Party down by the river
Riverfest Amphitheatre attracts diverse musical field for summer.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
What do you get when you add a 10th-anniversary party, a band of Christian rockers, a country music icon, the King of the Blues, a quartet of pop punkers and a rock ‘n’ roll poet? The summer music lineup for Little Rock’s Riverfest Amphitheatre.
Kicking off with an anniversary party for 100.3 The Edge’s Corey and Jay Show on July 11 with headliners Puddle of Mudd and ending Aug. 26 with a visit from Bob Dylan, the amphitheatre on the banks of the Arkansas River hosts an eclectic roster of musical acts over the course of 46 days.
Here is a quick rundown of the shows:
Corey & Jay’s 10th Anniversary Show
July 11
100.3 The Edge’s Corey and Jay Show is turning 10, and Puddle of Mudd, Shinedown, Saving Abel and Egypt Central are helping the pair celebrate. The post-grunge hard rockers Puddle of Mudd stormed out of Missouri in 2001 with Come Clean (an album that spawned the hit singles “Blurry” and “She Hates Me”) and have continued their success with 2003’s Life On Display and 2007’s Famous. Shinedown’s third album of hard rock tunes, The Sound of Madness, was released June 24, hard rockers Saving Abel’s debut release is being powered by the grooving, bruising “Addicted,” and Memphis alternative rockers Egypt Central deliver thunderous rock ‘n’ roll.
Doors for the anniversary party open at 3 p.m. General admission tickets are $30.
Skillet
July 17
Since forming 12 years ago, the Christian alternative rock band Skillet has steadily built a following of fans and critics alike, resulting in their last two albums — 2003’s Collide and 2006’s Comatose — receiving Grammy nods for Best Rock Gospel Album. The band is still touring behind Comatose before heading back into the studio to record a follow-up.
Joining the quartet for its Little Rock show is the art-rock-meets-metal riffs of Texas’ Fair to Midland (signed to System of a Down’s Serj Tankian label) and Little Rock’s own Kingsdown, six small-town friends who crank out energetic alternative rock songs of faith.
General admission tickets are $10 advance and $15 day of show, with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the music firing up at 6:30 p.m.
Willie Nelson and B.B. King
July 25
It’s a guitar duel between Lucille and Trigger as two music gods grace the Riverfest stage: B.B. King and Willie Nelson. The Mississippi born King (who wields Lucille) is an American legend, a guitarist whose blues-bending guitar work has influenced hundreds of guitar greats, including Albert King, who in turn influenced Eric Clapton (there are countless degrees of separation with King and today’s guitarists).
What King is to blues, Nelson (with Trigger) is to country music. A Nashville songwriter, an outlaw, a country music superstar, a Hollywood actor, a counterculture hero, an activist — Nelson is a country music singer/songwriter whose 50-year career has blazed a permanent stamp on American culture.
Available tickets are $65 for reserved seats and $35 for the lawn. The music kicks off at 7 p.m.
Paramore
Aug. 5
A year removed from being named “Ones to Watch” by Rolling Stone, Tennessee’s Paramore are living up to the hype, creating catchy pop punk anthems and melodic power pop tunes. Fresh off their second consecutive summer on the Vans Warped Tour, the quartet’s The Final Riot Tour with Jack’s Mannequin, Phantom Planet and Paper Route pulls into town for a Tuesday night show.
Tickets are $30 for general admission in the pit and seats, and $25 for the lawn. The music is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Bob Dylan
Aug. 26
Although he is dismissive of the title, Bob Dylan is on a never ending tour, playing almost nonstop since 1988 and covering more than 2,000 shows in the past 20 years. But why should the newbie Pulitzer prize winner slow down? At 67, he’s young compared to Willie Nelson (75) and B.B. King (82).
Speaking of Nelson, the last time Dylan visited Little Rock it was with the country giant in tow. This time around it’s just Dylan and his crack band, reworking and reinventing tunes from a musical catalogue untouched by other artists.
Tickets for Dylan are $59.50 for reserved seating and $39.50 for general admission lawn seating. The show is tentatively set to begin at 8 p.m.
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