• The recent snow blast caused the cancellation of the Feb. 15 “Help Them Sing Again” Haitian relief benefit at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, but you can make up for it this Saturday at The Leapin Lizard gallery space in Covington. The 7 p.m. show’s lineup showcases Blues, Jazz, R&B and World music and features Ricky Nye, The Medicine Men, Harper, Liz Wu, Wade Baker Jazz Collaboration, Thrownback Jack, Chico Futuracho, Keshvar Project and Bruce Menefield, who was the key organizer of the cancelled Blue Wisp show. All of the money raised will go to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund and Hope for Haiti.
• The big Jan. 31 Haitian relief concert at the 20th Century Theater was a big success. Organizers recently presented the Red Cross a check for more than $7,000 raised from the show.
• This Sunday at the Southgate House, Bright, Indianabased label SOL Records presents a showcase of some of its local artists. The label began in 1994 as an outlet for the projects of studio owner/drummer Brian DeBruler, but it was relaunched last year with a wider stable of artists and further-reaching ambitions. The label — which specializes in Southern Rock and Country Rock — has found some national attention for releases by Dallas Moore (Can’t Tame a Wildcat) and Pure Grain (Out of the Storm). (The label is also home to Ridge Runner, Peppertown and Lexington’s Fifth on the Floor.) Pure Grain and Moore and his band perform Sunday for the 8 p.m. “Sounds of the South” showcase, as well as North Carolina’s WSNB. (www.solrecords.com)
• Following a flurry of activity last year that saw the release of its debut album, Ruminari, and a split 7-inch with Caterpillar Tracks (both praised by the underground press and released on local Phratry Records), Post Hardcore band Arms Exploding is amicably splitting. The band plays one last show Saturday at the Southgate House’s Parlour. Joining the group are Knife The Symphony, The Guitars and Anxiety High. The show is free and AE’s releases will be available cheap. (www.myspace.com/armsexploding)
• This week’s Macy’s Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend offers up plenty of musical options that, like all of the FAF events, are very recession-friendly at the cost of, well, nothing. On Saturday at the Contemporary Arts Center, The Happy Maladies and Flotation Walls perform at 2 p.m. The Clifton Cultural Arts Center presents an afternoon of music Saturday with Dave Hawkins (12 p.m.), John Ford (1 p.m.) and Tracy Walker (2 p.m.). On Sunday, Hawkins and Ford play the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington starting at 1:30 p.m. (and also featuring acoustic singer/songwriter Amy McFarland), while Roberta Schultz and Wild Carrot and the Roots Band will offer family-friendly presentations at the Campbell Country Public Library in Cold Spring. The Taft Museum has pianists from the World Piano Competition (noon) and Tracy Walker (3 p.m.) on Sunday, and Lisa Biales performs up north at the Oxford Community Arts Center at 3 p.m. For the full rundown of Fine Arts Fund Sampler events, go to www.fineartsfund.org.
• Bands and performers wanting to submit to be considered for this year’s MidPoint Music Festival can do so now until March 1 for just $10. Those marking up your new 2010 calendars still should block out Sept. 23-25 for MPMF 2010. For submission info and the latest MidPoint updates, go to mpmf.com.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected]
