We are now listing all events held at Barking Legs in chronological order. Our in-house productions are listed as either CoPAC or Flying Fingers, sometimes with co-sponsors, who will be noted. We encourage, but do not curate or endorse, outside producers who present shows at Barking Legs.

Shows are all ages unless otherwise noted. Doors open 1 hour before show. Tickets to shows are often available in advance through PayPal. Check the listings.
And remember, tickets are almost always available at the door, though cash and personal check only.

Barking Legs Theater is available to outside producers on a rental basis, and they are invited to contribute postings for this website. Please contact the producers directly for ticket purchases and other information. Interested in promoting or learning more about renting our space?
Please call 423-624-5347 or email info@barkinglegs.org with your inquiry.

Zanzibar Studios presents

Strung Like a Horse,
Lacy Jo and
The Accidental Circus
WED, May 16 @ 7 pm, doors @ 6:30
$12 adv/$15 door
All ages, parental discretion advised due to some strong language

Come one, come all! Make your hump day RaQ with Local Punk Grass favorites Strung Like a Horse with Belly Dance by Lacy Jo, and all the Circus Shenanigans you can handle with the Accidental Circus!

More on Lacy Jo

Purchase Advance Tickets Here!

Flying Fingers Productions Presents

An Evening with Pierre Bensusan
THURS, May 17 @ 7:30 pm
$15 adv/$18 door

We are extremely fortunate to be able to showcase Pierre Bensusan at Barking Legs, for Pierre is truly one of the world's most beloved and respected musicians on any instrument, in any genre. Pierre is an icon to guitarists the world over, so prepare to fight your way past them to get a seat!

"Pierres music gives me the shakes. No other guitarist shares his strange gifts of sophistication, accessibility and downright joy. Even at its most complex, Pierre's music only needs ears to be enjoyed."
Leo Kottke

"Listening to Pierre Bensusan is rejuvenating. Beside his extraordinary touch and tone, the notes and melody appeal directly to the tender side of our human nature."
Steve Vai

"One of the truly gifted musicians of our time - he plays the guitar as if it were the very soul of himself."
George Winston

Pierre's Website

Flying Fingers Productions Presents

Jazz Repertory at the Legs: Celebrating the Music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with The Evan Cobb Quintet
THURS, May 24 @ 7:30 pm
$10 adv/$12 door

On the heels of our highly successful look at the music of Miles Davis, we continue to to profile the giants with this look at the the music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Any of you lucky enough to have caught Jeff Coffin's show at the Legs last fall will remember Evan Cobb as the powerful tenor sax player who Jeff brought out as a special guest. Now Evan returns with a superb quintet to celebrate Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' classic LP, Moanin'. In addition Evan and the quintet will feature his own recent CD release, "Falling Up".

It is the rare musician whose talent allows him to work in many musical vernaculars, but such is life for saxophonist Evan Cobb. In the past calendar year Cobb has run the musical gamete: jazz standards in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room, funk solos at the Brooklyn Bowl, and Ravel’s famed “Bolero” with the Grammy Award winning Nashville Symphony. His album Falling Up, mostly borne in his popular monthly jam sessions at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, has received extensive airplay and has charted among the Top 50 Jazz Albums of Jazz Week for five weeks in 2012. The terrific band on the album will be joining him at Barking Legs, featuring Matt White – trumpet, Bruce Dudley – piano, Jonathan Wires – bass, and Joshua Hunt – drums.

"Evan Cobb’s new recording is chock full of surprises, humor, emotion and great music! Evan has the passion, talent and drive to become a success! As a former student of mine, I have watched Evan grow beyond all expectations. Give a listen, because once you do, I’m sure that you’ll be enjoying Evan’s music for a long time… I am!" Jon Faddis

CoPAC presents

Wide Open Floor
FRI, June 1 @ 8 pm
$5 at the door

Each first Friday, an amazing array of raw talent will be presented at Barking Legs. We have dancers, poets, musicians, professionals, students, seasoned performers, and those stepping out relatively unaccustomed to the stage. Expect surprises. Expect to be challenged. Expect to see acts that you love, as well as those that may uncomfortably stretch your perspective. Expect a nurturing and supportive environment of sharing ideas and expressions. We are Wide Open to it all. The cost is a mere $5 at the door (cash preferred, please). Thank you!

Flying Fingers Productions Presents

An Evening with Norman Blake
SAT, June 2 @ 8 pm
$15 adv/$18 door

Our most popular and requested performer returns for an intimate evening at the Legs! The guitarist who spawned countless flatpickers has evolved into one of our most cherished explorers and protectors of the old-time country music tradition. Immerse yourself in that tradition for an evening with Mr. Blake. We don't need to sell this one with reviews, and I don't think he has a website.

Chattanooga Improvisors Collective presents

OPEN IMPROVISATIONAL JAM for Dancers, Musicians, Spoken Word

First Sunday of each month

Sunday, JUNE 3
3-5 pm, Free!

Participants are free to propose structures for non-idiomatic improvised dance/music/spoken word. All are invited. Bring your chops but leave your preconceptions at the door!

Flying Fingers and the Shaking Ray Levi Society present

International Improvisors: John Butcher, Thomas Lehn, Gino Robair and Shaking Ray Levis
TUES, June 5
@ 7:30 pm
$12 adv/$15 door

In the spirit of Derek Bailey's "Company Week" - the annual free improv festival that brought together unique combinations of diverse performers - this will be an evening of distinguished international improvisers in constantly changing configurations, promising to be the most unexpected music event in Chattanooga this season.

Thomas Lehn (Cologne, Germany) draws from his background in pianistic interpretation and plays exclusively on vintage analog synthesizers in numerous international ensembles. Rooted in the experience of a wide spectrum of musical fields based on his background as an interpreting and improvising pianist in classical, contemporary and jazz music and being involved in numerous other projects like music theatre, dance, and multi-media, he has been developing an individual language of electronic music.

"Lehn has a prodigious imagination as well as the rigor to keep things both fascinating and compelling." - All Music Guide

Gino Robair has performed and recorded with Tom Waits, Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Nina Hagen, Terry Riley, Lou Harrison, John Butcher, Derek Bailey, Peter Kowald, Otomo Yoshihide, and the ROVA Saxophone Quartet. He is one of the "25 innovative percussionists" included in the book Percussion Profiles (SoundWorld, 2001), as well as a founding member of the Splatter Trio and Pink Mountain. His opera, I, Norton, based on the life of Norton I, Emperor of the United States, has been performed throughout North America and Europe.

"Robair and his buddies essentially gut the common preconceptions of their instruments in a bid to attain an unreal sort of beauty...startlingly original..." - San Francisco Weekly

The work of John Butcher (London, England) ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked saxophone pieces and explorations with feedback and extreme acoustics. Originally a physicist, he left academia in 1982, and has since collaborated with hundreds of musicians - including Derek Bailey, John Stevens, Gerry Hemingway, The EX, Polwechsel, Gino Robair, Rhodri Davies, John Edwards, Toshimaru Nakamura, Paul Lovens, Eddie Prevost, John Russell, Mark Sanders, John Tilbury, Christian Marclay, Phil Minton, and Steve Beresford.

The Shaking Ray Levis (Dennis Palmer and Bob Stagner) use analog synths, vocal-tellin' and percussion to achieve their Southern Ol' Time Avant-Garde sound. They are the first American group to have recorded for Incus Records, one of the world's most important improvisation-based record labels, founded by legendary guitarist Derek Bailey. Along with Bailey, they have also performed and recorded with the Rev. Howard Finster, Min Tanaka, David Greenberger, Fred Frith, Amy Denio, John Zorn, Borbetomagus, Tom Cora, Roger Turner, and Tony Oxley.

Flying Fingers and the Shaking Ray Levi Society present

Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston
THURS, July 12
@ 7:30 pm
$12 adv/$15 door

The astounding duo who opened last year's new Dischord Festival return! I really never dreamed they'd make it back so soon, but response was phenomenal, and the Englishmen were eager to play for us again. Trevor has an amazingly diverse history, which this summary hints at, but he's still at the peak of his powers, still exploring. And Veryan-- who was unknown to me prior to last year's show-- is simply one of the most formidable and unforgettable pianists you'll ever hear.

British saxophonist Trevor Watts has been associated with the British free jazz and improvised music scene since the mid-'60s. He is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and in other projects with drummer John Stevens. While this work filled the first two decades of his career, he has focused more on his Moiré Music projects since the 1980s.

Veryan Weston is best-known for his work with such British musicians as vocalist Phil Minton and saxophonist Lol Coxhill. He moved from Cornwall to London at the age of 22, where he began working as a freelance jazz pianist. He also composed and performed music for film, the most notable being his work with Lol Coxhill on director Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1985). Weston's interest in multi-media presentations led him to earn a degree in performance art from Middlesex University. He also earned a master's degree in music composition from Goldsmith's College University in London. In the '80s and '90s, Weston worked with the Eddie Prevost Quartet and Trevor Watts' Moire Music, and in duos with Minton and Coxhill. Weston has recorded for the Matchless, Acta, Ogun, and Leo labels, among others. In addition to being a prominent free jazz-oriented musician, Weston is also an accomplished mainstream jazz pianist.

Fascinating interview with Trevor Watts

BARKING LEGS THEATER
1307 Dodds Ave
Chattanooga, TN 37404

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