Win Passes to the Kansas City Premiere of “Summer of Soul”

Media Mikes has teamed up with their friends at Searchlight Pictures to give (15) readers and a guest the chance to be among the first to see the musical event of the summer, “Summer of Soul.”

The film, directed by Questlove, the film will screen on Tuesday, June 29th at the AMC Town Center 20 in Leawood, Kansas. The screening begins at 7:00 pm.

To attend, all you need to do is click HERE. The first 15 readers to do so will receive a pass for (2) to attend the screening. This is a first come/first serve giveaway. Once the allotted passes have been claimed the giveaway has ended. Good luck!

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and

transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that

celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just

one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park

(now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now …

Streaming Review: “Soul City”

  • Soul City
  • Starring: Omar J. Dorsey and Deneen Tyler
  • Directed by: Coodie & Chike 
  • Not Rated
  • Running Time: 15 minute episodes (3)
  • Topic
  • First Look Media

“In the City of a Million Dreams….Nightmares Come Knocking At Your Door.”


Fans of the horror anthology subgenre have had plenty to feast on these past few years. A resurgence of the format has seen success in Netflix’s Black Mirror, Hulu’s Into The Dark and, most recently, horror-specific streaming service Shudder’s Creepshow. The short run-time format allows for creative risk taking in stories that might be a gamble as a full length feature and, often, the result is evidence of a focused passion for storytelling and intention with little to no room for any unnecessary fluff.


Soul City, a new anthology series from the streaming service Topic, delivers its first season of three psychological horror mini-sodes from creators and directors Coodie and Chike. The season specific landscape set to explore multicultural, urban populations: this inaugural season set in New Orleans. 
Each of the three episodes are a tight fifteen minutes, each succinctly exploring the New Orleans vibe in different ways. An easy time investment to soak in the ambiance of perusing the city and all its gritty corners, haunts within odd street shops, southern religious fanaticism and dark magic. While there is certainly room for Coodie and Chike to grow as directors within the genre, they’re most definitely a welcome addition to the scene where persons of color still remain a minority despite the demand for representation of the genre’s viewership demographics. Soul City is thrilling for providing a platform to showcase New Orleans on screen as a locale that’s perfect for genre lovers to further examine its lush, spooky history. Coodie and Chike’s previous history within the music video sector brings a definitive confidence in visual storytelling that shines in the series especially in its second episode. 

The potential for a revolving city-specific format is intriguing and exciting. Think American Horror Story but regionally based. With New York and Los Angeles so outrageously over-represented on film it’s encouraging to see the possibilities for overlooked cities, domestic and abroad, to be dissected and celebrated for their own unique regional terrors.

SOUL CITY will be premiering on April 30, 2020 exclusively on Topic, the streaming service from First Look Media.

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Announce “Soulfire Teacher Solidarity Tour”

LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL OFFER SOLIDARITY TO TEACHERS AND THE #REDFORED MOVEMENT WITH “SOULFIRE TEACHER SOLIDARITY TOUR 2018”

PERFORMING IN EVERY STATE TEACHERS HAVE BEEN STRIKING
OR ARE CONSIDERING GOING ON STRIKE
HOSTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE TO INTRODUCE GROUNDBREAKING TEACHROCK MUSIC CURRICULUM

TICKETS TO NORTH AMERICAN TREK AVAILABLE FREE TO EDUCATORS OF ALL TYPES
DATES BEGIN OCTOBER 18TH IN WILKES BARRE, PA; SHOWS ON SALE NOW

SOULFIRE LIVE! BOX SETS AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul will show solidarity with and say thank you to hard-working teachers across North America with a landmark headline tour introducing TeachRock, the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation’s free, multimedia, K-12 interdisciplinary curriculum which meets prevailing standards in English Language Arts, Social Studies/History, the Fine and Performing Arts, and also includes STEAM and advisory material. The “Soulfire Teacher Appreciation Tour 2018” begins October 18th at The Kirby Center in Wilkes Barre, PA and then continues into December. All shows on sale now. For complete details and tickets, please visit www.littlesteven.com/on-tour.

The “Soulfire Teacher Solidarity Tour 2018” concerts are free for educators of all types (and a guest) – teachers are invited to sign up at teachrock.org/tour. Each show on the tour will also see Little Steven and his TeachRock staff hosting free professional development workshops designed to engage educators with techniques and content through which they can comfortably use music to inspire students, even if they’ve never touched an instrument. In many locations, the workshop will also count towards continuing education hours and license renewal.

The Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Teacher Solidarity Tour Professional Development Experience will offer an introduction to the Teachrock.org curriculum, and include material suitable for K-12 teachers of all disciplines, interdisciplinary best practices, and group activities. In addition, the one-hour workshops will see a personal visit from Little Steven, with attendees also receiving a teacher-only edition “Teacher Appreciation Tour” t-shirt, a certificate of attendance, and tickets for the educator and a guest to that evening’s Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul concert.

“This is a little different than the professional development experience you may be used to,” says Little Steven. “This is a rock ‘n’ roll experience.”

Little Steven unveiled the “Soulfire Teacher Solidarity Tour” with a personal video announcement, streaming now at the official TeachRock YouTube channel HERE.

LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL:
SOULFIRE TEACHROCK TOUR 2018

OCTOBER
18 – Wilkes Barre, PA – Kirby Center
20 – Rochester, NY – Kodak Center
23 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Homestead Music Hall
29 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center
31 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater

NOVEMBER
2 – Burnsville, MN – Ames Center
3 – Green Bay, WI – Meyer Theatre
5 – Chicago, IL – Center
7 – Tulsa, OK – Brady Theater
9 – Detroit, MI – Detroit Music Hall
10 – Peoria, IL – Monarch Theater
12 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
14 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
16 – Northfield, OH – Hard Rock Rocksino
17 – Morgantown, WV – Metropolitan Theatre
26 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
28 – Omaha, NE – Holland Performing Arts Center
30 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre

DECEMBER
1 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
3 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
5 – Snoqualmie, WA – Snoqualmie Casino
7 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
8 – Stateline, NV – Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
11 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
12 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
14 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
16 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren

www.littlesteven.com/on-tour

Steven Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that integrates arts throughout K-12 classrooms via rich, standard-aligned lesson plans and hands-on teacher workshops, all delivered to educators and districts at no cost. TeachRock is a standards-aligned arts integration curriculum that uses the history and culture of popular music to engage students in all disciplines. From social studies and language arts to geography, STEAM, general music, and more: TeachRock has engaging and meaningful material for every K-12 classroom, and it’s all shared with teachers and students at no cost. TeachRock is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Association for Music Education, and the National Council for Geographic Education, with partners including Scholastic Inc., PBS, Reelin’ in the Years, ABC News, Rock’s Backpages, New York University’s Steinhardt School, and the Grammy Museum. For lesson plans and additional information, please visit teachrock.org.

“Music will forever be humanity’s most effective and consistent source of inspiration and motivation,” says Little Steven, “and, we have learned, music turns out to be our most solid common ground for establishing communication between teachers and students which is where education begins.”

The “Soulfire Teacher Solidarity Tour” follows the recent release of SOULFIRE LIVE!, a spectacular new live collection recorded last year in North America and Europe during Little Steven’s first world tour in nearly two decades. The 3CD and LP editions feature an exclusive third disc highlighted by superstar guest performances recorded throughout the trek, including Bruce Springsteen, Richie Sambora, Peter Wolf, and Jerry Miller (of Moby Grape). SOULFIRE LIVE! is available now via Wicked Cool/Big Machine/UMe. A unique 7LP vinyl box set and Blu-ray edition of SOULFIRE LIVE! is also on the way and is available to pre-order now.

DOWNLOAD/STREAM SOULFIRE LIVE!
PURCHASE SOULFIRE LIVE! BOX SETS

An epic and electrifying journey through rock ‘n’ roll history led by one of its most passionate practitioners, SOULFIRE LIVE! showcases Stevie Van Zandt’s limitless knowledge, talent, and sheer love for the genre in all its many shapes and guises. Among the album’s many highlights are original songs from throughout Little Steven’s illustrious career – including classics like “Standing In The Line Of Fire” and “I Don’t Want To Go Home” – alongside a number of favorite cover versions like The Electric Flag’s “Groovin’ Is Easy,” Etta James’ “Blues Is My Business,” and James Brown’s “Down And Out In New York City,” the latter two songs also featured on last year’s critically acclaimed SOULFIRE. In addition, SOULFIRE LIVE! includes Van Zandt’s inimitable introductions, detailing each song’s unique history and singular spot in his life and illustrious career.

Little Steven Van Zandt is of course known around the world for his utterly personal songwriting and an ambitious adventurousness that has fueled much of his creative output these past two decades. In addition to his ongoing role as a touring and recording member of The E Street Band, he has also expanded his artistic parameters to include landmark work as an actor on The Sopranos and Lilyhammer as well as host, historian, and rock ‘n’ roll advocate on Sirius XM’s one-and-only “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” (not to mention creator of Sirius XM’s long-running “Outlaw Country” format). Van Zandt has also expanding his musical boundaries to include composing the score for all three seasons of Lilyhammer and additional work as producer and songwriter, lending his distinctive craft to records from an array of international garage rockers.

 

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Win Family Four Pack of Tickets to See Disney Junior’s Choo Choo Soul LIVE in Miami, FL [ENDED]

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!

ALL ABOARD!!! Calling all parents who have kids that love Disney Junior and the fantastic music of Choo Choo Soul. If you live in Miami, Florida and would like to attend a live show Genevieve and DC on Saturday October 26th, you came to the right place since Media Mikes are giving about a family four pack of tickets. If you would like to enter for your chance to win this great prize, please leave us a comment below or send us an email with your favorite Choo Choo Soul song. This giveaway will remain open until October 25th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to our readers in the state of FL or those looking forward to traveling. Tickets will not be mailed but will be picked of at the event. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.

Choo Choo Soul will be performing LIVE at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center as part of the Family Series on Saturday, October 26 at 11am. Tickets are $10. To purchase tickets visit www.smdcac.org or call the Box Office at 786-573-5300. The Center is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

Featuring the musical adventures of singer/train station manager Genevieve Goings and dancing/beatboxing engineer DC, Choo Choo Soul takes kids to the jungle, the sea and magical locales while performing songs from classic Disney films including “When You Wish Upon A Star,” “Hakuna Matata,” and many more! Kids should come dressed as their favorite Disney character for the costume contest.

Genevieve Goings talks about Disney Junior’s Choo Choo Soul and new CD "Disney Favorites"

I have to admit, 9 months ago I did not know Genevieve Goings or the music of Choo Choo Soul.  But thanks to the birth of my daughter we discovered the wonderful thing known as Disney Junior, a 24 hour channel aimed at preschoolers. While watching this station, we heard the fun and exciting videos from Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve! These songs really captured the attention of my daughter from a very young age. Their take on the ABC’s brings a new and fun way to learning.  I have a feeling that as my daughter grows up these songs are going to be more and more helpful in learning. Choo Choo Soul recently released a new CD consisting of “Disney Favorites” with classics like “Hakuna Matata”, “Bare Necessities” and “When You Wish Upon A Star”, with a little extra soul added to them. I was lucky enough to be able to track down Genevieve in order to get the inside scoop on how Choo Choo Soul started and chat about the new album and their love of entertaining children.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us about the birth of Choo Choo Soul and how you met Constantine “DC” Abramson?
Genevieve Goings: It is pretty crazy how things work out. DC and I were actually in a band together, which was this R&B/Soul sort of group. I was also doing a video game (“Toe Jam & Earl III”) voice over for a guy that has now become a good friend Greg Johnson, who also created the concept for Choo Choo Soul. We were doing this game and I was voicing these Gospel singers, except they weren’t singing they were just talking. I told Greg these characters should be singing their lines and getting down with some soul. So I ended up singing the lines and we had so much fun with that. He ended up writing like 10 pages of lines that had me singing and that sparked this little thing inside of him. He said he always had an idea for a children’s CD about trains [laughs]. So we did it and it ended up being “Choo Choo Soul”, our first album. It was great and caught on like wildfire. It is actually good funky music for kids. Our tagline was “Music for kids that will not drive parents crazy”.

MG: How did you then get involved with Disney?
GG: It worked out great. Disney Channel got a hold of it and liked it. They flew me out for a meeting, which actually ended up being an audition. We didn’t know this at the time, all we got an address to meet them and it turned out to be a classroom. There were these people in suits, cameras and 30 kids on the floor sitting Indian style. They just said “Alright go!” [laughs], but it worked out. DC and I both love what we do and we have been doing it for eight years, which is crazy. But we are still going strong.

MG: What is it that you enjoy most about entertaining children?
GG: They are just so genuine  I mean they will tell you like it is. If they don’t like it baby…they don’t like it [laughs]. If they love it…then they LOVE IT with their whole entire soul! It is just really amazing. I like to say they don’t care who I am dating, what I weight or who I am wearing [laughs], you know? It a polyester suit [laughs]. They are just so pure and to be able to entertain them at that young age is great. With the magic of Disney behind us, which is the greatest children company, it gives us this platform to succeed. It is just so amazing.

MG: Tell us about your latest CD “Disney Favorites”?
GG: That was actually brought to us by Disney. It was their idea to work with Disney Junior channel, which is 24 hours of programming for that young preschool age. I think the big point for them was to really marry the classic Disney with the new era and I think that is what the whole channel is doing. So having their fun little Choo Choo crew translate these old classics to the younger generation is what they were going for with that.

MG: I like how you guys take these wonderful songs and put your little twist on them, especially with “Hakuna Matata”! I love it.
GG: Thank you. We love that. Disney Records wanted us to put together these as a full album since we only had filmed eight of these songs as videos. They said “Gosh, we need to fill up a whole CD with more songs”. So that was a great day for us. We definitely had a blast with that.

MG: What is your all-time favorite Disney classic song?
GG: Oh…Oh my gosh! I would have to say “When You Wish Upon a Star”. I can’t even believe I got to do that song. It is just amazing and very special.

MG: Like you said you’ve been doing this for 8 years now, what has been your highlight?
GG: It is really the live interactions. DC and I are both live performers. Stage has always been our thing. So I think that ending up on television has been an added bonus for us, which of course is absolutely amazing. I mean getting to dress up like Cinderella and Prince Charming and dancing around was a great highlight [laughs]. The real peak for us though is live with actual kids, getting to meet and see them. Sometimes they come dressed as us, which is really fun. Plus we are using our actually names, it is not a character name. My name is really Genevieve. So when a parent tells their kids “There’s Genevieve” and I bend down to hug them…that is the best! I just am grateful to Disney since they really have embraced us. It is not like a lot of other kids music and I think that is why it is working.

MG: What in the cards next for Choo Choo Soul? Any touring?
GG: We are really hoping to come to the Disney parks but nothing is setup yet. We will be definitely touring this year. Disney will be posting our dates. We also have a Facebook page and we put up all of our stuff there and handle it personally. We love to keep in touch with our fans and see photos/videos. Right now we are working on getting feedback from our fans as which songs are their favorites. We are trying to build that into a tour which would be like a party-along and sing-along show. We are working on that for the Summer and Fall. So hopefully we will have some dates near everyone soon.

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Aretha Franklin fills Kauffman Center with Soul

Photo by: Patrick Howell courtesy of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Aretha Franklin
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City, Missouri
May 8, 2012

A few years ago, “Rolling Stone” magazine published a list of the 100 greatest voices in rock and roll history.  No surprise that number one went to the Queen of Soul herself, Ms. Aretha Franklin.  At the beautiful Kauffman Center in Kansas City, her majesty held court for a sold out audience.  And she didn’t disappoint.

Cloaked in a fur coat and carrying her pocketbook, as if she was just stopping by to say hello, Ms. Franklin opened her show with a rousing version of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher.”  For the next hour and a half she regaled the audience with many of her hits (“Think,” “Chain of Fools”) as well as some surprises.

The show went off without a hitch.  Almost.  After her second number Ms. Franklin requested that the stage airconditioning be turned off, threatening to leave the stage if it wasn’t.  “I came to give Kansas City my best performance,” she informed the unknown tech, again requesting the a/c be cut.  Thankfully for all in attendance it was.  Later in the show one of her bracelets fell off.  She eventually enlisted the help of her band director, who refastened it to much applause.

Ms. Franklin was in fine voice, hitting all of the notes the audience expected.  She kicked off the second act of her show by sitting down at the piano and paying tribute to one of her mentors, the late, great Sam Cooke.  While images of Cooke were shown on the video screen, Ms. Franklin sang one of Cooke’s biggest hits, “You Send Me.”  “Jesus” she said, as shots of the handsome Cooke filled the screen, “he was a fine man!”  She followed up with a moving tribute

Photo by: Tim Hursley

to the late Whitney Houston, singing a few bars of “I Will Always Love You.”  She concluded the second act with an audience favorite, “Freeway of Love.”

For her encore she informed the audience that the other night she had seen one of her five favorite films on television (among her favorites: “Dr. Zhivago,” “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”  I can only assume one of them is “The Blues Brothers.”)  She then delivered a moving version of “The Way We Were.”  She concluded the evening with her signature number, “Respect.”

On a side note, I must add here that this was my first visit to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and it was easily one of the most beautiful venues I’ve attended an event at, The complex, along with the Sprint Center, is one of the crown jewels in Kansas City’s performing arts crown.

SET LIST:  (Your Love Is Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Share Your Love with Me, Think, Baby I Love You, Something He Can Feel, Chain of Fools, Ain’t No Way, Instrumental Highlights (the band was TIGHT), Find Me An Angel, Help Me Lift Him Up, You Send Me, I Will Always Love You, Freeway of Love.  ENCORE:  The Way We Were, Respect.

Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks “The Heart & Soul Tour” Heads to Orlando, FL on on August 3rd, 2012

ROD STEWART & STEVIE NICKS | HEART & SOUL TOUR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012 | 7:30PM
AMWAY CENTER | ORLANDO, FLORIDA
ON SALE:     SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012 | 10:00AM

ORLANDO, FLORIDA [February 23, 2012] – Legendary rockers Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks today announced plans to reunite this summer and reprise their highly acclaimed, co-headlining “Heart & Soul Tour.”

“I couldn’t be happier to be back on board with Stevie this summer,” Rod Stewart said. “We had fantastic fun on the road together last spring and I’m thrilled at the chance to bring it to new cities and fans this summer.”

Celebrated by both fans and critics alike, Rod and Stevie first joined forces in the spring of 2011 for their acclaimed “Heart & Soul Tour.”  The 18-concert arena tour was highlighted by two sold-out shows at both New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  The 3+ hour show featured individual heart-pumping sets loaded with all of their biggest hits – opening with Stevie’s and closing with Rod’s – with a few rousing duets in the middle. US Weekly called the show “magical,” with a set list that “sparked non-stop cheers from the sold-out masses,” and the Boston Globe declared “Stewart & Nicks make a classic combination” delivering sold-out audiences a “hits-packed night of crystal visions and reasons to believe.”

In a career spanning five decades, Rod Stewart has amassed an estimated 250 million in album and single sales and an incredible 16 Grammy nominations.  In April, he will join the elite list of artists who are 2x Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (as a solo artist and soon as a member of the seminal 60s rock band, the Faces). On March 24, he will return to Las Vegas for an 8-concert-run of “The Hits” – part of his immensely popular first residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Stevie Nicks is a multi-Grammy Award Winner as a solo artist and member of the legendary Fleetwood Mac and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.  Her new CD “In Your Dreams” debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and has received glowing reviews from numerous outlets, including US Magazine who declared it “the best album of Nicks’ four decade career.”

TICKETS$45, $85 & $145.  Buy tickets at amwaycenter.com, Amway Center box office, Ticketmaster retail locations, charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000 or at Ticketmaster.com.  All dates, act(s) and ticket prices are subject to change without notice.  All tickets are subject to applicable taxes, service, handling and facility fee charges.  For Amway Center box office and ticket information, visit amwaycenter.com (phone purchases are not available through the Amway Center box office).  The Amway Center is located at 400 West Church Street and the box office is located on the north side of the Amway Center, near the intersection of Church Street and Hughey Avenue. 

ABOUT AMWAY CENTER

The Orlando Magic served as the developer of the Amway Center, which hosts major national events, concerts and family shows.  Opened in the fall of 2010, the facility is owned and operated by the City of Orlando on behalf of the Central Florida community. The Amway Center was designed to reflect the character of the community, meet the goals of the users and build on the legacy of sports and entertainment in Orlando. The building’s exterior features a modern blend of glass and metal materials, along with ever-changing graphics via a monumental wall along one facade. A 180-foot tall tower serves as a beacon amid the downtown skyline. At 875,000 square feet, the new arena is almost triple the size of the old Amway Arena (367,000 square feet). The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified building features a sustainable, environmentally-friendly design and unmatched technology, featuring 1,100 digital monitors, the tallest high-definition video board in an NBA venue and multiple premium amenities available to all patrons in the building.  For more information about the Amway Center, visit www.amwaycenter.com.