to detail his own while examining the story of a sound closely aligned with American history, one which grew out of field hollers in the south at places like Dockery Plantation, 45 minutes from Ground Zero Blues Club, where future blues artists like Johnson, Charley Patton and Howlin' Wolf all worked. Reembracing the blues was born out of a move back to Mississippi, where Freeman still lives today. 'I was living in New York. And I began to get ill. Concrete buildings, tall buildings - you were living in a cave. And that just began to get to me very, very viscerally,' he began. 'On one of my trips back to visit my parents - I think it was 1986, might have been '83 - I realized that this was where I was most comfortable. Life was most agreeable for me,' said Freeman of making the move. 'And that realization made me decide with my then wife that we would make our home here in Mississippi. A little town of Charleston where I was until I was 6 and a half years old. It's sort of ancestral grounds. Well, Mississippi is anyway. But along with that came back this appreciation for the original music: and that's the blues.' In Clarksdale, 40% of residents live below the poverty line. But embracing its blues roots has begun to help revitalize the town, with places like the crossroads and Ground Zero standing as legitimate tourist attractions, hallowed ground boasting visits from legendary rockers like Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. Kingfish was born there with contemporary blues artists like Ghalia Volt spending time there. Anthony 'Big A' Sherrod, who performs on stage as part of the 'Symphonic Blues Experience,' calls Clarksdale home and teaches music as part of the Delta Blues Museum's blues and education program. The Ground Zero Arts Foundation stands as the philanthropic arm of Freeman and Meier's club, with a portion of proceeds from the 'Symphonic Blues Experience' finding direct placement within the Clarksdale community, a critical element of the outing. 'It's essential,' said Meier. 'You look at Kingfish - clearly a child prodigy. But he learned his craft at the Delta Blues Museum and played on stage at our club at the ripe old age of 12 or 13. And people like Anthony Sherrod and others kind of helped teach him. If he didn't have that exposure, I would imagine he'd be living a very different life at this point,' he said. 'So, our goal is a portion of the proceeds. And we've got an album we're going to release and it's also to benefit the local artists through supportive services - which includes education. There's healthcare needs and just basic business planning. And we want to make sure that we're doing our best to support the artists and artist community.' While a sister location has operated in Biloxi, Mississippi since 2022, Ground Zero Blues Club's Clarksdale location will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. Successfully navigating COVID while supporting artists via a series of livestreams, the club thrives today as an economic driver in the Delta region. CLARKSDALE, MS - SEPTEMBER 23: Actor Morgan Freeman waits for his turn to shoot pool against local ... More musician James "Super Chikan" Johnson at Freeman's Ground Zero blues club. (Photo by) For Meier and Freeman, the goal at the heart of the 'Symphonic Blues Experience' tour was simple. 'The reason we're doing this is because it's hard to get to Clarksdale a little bit. So, we kind of said, 'We're gonna come to you.' And, fortunately, the symphony kind of becomes the vessel in which to tell the story of the blues here,' said Meier. 'Now I'm in the blues business at this late stage - partly because of just happening to be in the right place at the right time,' said Freeman with a smile. 'Bill Luckett and I were working on getting the restaurant started across the street from where we were working and saw a young couple of backpackers. And Bill, being the social maven that he was, went out to talk to them,' said the actor, citing Luckett, the former Clarksdale mayor who partnered in Ground Zero until his death in 2021. 'Well, they were obviously lost. And it turns out that they were looking for some place to hear blues music. They were in the Mississippi Delta in this storied place - well, we couldn't tell them. So, that was a catalyst,' he explained. 'It's all a music experience of America rooted in the blues,' said Morgan Freeman. 'I think it's absolutely a story of a people. And a lot of the music is anchored there,' he continued. 'You're listening to lament, sorrow, love lost, love won. Where am I going?' he explained. 'Put that to music and it's magic.'
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Nashville Babylon: 19 July 2025
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. Don McGlashan performing in the RNZ studios for NZ Live. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly On this week's show there's new music from Van Morrison, classic blues and soul from Big Mama Thornton and Al Green, plus birthday tunes for Don McGlashan. Music played: Artist: The Felice Brothers Track: Frankie's Gun Composer: The Felice Brothers Album: The Felice Brothers Label: Loose Artist: Blam Blam Blam Track: There Is No Depression In New Zealand Composer: McGlashan / Von Sturmer Album: Singe Label: Propeller Artist: The Mutton Birds Track: Dominion Road Composer: McGlashan Album: Single Label: Virgin Artist: Joe Turner Track: Honey Hush Composer: Joe Turner Album: Single Label: Atlantic Artist: Big Mama Thornton Track: Black Rat Composer: Little Son Joe Album: Big Mama Thornton and the Chicago Blues Band Label: Arhoolie Artist: Al Green Track: Take Me To The River Composer: Green / Hodges Album: Greatest Hits Label: Hi Artist: Sly and the Family Stone Track: Dance To The Music Composer: Sly Stone Album: Single Label: Epic Artist: Buddy and Ella Johnson Track: No More Love Composer: Johnson Album: Walk 'Em Label: Ace Artist: Van Morrison Track: Cutting Corners Composer: Van Morrison Album: Remembering When Label: Exile Artist: John Prine & Iris Dement Track: In Spite Of Ourselves Composer: John Prine Album: In Spite Of Ourselves Label: Oh Boy Artist: Lambchop Track: Up With People Composer: Kurt Wagner Album: Nixon Label: City Slang Artist: The Front Lawn Track:Claude Rains Composer: Harry Sinclair / Don McGlashan Album: Songs From The Front Lawn Label: Front Lawn Records Artist: Mt Raskil Preservation Society and Hollie Smith Track: Bathe In The River Composer: Don McGlashan Album: No2 OST Label: EMI Artist: The Noveltones Track: Left Bank Two Composer: Wayne Hill Album: Single Label: DeWolf Music
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Top 5 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda
This week's local music lineup feature concerts spanning an eclectic range of musical genres including blues, reggae, electronic, and even improv comedy hip-hop. When it comes to the Sarasota area's favorite genre, the blues, we have a pair of Florida-based, nationally acclaimed acts with Blues Music Awards wins and nominations to their names, each playing two local shows this weekend. Another Sunshine State-based, nationally touring band headlines a reggae concert, while this year's Sarasota Improv Festival features a group that creates hip-hop songs on the spot and "Swamp Bass" returns to Charlotte County. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change. Looking for more fun events? Top 5 things to do in Sarasota area this weekend (July 18-20) 50-plus fun things to do in July in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Punta Gorda Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news and reviews plus info on things to do every Friday Kash'd Out Kash'd Out, who hail from Orlando but are a nationally known name in the reggae-rock genre, will return to Big Top Live on Friday. Kash'd Out released their latest album "Butter" in 2023, featuring guest appearances from fellow reggae rockers Pepper and rapper Shwayze, and recently put out the single "King of the Coop" with reggae/hip-hop/funk band Tropidelic. Brooklyn MC Jarv — who'll soon head out on tour with Tropidelic and Shwayze, coincidentally, along with playing a show with "'93 'til Infinity" rap group Souls of Mischief — and Treasure Island reggae pop-rockers Seranation will also perform at Big Top Live. 7 p.m. Friday; Big Top Live, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $26.78 general admission, VIP sold out as of press time; 941-371-2939; Selwyn Birchwood Band Another musician who's from Florida but has a national following in his genre, blues guitarist/singer-songwriter Selwyn Birchwood will play two nights of sold-out shows at Sarasota's Fogartyville. Signed to esteemed blues label Alligator Records, Birchwood earned four Blues Music Award nominations in 2024: Band of the Year, Contemporary Blues Male Artist, Contemporary Blues Album for 2023's "Exorcist," and Song of the Year for "Horns Below Her Halo" from that album. Birchwood has previously won two Blues Music Awards: Song of the Year for "I'd Climb Mountains" off 2021's "Living in a Burning House," and Best New Artist Debut for 2014's "Don't Call No Ambulance." 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday and Saturday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $35, $30 members, $16 students ages 13 and up (indoor seating sold out, general admission patio seating available at and 941-894-6469; J.P. Soars and the Red Hots After playing Englewoods on Dearborn the night before, Boca Raton blues guitarist/singer-songwriter J.P. Soars and his band the Red Hots will play two more area shows at Bradenton's Cottonmouth and Punta Gorda's Celtic Ray. The group was nominated for four Blues Music Awards in 2022: Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet, who scored another nomination in the same category this year. Soars also plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian Damon Fowler. 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $10; 941-243-3735; 8 p.m. Saturday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; North Coast The lineup for this year's Sarasota Improv Festival will include the return of "hip-hop improv comedy team" North Coast from New York City. Built around a single suggestion from an audience member, improvised scenes escalate into full-blown hip-hop songs in a show that "blurs the line between comedy show and concert." Other musically inclined improv acts playing the festival include Shitzprobe and HERE: The (Improvised) Musical, both of which create musicals on the spot. 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday; Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota; $10 each show, festival passes also available; 941-366-9000; Sarasota Improv Fest returns to FST for 15th year with new troupes and old favorites Hostage Situation Swamp Bass — which, as its name suggests, puts on electronic music concerts in Florida — will return to Charlotte County Fairgrounds with a show headlined by Hostage Situation. The Denver-based trio don ski masks and mainly focus on heavy-hitting dubstep/riddim, though they also incorporate other types of bass music. Other performers will include Star Monster, Stupid Thick, Redakted, DJTOOTANN, URMOM and Infinite Collective B2B, with the event also featuring food vendors, a full bar and a "mechanical alligator." 7 p.m. Saturday; Charlotte County Fairgrounds, 2333 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte; $23.18 and up general admission, VIP options also available; If you would like to be considered for this story, please submit your event to at least 10 days before our Thursday publication date. Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at Support local journalism by subscribing. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 5 concerts this week Sarasota Bradenton Port Charlotte Punta Gorda Solve the daily Crossword
Arab News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Saudi jazz singer is hitting all the right notes
RIYADH: From soulful Hijazi oud melodies to renditions of smoky jazz and blues tunes, Loulwa Al-Sharif is crafting a sound, shaped by personal loss, that is uniquely her own. The self-taught singer, also known as Lady Lou, left journalism to pursue her heart's yearnings, she said during her appearance recently on Arab News' The Mayman Show. 'I knew that I loved, like, music since I was a little kid. I used to love to perform just for my family and myself, but then I stopped for a long time. 'And while I was working in the newspaper and in other jobs before that, I used to do music … part-time.' Al-Sharif sang Arabic songs when she was young. 'When I was 15 years old, when I discovered that I liked to sing, I used to sing Khaleeji (Gulf) and Tarab (classical Arabic music) such as songs from prominent Egyptian singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. 'But then when I started learning (to sing) in English, the first song I learned, with my blues brother — his name is Moez — it was 'Ain't No Sunshine.'' 'So just simple, you know, it's a very simple song with him because he encouraged me, like, you have soul, and you need to do that more,' she said. The death of her father was a pivotal moment in her life. At the time, she had not been performing and was still quite 'shy' and lacked confidence. 'I believe that was my — I don't know what to call it — escape or something, I don't know. But all my emotions and my feelings were, ya'ni (like), driven into the music. 'Even, to be honest, it helped me a lot because my father was a musician, and so believing that, oh, wow, I'm doing what my father used to do and putting all my emotions into, ya'ni … it was healing. 'Saraha (honestly), so it was healing for me. Pursuing music and just creating and singing.' Al-Sharif learned her craft at jam sessions, often late at night, supported by members of the Jeddah music community. 'First, I chose rock. I started singing, like, rock covers, you know, like Evanescence and things like that.' She then focused on jazz and blues tunes, including from the late English singer Amy Winehouse. 'To be honest, I feel like I was, like, a little bird, and now I'm just, like, flying. 'It's helped me a lot. Because I didn't have that confidence back then, and I was, ya'ni, when I performed, I used to perform in front of, like, a few people.'
CBS News
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Rosa's Lounge in Logan Square launches record label, with Billy Branch as first signed artist
Legendary Chicago blues bar Rosa's Lounge in Logan Square is launching its very own record label. Rosa's Lounge has been in business for more than 40 years, and hope their new record label will help even more people enjoy soulful music. And the first artist they signed has a strong connection to the nightclub. "When you got a good crowd and you're reaching the crowd, and you can tell when they're with you, it's a wonderful feeling," said musician Billy Branch "It's a connection between you and the audience." The blues legend has felt that connection many times at Rosa's Lounge; in fact, he was the first act the day the nightclub opened more than 40 years ago. Now he's the first artist signed to Rosa's new record label and is their first single "Begging for Change." "It's a metaphor. Literally, you can't go outside without someone begging for money, but people are also begging for change because they're not happy with their current situation," he said. Tony Mangiullo owns the lounge and, now, the record label. He fell in love with the blues as a young musician in Italy, and opened Rosa's, named for his mother, in 1984. "We always kept some sort of record of what we've done through the years, because we believed we had something valuable," he said. Those records include pictures, videos and – during COVID - live streams. For him, the record label is the next logical step and Branch is the perfect person to help launch it. "It's definitely the most natural because of our long partnership," Mangiullo said. "He represented the new generation of the Chicago blues and I wanted him to put us on that path." "It's new, it's united, it's unproven, but every label has to start somewhere and given the long history that I have with Rosa's, it seemed to make sense," Branch said. Branch's new single comes out on vinyl Aug. 1, with launch parties on Aug. 1 and 2 at Rosa's Lounge. "Begging for Change" is already available through streaming, and Branch's next full album comes out Nov. 7.
