JD McPherson

JD McPherson plays Kessler Park United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 5, at 8 PM. He's a musician and visual artist from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and this is a straight-ahead R&B and rock 'n' roll show. On stage he'll be joined by Doug Corcoran, who handles saxophone, guitar, and keys.

McPherson describes his work as an art project disguised as an R&B record, and that's a good place to start. He didn't come to music from a traditional path: he studied experimental film at the University of Oklahoma, earned an M.F.A. in open media from the University of Tulsa, and worked as a middle-school art teacher before signing with Rounder. His debut album, Signs & Signifiers, was produced by his musical partner Jimmy Sutton, and the sound pulls from a wide range of sources. You'll hear the influence of Little Richard and Larry Williams alongside the Clash, the Pixies, T. Rex, and hip-hop.

That mix is what puts him in a different bracket than a standard revival act. He's not just looking back at the early days of R&B; he's pulling in punk, glam, and hip-hop, and letting them sit together. It's a sound that fits as well in a small room as it does on a record, and with Corcoran on sax, guitar, and keys, there's enough on stage to cover the ground. The show is at Kessler Park United Methodist Church, 1215 Turner Ave, in Dallas, starting at 8 PM on Saturday, December 5.