Live Music At The Lindy Hop Saturday

From the Red Hot Lindy Hop:

Come join us July 6th for LIVE MUSIC as Jeremy Shrader’s Hot Memphis Five will provide the sultry swingin’ tunes for our July swing dance! A beginner friendly lesson teaching basic lindy hop starts at 6 p.m. followed by our dance 7-9 p.m. $10 gets you in the door; full bar. No partner or experience necessary.

Le Tumulte Noir At The Red Hot Lindy Hop Saturday Night

The Red Hot Lindy Hop starts 2019 with live music this Saturday night.

Join us Saturday, January 5th, at the Rumba Room, for the sultry gypsy jazz of Le Tumulte Noir! Our beginner Lindy Hop lesson is from 6-7 PM, and live music is from 7-9 PM.

Stick around the Rumba Room for salsa following our dance and going all night! Full bar and snacks are available.

$10 at the door and $7 for students with a valid ID. See you on the dance floor!!

Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival, October 21-28

Memphis' own Jimmie Lunceford, a former Manassas High School teacher who went on to become one of the top big band leaders of the Swing Era, will be celebrated this week during the 2018 Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival, which runs until October 28. 

Lindy Hop Over to Lafayette's Music Room

Swing to the music of the Memphis Knights with the RHLH at Lafayette's Music Room on Monday, August 13, 2018, starting at 6:00 p.m. 

WEVL's 30th Annual Blues On The Bluff This Saturday!

WEVL FM 89.9, home of the Swing Shift Shuffle, will be hosting its 30th Annual Blues on the Bluff concert this Saturday night, July 21, on the grounds of the Metal Museum overlooking the Mighty Mississippi River.  There will be craft beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks sold, as well as award-winning BBQ from the Central BBQ Food Truck.  Memphis Made Brewing will be brewing a special Blues on the Bluff® Craft Beer.  Our silent auction continues, with items from local artists and businesses, and WEVL merchandise will also be available.  There is free guarded parking.  Come enjoy the giant shady oaks, cool river breeze, smell of BBQ, fantastic music, and absolutely the best view of the Mississippi in the entire mid-south!  Advance online discounted ticket sales end midnight Friday.  Hope to see you there!

July Heats Up With LIve Music At The Lindy Hop

July starts off jumping at the First Saturday RHLH dance with live music from Jeremy Shrader's Quintessentials featuring Michelle Shrader on vocals.  Lindy Hop lesson from 6-7 PM with special guest instructor.  Music and dancing from 7-9 PM.  Cover charge is $10, with student rates available.  More info here.

June Is Jumping With The Lindy Hop

If you missed the First Saturday RHLH dance, don't despair!  The RHLH will be at two more events this month.  They will be at Lafayette's Music Room on Monday, June 11, with the Memphis Knights providing the music from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  On Thursday, June 14, they will be at the Crosstown Getdown:  Swing Edition from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Crosstown Concourse.  More info here.

Hop Into Spring With Live Music

From Red Hot Lindy Hop:

Red Hot Lindy Hop is excited to welcome back Elizabeth Wise to the Rumba Room for our first Saturday dance on April 7!  Elizabeth leads bands in Boston, New York City, Memphis, and Richmond, and her quartet brings their own brand of "swinging, sassy blues" for your dancing pleasure.

Lindy hop lesson 6-7, followed by Elizabeth Wise Music from 7-9! All at Rumba Room Memphis, 303 South Main St. Beginners highly encouraged to come; no experience or partner required!

Cost: $10 for the lesson and dance. $7 for students with ID.

More info here.

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

Benny Goodman's "Rattle And Roll"

This article, posted on Swing and Beyond, provides a brief snapshot of Benny Goodman's career in the early 1940's, during and after World War II.  Apparently, the music that made BG the King of Swing in the late 1930's was beginning to seem a bit "old hat" to audiences of the day, and this post explains how Goodman and his band evolved to address that challenge, including recording tunes like "Rattle and Roll." 

Valentine's Day Hop With Live Music This Friday

The next Red Hot Lindy Hop event is this Saturday, February 3, at the Rumba Room.  Featuring Jeremy Shrader's Hot Memphis Six, there will be a lindy hop lesson from 6-7, with the band playing from 7-9.  More info here.

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

New RHLH Schedule - Next Dance Saturday, February 3

The Red Hot Lindy Hop has started a new schedule of monthly dances at the Rumba Room, and the next event is Saturday, February 3.  Featuring Jeremy Shrader's Hot Memphis Six, there will be a lindy hop lesson from 6-7, with the band playing from 7-9.  More info here.

Christmas Special Tonight!

Join me tonight for the Swing Shift Shuffle Christmas Special, featuring the best Swing, Big Band and popular holiday songs from the 1930's-40's.  Tune in to 89.9 FM in the Memphis area, or online at WEVL. 

The Hot Origins Of The Christmas Song

Swing and Beyond tells of how, on an "excessively hot" afternoon in the Summer of 1945, singer Mel Torme drove to Bob Wells' house in the San Fernando Valley.  He walked into the house, and found the following words written on a pad resting on the piano: 

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Jack Frost nipping at your nose

Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

And folks dressed up like Eskimos

When Wells appeared, Torme asked him about the little poem.  It was so hot, Wells said "I thought I’d write something to cool myself off. All I could think of was Christmas and cold weather."  Torme said "This might make a song."  A year later, Nat King Cole recorded "The Christmas Song," and the rest is musical history. 

WEVL Fall Pledge Drive Speical Tonight: Recurring Themes

Tune into the Swing Shift Shuffle tonight for our WEVL Fall Pledge Drive Special entitled "Recurring Themes."  In modern popular music, it would be very unusual for one top recording artist to release a song, and then have another top artist release the same song within a relatively short period of time.  Such an occurrence was not unusual in the 1930s-1940s, however, as many different artists would record the same song, usually with different arrangements, and sometimes even writing lyrics to transform an instrumental hit into a vocal.  Tonight, I'll be playing popular songs from the Swing Era recorded by various artists in different styles, often not the performers most associated with the song today.  Tune in, swing out and make a pledge to WEVL for our Fall Pledge Drive.  As an appetizer, here is Artie Shaw and His Orchestra performing "In The Mood," a song primarily associated with Glenn Miller. 

Rhodes Swing Night November 16

Well, the poster says it all, which is what a poster should do.  Don't miss the Rhodes College Swing Dance Night, next Thursday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the McCallum Ballroom of the Bryan Campus Life Center.  Free lessons with the Red Hot Lindy Hop at 7:00 p.m.

Jimmie Lunceford Festival Going On Now

Well, this is what I get for not paying attention.  I just found out that the 2017 Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival is going on right now through October 29.  There are events going on every night this week, including art shows, lectures, jam sessions and movies all over town celebrating one of the biggest musical talents to come out of Memphis.  Check out the site and see if you can join in the fun.

Live Music At The Lindy Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lessons and sessions continue with live music by Will Lang at the Rumba Room this Friday night.  Free beginner lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m. and $5 thereafter.   

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103