Ragtime to Rockabilly

Upcoming event to honor locally based career musicians

March 29-30- The Regional Music Heritage Center announces the recipients of dual Lifetime

Achievement Awards and the Young Musician Award, which will be bestowed during a two-day event scheduled for March 29-30, 2019. Ragtime to Rockabilly will fuse very important eras during which the careers of young talent were forged. Certainly, Scott Joplin, King of Ragtime, was the first to get noticed, and his music and influence will be obvious as Friday night’s event showcases ragtime, jazz, and rockabilly.

If you were among the thousands who thrived on the fresh talent that came to the AMA during the 50’s, the Saturday event, Rockabilly Comes Home, is going to really “take you back” to ignite some great memories. “Rafael Espinoza and Rockabilly Railroad” will cover such rock-and-roll greats as Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and The King, Elvis Presley, in addition to their own rock and blues stylings.

If you were in the audience at the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium to hear these rockabilly icons, you likely also heard a frequent opening act, “Pat Cupp and the Flying Saucers.” “Long Gone Daddy” was their radio hit. When Pat returned from military service, trumpeter Jimmie Allen joined him in a group called “The Variables”. He also played with Jerry Loveall, Rule Beasley, and with big bands on the West Coast. Jimmy is still blowing, even today, and can be heard at dinner spots around town. Pat Cupp and Jimmy Allen are both going to be recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Regional Music Heritage Center, and they will resurrect their favorites at the March 30th event.

At the same event the Young Musician Award, which recognizes promising talent with roots in the Texarkana area, will be given to Stephanie Rice, popular candidate on THE VOICE in a recent season

The two-day, two-venue event will offer the public opportunity to meet the performers andhear their music. The Friday night gala at Silvermoon on Broad will feature a performance by West Coast jazz and ragtime singer, Joyce Grant, who is the great, great grand-niece of Scott Joplin. She will appear with jazz trio Three of a Kind. Also on the bill are Stephanie Rice, the Scott Joplin Ragtime Piano Competition winner, and a couple of surprises. The Saturday event promises a rocking good time for pre-show entertainment at the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium.

Vintage cars, hamburger/hotdog/cotton candy food trucks, root beer floats, hula hoop contests, 50’s costume contest and outdoor music will set the mood for the Rockabilly concert and awards show inside the AMA at 7:00. TicketLeap.com is the source for tickets to both events. Search Regional Music Heritage Center (RMHC) or Ragtime to Rockabilly.