For a decade, West Street Live presented by Neal Pendergraft has been a lyric-lovers dream, bringing some of the best singer-songwriters to Northwest Arkansas. Hometown heroes, historic musicians and an intimate seating set this series apart, creating the ultimate listening room experience. To commemorate its 10-year anniversary, we interviewed a few folks who helped launch the series.
“I had booked several folk acts in Starr Theater over the years, but once Brian Crowne and I put our heads together and proposed a singer-songwriter series to Neal Pendergraft, things started moving in the right direction,” says Jennifer Ross, vice president of programming.
“When I decided to make a donation to Walton Arts Center, I wanted a portion of that donation to go to a music series,” says Pendergraft. “Mark Blackwood and I discussed the options and finally settled on a small hall series where great singer-songwriters performed in an intimate setting not available to audiences at that time. To me, songwriting starts with a poem, adds some instruments and grows into a song. When the poet, musician and singer are all together (or the same person) a magical thing might happen.”
Brian Crowne, Gina & Neal Pendergraft, Jennifer Ross, Marty Stuart and Becky Brink at the West St. Live 10th Anniversary Party.
Nearly 60 artists have headlined the West Street Live series, including memorable concerts by Peter Yarrow, Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Webb, A.J. Croce, Tinsley Ellis, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart and Paul Thorn.
“What has stayed the same is the passion of a core group of subscribers that want to be in a space with folks that you don't know but feel a kinship with as music fans,” says Brian Crowne; local promoter, owner of George’s Majestic Lounge and vice president of the Walmart AMP and strategic initiatives.
Pendergraft agreed, saying, “when I sit in that close and comfortable atmosphere, all I think about is the music – I believe most of the other folks in Starr Theater feel the same way. When we funded West Street Live, we knew we could get three years. All the great patrons and ticket buyers thought it should go a lot longer. Most of our shows have sold out because of the great acts and our patrons' love of great music.”
This season has been unforgettable with sold-out performances by the 1 Oz. Jig and Friends, Nashville Songwriters and The War and Treaty. And in early December, we hosted a party for longtime subscribers to commemorate 10 years of standout performances before the highly anticipated return performance of Marty Stuart. Pendergraft, Crowne and Ross shared stories about the series, and Stuart even made an appearance.
Thank you to our West Street Live subscribers and to Pendergraft for all of their support and excitement for the series throughout the years.
Limited tickets are available for the remaining shows in the series this season: Sunny Sweeney on Friday, March 6 at 7:30pm and Mary Gauthier on Saturday, May 16 at 7:30pm.