2023 Festival

About the Artist: Robin Tucker

Robin Tucker is an artist from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was born in Clovis, New Mexico, and lived in Europe until the early 1970s when his family moved to Arkansas. Since then Little Rock has been home. He received a Bachelor’s degree in art from Arkansas Tech University in 1980. From 1982 through 1984 Robin studied illustration and graphic design in the graduate program at the University of Arkansas Little Rock.

From 1985 to the present, Robin has worked on large scale projects. Murals, set pieces, exhibits and commercial installations for a variety of companies and organizations. His clients include MP Productions, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, The Summit Church, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, Fellowship Bible Church, Bylites, as well as many others.

In 2007 circumstances and events in Robin’s life led him to curtail commercial endeavors. During this time he began devoting more time to his personal work. More recently he has been deeply involved in the Argenta Mural Project, which is a collaborative effort of The Argenta Downtown Council, the City of North Little Rock, North Little Rock Tourism, and community leaders to provide a canvas for local artists to add to the beauty of the Argenta Arts District.

In addition to his tribute to American Jazz Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, towering above the western ingress between ACANSA Gallery and Argenta Community Theater, Robin’s artistry is also found in the Argenta Arts District at Flyway Brewing (“Birds of the American Flyway” at 314 Maple Street) and Arkansas Innovation Hub (“Hard Work” at 204 E. 4th Street).

Visit Argenta Arts District’s Public Art for a map to experience more than a dozen sculptural and mural installations.

About Pharaoh Sanders

Legendary American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was born Ferrell Lee Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1940 to a City of Little Rock employee and a school cafeteria cook. Initially drawn to the visual arts, he picked up the clarinet as a student at Scipio Jones High School in North Little Rock. He later studied at Oakland City College in California, where he began his career before moving to New York City.

Collaborating with John Coltrane, Sanders played a prominent role in the development of free jazz and then spiritual jazz, which induced a meditative experience inspired by the religious concepts of Karma and Tawhid. “Coltrane’s ensembles with Sanders were some of the most controversial in the history of jazz. Their music represents a near total desertion of traditional jazz concepts, like swing and functional harmony, in favor of a teeming, irregularly structured, organic mixture of sound for sound’s sake. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.”

He made his first record as a band leader in 1964. In the years following John Coltrane’s death in 1967, Sanders primarily led his own ensembles, playing in a variety of contexts including more mainstream jazz.

Sanders was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for 2016 and was honored at a tribute concert in Washington DC on April 4, 2016. In 2020, Sanders recorded his final studio album, Promises, with the London Symphony Orchestra. Consisting of a 46-minute composition known for its “dreamlike” quality, Promises was the first major new album by Sanders in nearly two decades and received great critical acclaim.

Sanders died on September 24, 2022, at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 81.

Friday, September 8
CALS’ Ron Robinson Theater

100 River Market Ave, Little Rock, AR  72201
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

Highly energetic and technically brilliant, this Washington DC-based band is a favorite among the Celtic festival and Bluegrass/Americana music circuits. Founded by first-generation sons of Ukrainian immigrants, Scythian’s charismatic folk rock has elated fans across the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia.

Friday, September 22
The Argenta Plaza

510 N Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114
While this performance is offered at no charge, please reserve a free ticket so we can gauge attendance. Thank you!

Beverages & Food Truck Fare available at 5:30pm, show begins at 8pm.

The Pine Leaf Boys perform their inimitable brand of Louisiana music, blending the sounds of Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp-Pop, Country, and Soul. Led by Wilson Savoy, Grammy Award-winning accordionist, keyboard player, fiddler and singer, The Pine Leaf Boys have garnered four Grammy nominations, as well as six invitations from the U.S. State Department to present their music in 23 countries throughout Europe and Asia.

Thursday, September 21
The Joint Theater and Coffeehouse

301 Main Street, North Little Rock, AR  72114
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

In partnership with Argenta Acoustic Music Series (AAMS), ACANSA is delighted to present Steve Davison’s Finger Food, a veritable feast for acoustic guitar lovers. The guitarists perform “in the round” and trade songs and stories about their compositions and their approach to the guitar, focusing their music on contemporary instrumental American Fingerstyle Guitar with folk, jazz, Celtic, classical and blues influences.

Finger Food is a feast not only for guitar lovers, but also for anyone with a passion for acoustic music. The guitarists perform “in the round” and trade songs and stories about their compositions and their approach to the guitar in a casual concert setting. The music focuses on contemporary instrumental American Fingerstyle Guitar with folk, jazz, Celtic, classical and blues influences.

The guitarists are very different stylistically and these different styles contribute to an evening of broad musical tastes. They will play solo, duets and trio work.  The guitarists also will be performing on some very unique custom built instruments and historic instruments.

Danny Dozier is a legendary guitarist in the state of Arkansas. Danny’s solo performances showcase his wide range of guitar styles and his superb choice of material. He has performed at the Ozark Folk Center in many configurations over the years, fronts the Danny Dozier Band at gigs around the state and the country and is the two-time winner of the Merle Travis Fingerstyle Guitar Championship at the Ozark Folk Center. Danny has just released a CD with fiddler extraordinaire and producer Tim Crouch.

Steve Davison is a Little Rock guitarist who performs on the 6 and 12 string guitar. He tours the country with artists such as Ken Bonfield and Peter Janson. They have performed at acoustic venues around the country and shared the stage artist such as Larry Coryell, Muriel Anderson, Peter Janson, Tim Farrell, Dakota Dave Hull, Ken Bonfield, Doug Young, Teja Gerken, Tim Sparks and other guitarists.. Steve was also the winner of the 2005 Arkansas Acoustic Music Festival in the solo category and has been a featured artist on AETN Presents. Steve has performed at the Montreal Guitar Festival, the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in California and the Memphis Guitar Festical in Tennessee. In 2015 Steve won the Ozark Folk Center, Merle Travis Fingerstyle Guitar competition in the contemporary section. Steve was chosen Guitarist of the Year for 2019 by the Arkansas Country Music Associatio. More information about Steve is available at www.stevedavison.com

Micky Rigby is an exceptional guitarist from Little Rock who has performed at multiple acoustic venues across the state. Micky was a runner up at the Merle Travis Fingerstyle Guitar Championship at the Ozark Folk Center and was a familiar face at Acoustic Sounds Café in the past in Little Rock. Micky has an extensive repertoire and is an accomplished player of the guitar and the banjo.

Saturday, September 16
Arkansas Repertory Theatre

601 Main St, Little Rock, AR 72201
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

Born of the nation’s top conservatories, Take3 lives at the intersection where pop, rock and classical fusion collide. With a flair for the wild and unexpected, this genre-defying trio on piano, cello and violin infuses the refinement of a rigorous classical music background with rock star charisma, bringing unmistakable style and effervescent joy to the stage.

Friday, September 15
Arkansas Repertory Theatre

601 Main St, Little Rock, AR 72201
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

Caesar’s velvety smooth baritone vocals and debonair delivery – a la Nat King Cole, a grand piano, and a trio of musicians promise an unforgettable evening of iconic hits from the Golden Age of American music. The first and only male vocalist to sing and tour with Julio Iglesias, Caesar has shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, Lou Rawls, Peter White, Boney James, Paul Brown, and Stanley Clarke, among others.

Thursday, September 14
Arkansas Repertory Theatre

601 Main St, Little Rock, AR 72201
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

The famous Underground Railroad conductor theatrically springs to life in Leslie McCurdy’s spirited production. Shared through familiar stories and others rarely told, the faith and conviction that drove a young Harriet Tubman to follow her dreams connect the past with the present and inspire envisioning a new future.

Leslie McCurdy, Playwright / Actress

As the recipient of the 2017 Vigor International Award and 2014 and 2000 Mayor’s Awards for “Artist of the Year” and “Outstanding Performing Artist” of Windsor Ontario respectively, Leslie McCurdy has forged her career entertaining audiences internationally. She obtained an honors B.F.A. in dance with teaching certification from the University of Michigan, then served as choreographer and teaching assistant to Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre for several of her Detroit residencies.

Leslie’s theatre credits include: Mrs. Barker in American Dream; Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill; Risa in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running; Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Bobbie-Michelle in Last of the Red Hot Lovers; Dorothy in The Wiz; Laura McClellan-Williams in Checkmates; The Acid Queen in Tommy; Fraulein Kost in Cabaret; The Coochie-Snoocher in The Vagina Monologues. She also did a stint in ABC’s Detroit 1-87 and has appeared in several movies, including The Ides of March, under the direction of George Clooney, a featured role in Amanda and the Fox, a Joel Reisig production, and Deadlock with John X. Carey and Aqsa Altaf.

Leslie is also a successful playwright, having written four one-woman plays, three of which she performs by herself. The Spirit of Harriet Tubman, her most “famous” play that she celebrates 25 years of touring. Her second play, Things My Fore-Sisters Saw, which was filmed for TV and premiered on the Bravo Network in Canada. Her upcoming and newest offering, Lady Ain’t Singing No Blues, a Billie Holiday portrait, has become a new audience favorite.

Wednesday, September 13 – Saturday, September 23
In partnership with Argenta Community Theater (ACT)

ACT II: 315 Main Street, North Little Rock 72114

In collaboration with ACANSA, Argenta Community Theater presents John Patrick Shanley’s DOUBT. This intriguing parable explores an unconscionable accusation leveled against a priest as a sister realizes that the only way to get justice is to create it herself. The play won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play and was later adapted as an Academy Award-nominated feature film starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

CAST

Saturday, September 9
CALS’ Ron Robinson Theater

100 River Market Ave, Little Rock, AR  72201
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

With a sound that blends swing, ragtime, jazz and folksy rock influences with original songwriting, Damn Tall Buildings brings four quintessential roots instruments – banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass – to downtown Little Rock for a rousing good time.

Thursday, Sept. 7
The Rail Yard

1212 East 6th Street, Little Rock, AR  72202
Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm.

The legendary Arkansas “Band of Opportunity” jump-starts the Festival with a good ol’ Southern shindig. Greasy Greens takes the stage al fresco at The Rail Yard where party guests will find a dozen musicians, beverages, food trucks, and plenty of room for dancing.