Micki Free to perform ahead of Hendrix documentary on February 7

Grammy-winning musician Micki Free is set to perform at Cottonwood as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix ahead of OTCA’s Monday Movies on Main, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival. (Courtesy picture)

The Old Town Center for the Arts has announced a special appearance by Grammy winner and five-time Native American Music Award winner Micki Free as the opening act for the screening of “Jimi Hendrix Live at Maui” at the Sedona International Film Fest, on Monday, February 7 at 7 p.m.

Micki Free and the band will play some Jimi Hendrix classics – “All Along the Watchtower” and “Voodoo Chile” to get the audience in the mood to watch the dazzling rock documentary “Jimi Hendrix Live at Maui.”

Check out the free game “Voodoo Chile” in London’s Hyde Park, in front of a crowd of over 30,000, on this youtube clip: YouYube.com/watch?v=gyLfP1B-i5E

“The director of the SIFF, Patrick Schweiss, and I spoke about this type of organization of “special events”, combining live performance and film. It will be an exciting evening,” said OTCA co-director William Eaton.

Free’s appearance at the ACTO coincides with the release of his new album “Turquoise Blue” which will be released next week. The album contains some Hendrix classics.

Free said this about his new album project: “I wrote my new album ‘Turquoise Blue’ at the start of the pandemic in 2020. There are also a few of my friends – Gary Clark Jr., Santana Band with my sister and drummer Cindy Blackman-Santana, Steve Stevens of Billy Idol and blues prodigy Christone Kingfish Ingram It’s blues-rock in the style of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and other big names in the blues rock.

When Micki Free first picked up the guitar as a young teenager after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform live in Germany, he set out on a multi-faceted path with a musical destiny that would alternately embrace and conquer the distinct worlds of rock and roll, pop/R&B and – drawing on his Cherokee/Comanche mixed-blood heritage – Native American flute music. Over the past four decades, his eclectic muse has inspired him to strike a shrewd cultural balance between the world of rock and new age music as an acclaimed guitarist and flautist.

Free became well known to younger audiences in 2004, when his late ’80s dress and appearance (and Prince’s) was parodied by Dave Chappell in his sketch Chappell’s Show “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Prince: Uncensored”. .” The skit is included in numerous “Top 10 Best” comedy lists, and according to Billboard (April 25, 2016), it was viewed over 600,000 times within days of Prince’s death, generating interview requests and a new interest in the long-term friendship between Free and Prince.

Discovered by Gene Simmons when his Illinois-based band Smokehouse opened for KISS, Ted Nugent and REO Speedwagon, Free joined funk-soul band Shalamar in 1984, the year they hit the Top 20.

Mysterium Music, renowned for the label’s unique, high-quality, award-winning meditation and relaxation music, welcomed Micki Free to the label for the release of his upcoming Native American flute album titled “The Native American Flute as Therapy” in August. 2016. album, incorporated a unique blend of flute, spoken word and instrumentals, designed to promote relaxation and enlightenment.

Free’s next project was the latest addition to a catalog of instrumental music that included “The Sun Chase”, Free’s first love song CD written about his trials, hopes and loves through his travels on the flutes. Native Americans; “Sedona Free,” written about the “sacred spiritual red earth” and Native American ancestors/peoples of Sedona; and “Comanche”, which he dedicated to his family and the Comanche tribe.

In 2016, Free called off their recording collaboration with producer/keyboardist Paul Brown in Nashville; he made a live appearance on Carlos Santana’s Las Vegas Show, recorded an interview for VladTV in Los Angeles, and attended MIDEM in France to establish international touring and distribution for his Native American music and blues/rock band , American Horse. In 2017 Micki released “Micki Free Tattoo Burn Redux” on Mysterium Blues Records.

Free was invited to be part of an all-star cast of Native American musicians, known as the Native Rocks, at the American Indian Inaugural Ball in Arlington, Virginia, in celebration of President Barack Obama’s inauguration. . He performed with Native Rocks at a related event at the Hard Rock Cafe before performing at the Inaugural Ball.

“Jimi Hendrix: Live at Maui” premieres at the Old Town Center for the Arts on Monday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 general admission and $9 for Film Festival members and $10 for students. Movie concessions will be available, including beer, wine, soft drinks, water, popcorn and a selection of movie candy. Tickets are available online at SedonaFilmFestival.com.

Information provided by ACTO.