05/16/11

Story by Peggy Graham

‘Light Up the Lawn’ concert

The concert has been moved inside to Yardley Hall in the Carlsen Center.

June 10 ‘Light Up the Lawn’ concert at JCCC

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Two bands, Soft Reeds and The Latenight Callers, will perform a free concert at 8 p.m. (dusk) Friday, June 10, on the front lawn of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College. The concert is part of the free summer Light Up the Lawn series offered one Friday night each month, May-August.

Soft Reeds

Born of a 12-year labor of heartache and love, Soft Reeds is the brainchild of Ben Grimes (formerly of Astralwerks' The Golden Republic), a Chicago native whose roots grip firmly in the ’77 Berlin sounds of Brian Eno, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, while embracing the richness of American indie rock. Originally started in 2007 as Grimes' post-The Golden Republic solo project, Soft Reeds became a full band in 2009 and released the critically acclaimed Soft Reeds Are Bastards in 2010.

The Latenight Callers

According to their bio, The Latenight Callers assembled themselves in a seedy basement in Lawrence around a card table strewn with liquor bottles, cigarettes and shared tales of strange and debaucherous encounters. The band soon moved their base of operations to a seedy basement in Kansas City, Mo., turned up their amps, their synths, their bullhorns and refined their dark, “dancy” tales for execution in front of the public at large. The Latenight Callers have been subsequently referred to as "Patsy Cline singing for Portishead," "Sexy Lounge Rock" and "Noir-a-Go-Go" after their live shows swayed, swaggered, and charmed their audiences …

• July 8 Hearts of Darkness

• Aug. 26 Antennas Up

Bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating. This is the second year for the free Light up the Lawn series,sponsored by the Performing Arts Series at JCCC, Nerman Museum and Campus Activities Board. The series continues with

For more information, call 913-469-4445.

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