Indiana Rockabilly Legend
Little Flower House Concert #31
At the August 2022 house concert, The Art Adams Band was featured. Art Adams is a treasure to Indianapolis. At 87 years old, he and his band rocked the house! Art Adams is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and in the Indiana Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was such an honor to host him and his band at this intimate house concert. The band consisted of bandleader Art Adams, Michael Strauss on bass, Tim Gibson and Thom Woodard on guitar, and Mark Cutsinger on drums.
Art is a gem and Indianapolis is lucky to have such a unique, interesting, and talented guy as part of our music history. He has lots of stories from his life and guests were able to hear a few of them at the concert. We are all so glad Art is still making music for everyone to enjoy.
At the end of the concert Art Adams said… “Without you guys, there’d be no us. Music brings us all together.” As the host of this concert series, I know that this is 100% spot on and when I meet such kind, talented, and humble musicians it reminds me why I do this! Artists need audiences to play for and audiences need live music in their lives. Intimate concerts where you can see and hear the music together are where it’s at.
Art played so many of his own great tunes from throughout the years including Rock Crazy Baby and Dancing Doll. He also played tunes from some other favorite musical legends including Bill Monroe, Merle Haggard, and John Prine.
The threat of rain caused the concert to be inside this time. The band can never risk having their equipment get wet so they set up in the living room and guests enjoyed an indoor house concert complete with disco ball! Ironically it didn’t rain. So, with the windows open, many guests opted to hang out in the yard where they could still hear and had room to dance to this amazing, energetic rockabilly music. This was a very well attended concert so we got nice and cozy and filled the house to listen to this great band.
The Art Adams Band played an epic and memorable house concert!
Art had a bunch of really neat merch including CDs and a “Rockin’ from ‘52 on thru ‘22!” t-shirt to sell to guests who were interested. He even had a photo from his younger days available. I had bought a few of his vinyl records online and he even signed them for me! House concert friend and supporter Courtney Brooks owner of Courtney Brooks Photography was there taking photos to document the night. He shot lots of great black and white photos to share from the house concert.
Our friends Toni Malone and Dexter Smith, owners of Open Kitchen Restaurant were also at the house concert. This time they had delicious Zucchini Rotini sandwiches – Yum! Their food is amazing so be sure to visit their location at 4604 East 10th Street and show them some love.
Thank you to our sponsors for donating drinks for guests to enjoy during the concert. Drink sponsors include Black Acre Brewing Company, Upland Brewing Co. , and Mark Gasper Presents (who also puts on some really great community concerts!) donated the non-alcoholic drinks.
House concert guests are always the best! They’re so generous and donate via tip jar and virtual tips to support and thank the artists who come to play and this concert was no different. The Art Adams Band made some money for their amazing house concert performance and we all have a fabulous time!
A few days after the house concert, I am happy to have stayed in touch with Art. We have really enjoyed reflecting on this concert and seeing all the wonderful photos and videos guests have posted. Something that means so much to me as the host is that Art even messaged me with this very sweet and thoughtful testimonial…
“Kati, I wanted to let you know from the band and me that we really enjoyed playing one of your house concerts. It was all amazing. Thanks for the TLC. Thanks for all the promotions you gave us. You know, Kati, there’s nice people, then there’s sincerely nice people – that’s you! ❤️ We’ll be here for you if you need us and when you get time to listen to all the music you have, I hope you enjoy.” ~Art Adams
Thank you to all of my house concert guests and supporters for making these little events so fun and successful. We need each other to build a stronger, kinder community and we are doing it together! If you want to help the house concert series, please consider becoming a regular monthly sponsor or donating to this GoFundMe and support a good cause that will improve future concerts.
