Arkansas PBS > Engage > Pressroom > New season of AETN Presents kicks off Nov. 2
Posted 13 Nov 2012
CONWAY, Ark. (AETN) The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) delivers a new season of AETN Presents beginning Friday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m.
AETN Presents: On the Front Row debuts Friday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m. and continues through Nov. 23. Artists include:
• Dont Stop Please, Nov. 2; repeats Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 a.m. following Austin City Limits. Members of Don't Stop Please include Nick Caffrey, William Krzeszinski, Anna Horton, Joel Ludford, Robert Gaiser and Will King, all multi-instrumentalists. Their music is a combination of jazz, rock, funk, folk and bluegrass featuring guitar, bass, upright bass, banjo, cello, saxophone, drums, trumpet, trombone, harmonica, a washboard and other instruments.
• Runaway Planet, Nov. 9; repeats Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 a.m. following Austin City Limits. Founded in 2001, Runaway Planet evolved out of a longtime friendship between members and a mutual love for traditional string-band music. The members guitarist Greg Alexander, mandolin player Ben Ellis, banjoist Steve Brauer, and bassist Michael Proveaux share the weight of songwriting, arrangement and production. Their music is a mix of hard-driving bluegrass, three-part harmonies, complex arrangements and original songs. Drawing from traditional influences like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers, they are also inspired by more progressive bluegrass bands like The Country Gentlemen, The Seldom Scene and New Grass Revival.
• Woodsongs, Nov. 16; repeats Sunday, Nov. 18, at 1 a.m. following Austin City Limits. This episode features highlights from the Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour performance recorded in early 2012 at Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas campus in Conway. Musicians featured draw from an eclectic mix of top Arkansas talent within the country/bluegrass/roots music community, including recent bluegrass standout Blue Rain, champion fiddler Tim Crouch and young bluesman and harmonica phenom Nathan A.
• Grand Serenade, Nov. 23; repeats Sunday, Dec. 16, at 1 a.m. following Austin City Limits. Heber Springs band Grand Serenade members include former high school classmates rhythm guitarist Kyle Mays, lead guitarist Jordan Trotter, bassist Trevor Ware and drummer Justin Seymour. Their music is a British-influenced brand of indie rock, inspired by the work of Nada Surf, David Bowie and The Smiths. Known for meticulously crafting their work over long periods of time, Grand Serenade released one full-length album, "Lean Times," in 2007 and returned with an EP, "Lake Country," in 2010.
The new season concludes with AETN Presents: On the Same Page With Rick Steves Friday, Nov. 30, at 6:30 p.m. Travel author and multimedia personality Rick Steves discusses his career with interviewer Lisa Fischer. They primarily focus on his recent book Mediterranean Cruise Ports and the experiences surrounding its creation. Steves' presence is known across many mediums he is the host of the PBS television series Rick Steves' Europe, as well as public radio talk show Travel with Rick Steves, podcast creator, blogger, tour guide and author of numerous travel guides.
AETN Presents features a variety of arts and cultural subjects.
Previously included in the series have been the Arkansas Acoustic Festival; performances by the Cate Brothers, Wayland Holyfield and friends, Trout Fishing in America, Dale Hawkins, Shannon Boshears Band, The Salty Dogs and Epiphany; and On the Same Page with authors Buzz Bissinger, Billy Collins, John T. Edge and Kenneth L. Smith.
AETN Arts Fridays provides Arkansans with world-class arts and culture programming, including the locally produced series AETN Presents at 6:30 p.m. and the PBS arts at 9 p.m. More information about AETN Presents and episode clips are available at aetn.org/aetnpresents.