Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Patti Steel debuts new ‘bluegrass’ song June 25 at George’s
Patti Steel supports other musicians in so many ways. From sitting in with bands such as Chucky Waggs and the Company of Raggs and Randall Shreve and the Devilles when the horn section is called in to fronting her own band, Patti Steel Band, and duos.
Now she’s getting a night all to herself June 25 at George’s Majestic Lounge, and of course, she’s sharing the stage with the friends she regularly jams with — Dance Monkey Dance and The Vine Brothers, who will support her when it’s time to share a new song.
“It’s still brand new,” Steel explains. “It’s not the same kind of music I’ve written so far. It’s got a little more of the bluegrass kind of feel to it.”
“Livin’ on the Road” was inspired by a road trip to Wyoming with cosmic Western Duo Jenna & Martin of Lawrence, Kan. — Jenna plays in The Power Lillies, one of Steel’s many projects — in July 2022, Steel says. Steel joined the duo for a string of free shows, mostly in parks within Wyoming. For Steel, this was an opportunity to learn more about going on tour.
“It was all the trials and tribulations of our trip,” she says. “First of all, their van had just gotten out of the shop, but their air conditioning stopped working right when we got on the road. And it was really, really miserably hot,” she says.
“Once we got to Wyoming, the weather was mild. But when we tried to stop for a picnic there’d be mosquitoes so thick that you’d be eating them,” she says with a laugh, adding that another adventure had her worried that coyotes would eat her.
“There’s a lot of things that happened along the way, but for the most part, I met really cool people, got to play great music,” she says. Fans of Patti’s know that means lots of instruments — clarinet, spoons, guitar, mandolin and many other random noise makers.
The response to her talents filled her heart with joy and made the heat, the fog of mosquitoes and all the other follies worth the struggle.
“It was a great trip, and so that’s what the song is about. It’s just like the ‘what it’s like to live on the road,’ you know, even if it’s just for a few days,” she says.
She also had a community to lean in and help in writing her song, “Livin’ on the Road.” She says that one of her students — she gives music and photography lessons — helped her write lyrics, Kim Kutina helped her edit the song and then Sally Vee (of Sally & the Hurts) helped her “cut out what the song didn’t need.”
Patti Steel Band will share her new song alongside several favorites from her 2022 EP, “No Better” following performances by The Vine Brothers and Dance Monkey Dance starting at 8 p.m. June 25 at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 7. Get tickets at the door or at georgesmajesticlounge.com. Keep up with Patti Steel at pattisteel.com.
BENTONVILLE
• Neon Flight and Sarah Loethen Duo play at 7 p.m. June 19; Circle of Thirds plays July 8; Mildenhall plays July 13 for the free Live on the Patio Concert Series at Bike Rack
Brewing, 801 S.E. Eighth St., Suite 61, in Bentonville.
• Brothers Osborne perform at 8 p.m. July 15; coming up this fall are Rina Sawayama on Oct. 6; Wilco on Oct. 27 and Wu-Tang Clan on Oct. 28 at The Momentary, 507 S.E. E St.
• Songwriters in the Round will feature Chase Hart (Dandelion Heart), Donna and Kelly Mulhollan (Still on the Hill) and Jeff Kearney (The 1 oz. Jig), hosted by Lacy Hampton and Samantha Hunt, at 6 p.m. June 22; Chris Duarte performs at 6:30 p.m. June 27 at Meteor Guitar Gallery, 128 W. Central Ave. meteorguitargallery. com.
• Music Moves Presents a Juneteenth Celebration with Branjae at 7 p.m. June 24 for the North Forest Concert Series at Crystal Bridges Museum. Tickets are $17. A food truck, cash bar and artmaking activities available. crystalbridges.org.
• Susie Q, DJ Girlfriend and P for Parker plus a drag performance by JUICYY start at 10:30 p.m. June 24 at CACHE Studios, 1004 S.E. Fifth St. in
Bentonville.
FAYETTEVILLE
• Buddy Shute’s Motivator Trio plays at 8:30 p.m. June 21 at La Huerta on Mission & Crossover in Fayetteville.
• Gulley Park Concert Series continues at 7 p.m. Thursdays with Arkansauce on June 22; Funk Factory on June 29 for “Kidz Night” with obstacle course inflatables, bounce house, face painting, jumbo size yard games and more; Dead Horse
Mountain Band June 29; and Ashtyn
Barbaree wraps the series on July 13. Food trucks on site, dogs on leashes, lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. fayetteville-ar.gov/concerts
• Happy Hour with Bill Dollar and Loose Change starts at 6 p.m. followed by a Parrothead Beach House Party with the Nance Brothers at 8:30 p.m. June 23; Patti Steel, The Vine Brothers and Dance Monkey Dance perform at 8 p.m. June 25; Idle Threat, American Arson,
Weathered and Redwitch Johnny perform at 8 p.m. June 28 at George’s
Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St. georgesmajesticlounge.com/shows. • Gone Country plays at 7:30 p.m. July 21; coming up are Steel Panther at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1; Colt Ford at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3; Alter Bridge at 8 p.m. Aug. 17; and Steve Aoki at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at JJ’s Live, 3615 N. Steele Blvd. jjslive.com.
• Devin Gray performs at 7 p.m. June 20 at Millar Lodge (trilliumsalonseries.com); Jude Brothers and Kalyn Fay perform at 7:30 p.m. July 15; Florist & Skullcrusher perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 19 (linktr.ee/onthemapshows) at Clapp Auditorium at Mount Sequoyah, 150 N. Skyline Drive.
• The Mountain Street Stage music series continues at 2 p.m. with Jack Williams on June 18; Modeling on June 25; The Dead Horse Mountain Band July 2; Moriah Bailey July 9; Jumpsuit Jamie & the Can’t Wait to Play Boys July 16; The Irie Lions July 23; and Greenland Station Bluegrass Band July 30 at the Fayetteville Public Library. The concerts are free. faylib. org.
LOWELL
• Jon Lovitz (with opener Chase Myska) performs comedy June 30 and July 1. Next up are Tim Meadows
July 7-8; Gianmarco Soresi July 13-15; a Mac and Magic! with magician George Reader at 1:30 p.m. July 9 at The Grove Comedy Club, 808 S. Bloomington St. grovecomedy.com.
ROGERS
• Outlaw Music Festival featuring Willie Nelson and Family with Margo Price, Flatland Cavalry and Particle Kid heats up at 6 p.m. June 29. Tickets start at $39.50 at the Walmart
AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road. waltonartscenter.org/AMP/upcomingconcerts. Next up is the Fireworks Spectacular with SoNA on July 4 and Fall Out Boy with Bring Me The Horizon, Royal the Serpent and CARR on July 11.
• Full House performs at 8 p.m. June 23; The White River Band performs at 8 p.m. June 24 for the Railyard Live
concert series on the Butterfield Stage next to Railyard Park, 101 E. Cherry St., Rogers. Shows are free; tables and chairs are available for reservation. Next up is the Ozark Folk Jamboree with Arkansauce, Chucky Waggs, Ashtyn Barbaree, Front Porch, Rachel Ammons and Will Gunsleman June 30 & July 1. railyardlive.com.
RIVER VALLEY
• Bobcat performs at 4 p.m. June 18 at Ava’s Place, 2509 Oakview Road in Fort Smith.
• The Hoppy Hour Comedy Show hosted by Chase Myska and featuring Kayla Angel, Lucas Aaron Smith, Adam Kessler and Conrad Lenzmeier starts at 7:30 p.m. July 8
at Fort Smith Brewing Company.
Tickets are $12-$20 facebook.com/ rivervalleycomics.
• Buddy Shute & the Motivators perform at 8 p.m. June 23 at Farewell
Party, 3400 Grand Ave. in Fort Smith. buddyshute.com.
SILOAM SPRINGS
• March to August performs at 7 p.m. July 28 at Creekside
Taproom, 100-2 E. Alpine St. marchtoaugustmusic.com.
• NWA Jazz & More Orchestra performs a free concert at 6:30 p.m. June 23 at the Chautauqua
Amphitheater in Memorial Park in downtown Siloam Springs. discoversiloam.com.
SPRINGDALE
• Duo Divinas and Ensemble Ibérica perform at 6:30 p.m. June 29 at the LIVE! at Turnbow Concert Series at Turnbow Park on the Shiloh Square in downtown Springdale. downtownspringdale.org/live-atturnbow-concerts.
• Sip & Sing starts at 7 p.m. with 96 Miles June 23; One for the Money on June 24; Abbey Pierce and the Sinners on June 30; and The Rumors on July 1 at Tontitown Winery, 33. N. Barrington St. tontitownwinery.com.
• Oh Jeremiah performs at 6:30 p.m. June 23 at Johnson Square Park for the Johnson Square Summer Series. Food and drinks are available from local restaurants, and the park is an outdoor beverage district.
WINSLOW
• Still on the Hill will perform a retrospective concert of songs and stories spanning 23 years and 11 albums, Jen Hajj will open at 6 p.m. June 24; Squirrel Jam starts at 5 p.m. June 25 at Ozark Folkways, 22733 U.S. 71 North. ozarkfolkways.org.
Send info about your upcoming concerts and events to Monica Hooper, music editor, at mhooper@nwaonline. com.