Alex Greene

Memphis

Music Editor at Memphis Flyer

Writer. Composer, songwriter, pianist, organist, guitarist, activist. Anthropologist. Music editor, Memphis Flyer

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Articles

Central High School Jazz Band Wins Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Competition

6 days 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.
RiverBeat’s Musical Memories

1 week 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.
Memphis Flyer | Deborah Swiney

1 week ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

Even before releasing her 2017 full length debut, I Remember Rio, Deborah Swiney had distinguished herself as an artist who’s fully committed to jazz. While many in this city go on to sing the soul or gospel music they were raised with, only a few choose to walk on the more swinging side of the street.
Mempho’s Best Widespread Panic-Topped Lineup Yet?

1 week ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

Even before the epic RiverBeat Music Festival kicked into action, Mempho Presents announced the daily schedule for the Mempho Fest Music Festival, to be held this October 3rd-5th at Radians Amphitheater on the beautiful grounds of the Memphis Botanic Garden. And it will be déjà vu all over again when headliners Widespread Panic take to the Adams Keegan Stage in a two-night residency, as they did in their previous headline slots at both the 2021 and 2022 Mempho Fests.
Memphis Botanic Garden Unveils 2025 Live at the Garden Lineup

2 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

The Memphis Botanic Garden recently announced the lineup for its 2025 Live at the Garden concert series at the scenic Radians Amphitheater. Spanning multiple genres and generations, the outdoor summer season kicks off on June 21st with ’90s alt-rock chart-toppers Third Eye Blind, followed by country singer-songwriter Parker McCollum on July 18th.
Rhythm on the River

2 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

There are music festivals, and then there are Memphis music festivals. When artists big or small hear that the Bluff City is calling, it hits differently: The history here calls them as much as the prospect of playing to huge Mid-South crowds. And it’s striking just how many global artists have ties to this little corner of Tennessee, either through family or the city’s champion musicians playing in their bands — or simply a love of (sampling?) the city’s music.
Memphis Listening Lab Introduces New Listening Series

3 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

David Less and Robert Gordon are no strangers to the Memphis Listening Lab (MLL), being scholars of music from Memphis and elsewhere. During their appearances at MLL listening events, they’ve premiered, willy-nilly, their share of unreleased, just-released, or little-known tracks on the lab’s hi-fi stereo system.
Overton Park Shell Announces Summer Lineup for 2025 Orion Free Concert Series

3 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

Summer will begin in earnest on May 17th, when the Orion Financial Free Concert Series at the Overton Park Shell fires up its engines. Local psych-rockers Arc of Quasar will kick off the season, signaling the series’ commitment to fostering Memphis talent as well as national touring acts, but from there, the artists featured will span a multitude of genres — classic country, New Orleans street music, indie rock, new-grass, hip-hop, pop, R&B, and soul, to name a few.
The Agony and the Ecstacy

4 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

he opening scenes of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the latest production by Tennessee Shakespeare Company, may be disarmingly light for some theatergoers. Many of us, myself included, tend to imagine the story of Joan of Arc in the direst possible terms — we all know it ends with her being burned alive, after all. And the first few minutes of the play depict just that, as if to remind us what’s at stake before the narrative begins in earnest.
Let Them Eat CAKE

4 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Alex Greene

CAKE will always be with us. I’ve gleaned this insight after more than 30 years of listening to the band, ever since my days in Dixon, California, when they were merely regional favorites, not international headliners. One indication of their longevity is the simple fact that the interview I conducted with lead singer/songwriter John McCrea for a Graceland Soundstage concert scheduled for five years ago still holds just as true today as it did then.