City of Cape Girardeau Another unforgettable evening of…

Another unforgettable evening of live music! Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Gate: 6:00 PM (Central Daylight Time) Time: IVAS JOHN - 7:00 PM (Central Daylight Time) Time: JEREMY SHORT - 8:00 - 930 PM (Central Daylight Time) Location: The Red House Interpretive Center, 128 Aquamsi Street, Cape Girardeau, MO Prepare to be enchanted by the historic charm of Cape Girardeau as you enjoy this fantastic event. With its lively atmosphere and talented musicians, this is a night you won't want to miss. So grab your friends, bring your dancing shoes, and be prepared to have a blast at the Cape G Rocks Historic Porch Sessions! JEREMY SHORT: With an orange mustache, golden voice and cherry red Gibson ES-335, Eastern Kentucky Space Funk artist Jeremy Short has quickly risen to the top shelf of must-hear players on the scene. Having garnered significant recognition for his masterful, yet seemingly effortless guitar playing “Kentucky’s Jeremy Short is one of the top 30 blues guitar players in the world. Don’t take it from me — take it from the judges at Memphis’s International Blues Challenge, where Short semi-finaled in 2016 and 2017. Short is known for his guitar pyrotechnics and commitment to groove” (No Depression), “Jeremy is one of several slide players that I’d match their skills up against anyone in the world” (Capture Kentucky) “A little bit Marvin Gaye, a little bit Grateful Dead and a little bit Tyler Childers, Jeremy Short’s jam-fueled Appalachian soul music proves that there’s a lot more than country and bluegrass music radiating from the Eastern Kentucky mountains. Short’s epic tales will leave you dancing with jubilation one moment and crying the next. His unique blend of Appalachian soul music is incredibly effective and authentic because Appalachia is such an integral part of his own soul, and always will be.” (Matt Wickstrom) With radio ready hits like “Trance”, “Happy Trees”, and “Rock of Ages”, Short encourages you to forget the stress of life and get lost in his music. “Sometimes, you just gotta dance to get it out. So if you feel like dancing, dance. If you feel like singing along, do it. Do what feels right.” Short has been touring, singing and playing his guitar for nearly 20 years. Having shared the stage with many notable acts (Tyler Childers, Kingfish, Marcus King, Taj Mahal, Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band), and notched his belt with festivals like Bonnaroo, Floydfest, Mountain Music Festival, Master Musicians Festival, & Healing Appalachia, the future for Short is looking bright. IVAS JOHN: If in the soul of a true artist, lay the marriage of opposites, then an exemplary artist does Ivas John make. A throwback and an innovator. A musician with local roots and worldly chops. A purist who can play the dirtiest blues. Ivas John is a musician’s musician. He has a style of effortless authenticity that is both a breath of fresh air and a link to days of yore, imbued with the same sense of timelessness as the shores of the Mississippi River he now calls home. Ivas John’s story is as unique as his music. Born as a first generation Lithuanian American into a music-loving Chicago home, his earliest influences came from European folk dancing, melodies hammered out on the family piano, and playing trumpet in the school band. His working-class father was a truck driver by day, and by night appeared in productions for the local opera company and was a regular fixture on the vibrant folk and blues scene in late 60’s Chicago. Long before picking up the guitar, taking to the country, and becoming the public figure Ivas John, his musical future was being shaped, at least in part, by the living room record player. And in another way, by a deep appreciation for history, language, and tradition instilled by immigrant parents. In his teens, Ivas got hooked on blues guitar and began making forays to the inner city clubs to get a fix. By means of jamming along with the available record collections, and the sporadic tutelage of his older brother, he learned to play. The early years of the Ivas John Band were productive ones. Well over 1000 shows and four albums between 2007 and 2012 helped build his name and connect the dots to new markets, including a residency and long-standing relationship with the legendary St. Louis club BBs Jazz, Blues & Soups. As his star kept rising and audiences kept coming back for more, the musical evolution continued as well. With the shifting of his musical mind came the urge to collaborate and record with other excellent regional players and also indulge creative curiosities in the banjo, lap steel, and harmonica. During this time Ivas moved from the woods to the river. In historic Cape Girardeau, MO the roll of the Mississippi towed him under the influence of past masters in folk and country music. Ivas studied the world of Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rodgers, Doc Watson, The Delmore Brothers, and Balladeers like Tom Paxton and Gordon Lightfoot. While immersing himself in the techniques of acoustic flatpicking and fingerstyle guitar, his writing took on historical content, rural images, and simple country wisdom. Pure acoustic sounds and storytelling in song became a passion and soon half of Ivas’ performances were unplugged. With a warm baritone voice, distinct and believable, he began to traverse the vast musical landscape of his surroundings, bringing to life dusty, forgotten visions of the American past with elegant acuity. Ivas’ most recent project, Good Days A Comin, put him on the map in the world of acoustic music. Coming together over a shared vision of what pure folk and country blues music should sound like, Ivas and producers Gary and Noah Gordon made it their business to assemble an A team of supporting acoustic musicians and get things in motion. Since the release, which Billboard magazine called a “Slam Dunk!”, the album went to the top of the pile for roots music DJ’s and received a great deal of critical acclaim. Learn More