Music at the Market
Every week Memphis Farmers features free live music from local musicians. Come enjoy the music while shopping and visiting. Here are some of the fantastic local talent you’ll find at the market this season.
Valerie June
Organic Moonshine Roots Music
With the voice and face of an angel and a Medusan tangle of dreadlocks as thick and strong as her family ties and her musical roots in the flatlands of West Tennessee, Valerie June is a true original and an emerging star in the legendary and still vibrant Memphis music scene. A self-taught guitar player, composer and troubadour of heartbreak ballads, folk songs, spirituals, soul-stirring blues and what she calls “Organic Moonshine Roots Music,” Valerie is poised to reach a wide audience as one of the stars of the ballyhooed new MTV web series “$5 Cover,” written and directed by Craig Brewer, creator of the Oscar-winning movie “Hustle & Flow.” With a haunting, distinctive voice that will appeal to fans of Linda Thompson, Michelle Shocked, Jeff Tweedy, Sinead O’Connor, Jessie Mae Hemphill and the music world’s most famous Bobs, Dylan and Marley, Valerie began to pursue songwriting and performing at the age of 19, when she was part of the husband-and-wife duo, Bella Sun. Perhaps her relatively early marriage wasn’t a surprise: The oldest girl in a strict Christian family of five children, she was domestic as well as ambitious — she pretty much raised her siblings. Says Valerie: “Grandad always feared for my hips because I always had a baby on ’em.” Valerie’s marriage died but her talent bloomed. Shedding her possessions, this daughter of a brick cleaner from humble Humboldt, Tenn., left the South and traveled up and down the West Coast as a sort of gypsy nightingale, playing for tips on the streets and in bus and subway stations. As interested in “sustainable” technology and natural living as music, she learned to make soap and bath salts, to supplement her income. Since returning to Memphis, Valerie has been working hard to make ends meet and to make her music the best she can, becoming a mainstay at such events as the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival and the International Folk Alliance Conference, and releasing such albums as “The Way of the Weaping Willow” and “Mountain of Rose Quartz,” recorded at Ardent Studios (Big Star, Replacements, ZZ Top). She’s mastering the banjo and the lap steel guitar, and the new sounds she creates vibrate with the tension that occurs when mountain-spring freshness meets rivertown grit. The result is beautiful, generous and authentic — and brimming with gratitude for life, with all its joys and hardships. Visit www.valeriejune.com to learn more.
Grace Askew
Sultry, atmospheric singer-songwriter
Sultry, atmospheric singer-songwriter Grace Askew is a striking presence on the local scene as something of a bluesier answer to Cat Power, and a female version of Tom Waits, whom she counts as key influences.
She currently holds multiple licensing deals for an up-coming TV Pilot entitled "Tamara & the Scene," and for two up-coming Universal Studios motion pictures. Touring came into the picture August of 2009 as Grace hit the road for a 3-week circuit (completely self-booked) that took her as far West as Eureka Springs, AR; as far North as Chicago, IL; as far East as Asheville, NC; and as far South as Atlanta, GA. Next up, Grace hit the road for a two-week tumble through Texas - this time around, it was completely on her own. Back home in Memphis, a slew of steady gigs keeps her and the band (Grace Askew & The Black Market Goods) prominent figures in the local scene. Songwriters festivals across the globe have also kept Grace prominently placed in a tight circle of renowned songwriters who have served not only as mentors, but also as staunch patrons of her talent, including: Keith Sykes (co-wrote "Volcano" with Jimmy Buffet, "I'm Not Strange, I'm Just Like You" recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker), Richard Leigh (Grammy Award winning songwriter of hits such as "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"), and Larry Joe Taylor (out of Austin, TX, LJT hosts the largest privately owned music festival in the South).
Discography:Her discography now includes her debut EP, ‘Wasted Lipstick’ (recorded at Ardent studios under producer Pete Matthews), her newly-released sophomore EP, ‘Hawthorne’ (which features Grace with Groundspeak in an all-live, two-day, fourteen-hour session at Ardent Studios with Pete Matthews producing once again). Recorded in a cozy living room in midtown Memphis, Grace's newest release, 'Until They Lay Me Down to Rest' is her first full-length album and was solely produced/written by Grace.
Follow Grace Askew on Facbook, MySpace, Bandcamp, Sonicbids and YouTube.
Daniel Foster Johnston
Acoustic Classical and Jazz Guitar
Daniel was raised in the wonderfully diverse musical atmosphere of Memphis, Tennessee. He became enthralled with his older brother’s equally diverse record collection, ranging from Classical and jazz standards to the leaders of the folk music revival of the nineteen-sixties: Odetta, Josh White, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and many others.
By age six he had become an avid listener to a variety of music genres, many of which would influence his compositional style. At the age of twelve Daniel was given a Sears “Silvertone” arch-top guitar that his cousin had abandoned. He taught himself how to play and began figuring out songs by ear. When asked to join a friend’s band as a bass player he learned the instrument on his own. He played bass and guitar in acoustic/rock bands throughout his college years, majoring in string bass and classical guitar.
He eventually chose the acoustic steel-string guitar as his primary instrument, focusing on finger-style techniques. Early influences include James Taylor, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. More recent influences include Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, and Tony McManus. After a ten-year stint as a recording engineer in Nashville, Daniel returned to Memphis and focused his efforts on writing and learning pieces for solo guitar. His first CD release, “From the Attic Window,” is the result of those efforts.
“From the Attic Window” is a collection of Daniel’s own compositions along with two arrangements of traditional Scottish melodies, and a piece written by Jim Corcoran, a predominant French Canadian recording artist. In addition to his musical duties Daniel is a practicing psychotherapist. He alternates between Memphis and his vacation home in Montezuma Gap, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Potlikker String Band
Bluegrass
The Potlikker String Band began in Memphis in January 2007, when fiddler Ritchie Schuman and banjoist Mike Albert teamed up with guitarist Christian Stanfield to play old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes. Mandolin player Mike Cannito joined the band in May 2007. The Potlikker String Band faithfully renders old mountain standards in a style that would be easily recognized a hundred years ago. The band has played at many coffee houses, dances, fairs and festivals over the past two years, including the Delta Fair, the Goat Days Festival in Millington, the Memphis Bluegrass Association's annual Pickin' Picnic, the Memphis Contra Dance at Idlewild Presbyterian Church and contra dances in Huntsville and Birmingham, Alabama.
Reel McCoy
Celtic tones
Enjoy the enchanting Celtic tones of Reel McCoy with Joel Kaserman on the hammered dulcimer, Ritchie Schuman on fiddle and banjo, Cheryl Parker on the concertina, Jim Turpin on guitar, and Harry Johnson on his array of percussion instruments and harmonica.
Ken & Robyn Greene
80s, 90s Popular
Ken & Robyn have been popular regulars on the Downtown Memphis scene, playing several venues, including the South Main Art Trolley Tour, and of course the Memphis Farmers Market. Their versatile style of guitar and violin covering all your favorite hits from the 80s and 90s will keep you dancing all day long!
He plays the guitar and sings everything from Elvis and ballads to classic rock and lullabies. She intertwines the haunting strains of her electric violin. The result is two string instruments from different family trees making beautiful music quite unlike any other. Ken and Robyn Greene, a husband and wife duo from the East Coast, became captivated by Memphis during a vacation/research gig when the city and its mystique struck a cultural chord. The two music teachers were taken by the Southern charms of Memphis and never looked back.
In 2007, the couple released their first self-produced CD, 38103, a tribute to South Main and Downtown Memphis, where the two Downtown fans perform at local hangouts and clubs, charitable events, Art Trolley Night, and the Memphis Farmers Market. They recorded the CD at their home using a digital recorder, two mics and editing software. Fans will recognize many of their favorite, most requested songs. To take a listen and order a CD, visit www.kenandrobyn.com.
Kris Acklen
Acoustic folk, country, pop guitar
As a side project to the Kris Acklen Band, Kris Acklen has begun performing his Acoustic works all throughout the Memphis coffee shop scene.
For the 2010 Summer and maybe longer, Kris is hosting and performing weekly at "The Wednesday Mellow" show at Cafe Eclectic Midtown from 6-7:30 p.m. "The Wednesday Mellow" is a songwriter event set out to showcase Memphis' up-and-coming talent.
Kris Acklen's acoustic songs will touch your heart and call upon the defined emotions you feel throughout life. Kris Acklen's lyrics coast over the musical elements of folk, country, and pop. Whether Kris reminisces over young love with his song "Sweet," discusses the depths of attachment and trust with songs "Lover's Lies" and "12 Steps," or faces letting go of loved ones with songs "Early" and "Fly Away," Kris Acklen is sure to "hit home," all the while keeping a lighthearted rapport with his audience.
Follow Kris Acklen on Facebook, MySpace and Youtube.