Here's the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in 2008 — the orchestra announced its 2010-2011 season yesterday, including its summer concerts. AJC file photo

The annoucements are coming fast these past few days: Alliance, Chastain Park and yesterday, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. (Broadway Across America at the Fox Theatre tickets go on sale today, too.)

As Pierre Ruhe pointed out in a round-up for the AJC, here’s some of the news in the 2010-2011 season:

• There are two world premieres next season, including a 20-minute work by Alvin Singleton, a one-time ASO composer-in-residence, and James Oliverio’s Double Timpani Concerto for the Brothers Yancich.
• The classical series is gone from Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, the ASO’s summer home. They will play rock concerts, community events and there will be pops and family concerts.
• Symphony highlights include Puccini’s complete opera, “Madama Butterfly,” in a staged …

Continue reading Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 2010-2011 classical and some not-so-classical shows: Ringo Starr, Alan Jackson, Sugarland, Boyz II Men, Ben Harper, more to come »

Check out the crowd at the Earth, Wind & Fire show at Chastain Park Amphitheatre last year. Think the shows below will draw the same kind of crowd? AJC file photo

Spotted first on the Atlanta Music Scene Blog: this year’s Chastain concert Series A lineup includes hitmakers of decades past, and more announcements are on the way. The Series B lineup should be released soon, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will announcement will come later, too.

The Series A show that perplexes me: KC & the Sunshine Band performing with MC Hammer. Huh-who? How did those become a pair, I wonder?

Here’s the list:

April 24: Hall & Oates with special guest Todd Rundgren
May 1: Gipsy Kings
May 8: ZZ Top with special guest Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights
June 3: Backstreet Boys with special guest TBA
June 6: Jethro Tull with special guest Ian Hunter
June 7: Styx, Foreigner & Kansas
June 11: Jeff Beck with special guest Imelda May
June 13: KC & The Sunshine Band & MC Hammer
June 19: Harry Connick …

Continue reading 2010 Chastain concert Series A Lineup: Sting, Harry Connick Jr., Styx, Jeff Beck, Backstreet Boys and more »

Winston at the piano. He's in Decatur tonight!

The first show in the new Eddie and Agnes concert series in Decatur commences tonight with pianist George Winston. And hey, in AJCer Lynn Peisner’s interview with Winston, I learned something about him:

Q: We know you don’t want microphones at this show in Decatur. What else can audiences expect from the performance? Will you perform in your socks?

A: Yes, shoes make too much noise on the floor. And I don’t like the sound of a miked piano. I’ll be playing fall and winter songs. Some Vince Guaraldi, folk and melodic piano, New Orleans R&B. I’m sure the drive over will inspire something, too. I have yet to make it to the Great Plains, Tennessee and Alabama. I want [the journey] to affect what I play. We’re all influenced by the seasons whether we think about it or not.

No shoes and no mikes, eh? Well this should be fun. Alas, I won’t be at tonight’s show, but I hear there are still tickets available. Let me know how …

Continue reading George Winston opens Eddie & Agnes series tonight »

At Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Chinese performnace troupe Shen Yun featured drummers, dancers and propaganda that surprised some audiences. Some were OK with the message, but some were offended.

In the days since Shen Yun Performing Arts, the Chinese drum and dance troupe, left Atlanta to move onto the next stop on its perpetual tour, conversation continued to rumble about the shows they’d performed at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

Some loved the performance, but commenters on Inside Access were upset by the Falun Gong politics of the show, “subtle as a taser shot to the noggin,” the AJC review said. It’s not that commenters necessarily disagree or deny that persecution has taken place in China. They were surprised to see it — especially a few violent scenes,  one involving a taser and another where a mother and child are beaten — in a show promoted as a music-and-acrobatic spectacular

Wrote Marilee Coughlin:

While the dancers are fabulous, and the costumes are …

Continue reading Surprised by the politics in shows like Shen Yun? »

"Avenue X" cast members Jeremy Cohen, J.D. Webster, Nick Spangler, Lawrence Clayton, and Steve French, and J.D. Goldblatt, in front, rehearse at the Woodruff Arts Center this month. They're not the only ones singing a cappella, though. AJC/Bita Honarvar

“Avenue X,” a musical opening at Alliance Theatre this week, deals with racial integration via doo-wop. It’s the story of an Italian-American a cappella group in 1963 Brooklyn that adds a black singer to its lineup.

As composer Ray Leslee said in an AJC piece published this weekend, “Here’s a musical that’s all about harmony, and the issues are all about harmony or the search for harmony.”

To promote the show, the Alliance created its own search for harmony, the “Sing Your Soul” contest for a cappella groups. It asked them to post their tunes on YouTube, complete an application and get some folks to vote for them through the video service. (This is the contest I mentioned in this earlier post about all the a cappella …

Continue reading Alliance Theatre’s ‘Avenue X’ a cappella contest voting open »

One of the best places to spend Sunday night might be Churchill Grounds, where the National Black Arts Festival will hold Love: Haiti, a benefit concert to help the country rocked by an earthquake this week.

The concert will feature Joi, Mausiki Scales and Common Ground Collective, Chanda McKnight, Russell Gunn, Big Rube, Avery Sunshine, Ken Ford, Vix, DJ Vando, Luis Carreras and others, and donations will go to UNICEF.

To see how more Atlanta non-profits, businesses and individuals are helping after the earthquake in Haiti, check out the AJC’s Atlanta Responds blog.

If you know of other benefit concerts or events, please share them in the comments, or add them to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar. We’re happy to help spread the word.

Want to go? Love: Haiti, a night of music to support Haiti. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17. $15 minimum donation, $25 recommended donation, which will go to UNICEF. Churchill Grounds Jazz Club, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. www.nbaf.org.

Continue reading NBAF benefit concert for Haiti earthquake victims Jan. 17 »

Tickets are on sale now for the first show in Decatur’s new Eddie & Agnes concert, a performance by pianist George Winston on Feb. 23.

Concert series director Daren Wang announced the concert yesterday on Twitter, and tickets just went on sale through TicketAlternative.com. In that 140 characters, Wang said Winston will play from his season albums, New Orleans R&B and some of the music of Vince Guaraldi. Winston is touring for a new album, “Love Will Come — The Music of Vince Guaraldi.” The 400 seats closest to the stage will cost $35 in advance. Rear floor and balcony seats will cost $25 in advance.

It’s rare to discover a new music venue, of sorts, especially one that compares in size to Variety Playhouse. Presser Hall has been used for concerts before, notably for the Eudora Welty-inspired concert at last year’s AJC Decatur Book Festival, but this is the first time regular performances have been planned for the auditorium. (You can read more about the idea for the concert …

Continue reading Tickets on sale for first in Decatur’s new Eddie and Agnes concert series: pianist George Winston performs Feb. 23 »

We are so not over Elvis. He’s been gone more than 30 years, but today would have been the King of Rock and Roll’s 75th birthday, and Atlanta can’t help but celebrate.

We make no promises, but here are some places to look for an Elvis sighting:

Presley would have turned 75 today.

• Elvis Tribute with Slim Chance and the Convicts, The Buck Buckley Band, Caroline Herring and more. 8 p.m. Jan. 8. $5. Kavarna, Decatur.

• Kingsized Elvis Birthday Bash. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. $25. Variety Playhouse, Atlanta.

• Mark Pitts’ Tribute to Elvis, 8 p.m. Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. $15, $10 for kids 12 and younger. New Dawn Theatre Company, Duluth.

• Elvis Birthday Tribute to the King with Ronnie McDowell, The Jordanaires and Ms Millie Kirkham. 8 p.m. Jan. 9. $35-$50. Gateway Event Center, McDonough.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading Elvis Presley turns 75, metro Atlanta celebrates »

Audrey Maloof, 12, a member of The Lockouts and 500, played the Girls Rock Camp showcase at the East Atlanta Strut earlier this year. There's a new program for adult women, run by Girls Rock Camp organizers. AJC file photo

From the folks that brought us Girls Rock Camp-Atlanta, there’s a new gig in town: Ladies Rock Camp.

It will be a weekend for women ages 19 and older who know they want to rock, but need a little encouragement. The 25 campers don’t have the equipment or experience, but they’ll experience the same model as Girls Rock campers: forming bands, writing songs, learning the basics of an instrument and the music business and performing before an audience. The weekend ends with a performance at The Five Spot in Little Five Points on the weekend of Feb. 21 March 12-14.

The $350 Ladies Rock Camp tuition is a fund-raiser for Girls Rock Camp-Atlanta, which I wrote about here and here. There are more

Continue reading Wanna rock? Try ladies’ camp or all-ages ’school of rock’ »

The Georgia Theatre in Athens on Jan. 2. Owner Wilmot Greene says construction will begin March 1, once permits and financing are finalized, but he's still actively seeking donations. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

Six months after a fire gutted the Georgia Theatre, the Athens building is almost empty inside, barricaded by fence and supported by steel girders. The hull of tje landmark is the most visible reminder of a tragic year for Athens music, one that marked that death of UGA music teachers, musicians, scene regulars and most recently, singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt.

Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Greene minces no words about it: “I’m glad 2009 is over.”

Already, 2010 is shaping up to be something better. The theater will be rebuilt, the design is set, and the last construction permits were expected to come through this week. The new plans would capture the same feel — a big stage, a sloped floor — but add a few amenities, like an elevator, clean bathroms and a snack bar to …

Continue reading Owner: Georgia Theatre reconstruction could start March 1 »