Rams Head The Blog

Friday, July 15  | Tim Meadows & Friends Part of the Annapolis Comedy Fest

One of the longest-running cast members in the 33-year history of Saturday Night Live, versatile comedian Tim Meadows crafted some of the series’ most memorable characters during his 10 years on the popular late night show. Such characters included Leon Phelps, The Ladies’ Man and Lionel Osbourne, host of the fictional public affairs show, Perspectives, as well as uncanny impressions of OJ Simpson, Ike Turner and Sammy Davis Jr. Meadows played a school principal in the hit comedy Mean Girls and most recently co-starred in the Revolution comedy Benchwarmers.

Saturday, July 16 | Joseph Arthur All Ages Matinee

If there’s such a thing as the opposite of writer’s block, Joseph Arthur has it. Indeed, the Akron, Ohio-bred/Brooklyn, N.Y.-residing singer/songwriter, who once released four EPs in the span of as many months, was deep into work on two distinct albums when the music that became The Graduation Ceremony suddenly bubbled to the forefront. Discovered and mentored by Peter Gabriel, the Grammy nominated musician and painter has awed critics with his poetic lyrics and classic alt/pop sound.

Tuesday, July 19 | Courtlyn Carr and Band

Courtlyn Carr’s stunning vocals and refreshing songwriting have attracted eyes, ears and wordsmiths in and outside of the United States. London’s top Country Music publication, Maverick Music Magazine rates Carr’s Turn Blue EP with four out of five stars and places the recording as “of the very highest quality.” Washington, DC’s On Tap Magazine calls Carr “one of the top four artists to keep on your radar.” Courtlyn’s genuine, heartfelt writing is reminiscent of modern country stars like Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood as well as genre transcending favorites like Bonnie Raitt, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Van Morrison.

Wednesday, July 20
Janiva Magness

Award-winning vocalist Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.”

Friday, August 26 | Larry Graham & Graham Central Station

One of the founding fathers of modern funk, Larry Graham is perhaps best known as the bass player for Sly & The Family Stone, and his innovative development of the pop-and-slap bass guitar groove. A frequent collaboration with the legends of Funk, Graham recently prepared a segment on Bootsy Collins’ Funk University showcasing the rhythmic progressive funk sound he has been producing alongside Graham Central Station since the mid ’70s.

Monday, September 26 | X – ‘The Unheard Music and Los Angeles’

X were far from the first punk rock band in Los Angeles, but in a very real way, they were the ones who put the L.A. punk scene on the map. X were the first L.A. punk band to be taken seriously by the rock press on both coasts, and at a time when many wondered how punk could thrive in the land of all that was mellow, X played music that was as raw, passionate, and powerful as anything coming out of New York, London, or any other major city. X’s melding of punk’s speed and ferocity with the sounds of rockabilly, blues, country, and other roots music styles would prove to be wildly influential in the years that followed, as were the off-kilter harmonies of John Doe and Exene Cervenka.

November 5 & 6 | Martin Sexton – An Intimate Acoustic Solo Performance

“Martin Sexton is ripe with raw, expansive talent. His voice comes in a hundred impossible shades. His songs are sweet and spirited and soulful. His repertoire is like a cross-country tour of the American musical vernacular.” –Boston Globe
The New York Times wrote that this artist “jumps beyond standard fare on the strength of his voice, a blue-eyed soul man’s supple instrument,” adding that “his unpretentious heartiness helps him focus on every soul singer’s goal: to amplify the sound of the ordinary heart.”