Live Music at Muddy Creek Café, Delta Arts Center, and Photographer William Christenberry

Muddy Creek Café

Over the past couple of years, The Muddy Creek Café in Bethania has been attracting musicians from Indie rock bands to folk singers.

They typically perform on the porch there at the 100-year-old renovated former millhouse during the summer months.  Owner Shana Whitehead says the popularity of these free casual evening concerts eventually meant having to turn folks away due to lack of space. Well, no longer. The historic Muddy Creek Café has now expanded to include the Muddy Creek Music Hall in the adjoining building. Shana's joined by lifelong musician Bill Heath, lead singer for the Muddy Creek Players and his band Billsfault, and we sample from their new album Present Elusive.

In addition to the music, Muddy Creek Café and Music Hall offers the Art and Soul event, celebrating women in the arts on June 28^th. You'll find lots of local art hanging in the café year round, and Art and Soul will bring the artists together to mingle with the public. The event ends with a performance in the Music Hall by the Indie duo the Von Strandts. Every Sunday at 11am you'll find sound therapy offerings with crystal bowls and chimes, and starting this fall look out for the Muddy Creek Café and Music Hall brunch. 

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Delta Arts Center

Beginning in July, Delta Arts Center presents the We Are the Music Makers Photography Exhibit. It'll feature photo and audio documentation of Southern Roots musicians and their music as collected by award winning musician, historian, and producer Timothy Duffy. He co-founded Music Maker in 1994 to assist traditional musicians in need, and along the way he's worked with audio pioneer Mark Levinson, and enlisted the support of luminaries such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt just to name a few. Tim's success with Music Maker has been mirrored by his work as producer and manager. In 2006 after seeing the Carolina Chocolate Drops, he signed a management deal with the group, released their debut record, and four years later the Drops won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.  That album on the Nonesuch Records label was titled Genuine Negro Jig. Tim spoke with me from his home in Raleigh-Durham. He's joined by Delta Arts Center Executive Director Nadiyah Quander who sets the scene for the Delta exhibit We Are the Music Makers.

We Are the Music Makers Photography Exhibit is up at Delta July 7th through August 29th. The exhibit and all related events are free and open to the public.

There'll be opportunities for young people to create traditional folk instruments with non-traditional objects, and interact with local musicians. The opening reception featuring Music Maker co-founder Timothy Duffy's artist talk is Thursday, July 9th. And the Blues Review & Live Performance lineup on August 27th will be posted soon. 

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William Christenberry

For more than a half century, photographer William Christenberry has toured rural Alabama with his cameras, an old brownie among them, capturing images of the landscape. His work has been exhibited all over the world and domestically from MoMA in New York to Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. It was there that David met Bill for a tour of his fascinating work from 1961 to 2005. Christenberry's photos of rusty, hand-painted signs from the 1940s, sculptures done by hand from his detailed memory of long abandoned rural churches sitting on wooden frames of red soil that he neatly packed, and more invite the viewer to celebrate each object's beautiful imperfections.

Photographer William Christenberry's latest show is at Hemphill, in Washington D.C. and it'll remain on display for Triad vacationers Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Aug. 1st.