Cover Story
A Q&A with Attica Scott, the first African-American woman in almost 20 years to be elected to the state Legislature, on politics, social justice and gun violence
If you take the Watterson Expressway to get to Attica Scott’s home in Louisville’s West End, you travel a stretch of road honoring the late Georgia Davis Powers. She made history in 1967 by being the first woman, and first person of color, elected to Kentucky’s state Senate. The sign provides an intersection of sorts,…
A Q&A with Lebowski Fest manager Tyler Gill on the festival’s past, present and future
The Lebowski Fest, which celebrates all things from “The Big Lebowski” movie, is coming up on its 15th anniversary. From its beginnings in a Christian bowling alley, with signs reading “no cursing” on the walls, it has now become a tradition in cities including New York, Los Angeles and London. The people who attend call…
10 concerts you shouldn’t miss in July
Dr. Dundiff & Friends Friday, July 8 Mercury Ballroom A reboot of the storied set from last year’s Forecastle, Dr. Dundiff will once again share the stage with some of the city’s best hip-hop artists, including 1200, James Lindsey, Ottis Junior, Touch AC, Shadowpact and more. Poorcastle Friday, July 8 – Sunday, July 10 Apocalypse…
15 things to do under $5 this week in Louisville (7/4)
MONDAY Independence Day Party Locust Grove Free; 10 a.m. Travel back in time this Fourth of July and celebrate the holiday in a more traditional way. Locust Grove will be sending us back to 1816 to experience life as it was 200 years ago. The event will feature readings of the Declaration of Independence, as well…
Tacoquest: Where to find the best tacos in Louisville
The fair city of Louisville is plagued of with an absolutely dire dearth of accurate science on where to get delicious Mexican food. TripAdvisor’s top-ten list includes the honky-tonk-themed southern fare of Manny & Merle’s, which is not really a Mexican restaurant, and Señor Iguanas, which, if we’re being honest, is also not really a…
5 things to do this weekend in Louisville (7/1)
FRIDAY First Friday at the Muhammad Ali Center Muhammad Ali Center $5; 5 p.m. Join the Muhammad Ali Center this Friday for their take on a block party. There will be plenty of beer, wine and scrumptious food from local food trucks, dance demonstrations by Safiyyah Dance Company and Flamenco Louisville, performances by The Alley…
Our six favorite local songs from June
Dom B. Feat. Shadowpact – “2016 Untouchables” Is it possible to feel like something is too classy? Spoiler alert: no. But I challenge anyone out there to listen to this, and not feel like they need a smoking jacket and/or monocle. Well, that may skew a bit too “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” for…
Pride parade politics: Your views
Our story last week on the politics of the Pride parade — who should march, and how non-LGBTQ people should act during it — drew an enormous number of comments, and it fostered much online debate. Below is a sampling of the comments. To read more comments, find the story on LEO’s Facebook page, and…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst & Best (6/29)
Lexit? (Rose) Now that Britain has made the Trumpian move of voting to leave the European Union, who will secede next? An argument could be made for Louisville to exit Kentucky, as we are nothing like the bulk of the state. We could take Lexington and Bowling Green with us. Traffic-magedon Part One (Thorn) By…
Nights like these: A conversation with Brenda
The garage-rock four-piece Brenda, which recently released the EP Night School, makes music that “gets stuck in your head after having a night,” according to drummer/vocalist, Brenda Mahler. “We all got ‘em! Those nights where you stay up too late, and have one to five too many, and wake up in a pool of regret,…
b-sides: Dick Sisto, Andy Laverne tribute Bill Evans
Just as the musical mystique of Miles Davis still rivets today’s active ears, so do the harmonies of pianist Bill Evans. The former Kind of Blue sideman was a master of melodic lines, and like Miles, began his career playing original versions of popular jazz standards. His trio version of “How Deep is the Ocean?”…
White Knight: Face and Names EP
(self- released) Morrissey-style crooning and prog-tinged indie rock go hand in hand for White Knight, which sees an amalgam of two unlikely genres blended seamlessly into one. There is a relatively apparent King Crimson, or Pink Floyd, influence here, tempered a bit by jangly guitar work and the aforementioned vocal work. Three of the four…
Softcheque: Sand in your Mind
(auralgamiSOUNDS) Perhaps more than most, Softcheque present a musical cypher. Seldom am I at such a profound loss for words to describe music, submitted here as a positive. Suppose you can imagine a band that simultaneously blends the low-key swing of French pop, like Serge Gainsbourg, or even Stereolab, with that kind of subtle creeping…
Idol Mind: Lost Paradise
(Funeral Party) The brainchild of Nathan Dickinson, the music of Idol Mind is a meditation on ambient electro-pop. The easiest — and perhaps most obvious — comparison is to the sublime music of Washed Out, represented here by Dickinson’s minimalist techno approach, which privileges melody over the traditional verse-chorus structures, or any sort of EDM…
Axel Roley: Tha City of Gahd
(self-released) If the newest from Axel Roley doesn’t get you hyped at least a little, I’m not sure what will. A tribute to Ali, Roley loads his instrumental beats with the kind of regal sounds that you would attribute to the greatest of all time. There are the requisite samples of Ali talking, proclaiming his…
‘Touched with Fire,’ lines between disorder and art
Vincent van Gogh. What did you think about when you read his name? His art, or his troubled life? Van Gogh is well known for his problems with mental and physical ailments. There’s even a Wikipedia page for “Vincent van Gogh’s health”! His major mental health issues were bipolar disorder and borderline-personality disorder. Couple that…
‘The Winter’s Tale,’ a demonstration of ferocious, ?uninhibited power
Nearly 300 years after Shakespeare’s death, the English critic F.S. Boas first described the distinctively modern nature of Shakespeare’s later plays. They are set, he wrote, “in civilizations whose society is ripe unto rottenness.” They pose “intricate cases of conscience [that] demand a solution by unprecedented methods.” And at the end, they leave us “excited,…
Spanky Brown, ‘they definitely thought I was crazy’
Spanky Brown was born and raised in Memphis, the son of a preacher. He took a winding road to the spotlight — from the military to advertising and radio before trying his hand at comedy for the first time at the somewhat late age of 35. That was nearly two decades ago, and no one…
Have it your way?
Folks who grew up in the 1970s will likely remember the Burger King ad-campaign jingle that went “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce — special orders don’t upset us! All we ask is that you let us serve it your way. Have it your way, have it your way …” In large part, this is…
The Barkeep’s guide to wedding bar stocking (and drinking from it)
The summer solstice has come and gone, and with that strawberry moon beaming through the thick Louisville humidity, the bridezillas have begun running rampant through our town. Love is in the air, mason jar sales are at an all-time high and the Vistaprint wedding invites are covering every surface of your refrigerator. Yup, it’s wedding…
This week our cranky Brits talk about Gov. Matt Bevin blowing up UofL trustees, and why Louisville should Lexit
What a couple of weeks that was. Hard to know where to begin. But bugger it, we can’t ignore our esteemed governor — just because he’s hardly been out of the headlines. Pensions, UofL, Medicaid, you name it — he’s taking his wrecking ball to it. I think the general rule applies to governors just…
This is how you do it
Jubilation. That’s what I felt when I saw Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis, 76 years old and a civil rights icon, leading a sit-in on the House floor on June 22, to protest the feckless and amoral Republican refusal to pass a single gun control measure following the death of 49 people in Orlando. Similarly,…
Will work for health
Some weeks, it feels like the most topical, water-cooler talk has to do with the cutest kitten video on YouTube, or the craziest weather snap. This week, however, was a week of momentous stories. King Bevin finds himself in yet another lawsuit (that makes at least seven in his first six months). Britain loses its…
Your Voice
On Editor’s Note: Bevin, Ouster-in-Chief This is what happens when the Democrats don’t go out and vote! — Barbara Ann Meek [Gov. Matt] Bevin’s tyrannical governance is truly frightening … and the best example I can think of as to what a Trump presidency would look like. Perhaps that is why God allowed him to…
