Jim Stewart News

Stax Records and Craft Recordings will release Stax Christmas, a new 12-track collection of holiday classics and originals from soul music’s biggest stars, including Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s and the Staple Singers. Get all the details now!

Bobby McFerrin, Nirvana, Ma Rainey, Nile Rodgers, Slick Rick 'The Ruler,' The Supremes, and Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart are the 2023 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients; Henry Diltz, Ellis Marsalis and Jim Stewart are the Trustees Award recipients.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announced the cast for the D.C. premiere of Ride the Cyclone. Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater will be transformed into somewhere between earth and—well, not earth—when Ride the Cyclone plays from January 13 – February 19, 2023.

Sarasota Orchestra announced six exhibitions at the Orchestra's Harmony Gallery to take place during the 2022-2023 season, including a special new collaboration with Booker High School featuring works by students from the school's venerated Visual and Performing Arts program.

Today Sarasota Orchestra announced four artists who will present their works at the Orchestra's Harmony Gallery during the 2021-2022 season, as well as two honorable mentions. The Harmony Gallery features local artists showcasing their work in solo exhibitions throughout the Orchestra's season.

Cleveland Time marks the first album release from the group that features Matthew Alec, Brian Woods, Steven Forest Sanders, Jared Lees, Jeremiah Hawkins, and Leon Henault.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of SMA, Stax Records owner Concord has announced the Concord Stax Scholarships, which will provide full tuition to at least 20 students in each year over the next five school years. Concord has pledged a minimum of $1 million through donations from its owners, team members, friends, and partners.

1969 marked a year that was full of both trepidation and excitement for Stax Records. Just one year before, the Memphis soul outlet ended its relationship with musical giant Atlantic Records, effectively leaving the label as an independent entity, without a music catalog (which had previously included a formidable collection of hits by Otis Redding, Carla Thomas and Sam & Dave, among others). Under the guidance of co-owner Al Bell, the label proceeded to rebuild and release an impressive collection of 27 albums and 30 singles in just a handful of months—a period known as “Soul Explosion.” The gamble paid off, and at the 1969 Stax sales summit—themed “Getting It All Together”—the label reaffirmed its place as a soul powerhouse. Craft Recordings celebrates the 50th anniversary of this prolific, make-or-break moment for Stax—and its enduring legacy—with a wide selection of physical and digital reissues. Additionally, Craft will pay tribute to the label throughout the year with a series of playlists, original content, contests and more.

SHOWTIME has announced the cast for HOMBRE, its new pilot from Academy Award® nominee Jonas Cuarón (Gravity). Marisé Alvarez (The Vessel), Greg Grunberg (A Star Is Born), Pepi Sonuga (Famous In Love), Adriana Santos (Taken) and Noah Reyes will join executive producer and Golden Globe® winner Gael García Bernal (Mozart In The Jungle, Coco) for the emotional thriller, which is set to begin production at the end of April in Los Angeles. The project is created by Cuarón, who will also direct the pilot and serve as executive producer. HOMBRE is a co-production from SHOWTIME and Makeready.

When it comes to soul, Stax Records owned the '60s. Classic records from Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas, and a legion of others helped transform what was once known as rhythm 'n' blues into rugged, emotionally bare 'soul' music. This made Stax one of the decade's most influential labels of any genre. It all crescendoed in 1968, a tempest-tossed year when the label redefined its own sound and, in the process, channeled a larger historical zeitgeist.

I cannot think of a more fitting way to say thank you to Baltimore Center Stage Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah than attending SOUL THE STAX MUSICAL which runs to June 10, 2018.

We want the same songs we (or our parents or grandparents, as the case may be) grew up with, every note of the horn arrangements, and the original singer's voices, imparting each smidgen of intonation and pacing that the original singe added to the song. A historical frame for the musical is perfect for catering to that simple but demanding taste: You want to see Otis Redding singing (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay? Fine, we've reached 1967 in the story, so here he is! And damn, doesn't he sound good?

Craft Recordings, the catalog division of Concord Music Group, is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Stax Country, a collection of rare and unreleased country songs, recorded in the early-mid 1970s for the Memphis label.

Craft Recordings, the catalog division of Concord Music Group, is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Stax Country, a collection of rare and unreleased country songs, recorded in the early-mid 1970s for the Memphis label.

Craft Recordings is proud to announce the forthcoming release of The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976), chronicling the ascension of one of the most influential creative talents in music history, Isaac Hayes, who would have turned 75 this year.

Concord Music Group and Rhino Entertainment, Warner Music Group's catalog division, are proud to announce a joint campaign celebrating the 60th anniversary of iconic soul label, Stax Records.

Bay City Players, Michigan's oldest continuously operating community theatre, held its annual membership meeting on July 11, 2016 and elected its new officers.

Bay City Players, Michigan's oldest continuously operating community theatre, held its annual membership meeting on July 13, 2015 and elected its new officers.

A lawsuit has now been filed by Evergreen Media in Connecticut federal court, alleging that Concord producers lined up the wrong rights for their project.

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this summer, Grammy-winning producer Stuart Benjamin, along with Concord Music Group, is in the process of developing a new musical based on the Stax Records music label, with book by Matthew Benjamin and sights on a 2016 Broadway bow. Now according to the Hollywood Reporter, Evergreen Media Group (which is currently suing Concord for publishing rights to the music) is working with Robert Gordon to adapt his book 'Respect Yourself' into both a film and musical on the same subject. Morgan Neville has signed on to produce the project.