Sep 13–19: The Weekly Holler

A personal note before this week's listings: this edition remembers two women who shaped the music and arts life so many of us here grew up around.

Cassandra Wilson — the two-time Grammy-winning, NEA Jazz Master the world lost this month, and, long before any of that, my dear friend — passed away September 1st. We met in Natchez in the early '70s. She spent some time in Little Rock singing with a band called BlueJohn, a chapter that didn't make it into her official biographies, but some longtime Eureka folks who came up through the Little Rock scene will remember. Later in my LA years, I designed the artwork for her album New Moon Daughter — the record that won her her first Grammy.

Eureka Springs also said goodbye to Eleanor Lux — co-founder of ESSA, a 2016 Arkansas Living Treasure, and one of the people who helped build this town's arts community from the ground up. Her memorial was held Sunday at Inspiration Point Opera Center. ESSA has established the Eleanor Lux Memorial Fellowship in her honor, carrying her work forward for future artists.

This week's newsletter is arriving late and I'm blaming Cassandra and Mississippi. She was, magnificently and consistently, always late. Rest well, Cassandra & Eleanor.