Cultural shorts

Wichita's Haymakers will celebrate the release of Live At Art Church this weekend with a Sunday afternoon gig at The Brickyard. The CD collects some of the group's most popular live favorites and spotlights the longstanding musical relationship between founding members Tom Page and Dustin Arbuckle. The band recorded a show at Art Church in Malvern, Iowa. It's a venue that both Arbuckle and Page say they enjoy returning to while on tour with the band. The pair recently discussed two of the album

Guitarist Greg Skaff's latest album, Polaris , finds the former Wichitan and longtime New York City resident accompanied by two of the greatest living jazz players: bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. Comprised of original material from Skaff as well as a bevy of standards, the record demonstrates Skaff's particular genius on his instrument, including his singular phrasing and the ability to reimagine standards in such a way that renders them new. Not a small feat, but then

The documentary "The Truffle Hunters" follows a small group of secretive old men in the Piedmont region of Italy, who've spent their lives digging up the rare, and exceedingly expensive, white truffle. The movie looks at their quiet, quirky lives as they deal with a changing economic and global climate, and revel in the companionship of their truffle-sniffing dogs. KMUW's Fletcher Powell recently spoke with the movie's directors, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, about how they bring the

The Wichita Orpheum Theatre reopens its doors this evening with a special performance from Wichita musician Jenny Wood. Dubbed Phoenix: Strength of the Songbird , the show includes new songs and past favorites from Wood's career with one-act plays between the material, inviting listeners to experience the inspiration for the work. Joining her on the stage will be a full band, including Kansas City musicians Katy Guillen, Stephanie Williams, and Michelle Bacon, with other special guests. Wood,

Journalist Sian-Pierre Regis and his mother, Rebecca Danigelis, became something of a minor sensation in 2017 when word got out that, following Rebecca’s sudden firing from her decades-long hotel housekeeping job, Sian-Pierre came up with a novel way to help her cope: He asked her to create a bucket list of things she’d always wanted to do, but that her job had kept her from trying. He documents their sometimes-joyful, sometimes-profound journey in the new film Duty Free , a movie they hope will

When Katie Jo Oberthaler interned at KMUW as a high school student, she says she never expected to end up on the air. More specifically, she never expected that songs she'd written would wind up on the airwaves at that very same station. But her new album, Pawn Shop Queen (recorded as Katie Jo), is changing that. The record, tracked in Long Beach, California, is already earning her critical acclaim and airplay. The record itself is deeply in tune with country music of a bygone era, adorned with

The Sundance Film Festival has helped launch some of the biggest names in filmmaking over the last three decades, including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Self-Acceptance Speech , the new album from Old News, arrives Oct. 15 via We're Trying Records. The band's first full-length album finds guitarist/vocalist Beau Harris, drummer Max Abood and bassist Blaine Martin subverting expectations of the math rock and emo genres across material such as "Pulling Teeth," "Heads Like Projectors" and "Sunday Suit." With basic tracks recorded at Wichita's Zeptepland, the band also worked at engineer Joey Lemon's home studio, in the Lawrence Public Library and

Oct. 9 sees the release of Forest Standards Vol.2, the new album from guitarist David Lord and his second collaboration with the BIG EGO label. As with its predecessor, Lord tracked the majority of the music in Los Angeles, then finished work at his own Air House Studios. Joining him on the sessions for the second Forest Standards collection is the core band of Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Isotope 217) on guitar, drummer Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo) and bassist Billy Mohler (Dolly Parton).

Matt Wilson's 2018 LP Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg earned the veteran musician a Musician of the Year from the Jazz Journalist Association while the LP itself was named Record of the Year. Wilson, who is no stranger to accolades, has earned some new ones with his latest release, Hug! , credited to the Matt Wilson Quartet. Joined by his longtime collaborators Jeff Lederer (Brooklyn Blowhards, Swing N' Dix, Honey Ear Trio), Kirk Knuffke (Josh Roseman's Extended