Virtual live music just got even better thanks to a partnership between Oxford American, BlakeSt and UAMS.
Landmark Sessions is a new virtual music series that includes intimate conversations with musicians. The series is designed to allow for emotional connectivity in times of social distancing and to serve health care workers. All the events are free, but registration is required.
Here’s a peek at the first three events:
Feels Like Home: Rodney Crowell
Aug. 26, 7 p.m.
The first performance comes from country music singer-songwriter and author Rodney Crowell. Crowell’s event will focus on the words and melodies that remind us of home. Participants will be challenged to use their creativity after the event to write a song, haiku or dialogue inspired by their home. Register for this event here.
Breaking Tradition: Sierra Hull
Sept. 9, 7 p.m.
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull will join Oxford American Executive Editor Sara A. Lewis for a discussion about the intersection of tradition and innovation in Hull’s music and how artists can push boundaries within art forms to carve out space for themselves.
Warrior Song: Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals with Christopher Parker & Kelley Hurt
Sept. 23, 7 p.m.
The third event will include a conversation with Little Rock Nine member Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals, composer/pianist Christopher Parker and singer/lyricist Kelley Hurt. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Central High School desegregation crisis, the Oxford American commissioned Christopher Parker and Kelley Hurt to compose an original jazz score called the “No Tears Suite,” inspired by Melba Patillo Beals’s memoir “Warriors Don’t Cry.” On the 63rd anniversary, Parker and Hurt will perform selections from No Tears Suite and join in conversation with Dr. Beals about the process of translating her experience into music and the power of song to transmit emotion.
For more info about the Landmark Sessions, head to the Oxford American’s website.