By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Mizzou’s planned move to the Southeastern Conference creates confusion among this state’s population. After all, the argument over whether Missouri is a compatible “fit” with the rest of what we call the American South has been going on since settlers first made inroadsRead the Rest…

Home-Grown Talent Takes The Stage On New Year’s Eve By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh Photo provided by Glen “Bummer the drummer” Ward Fayette native Glen “Bummer” Ward is a talented multi-instrumentalist who re-established himself in mid-Missouri in the 1970s after several successful years bouncing around the music scene on both coasts. (Harry Nilsson produced aRead the Rest…

By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh  •  Photo By L.G. Patterson Not long ago, I was talking with musician/educator T.J. Wheeler about the admirable Blues in the Schools project he has been facilitating in middle schools and junior highs across mid-Missouri. Wheeler spoke of the lasting benefit of exposing tweens and teens to the cultural connectionsRead the Rest…

A Living Legend Comes Back To CoMo By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh Buddy Guy, along with Pinetop Perkins and maybe a few others, owns one of the last of the great blues pedigrees among artists who are still performing. He’s certainly the last one still making a major contribution to today’s “living blues.” His migrationRead the Rest…

By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh I was talking to Steve Schneck, the regional coordinator for the Missouri River Relief organization, about recent freshet that has again threatened homes and businesses along the Katy Trail through mid-Missouri’s “Little Dixie.” Schneck points out that the literal erosion and inundation of the landscape is only part of theRead the Rest…

The Countdown Begins Clear Your Calendar For The Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ Festival By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh We’re just a month away from the annual Boone County National Bank’s Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ festival, Sept. 9–10, in downtown Columbia. Although the festival is only five years old, it has already grown toRead the Rest…

June 10 Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown (Midway Expo Center) Well, here’s an up-to-date concept from a laidback legend. This year’s 2nd Annual Throwdown tour serves as a monthlong prequel to Nelson’s revered Fourth of July BBQ in Texas: primus inter pares of backyard cookouts. The idea is for Willie to trade on the trust andRead the Rest…

April is giving us a veritable bouquet of entertaining and uplifting events. Here are just a few. By Entertainment Editor Kevin Walsh April 19: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars & Toubab Krewe at The Blue Note Formed (or forged, considering the fire they were born into) in the crucible that was their Western African nationRead the Rest…

Here is a poem Larry Levis wrote for the American Poetry Review called “After the Blue Note Closes”. Larry Levis After the Blue Note Closes from Vol. 12 No. 1 Tonight, holding a stranger in my arms— Suddenly a downpour, a late Summer storm. I thought of you, alone or Not alone in that distant city, And at that hour whenRead the Rest…

Authors Note: I recently stumbled on an essay, by David R. Slavitt, about the poet Thomas McAfee. It originally appeared in the Harvard Review, in 2003, and I found it by chance on the internet. I’m a poet who was Tom’s friend and student in the last three years of his life, so I feltRead the Rest…