Maybe you’ve heard about Conway’s very own up-and-coming band. Perhaps you’ve seen them play around town at ZaZa in The Village, Michelangelo’s rooftop, or Simon Park. If you haven’t heard of them yet, allow me to introduce you to the band with music that keeps on giving – Don’t Stop Please.
Don’t Stop Please is a six-piece band that combines high energy with a radical variety of instruments to create a sound all their own. The music is a hybrid mix of cosmic folk, jazz funk, and good old rock ‘n’ roll. The group has been making music together since the beginning of 2011, but a few of the members have been playing together since high school.
Don’t Stop Please is Nick Caffrey, William Krzeszinski, Anna Horton, Joel Ludford, Robert Gaiser, and Will King. At each show, the band members switch instruments between songs, giving a new definition to the game of musical chairs. Everyone plays just about everything. One minute they are holding a drumstick and the next they’re holding a cello.
The band makes its music with the guitar, bass, upright bass, banjo, cello, saxophone, drums, trumpet, trombone, harmonica, and a multitude of shakers and abstract sound makers, including a washboard and synthesizer.
The band has established a presence in Conway as well as Little Rock. They’ve played at Stickyz, Creegan’s Irish Pub, Reno’s Argenta Cafe, and White Water Tavern. They also make frequent trips to Eureka Springs and have gained a loyal fan base in northern Arkansas.
Don’t Stop Please hit its most recent high note when it made it to the finals of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase and played alongside other finalists at the Rev Room in Little Rock.
“Don’t Stop Please is one of the most talked-about groups to come out of Conway in a long, long time – maybe ever,” according to do501.com.
Their next big show is Friday on Michelangelo’s rooftop. They will be teaming up with Arkansas bands Tyrannosaurus Chicken and Mountain Sprout. Tickets are $10 and available at Starstruck Video in Conway and Mr. Eddie’s Headies in Little Rock.
Here’s a video of the band playing in the musicians showcase last month.
