Cover Story
Fact or Fantasy? How ‘Hamilton’ Remixes American History
Does it really matter whether or not “Hamilton: An American Musical” is good history? Does it actually matter if “Hamilton” gets things right? This is a Broadway theater show featuring singing and dancing Founding Fathers, after all. On the face of it, there’s something clearly absurd about interrogating it for accuracy — as if it…
A local(ish) guide to the NBA Draft
Although 2018-19 yielded no Final Fours and no titles for Bluegrass schools or Kentuckiana prospects, it did manage to provide us with some names to potentially root for in the NBA going forward. Now’s a great time to check in on those souls who’ve decided to keep their names in the NBA Draft. JA MORANT …
10 Things To Do Under $5 This Week In Louisville (6/3)
MONDAY, June 3 Author Talk: ‘Crazy Horse: The Lakota Warrior’s Life and Legacy’ Southwest Regional Library Free | 6:30-8:30 p.m. The family of Crazy Horse, the famed Native American rebel, has not publicly talked about their relative’s death since his assassination in 1877. Now, that’s changed. Crazy Horse family elder Floyd Clown Sr. will be…
Our six favorite local songs from May
Memory Gloss — ‘Temecula’ On the lead single off of their upcoming EP, Memory Gloss mirrors the thick and chunky riffs that put the band Hum on the map, amplified with an almost-emo fire. That said, they pull back from the saccharine or trite sounds that so often define that genre, instead opting for more…
5 Things To Do In Louisville This Weekend (5/31)
SATURDAY, June 1 Free Tree Giveaway and Open House Louisville Nature Center Free | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Need a tree? This is your event: 1,000 will be given away to residents of Jefferson County on a first come, first served basis, with a limit of five per person. But wait — there is more! The…
Private donations will provide swim days for city youth, but city pools will remain closed, mayor says
City budget cuts have closed four Louisville public pools for the summer, but Mayor Greg Fischer announced Wednesday that private donors have stepped in to give Louisville kids places to swim. Papa John’s, through its philanthropic wing, The Papa John’s Foundation for Building Community, contributed $90,000, and the Jamon Brown Foundation donated $5,000, matched by…
‘Hamilton’ hits Louisville, the path from New Albany to Broadway
It may be hard to believe that someone who is now in the Broadway touring cast of the most popular musical in the country didn’t even imagine having a career in musical theater just 10 years ago. It all started for Charnette Batey at New Albany High School, which she said has a “really prominent…
Progress vs. Preservation in? LG&E vs. Bernheim
LG&E has proposed building a natural gas pipeline it says is needed to meet growth in Bullitt County. Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest says it would cut through the home of endangered species of bats and one imperiled snail. The pipeline would run three-quarters of a mile through 494 acres that the research forest bought…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd
Missing: CJ’s common sense | Thorn LEO is all for providing disparate, even radical and objectionable viewpoints on our pages, but transparency, intellectual honesty, accuracy and context are crucial. The CJ should practice that on its op-ed page. First, it gets a perpetual thorn for running that hack insanity from Jordan Harris, the Koch brother-addled…
Twenty First Century Fox’s latest record, ‘New Energy’
Always upbeat and ready to step outside of the typical rock constraints, Twenty First Century Fox returns with their third full-length album, New Energy. According to them, it’s their “most diverse” record, an expanded sound adopted in the three years they spent refining this 10-track follow up to 2016’s Yr Welcome. Last week, New Energy…
Pleasure Boys set to release new record, ‘A One Night Show’
The experimental psych-punk band Pleasure Boys started as a three-piece, but after original member and multi-instrumentalist Greg Bryant passed away from cardiac arrest in 2016, so many musicians in the band’s orbit offered their services that they began to perform and record with anywhere from five to seven people. “All of these people, who were…
Sonic Breakdown: Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters ?— ‘City Of God’
[LEO’s biweekly sonic breakdown column deconstructs a single song from an area musician or band.] “City Of God” is a song about tradition, and head Sawduster Nick Dittmeier honors the sentiment by crafting it with a classic country sound. It’s an upbeat, feel-good honky-tonk jam, and, unlike the bulk of modern country music, the focus…
Painful Relevance, Catharsis: ?‘The Pussy Grabber Plays’
As soon as audience members make their way into the crowded second story room at The Bard’s Town, they see a wall of words across the back of the stage. In large black letters there’s a snippet from an interview that’s become all too familiar in the past three years: “I moved on her, and…
Comedian Sean Smith: ‘Almost like I got to go to my own funeral’
Think of local comedian Sean Smith’s debut album You Don’t Look Funny as a time capsule of his comedic life. “My goal was to make it as much of a comedic resume as I could,” Smith said. The album, nearly three years in the making, features conventional stand-up, sketches and some comedic songs. He will…
Memoir Writer Highlights Spalding Festival
For the spring edition of Spalding University’s Festival of Contemporary Writing, one highlight will be the talk from Distinguished Visiting Writer Terese Marie Mailhot. Her memoir “Heart Berries” is a bestselling and bold journey as she recalls traumas, grieving and healing through and beyond her childhood on an isolated Indian reservation. Trials to maintain her…
Sharpening the axe: Your prep must be sharp
A popular aphorism some ascribe to Abraham Lincoln is: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” In a restaurant, “sharpening the axe” is all the prep that goes into a successful service. Consider how long it takes you to get ready for a…
Four new breweries, each with a tasty story
One new brewery will be a nanobrewery using just a single barrel. Another hopes to bring craft beer to more area visitors. And another new one will be part of a public market. They are among four new Louisville breweries opening soon. LEO caught up with the owners of Wild Hops Brewery at 1001 Logan…
Savage Love: Seattle & Denver
Savage Love Live swooped into Seattle’s Egyptian Theater and Denver’s Oriental Theater over the last two weekends. I couldn’t get to everyone’s questions at these sold-out shows—there were so many great questions and I’m just one lousy advice columnist—so I’m going to power through as many as I can in this week’s column. Q: Weddings…
West Of Ninth: People, in their own words… (5/29)
April 26, 2019 William with Duke the pig, from Shawnee “Everybody looks at me weird because I’m a black man in the hood with a pig. I done had every animal before. This was just the next step. They’re just like dogs. You can potty train and teach them tricks. It’s something different. I’ve been…
Bevin beatable if Beshear talks healthcare
It feels as if a lot’s happened since our last sermon, but I’ve used up my five free articles in the Courier Journal this month, so despite a week off, this column’s going to be a hard slog. I have no idea what’s going on. That’s never held you back before. Fair dibs, though —…
Bevin hangover in November
The last time there was a contentious, three-way primary in a Kentucky gubernatorial election, it worked out well for Matt Bevin in 2015. So, I guess you could say there’s hope for Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee who survived that slugfest last week. What’s more likely, however, is that Wednesday, Nov. 6, will be the…
