By Gwen DeRu
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LeBOISE DERU and TAMIA BRYANT-DERU!!! Here’s to many, many more birthdays.
It’s Springtime!
…What are you doing this weekend?
REGIONS TRADITION CHAMPIONS TOUR – Everyone is invited…(especially golfers) and some (in town) outdoor sun and fun…this weekend…at the Shoal Creek.
This year’s Regions Tradition, the first of five Champions Tour majors this season, will take place at Shoal Creek this weekend with a purse of $2.2 million. As always, juniors 18 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult. The celebrity list of who’s who playing in this year’s Regions Tradition NCR Pro-Am is quite impressive. New this year, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl will tee it up at Shoal Creek alongside other popular SEC coaches, including Nick Saban, Gus Malzahn and Hugh Freeze. Also, making her first appearance in the state of Alabama, the Golf Channel’s Morning Drive co-host Holly Sonders will play in a group with football and baseball legend Bo Jackson who is returning for this year’s Regions Tradition. Taking a break from the NBA playoffs, Charles Barkley will tee off with Coach Bruce Pearl in one of the morning tee times. Celebrities will be paired with some of the biggest names in Champions Tour golf including Rocco Mediate, Kenny Perry, Fred Couples, Nick Price, and David Frost. For more go to www.regionstradition.com.
If you don’t make the REGIONS TRADITION (in town) and want some beach sun and fun, then….Head to the Beach…this weekend… for the Biggest Festival on the Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores, Alabama!
HANG-OUT FESTIVAL – The Hang-Out Festival is in Gulf Shores this weekend. You do not want to miss it if you can get away.
Here is some of what is going on: TODAY…the Launch Party is tonight with more throughout the weekend by the Pizza Hut Discover Great program, which celebrates up and coming music artists who are about to be great at the highest level, will be in full swing for the second year in a row. Being in the program gives artists exposure they may not have received before through the partnership with the Viacom networks and appearances at festivals, including Hangout Fest. This year, Magic Man and Bleachers will be featured down in Gulf Shores. And, what is better than music on a beach? Music on a beach with a backyard BBQ. The new BBQ recipe pizzas was released Monday and will be available, FOR FREE, throughout the festival, this weekend.
Friday….
On the RED BULL SOUND SELECT STAGE performing: GEMINI, BAD SUNS, LOS COLOGNES, and JOHN AND JACOB. John and Jacob are two young songwriters from Nashville who have written #1 songs for the likes of The Band Perry, they’re about to go on tour with Kacey Musgraves. The band will release a new album this August!
Saturday…
CHANCE THE RAPPER, MOON TAXI, ELECTRIC SONS, and BLACK CADILLACS. The Black Cadillacs perform at Hangout Beach Fest, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday…
Come check out Warner Bros. Records electro-funk artist MYSTERY SKULLS, as he plays the Red Bull Sound Stage, 7:30 p.m. at Hangout Festival. The singing DJ and producer otherwise known as Luis Dubuc released the Exorcist-inspired video for his first single “Ghost” followed by a stellar pack of remixes from the likes of Fred Faulke, Claude Von Stroke, Solidisco, Thomas Newson, Viceroy, Martignetti and NVNO NINO.
AND…LE1F, BAGHEERS and THE TONTONS. The Tontons released their newest song “Lush” recently – a track recorded, produced and mastered as part of the heralded “Shaking Through” Sessions in Philadelphia, Pa. They will perform Saturday and Sunday.
OTHERS (you don’t want to miss)…
**EMPIRES – Handpicked by NPR as one of the 100 SXSW best discoveries, Empires ais currently finishing up their debut album for Chop Shop / Island Records – out later this year – and will release an EP on June 17th.
**NEED TO BREATHE, the South Carolina natives have managed to infuse the contemporary, chest-thumping rock styling’s of Imagine Dragons with the old-school, down-home goodness of a group like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young … wrapped up in an ethereal, woodsy, Bon Iver haze.”
**SOJA (on Sunday) featuring Michael Franti and Nahko on the single “I Believe”, with Grammy award winning Jamaican producer Supa Dupa who works with Bruno Mars, Eminem, Rihanna and John Legend. “’I Believe’ is about life; being kind to others and making the most out of the time we have with those that surround us,” says lead singer / guitarist Jacob Hemphill. “Whether we are family, friends or strangers, how we treat one another and energy we share dictates our existence.”
BMI STAGE performing on
Friday…
**BRONZE RADIO RETURN on the BMI Stage, Friday at 1:45 p.m. Hartford, Connecticut’s Bronze Radio Return is excited to announce that they will be joining several major festival line-ups this spring and summer – most notably their first ever Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza performances.
Saturday….
**DESERT NOISES on the BMI stage, Saturday, 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Utah Valley’s Desert Noises’ label debut album, 27 Ways, was recorded in El Paso, Texas with producer Nic Jodoin (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and released March 25 via SQE Music.
Sunday…
**ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES on the BMI Stage, Sunday, 6:15 – 7:30 p.m. Birmingham’s powerhouse soul septet St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ debut album, Half The City (Single Lock / Thirty Tigers) was recorded and mixed in Muscle Shoals with producer Ben Tanner (of the Alabama Shakes). Half The City debuted at #56 on Billboard Top 200.
PALLADIA STAGE performing
**Friday…VALERIE JUNE performs at 2:45 p.m. on the Palladia Stage. An artist of extraordinary depth and talent, June’s debut album Pushin’ Against A Stone, released by Concord Records in 2013, earned some of the year’s most glowing reviews.
AND…TOM ODELL will be performing at the Hangout Festival this weekend. He’s currently featured in the Spring Uniqlo ad campaign and he’s just begun working on his new album for RCA.
At the BOOM BOOM TENT…Don’t miss STS9—the instrumental electronic rock band hailed as “one of the country’s most intriguing, innovative outfits around” by XLR8R—at the HANGOUT MUSIC FESTIVAL, FRIDAY, 9-11p.m.
FOR MORE, go to www.Hangoutfestival.com to get the full schedule. Tell them Gwen sent you.
INAUGURAL SMART ART FESTIVAL – Experience an explosion of creativity and fun at the Smart Art Festival, Saturday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Boutwell Auditorium with arts enthusiasts, intrigued parents and Birmingham youth. FREE. Get information about cultural arts opportunities, interactive games and prizes, guitar lessons, creative uses of smart-phones and tablets, activities including live performances, demonstrations, children’s activities, careers in art and a food truck courtyard with back and hand messages for parents with over 30 vendors in the areas of performing arts, arts education, careers in art and visual/media arts. This festival will bring together ethnic and cultural groups, dancers, theatre groups, balloon artists, bands, singers, jugglers and storytellers. This is not ordinary cultural art’s fair. This is something new for the whole family. Call (205) 320-0879 for more. Tell them Gwen sent you.
ART CRAWL – Calling All Artists! Exhibit in the inaugural monthly Birmingham Art Crawl that kicks off Thursday, June 5! This consistent opportunity allows you a platform to showcase and/or sell works of art all year long in the Historic Loft District of Birmingham’s Central City neighborhood. Registering for the inaugural June 5 Art Crawl also allows you an invitation to exhibit or perform in both the July Art Crawl and June Art Crawl at only one registration fee. Be part of this exciting opportunity and continued surge of growth in the downtown area! Deadline to apply for the inaugural Art Crawl is Thursday, May 22 by midnight. Apply online at birminghamartcrawl.com.
THEN…
There is FATHER’S Day, right around the corner..
NASCAR Launches Father’s Day Campaign – Win Goodyear Blimp Ride In #NASCARwithDAD Sweepstakes – No other sport features such rich family tradition and father-son lineage as NASCAR®, where iconic names like Petty, Earnhardt, Jarrett and France have been made famous across generations. To celebrate the fathers of stock car legends and highly passionate NASCAR fans alike, NASCAR announced “NASCAR with DAD,” a Father’s Day platform built around memorable NASCAR moments with Dad. As Official Partners Goodyear, 3M and Ford have teamed up to create the #NASCARwithDAD Sweepstakes. Fans entering have a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime Goodyear Blimp Ride for two high above Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This all-inclusive VIP experience at the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway includes $500 travel cash and hospitality, and a driver meet and greet. Fans can also win one of 10 NASCAR Racing Experience prize packages to feel the thrill of driving a NASCAR-style stock car with their Dad. To win these unforgettable prizes, fans can enter the #NASCARwithDAD Sweepstakes by going to nascar.com/NASCARwithDad beginning today through 11:59 p.m. on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15.
NOW…
FOR LAUGHTER… At the StarDome Comedy Club… THIS WEEKEND….. JAMES GREGORY at the StarDome Comedy. The Funniest Man in America returns! For over twenty years, the unforgettable caricature of veteran comic James Gregory has stood grinning: his blue shirt untucked, his arms outstretched, a carefree welcome to a down-home, hilarious storytelling experience. The trademark caricature is the essence of James Gregory´s comedy: whimsical reflections on life from the front porch. Call (205) 444-0008 for more. Tell them Gwen sent you!
MORE LAUGHTER…May 24th – RONNIE JORDAN, May 24-25 – EDDIE GRIFFIN, May 27-June1 – JEN KOBER, June 5-8 – TOMMY DAVIDSON, June 13-15 – RUSSELL PETERS, June 20-21 – CRAIG SHOEMAKER, June 26 – GEORGE LOPEZ (One Night Only), June 27-29 – DAMON WAYANS. Tell Bruce that Gwen sent you!!
TODAY… Laughter at the Stardome with JAMES GREGORY, this weekend.
FRIDAY…..
**MATT MARSHAK, Contemporary Jazz Guitarist at the Watermark Place, 7 p.m. Call (205) 425-1137 for more.
SATURDAY…
**COOK-OUT FOR LADIES OF DISTINCTION, Noon at the New Tide and Tiger (in front of the Legion Field on Graymont Avenue.) There will plenty of BBQ. Call (205) 503-3880 for more.
SUNDAY….
**MEN’S DAY – The Rev. Ricky Yarbrough will deliver the 3 p.m. message as Broad Street Missionary Baptist Church conducts its annual Men’s Day on Sunday, May 18. Rev. Yarbrough is pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church of Wylam. Men’s Day at Broad Street (121 Morris Avenue North, Birmingham) starts with the morning Sunday school and 11 a.m. worship. Darryl Carpenter is the general chairman, Howard Harris, Jr. is co-chairman, Solomon Crenshaw Jr. is program chairman, Henry Walker Sr. is co-chairman and Larry Hollings is the secretary. The Rev. Truitt Evans Sr. is pastor.
**HOT MIC SUNDAYS – Each and every Sunday is Open Mic and Karaoke, 8 p.m. – midnight at Venue 35…Free before 9 p.m. at 2724 35th Avenue North. There will be rappers, comedians and poets.
ENJOY THE WEEKEND!!
NOW…. a BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT FOR MAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL CELEBRATING!! THIS MEANS YOU….TAMIA BRYANT-DERU, LEBOISE DERU and STEPHONIA MCLINN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL YOU BIRTHDAY BALLERS…MANY, MANY MORE HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!! ENJOY!!
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time.
(People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send comments to my emails: thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com or gwenderu@yahoo.com)
