Gogue Center presenting ‘Music of Alabama’ for Kennedy Center Couch Concert on June 1

The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center may be temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but lovers of the performing arts in Alabama and across the nation can still enjoy live music by some of the state’s finest artists thanks to an innovative partnership with The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 1.

The Gogue Center will present “Music of Alabama: RyNea Soul, The Pine Hill Haints and Larry Mitchell” as part of The Kennedy Center’s new Couch Concert series at 3 p.m. CDT. The concert can be viewed for free on The Kennedy Center’s Facebook page and YouTube channel and on the Gogue Center’s Facebook page.

Community partners, which include Seasick Records in Birmingham; Single Lock Records in Muscle Shoals; and Standard Deluxe in Waverly, also will livestream the performance on their Facebook pages.

The online series began streaming in April and is broadcast digitally from locations throughout the U.S. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each day offers a unique spotlight performance, with Monday National Spotlight concerts featuring artists selected by performing arts institutions across the country.

The June 1 livestream will be the first in the series to focus exclusively on Alabama-based artists and will include performances by Soul, The Pine Hill Haints and Mitchell.

“The Kennedy Center’s Couch Concert series reflects the vast spectrum of the American cultural landscape in these performances,” said Amy Miller, Gogue Center director of programming and education. “The series showcases incredible artistic diversity, highlighting artists from large urban areas and entire states from coast to coast.”

Miller, who curated “Music of Alabama” for the Couch Concert National Spotlight, believes the featured artists represent three of the state’s distinct geographic regions and musical styles.

“We wanted to present the breadth and variety of extraordinary talent that exists throughout Alabama,” Miller said. “When it comes to music, there are some tremendously cool things happening here. The Gogue Center is committed to celebrating the arts and artists of Alabama, and I hope this Couch Concert National Spotlight will help to raise awareness of our state as a nexus of culture and creativity.”

Launched by The Kennedy Center in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Couch Concert series features artists performing from their homes and remote studios. As with previous concerts, each of the musicians showcased on June 1 will be practicing social distancing. Soul, The Pine Hill Haints and Mitchell will all participate from their homes in Birmingham, Muscle Shoals and Opelika, respectively.

LaShondra R. Hemphill, also known as RyNea Soul, is a DJ, producer and educator. A singular creative force in the beat and electronic scene in Birmingham, she ingeniously crafts sound art with dusty drums, soulful samples and spacey synths.

Hemphill is the founder and executive director of The Initiative for Creative Arts Inc., an organization that exposes youth to hip-hop culture, music production and technology, as well as SheShock Hip Hop Academy, an interactive, creative and educational music technology program designed to empower, encourage and inspire women and to engage with music technology.

The Pine Hill Haints, who originally formed in Auburn, have over two decades become integral to the fabric of the Muscle Shoals and Alabama music scenes. They play a traditional bluegrass/folk/honkytonk style self-described as “Alabama Ghost Music.”

The Pine Hill Haints have toured the world, recorded a dozen albums and garnered a massive following throughout America. They recently signed to Single Lock Records in Muscle Shoals to release their 12th studio album.

Based in Opelika, Alabama, Mitchell is a Grammy Award-winning producer, engineer and performer who has shared the stage with artists like Tracy Chapman, Billy Squier, Ric Ocasek and Miguel Bosé. In his original compositions, Mitchell skillfully weaves guitar textures that showcase his virtuosity as a solo artist and ensemble player. He continues to tour and is currently promoting his ninth solo release, “Déjà Vu.”