Southern Avenue: Young, Hip Blues – Served Hot on a Platter

No comments

A lot of people who love the blues know that Southern Avenue is a street in Memphis, TN.

But it’s also the name of a young blues band with a namesake debut album Southern Avenue.

Coming back for another run at Kansas City’s great roadhouse Knuckleheads Nov. 30, those who didn’t catch Southern Avenue the first time around this summer are going to get a second chance – which is a coup for the fans who recognize they are lucky enough to still get in to see this band’s star rise at a smaller venue.

The band quickly got snapped up by Concord Music Group’s Stax Record label where, among many other venerable artists, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding and Elvis Presley have pressed recordings. Concord Group Music has produced and released Gregg Allman’s final album ‘Southern Blood’.

Just a refresher of Southern Avenue’s July 14, 2017 appearance:

Southern Avenue Band ©2017 Blues Insights Peggy Stevinson Bair
Vocalist Tierinii Jackson performed July 14, 2017 at Knuckleheads in Kansas City with the band Southern Avenue. ©2017 Peggy Stevinson Bair – Blues Insights LLC

The band lit up the Knuckleheads outdoor stage Friday, July 14, 2017 – on a beautiful summer night in front of a standing room only, overflow blues crowd. Opening for the TUF (Trampled Under Foot) Reunion, sisters Tierinii (vocals) and Tikyra Jackson (drums) along with Israeli-born Ori Naftaly on guitar and keyboardist Jeremy Powell, coaxed the crowd into filling their cups with a fresh brew of youth-infused blues – a special blend of blues tones, youthful lyrics, gospel and Tierinii’s arousing delivery.

Ori Naftaly Southern Avenue ©2017 Blues Insights Peggy Stevinson Bair
Guitarist Ori Naftaly performed July 14, 2017 at Knuckleheads with the band Southern Avenue out of Memphis, TN. Knuckleheads is a famed roadhouse in Kansas City, MO. ©2017 Peggy Stevinson Bair – Blues Insights LLC

Like a choir director stirring up a congregation, vocalist Tierinii kept up an unrelenting invitation to jump into a groove with an energetic lineup of original songs like “Don’t Give Up” and “Rumble” – all while heel-stepping, hip-gyrating and swinging her long, brilliant red locks. The band broke out in several solos by Powell, Naftaly and Tikyra, creating a bubbling cauldron of excitement inside the ever-more hyped up crowd.

Keyboardist Jeremy Powell Southern Avenue ©2017 Blues Insights Peggy Stevinson Bair
Keyboardist Jeremy Powell performed July 14, 2017 with blues band Southern Avenue at Knuckleheads in Kansas City. ©2017 Peggy Stevinson Bair – Blues Insights LLC
Tikyra Jackson Southern Avenues ©2017 Blues Insights Peggy Stevinson Bair
Tikyra Jackson performed with blues band Southern Avenue July 14, 2017 at Knuckleheads in Kansas City.

The set wrapped up with the wave-inducing “Don’t Give Up” that would have gotten the band elected to Congress if it had been a political rally. You can get a free download of the song if you sign up with your email here. If you don’t get anything else out of this article, I recommend getting that song. It has a great mantra that is at the heart of how Southern Avenue connects with their fans.

Let’s have a listen to Music City Roots‘ video of Southern Avenue’s “Don’t Give Up”:

Outside the Knuckleheads front entrance during the intermission (Trampled Under Foot Reunion was up next as the headliner), the newly-minted fans were able to snap up CDs of the Southern Avenue namesake debut record – also available on LP vinyl for those who like to take their music for a vintage spin on a platter.

Southern Avenue debut album available on vinyl or CD. Memphis, TN band on Stax Record label, a division of Concord Group Music.

The Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 show opens at 7 p.m. with Quinn DeVeaux