Big Star to Play Levitt Shell for Benefit Show
Ardent Studios was proud to host the brunch held by The Levitt Foundation (curators of The Levitt Shell, right here in Midtown Memphis' Overton Park) to announce their spring and summer lineup for 2010. The crowning jewel in the schedule will be a Big Star performance, their first at the Shell since 1974 and their first Big Star specific performance in Memphis since 1994. The show (scheduled for May 15, tickets available on March 1) will open the season and act as a fundraiser for the Foundation. From Bob Mehr's article in the Commercial Appeal: Memphis power-pop icons Big Star will ...
Devon Allman’s Honeytribe Returns for Space Age Blues
Old friend and regular Ardent client Devon Allman took over Studio C this January with Honeytribe, converting the studio into what he's calling "The Mothership." Purple christmas lights adorned the walls, storm trooper posters were placed here and there, and as you can see from the picture above, Devon and the guys had space suits. And yes, those are real NASA spacesuits. All of this was of course to get into the spirit of the new project they were recording - an album called Space Age Blues, which is now finished and due out June 1st of this year. The album ...
Leslie Finishes Tracking in Ardent’s Studio C
South Carolina rockers Leslie recently finished tracking additional songs for their first full length release with producer/engineer Paul Ebersold. After driving from Charleston to Nashville to play some shows, the band made their way to Ardent and began digging in. The band consists of Sadler Vaden on guitar and vocals, Jason Fox on bass, and Jonathan Carman on drums. They are certainly active - having played more than 250 shows last year, this is a band that knows what it's like to put in the work being on the road. And tragically, this is also a band that has also seen hardship. ...
Huey Lewis and the News at Ardent Studios
Superstar, R&B aficionado, and all-around nice guy Huey Lewis came to Ardent this month to start work on a new record. And yes - he brought the News. Together they were working on a Stax tribute record - yet to be titled - and felt that Memphis and Ardent were the way to go for just such a project. Says Lewis of the record: "...we’re trying to do it right, and I think if you’re down here you’re a little bit more careful.” Ardent engineer John Hampton shared engineering duties with Jim Gaines, with Curry Weber as assistant and Lydia Gilman ...
Announcements
Ardent Studios was proud to host the brunch held by The Levitt Foundation (curators...
Best Of 2009 Big Star “Keep An Eye On The Sky” Box Set Mentions
Keep an Eye on the Sky, the Big Star Boxed set that was released in September of...
Staxtacular ’10 is the premier party hosted by Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and a...
From Rhino Handmade’s I Am the Cosmos (Deluxe) page: Chris Bell was an...
Everyone here at Ardent is sorry to hear the news of the passing of Willie “Pops”...
Read More Posts From This CategoryMemphis Events
Staxtacular ’10 is the premier party hosted by Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and a...
On Thursday, December 10th, from 5:30 – 8:30 PM True Stories Pictures will...
Robyn Hitchcock Visits Indie Memphis, Ardent StudiosFamed independent singer songwriter Robyn Hitchcock made his way across the pond...
On Sept. 29 at 7 pm (doors open at 6 pm) at Studio On The Square, The Memphis Chapter...
Center for Southern Folklore transforms a two block area of Main Street Labor Day...
Read More Posts From This CategoryArtist Spotlight
Devon Allman’s Honeytribe Returns for Space Age Blues
Old friend and regular Ardent client Devon Allman took over Studio C this January with Honeytribe, converting the studio into what he’s calling “The Mothership.” Purple christmas lights adorned the walls, storm trooper posters were placed here and there, and as you can see from the picture above, Devon and the guys had space suits.... [Read more of this review]
Leslie Finishes Tracking in Ardent’s Studio C
South Carolina rockers Leslie recently finished tracking additional songs for their first full length release with producer/engineer Paul Ebersold. After driving from Charleston to Nashville to play some shows, the band made their way to Ardent and began digging in. The band consists of Sadler Vaden on guitar and vocals, Jason Fox on bass, and Jonathan... [Read more of this review]
The Scruffs’ Conquest Released
Readers of this blog may remember a post from June of last year giving a bit of history on The Scruffs, detailing their iterations and history from their debut record Wanna Meet the Scruffs? (recorded at Ardent in 1977) and leading up through the present day. The Scruffs latest release, entitled Conquest, was flushed out and mixed here at Ardent Studios... [Read more of this review]
Huey Lewis and the News at Ardent Studios
Superstar, R&B aficionado, and all-around nice guy Huey Lewis came to Ardent this month to start work on a new record. And yes – he brought the News. Together they were working on a Stax tribute record – yet to be titled – and felt that Memphis and Ardent were the way to go for just such a project. Says Lewis of the record: “…we’re... [Read more of this review]
John Kilzer Completes Tracking with Jeff Powell, Lucas Peterson
Former Geffen recording artist John Kilzer was in the studio this month, laying down tracks for a new record with producer/engineer Jeff Powell and assistant Lucas Peterson. Here’s what Lucas had to say about the session: “Tracking for John Kilzer’s newest record started on November 21 in Studio A of Ardent. We had the room divided... [Read more of this review]
The Truth According to Ruthie Foster Nominated for Grammy
You may remember our post from some time last year about a great artist that graced us with her presence here at Ardent – Ms. Ruthie Foster. Ruthie, along with producer Chris Goldsmith (Blind Boys of Alabama, Ben Harper, Aaron Neville) engineer Jimmy Hoyson (James Taylor, CSNY, Ozzy Osbourne), assistant Jason Gillespie and a host of great musicians... [Read more of this review]
Jack Dalton Completes “Icarus” at Ardent
Australian rocker and American expatriate Jac Dalton returned to Memphis and Ardent Studios to overdub, edit and mix his new album, “Icarus.” The project was produced by Gregg Brown and Darren Mullan, with Ardent’s GRAMMY award-winning engineer John Hampton at the console. Gregg Brown and John Hampton have worked together with many top... [Read more of this review]
Paul Mark Returns to Ardent with Jeff Powell
New York native and Ardent regular Paul Mark was back in the studio recently starting work on a new project with engineer Jeff Powell and assistant Lucas Peterson. Along with bassist James Strain, keyboardist Al Gamble (Gamble Brothers Band, City Champs) and drummer Harry Peel (Susan Marshall), they spent 3 days tracking 6 songs for 2 new yet-to-be-titled... [Read more of this review]
Robyn Hitchcock Visits Indie Memphis, Ardent Studios
Famed independent singer songwriter Robyn Hitchcock made his way across the pond from his native England to attend this year’s Indie Memphis Film Festival, which is held every year right down the street from Ardent Studios. Hitchcock had several ties to this year’s festival, not the least of which was an opportunity to record at Ardent. First,... [Read more of this review]
Chris Bell’s I Am The Cosmos Remastered and Re-Released
“The first time I met Chris, I walked into my office and he was sitting in my chair, with his feet up on my desk, smoking a cigarette,” says Fry, laughing. “I thought: Now, who in the heck is this?” At the end of a journey that has lasted more than 40 years, from that first moment until now, Rhino Records has announced that it will be... [Read more of this review]
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