Briefs

Emmylou Harris

Date: Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 pm

Venue: Saenger Theater, 6 S. Joachim St., 208-5600, www.saengermobile.com

Tickets: $60/$50/$45 available at the Saenger Box Office or through Ticketmaster

Country singers aren’t always known for being divas, but Emmylou Harris definitely deserves the title. This Alabama native and Grammy Award/Golden Globe-winning siren has shared studios and stages with such legendary performers as Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash and Ricky Skaggs as well as being a participant in Lilith Fair. Her contributions to the soundtrack of “O Brother, Where Art Thou” are truly unforgettable.

Harris is currently touring in support of her box set “Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems.” This set features 78 songs spanning from 1970-2006. However, this is not a collection of run-of-the-mill “Greatest Hits.” The songs in this set are hand-picked by Harris as her personal favorites. She also covers Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors” as well as The Beatles’ “For No One.” This is a must-have for any fan of Harris.

Light the Night Benefit for Leukemia

w/ Ugli Stick & Phar Fletcher

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 10 with doors at 5:30 pm

Venue: Soul Kitchen, 219 Dauphin St., 433-5958, www.soulkitchenmobile.com

Tickets: $10 donation at the door

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society created the Light the Night Walk to fund further research into these conditions and bring more public attention to suffering individuals. Mobile’s music scene all-stars The Ugli Stick and Phar Fletcher will be joining forces to do their part.

With their off-beat covers and diverse originals, The Ugli Stick remains one of Mobile’s most-beloved bands. When they played Soul Kitchen in early September, their fans started to mingle around the venue hours before the doors opened. The Ugli Stick also got a chance to show Colin Hay (Men at Work) what they were all about when they opened for him Sept. 20 at Troy University’s Davis Theater in Montgomery.

The charismatic Phar Fletcher plans on bringing their A-game to the table with their impressive brand of rock-and-roll. Don’t think Mobile is the only town that enjoys this band. Phar Fletcher has stayed busy playing around the Southeast at venues such as Live Bait in Gulf Shores and Mugshots in Hattiesburg.

With both of these bands playing the Pepsi Stage at BayFest, their Soul Kitchen show will be a nice encore.

Harper

Date: Thursday, September 27 at 9 pm

Venue: The Blues Tavern, 2818 Government Blvd., 479-7621

Tickets: Free

A taste of the Australian outback is coming to the Port City, but it’s probably not what you’re expecting. Blind Pig recording artist Harper is bringing his unique Aussie blues sound to WeMo.

Harper was born in the U.K. but relocated with his family to Perth, Australia. Believe it or not, Perth has quite a folk scene, and it was during that time that Harper discovered the harmonica and the blues took control. After conquering the rest of the world, Blind Pig Records released his American debut “Down to the Rhythm” in 2005.

Harper is currently touring in support of his latest release “Day by Day.” With it, Harper has created a roots blues sound in the tradition of artists such as Bobby Blue Bland and made it his own with modern musicianship and intense harmonica skills. The Port City is quite fortunate to have the chance to experience this talented musician.

The Rundown

Judging from the audience’s vibe at the Blue Gill, Devon Allman and the Honeytribe made quite a few new fans. Music lovers braved the heat and threatening skies to get a taste of the sweet sounds of the Honeytribe.

Kicking off the night was Loose Cannons. As they ran through their set of originals, their lyrical skills are matched only by their extraordinary guitar skill. They jammed their way through songs dealing with topics ranging from shaking off the mortal coil to having your heart “broke” at the Greater Gulf State Fair.

When Honeytribe took the stage, lightning flashed brightly as Allman ripped up the fret board with skills that have to be his birthright, but don’t think Allman was the total center of attention. George Potsos (bass), Mark Oyarzabal (drums) and Jack Kirkner (organ) showed their skills, with an impressive jam.

When all was said and done, Allman was impressed with the Port City crowd and promised to return.

Missionary’s position

Analog Missionary is back in action and set to perform at the Covey Awards Oct. 8 at the Beau Rivage Casino and Resort. They have been nominated in the Favorite Rock Band and Favorite Alternative Band. They are also scheduled to perform at the Anne Rice Les Temps des Vampire Ball Oct. 26 in NOLA.

Analog also participated in a recent Lollapalooza contest and was included in the Top 20 hand-picked by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell.

When frontwoman Anstrom is not busy with Analog, she has plans to expand her bellydance school on the ESho. She still causes quite a stir with her bellydancing during Analog shows.

Kinney’s surprise

Recently at the newly opened Noell B’s on Conception Street, the patrons received quite a surprise. Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ guitarist/frontman Kevn Kinney made an appearance. After Kinney dined on Noell B’s fare, he provided the entire restaurant with his own brand of dessert. Kinney broke out his guitar and played a small set for the crowd.

Kings over the water

Deluxe Leisure King is taking their sounds across the pond and beyond. Their latest single “Wanna Girl (Like That)” is out on vinyl in Australia. This song is a part of a compilation called “International Pop Controversy” put out Australian indie label Smashed Records.

Deluxe Leisure King is planning on releasing this single stateside sometime in October as a digital song available on iTunes. Check out Deluxe Leisure King at venues across Mobile and Baldwin County.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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