The Friday night blues take over Little Rock's White Water Tavern as local trio Cherry Red hits the stage with east Texas guitarist Steve Howell and the Mighty Men opening as a sort of co-headliner.
And not only do both bands know their way around a blues jam, they also share a drummer.
Cherry Red
Opening act: Steve Howell and the Mighty Men
9:30 p.m. Friday, White Water Tavern, 2500 W. Seventh St., Little Rock
Admission: $8
(501) 375-8400
Cherry Red is a new project from singer-guitarist Mark Simpson, bassist Matt Floyd and drummer Dave Hoffpauir, three veterans of the Little Rock scene who got together to make music influenced by the hypnotic, droning sounds of north Mississippi blues.
"Matt and I just lay out this groove and let Mark float on it," Hoffpauir says. "We're calling it Delta boogie. It's a bunch of hill country tunes. It's real, cool music."
There's even a Cherry Red Mississippi connection, as Simpson has played with R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, the late bluesmen whose music became synonymous with the north Mississippi revival in the '90s and beyond.
Expect a set of covers and originals, Hoffpauir says.
Chris Michaels and Jason Weinheimer are the other Mighty Men with Hoffpauir in Steve Howell's band.
"Myself, Jason and Chris, we've been playing with Steve Howell for 30 years," Hoffpauir says. "We've played lots of gigs with Steve all over the place, and we've made four records with him."
In fact, before performing Friday night, they will be in the studio working on a new track with singer-guitarist Howell for an album that has been in the works for about a year or so, Hoffpauir says.
Howell's most recent record, A Hundred Years From Today, is an acoustic set from last year with Weinheimer on bass.
Netherlands-based Blues Magazine called it "an album of top-quality, sensitively styled and delivered acoustic blues and southern jazz music. A wonderful addition to Howell's growing body of work."
Weekend on 01/18/2018