Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum to launch new Kemper Presents music series Feb. 22

Feb. 7, 2008 -- From Scott Joplin and Chuck Berry to Tina Turner, Nelly and Wilco, St. Louis has long boasted a rich and widely influential musical scene.

This spring the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University will launch a new concert series designed to highlight the talents and diversity of contemporary St. Louis musicians. The free Friday evening concerts — titled Kemper Presents — will feature close to a dozen local artists working in a variety of genres, from ambient jazz and electronica to experimental rock and American roots music.

Tonya Gilmore

All concerts are free and open to the public and take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The Kemper Art Museum is located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. For more information, call (314) 935-5490; visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu; or email kemperartmuseum@wustl.edu.

"The Kemper Presents series allows us to reach out to the local community in a new way while also supporting the St. Louis music scene," says Kimberly Singer, the museum's manager of marketing, visitor services and events, who organized the series.

"We tried to enlist a real variety of musicians, genres and styles, so that there's something for everyone," Singer adds. "Hopefully it will help both regular and new visitors start their weekend with a unique confluence of culture and entertainment."

Concerts begins Feb. 22 with Mmmelt, which fuses ambient, punk, world beat, jazz, electronics, avant-garde and spoken word into an eclectic sonic landscape. The series continues Feb. 29 with Zimbabwe Nkenya, whose jazz stylings incorporate African, Cuban and European influences.

Indie singer-songwriters Tonya Gilmore and John McClellan will perform March 7, followed by acoustic trio Rough Shop — winners of the Critics Choice for best Americana artist in the 2006 St. Louis Music Awards — March 14. National touring artist Teddy Presberg is joined by the Red Note Revivalists for an evening of improvisational acid-jazz March 21. The hypnotic jazz trio Learn, Artist! performs March 28.

The series continues April 4 with experimental rock four-piece psychotronics, followed by 'rockn'jazzabluesabilly' trio Brotha' D. & the WOO-Daddies April 11. Final Veil will conclude the series April 18 with a concert combining experimental, Middle Eastern-influenced electronic music with live bellydancing.

The Kemper Presents series is made possible with support from KDHX 88.1 FM, The Riverfront Times and Sauce Magazine.

KEMPER PRESENTS SCHEDULE

Feb. 22: Mmmelt

Feb. 29: Zimbabwe Nkenya

March 7: Tonya Gilmore with special guest John McClellan. http://tonyagilmore.com/default.aspx

March 14: Rough Shop

March 21: Teddy Presberg with the Red Note Revivalists

March 28: Learn, Artist!

April 4: psychotronics

April 11: The Brotha' D. & the WOO-Daddies

April 18: Final Veil