Hop on the bus with us as we take to the road to visit The Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas. This week, we’re putting on a show with the inimitable Langhorne Slim from Nashville and with the super funky Greyhounds from Austin. Nick also has a chat with Grady Spann, CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, to discuss nature conservation.
Langhorne Slim
Born Sean Scolnick in 1980, Slim took part of his artistic moniker from his hometown of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a place he’s still very much connected to despite making his home in Nashville. The title of his most recent album, Strawberry Mansion, refers to the neighborhood in Philadelphia where both of his grandfathers grew up, a place he calls “dirty but sweet, tough but full of love, where giants roamed the earth and had names like Whistle and Curly.” Strawberry Mansion is not so much about nostalgia for the past as it is about the possibility of better days ahead in this world. Strawberry Mansion is the singer-songwriter’s seventh full-length album. He released his first record back in 2004. Since then he has graced the stages of Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and the Conan O’Brien show, winning fans over with his heart-on-a-sleeve sincerity and rousing live shows.
Greyhounds
Keyboardist/vocalist Anthony Farrell and guitarist/vocalist Andrew Trube met and began collaborating over 20 years ago, over a shared love of The Meters. The duo has recruited a number of drummers over the years, including Austin session player Russell Lee, who currently occupies that seat. For a decade, Farrell and Trube were mainstays in JJ Grey’s MOFRO, but left in 2016 to focus exclusively on Greyhounds.
They’ve released 8 full-length albums and developed a unique funky Texas sound that Trube describes as “Hall & Oates meets ZZ Top.” The band also frequently records and collaborates with dozens of other Austin musicians in their home studio Bud’s Recording Services. In August 2023, Greyhounds released the album Greybird, a collaborative project made with Tim Crane and Sam Patlove from T Bird and the Breaks.
Grady Spann
Grady Spann serves as the CEO/Executive Director of the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust with a focus and mission to preserve and enhance the quality of life for all people in Northwest Arkansas through the permanent protection of land. The vision and promise of the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust is to work collaboratively and tirelessly to ensure that our region’s abundant scenic beauty, clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, local food supply, and natural heritage are permanently protected for the benefit and prosperity of current and future generations.
Prior to leading the NWALT, Grady spent 28 years with Arkansas State Parks. Before this, he served in the U.S. Army for nine years as a military tactical intelligence and counterintelligence officer.