Alex Greene

3 days ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

When Memphis Concrète was founded eight years ago, it raised a lot of eyebrows. One sometimes had to explain that its name was a play on the musique concrète genre, founded on the principle that anything can create a meaningful listening experience, from industrial noises to pre-recorded sound effects.

2 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

There were no breaking news articles about it in Rolling Stone or Billboard on April 18th, yet on that day a pivotal figure in Memphis music passed away. After only two days in hospice care, William Luke White succumbed to the glioblastoma brain cancer he’d been struggling with since experiencing a seizure in July of 2019. And, as was clear in Bob Mehr’s reporting in the Commercial Appeal that day, there was a great cry of grief from the local music community.

3 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

This year’s SmokeSlam barbecue competition will bring some fine music to Memphis, including headliners Shane Smith & the Saint, The Revivalists, and Big & Rich, but it will be especially meaningful to some hometown favorites who’ve gone from success to success, yet never quite felt they’d nailed down their sound until their 2025 release.

4 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

It was nail-biting time yesterday during the finals of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 30th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, where the top three placing bands competed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City to be recognized as the top high school jazz band in the world. One of the three was the Central High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Dr. Ollie Liddell.

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Chris McCoy |Alex Greene

Memphis music fans have strong opinions. Take the avid listener and Memphis Flyer reader who approached one of our writers while chilling near the Ferris Wheel at RiverBeat Music Festival last weekend. “I can’t believe it’s accepted to just play a backing track while an artist performs!” he said, noting that, as far as he could tell, that’s exactly what Busta Rhymes and Ludacris did during their sets.