Pepper Place Market opens for its ninth season this Saturday, May 3. The market is open 7 a.m.-noon each Saturday through Sept. 27 and features fruits, vegetables, flowers, honey, bread and other goods from local and regional producers. The market also features cooking demonstrations by Birmingham-area chefs as well as live music from local musicians.

Check out the cooking demonstration and live music lineups below:

Pepper Place Market 2008 Chef Demonstration Schedule

Demonstrations begin at 9 a.m. each Saturday.

May 3: daniel george - Daniel Briggs & George McMillan
May 10: John’s City Diner - Shannon Gober
May 17: The Homewood Gourmet - Franklin Biggs
May 24: A Social Affair - Jim Cobb
May 31: Grey House Grille - Shelby Adams
June 7: Satterfield’s - Haller Magee
June 14: Terrace Café - Jason Mezrano
June 28: Icon - Ben Leingang
July 5: Little Savannah - Clif Holt
July 12: Bitty’s Back Porch Catering - Kimberly Brock
July 19: Standard Bistro - Alan Martin
July 26: Culinary Institute of Virginia College - Antony Osborne
August 2: Brock’s at Ross Bridge - Joshua Towey
August 9: The Gardens Café - Nichole Keesey & Alan Bullen
August 16: Sol y Luna - Guillermo Castro
August 23: Table - Daniel Lasseter
August 30: Café Iz - Ken Barrett
September 6: Bottletree Café - Thomas Bagby
September 13: Veranda on Highland - Tom Robey
September 20: Ocean - George Reis
September 27: Chef Clayton’s Food Systems - Clayton Sherrod

Pepper Place Market 2008 Entertainment Schedule

Performances take place on both the Richard Tubb Stage and the Interiors Market Stage.

May 3: Fiddlin’ in the Parlor/Grover Sheffield
May 10: TBA/Joel Kauffman
May 17: Debbie Bond and Radiator Rick/Sonny Pritchett
May 24: TBA/TBA
May 31: Christ Episcopal Church/Mike Hipp
June 7: Wayne and Marvin/Ron Dometrovich
June 14: Fiddlin’ in the Parlor/Joel Kauffman
June 28: Debbie Bond and Radiator Rick/Grover Sheffield
July 5: Wayne and Marvin/TBA
July 12: The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame/Mike Hipp
July 19: Fiddlin’ in the Parlor/Sonny Pritchett
July 26: Donny Tomlin/Joel Kauffman
August 2: Debbie Bond and Radiator Rick/TBA
August 9: Wayne and Marvin/Ron Dometrovich
August 16: Fiddlin’ in the Parlor/Joel Kauffman
August 23: Flying Jenny/Iikah
August 30: Donny Tomlin/Sonny Pritchett
September 6: The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys/Grover Sheffield
September 13: Wayne and Marvin/Mike Hipp
September 20: Oxy Morons/Ron Dometrovich
September 27: Fiddlin’ in the Parlor/Sonny Pritchett

Popularity: 3% [?]

You probably know Robyn Hitchcock’s name but you probably can’t hum one of his songs. For more than 30 years, the English singer/songwriter has actively recorded and performed while flying under the radar of commercial success. But while Hitchcock’s songs don’t resonate across the FM airwaves, he has garnered immense respect among his peers. The DVD Sex, Food, Death…And Insects takes viewers behind-the-scenes as Hitchcock forms his backing band Venus 3 and tours the U.S. in support of his album Ole Tarantula.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

moe. has been described as a “legendary jam band” and “the preeminent progressive rock band on the music scene today.” On the heels of touring behind its 2006 release The Conch, the band retreated to rural Massachusetts for the writing and recording of its next studio release. The result is Sticks And Stones, released in January on Fatboy Records. Convening in a space once occupied by a church, the band wrote eight of the album’s 10 tracks during the recording session. A diverse effort, Sticks And Stones feels both familiar and fresh at the same time.

Known for superior musicianship and a devoted fan base, moe. - Al Schnier, Vinnie Amico, Rob Derhak, Chuck Garvey and Jim Loughlin hosts the festivals Summer Camp, Snoe.down and moe.down. In addition, the band has appeared at Lollapaloooza, Langerado and the Ottawa BluesFest.

moe. will perform at Workplay on Friday, April 11. Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.workplay.com or by calling 380-4082.

Popularity: 19% [?]

When people think of Southern soul music, the thoughts usually turn to James Brown, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. But a lesser-known crop of Southern soul men made substantial contributions to the genre and found exposure through the “Northern Soul” DJs in Europe. Three of these living legends will perform at Bottletree Cafe on Saturday, April 5. Ralph “Soul” Jackson, Roscoe Robinson and Wiley & The Checkmates will give a triple-bill show beginning at 9 p.m.

While each of these artists has his own unique story, Herbert Wiley’s resurgence is perhaps the most unlikely. Forming Wiley & The Checkmates in Mississippi 1960, Wiley led his band through the “Chitlin Circuit” and backed Soul legends including Percy Sledge and Otis Clay. But Wiley quit music to run a business and raise a family before finding the inspiration to perform again. In 2002, Wiley re-formed The Checkmates and the band released the CD Introducing… in 2004. The band’s latest release - We Call It Soul - is currently available on the Rabbit Factory label.

Tickets are $10 - $12 day of the show - and can be purchased at www.thebottletree.com or by calling 533-6288.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Bassnectar - a.k.a. Lorin Ashton - lists his influences as “NWA to Simon & Garfunkel to The Cure to the Field Of Dreams soundtrack to Frank Zappa” among numerous others. Voted “Number One DJ” in his hometown of San Francisco three years in a row, Bassnectar will make his debut Birmingham performance at Zydeco on Friday, April 4. Creating sounds described as “a vibrant concoction of hip-hop, glitch and jungle” (Remix), the DJ has remixed and collaborated with a diverse array of artists including KRS One, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Perry Farrell and The String Cheese Incident. Currently, Bassnectar is touring in support of Underground Communication, his latest release on Om Records.

Tickets for the 9 p.m. show are $13 - $15 day of the show - and can be purchased at www.zydecobirmingham.com or by calling 933-1032. The show is open to ages 18+.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Things are moving so fast for Tea Leaf Green that its collective members should have windburn. Following the release of the 2005 CD Taught To Be Proud, the band took “Song Of The Year” honors for the album’s title track at the 2006 Jammy Awards. Shortly following the success of Taught To Be Proud, director Justin Kreutzmann - son of The Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann - captured the band on film for the documentary Rock’n'Roll Band. In addition to being released as an audio CD, Rock’n'Roll Band couples live footage with a behind-the-scenes look into the life of an emerging rock band.

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Popularity: 31% [?]

A small but appreciative crowd of about 40 or 50 people was all that our fair city could muster on the night of Tuesday, March 18, to witness the final performances in the history of The Bomb Shelter, the legendary BYOB music venue on 24th Street North downtown. Birmingham’s Menewa, an acoustic folk-rock-country group, opened the show, and Spottiswoode and His Enemies were the headliners.

As we reported a few weeks ago, the 2-story building that houses The Bomb Shelter and nearly a dozen artist studios and rehearsal spaces is for sale by its owner, Mitch Damsky. Gary Hyche, whose construction company is based on the first floor, has leased the building since 1993 and made spaces available at bargain rates to scores of artists and musicians. Hyche also plays guitar in Menewa.

Menewa’s set included material from it’s CD, Fairlane, including a tune called “Wash” that I liked a lot. For information, visit www.myspace.com/menewa

Jonathan Spottiswoode, originally from England and now based in New York, was playing The Bomb Shelter for the third time and seemed genuinely pleased that he had the opportunity to take part in this final show. He and his band were exhausted after a 12-hour drive from Houston, Texas, but they chugged down some coffee and played for at least an hour.

Spottiswoode plays acoustic guitar and sings, and his band — who packed a lot of muscle onto a tiny stage — back him up with drums, bass, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, accordion, trumpet, and saxophone. Spottiswoode has an engaging stage presence, a good sense of humor (which manifests itself in his lyrics), and a sound that seems to evoke a little Nick Cave, a bit of Tom Waits, even some Ray Davies. Rather than use the horrible cliches employed by music writers who don’t actually have a musical vocabulary, I will stop now and suggest that, if you want to learn more, you consult the band’s website at www.spottiswoode.com

Credit for the photo used with this entry goes to Bob Farley of f8 Photo. See his web site at www.f8photo.org

Popularity: 38% [?]

When I hear singer/songwriter Cary Brothers describe the aura that surrounds the Hotel Cafe Tour, I keep thinking of the 2003 documentary film The Festival Express. The film captured a group of like-minded artists and friends - namely The Grateful Dead, The Band and Janis Joplin - as they traveled by train across Canada in 1970. The Hotel Cafe Tour parallels The Festival Express by featuring a collection of artists that are touring as much for the camaraderie as the music.

“The energy is fantastic,” Brothers says, speaking by phone from El Paso, Texas. “There’s something really special about this tour in particular. It’s just a bunch of friends on a bus together - you really can’t go wrong.”

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Popularity: 51% [?]

Greyboy Allstars perform at Workplay

The jamband scene is best known for improvisational music, taper-friendly live performances and fiercely loyal fans. But equally prevalent are multiple musical projects that connect many of the scene’s high-profile artists. The Greyboy Allstars - a quintet formed on the West Coast nearly 15 years ago - exemplifies this collaborative spirit. Led by keyboardist Robert Walter (Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Frequinox) and saxophonist/vocalist Karl Denson (Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe), the band’s groove-driven sound is self-described as “70s soundtrack music.”Walter feels that participating in multiple projects is a key to creative and artistic growth.

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Popularity: 35% [?]