Second half of Tunes at Twilight season begins

The Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo will once again host a variety of songwriters performing in a relaxed setting as Tunes at Twilight, the weekly outdoor concert series, comes back for its fall season today.

The series is organized by Old Town Cape project manager Nicholle Hinkle, with the help of Larry Underberg of Underberg House Concerts. Tunes at Twilight will put on hourlong Friday evening shows for the next six-weeks. Concerts in the fall series start at 6:30 p.m.

Audiences are known to bring lawn chairs, blankets, children and picnic supplies to the concerts. There is no charge for the shows, but people are encouraged to donate or purchase items from the artists. In bad weather, concerts are held in Rose Theatre at Southeast Missouri State University. Old Town Cape will announce any change by 3 p.m. the day of the show.

The concerts feature mostly blues and folk, with a number of connections to legendary music scenes in Memphis, Tenn., and Nashville, Tenn. Here, SE Live gives you a brief guide to the fall series' artists, but you can find more information at www.oldtowncape.org.

Jimmy Davis, tonight

Grace Askew (Submitted photo)

Memphis musician Jimmy Davis (or Jimmy Daddy, as he is better known) has a reputation as a versatile singer-songwriter and has been named Premier Male Vocalist five times by the Memphis chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. His influences range from the Beatles and the Eagles to Johnny Cash and Jackson Browne. His songs have been recorded by well-known artists like Martina McBride, Restless Heart and Joy White.

Davis began his career in 1987 with major-label MCA debut "Kick the Wall." The title song and single became a top-40 hit, as well as an MTV music video. He has called his newest release, "Jimmy Daddy's Acoustic Setlist, Vol. II," his most personal record to date. Featuring just vocals and guitar, the album's songs are inspired by life on the road and the distance between family and home.

Keith Sykes, Aug. 24

Beale Street bluesman Keith Sykes has made a name for himself since 1969 as a performer, guitarist, songwriter and producer.

Sykes has had more than 100 songs recorded by artists like Jimmy Buffett, John Prine, Roseanne Cash and Patty Loveless. Now on his 10th record, "Don't Count Us Out," Sykes showcases his talents, along with those of some of his dearest and most talented friends, with an Americana flavor.

A native of Murray, Ky., Sykes moved to Memphis at 8 years old and bought his first guitar as a senior in high school. After graduating, he played coffeehouses in New York, then moved on to Austin, Texas, and finally ended up in Key West, Fla., where he met Buffett.

Sykes has appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and "Austin City Limits," been featured in Time and Newsweek magazines and had records reviewed in Rolling Stone. As a writer, co-writer or publisher, Sykes has had one or more songs on one of Billboard's charts from 1978 to 1984, and again from 1986 up to this year.

Michael Prysock, Aug. 31

Prysock is a singer/songwriter and fourth-generation musician, and his song lyrics are rooted in being deeply affected by life in rural Arkansas.

Through his music, he tries to tell true tales of the influence his family and friends have had on him. Prysock says he skips clichéd songs of romance and instead writes lyrics that convey real struggle and the authenticity of living (including some tunes written after the Joplin tornado last year). Prysock is not just a songwriter but a one-man-band, providing vocals, guitar and harmonica to a soundtrack of small-town life.

Anne McCue

Anne McCue, Sept. 7

Australian musician Anne McCue describes her new album, "Broken Promise Land," as "a bit dirty, a bit rockin', a bit swampy and a bit bluesy, with a touch of mysteriousness to it." The self-produced album is said to combine heartfelt songwriting with gritty guitar playing. McCue, with her self-described "hard-charging cosmic biker rock" sound, has been voted the Roots Music Association's Folk Artist of the Year in 2008. She performed in a Jimi Hendrix tribute at the 2007 International Guitar Festival and was included in the "Four Decades of Folk Rock" box set alongside Bob Dylan and Wilco. She has played in concert halls all over the world, including the Sydney Opera House.

Joe and Vicki Price, Sept. 14

Joe and Vicki Price (Submitted photo)

Joe and Vicki Price will bring a little Iowa blues to Tunes.

Over their 27 years together, this husband-and-wife team has opened for such notables as John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Pine Top Perkins, Louisiana Red and Al Green. They have released seven albums, beginning with "Joe's 25 Below" in 1996, and ending with independent release "Rain or Shine" in 2009. "Rain or Shine" won an Independent Music Award for best Blues CD and the IMA Vox Pop People's Choice Award for Blues CD in 2010.

Jeff and Vida, Sept. 24

Jeff and Vida (Submitted photo)

Songwriting team, singers and string instrumentalists Jeff and Vida met in New York City in 1997, and soon after left for New Orleans where they began writing and performing on a regular basis. They quickly became popular in the New Orleans music scene, winning awards and building a solid following. They began touring full time in 2001 and have since played more than 200 dates a year across the United States and Europe. The duo has released four studio recordings, along with a live disc, to some critical acclaim.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Jeff and Vida relocated to Nashville, where they became part of the area's burgeoning alternative music scene. Their nine years of performing and song writing have seen them delve into country, honky-tonk, rockabilly and even a little rock and roll. But throughout their career, bluegrass has remained a key influence in their style and sound, and this is evident on their new release, "Selma Chalk." While a number of the album's tracks do fit neatly into what might be called a traditional bluegrass sound, the record bends bluegrass instrumentation around material that's a little edgier, a little bluesier and a little rougher than your typical bluegrass collection.

jsamons@semissourian.com

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