Miley exhibits growing pains in front of young crowd

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Critic

Strolling down on a walkway Sunday night at Rupp Arena to sing a fairly unadorned ballad called These Four Walls, Miley Cyrus appeared considerably older than her 16 years. Decked out in short black shorts and scratching a head full of thick brown locks, the still reigning teen pop queen looked as if she had already had a hard night.

Robert Earl Keen took the long road to success

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Critic

Among the tunes on Robert Earl Keen's new album, The Rose Hotel, sits a slacker's yarn titled Something I Do. It's far from the deepest dish on the disc, with its lazy-boy chorus, pseudo-tropical groove and everyman's lyrical demeanor.

KET plays up history and love of piano

Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist

The piano has had a fairly quiet 300th birthday, given its massive role in music from Beethoven to Billy Joel, and well beyond. Kentucky Wesleyan College Music professor Diane Earle is celebrating, however, and KET's Kentucky Muse takes viewers on a tour of the instrument from her perspective at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

There's a master plan for Crowder's 'Church Music'

Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist

For David Crowder, there is a master plan. That would seem to be a natural position for Crowder, one of the most popular Christian music purveyors of the past decade. But we're not talking master plan in a cosmic, God is in control of all things sense. We're talking about Crowder's music.

Review: Lyle Lovett at the Norton Center

By Walter Tunis Contributing music critic

DANVILLE - “I remember some of you folks,” uttered Lyle Lovett after one of his signature tunes, Here I Am, served as a reintroduction last night at the Norton Center for the Arts. The Texan played the venue a mere eight months ago, alone onstage with John Hiatt. Last night, the sound was considerably saucier with the swing, country and soul preferences of the singer’s Large Band. Photo by Kirk Schlea | Norton Center for the Arts.

She's just being Miley

Associated Press

The last time Miley Cyrus came to Rupp Arena, she was splitting her personality between herself and her Disney Channel alter ego: Hannah Montana. Now, returning just under two-years later, Miley is still making hits, calling the shots and trying to make a name for herself.
• Download a Miley mask for Halloween
• How to put on a Miley face

It's a Beaux Arts Fall

by walter tunis Contributing Music Writer

What single evening event in Lexington could contain more spectacle than the Beaux Arts Ball? A second Beaux Arts event might if it were staged, say, on Halloween. On a Saturday, perhaps. On the night we lose daylight-saving time and gain another hour of revelry. Yep, party fortunes are in alliance this weekend as Bullhorn and the Beaux Arts Foundation debut The Fall Ball at Buster's.

Hot tickets: Taylor Swift, Shinedown, more

Tickets on sale soon:

Critic's Pick: R.E.M. Live at the 'Olympia'

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Critic

For R.E.M., the Olympia concerts were a chance to give legs to nearly a dozen tunes being readied for Accelerate. But Live at the Olympia's ultimate charm is its ability to reconnect R.E.M. with its past as it prepared for what was then its future. Along with the wealth of Accelerate-related music is a stunning assemblage of vintage material that favors obscurities over hits.

Texas is always on Lyle Lovett's mind

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Writer

To many, Lyle Lovett is the modern embodiment of Texas music — its celebratory swing, its vigorous country soul and, most of all, its extraordinary literate sense of storytelling. His songs are outlined with thieving hearts, family yarns and an unfailing pride in anything that hails from Lone Star territory. In short, Lovett isn't merely a Texas artist. He is the state's unofficial cultural ambassador to the universe.

Kottke can't believe he's still on stage

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Writer

In a recording and performance career that spans four full decades, Leo Kottke remains an original.

This is a great town for a kid to try the arts

Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist

When I moved to Lexington in 1998, one thing that immediately struck me about the local arts scene was the prominence of children and organizations geared toward children.

Directors stage an opportunity

By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com

When violinist Jonathan Karp takes the stage with the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras' Symphony Orchestra, he's usually the concertmaster, the leader of the ensemble who brings everyone to attention and gets them ready to go.

Are you free? Joe Henry is

by walter tunis Contributing Music Writer

The cost of a road-trip to Louisville will be your only expense for what may well be one of the regional concert highlights of the fall. Friday night at the ultra-intimate 930 Art Center is a very rare concert evening with Joe Henry.

Owl City converted online hits into commercial success

By Patrick Condon Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Adam Young had never seen the ocean, but that didn't stop him from writing and recording an album called Ocean Eyes.