Tag: Black Artists

Everett — As a college student at the University of Washington, Craig Chambers would drink beer — most of it of the Coors Light, macrobrew variety.

It was only after he transferred to the University of Montana that he discovered what beer could really be and that craft beer is about so much more than what’s in the bottle.

“I fell in love with Big Sky Brewing, specifically their brown ale,” said Chambers, whose tastes skew to the more malt-forward beers over hoppy ones. “But really I just loved the vibe of their place. It felt like so much more than just a restaurant and brewery. It was a place I could just drink, hang out and be myself.”

That feeling stuck with Chambers and drove him to open his own “vibe” spot. Chambers recently opened Obsidian Beer Hall in downtown Everett. Located in the former home of Toggle’s Bottleshop along Hewitt Avenue, Obsidian is designed to be a place to unwind and chill out while throwing back a pint of beer or a glass of wine.

“I want people to enjoy coming in, sitting down and staying as long as they want,” said Chambers. “Hang out and have a good time. That’s the vibe.”

The ambiance of Obsidian is definitely chill. Instead of large tables and hard-back chairs, Chambers has gone with plush sofas, mid-century-modern lounge chairs and a bar top that zigs and zags to create small tables rather than the normal straight-line bar. The overall feel is a place to sit down, talk, laugh and enjoy oneself.

“We wanted a different feel,” said Chambers, who spent time working for Diamond Knot Brewing for two years after graduating from Montana.

As a Black-owned business, it is also important for Chambers to represent his perspective in the craft beer world. Nationwide, less than 1% of all breweries are Black-owned. In Washington, three of nearly 400 breweries in operation are Black-owned.

Chambers said he hopes to regularly have beers on tap from those three breweries: Metier Brewing and 23rd Avenue Brewery in Seattle, and Sage Brewing in Pasco.

It’s more than just beer, though. There’s hip-hop on the stereo and art on the walls from Black artists and other minority artists in the community. Currently, Obsidian is showcasing works from Yolanda Galery and OviArt.

“For me, it’s all about representation in the community and making sure everyone feels welcome here,” said Chambers, who also keeps a number of non-alcoholic options on the menu for those not drinking alcohol. “We’re not just catering to one type of customer. I want Obsidian to be a reflection of the community as a whole.”

In the future, Chambers plans to open a small gallery at the back of the space, where Toggle’s used to house its bottleshop fridges. The hope is to feature a diversity of art from a broad spectrum of local artists from all backgrounds.

The taplist will be dominated by local and Washington breweries. Over the past few months, Chambers has been making pilgrimages to beer-centric locales suchaas Bellingham and Seattle to taste-test breweries’ best beers. He said he’s not only testing the beer but also the vibe of the people and places he’ll be sourcing from.

Overall, Chambers’ hope is to have beers on tap that visitors can’t find anywhere else.

“I want hard-to-find beers that are unique,” said Chambers.

Chambers hosted a standing-room-only grand opening for his beer hall earlier this month. Prior to the opening, he reached out to 5 Rights Brewing owner R.J. Whitlow about doing some social media collaboration and aksed if Whitlow would send over a beer he could put on tap for the celebration.

Whitlow did him one better, offering to brew a one-off specialty beer just for the occasion.

“We were honored to be a part of the opening festivities,” said Whitlow, who brewed a red ale, Ribbon Cutting Red, for the Obsidian grand opening. “We love being part of this amazing craft beer community, and as always we will do our part to help out in any way we can.”

Obsidian Beer Hall is open Thursday through Sunday. Chambers has hopes to eventually open his own kitchen. For now, he’s offering snacks, though outside food is also welcome.

Obsidian Beer Hall

Where: 1420 Hewitt Ave., Everett

Hours: 1-8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 1-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Contact: 206-321-7437

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–> RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Beyoncé doesn’t need anyone’s permission to make country music. Beyoncé making a country-infused album is not an attack on country music. “COWBOY CARTER” is not a country album — it’s a Beyoncé album, by her own definition. Maybe, with that out of the way, we can have an adult conversation about this album?  

The best thing that can be said about “COWBOY CARTER” comes from the album itself, through a spoken word intro on “SPAGHETII”: “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. In practice, well, some may feel confined.” Like, that’s it, that’s the album.  The vibe is much less country, and more “this is some music Beyoncé wanted to make for herself.” 

“COWBOY CARTER” feels less like a cohesive project, and more like a couple of extended plays tacked together. That’s not bad, but it does create a disjointed effect, particularly with the frequent genre changes. And there are a lot of genre changes, from country, bluegrass, folk and other roots music, to four-on-the-floor dance bops and opera. You should pity the record store clerks who’ll have to find somewhere to put this album.

You’ve got your country-adjacent songs: “16 Carriages,” “Protector,” “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “Daughter,” “Alligator Tears,” “Just for Fun” and “II Most Wanted.”  That might seem like a lot, but it’s a 27-song album. For the most part, the album feels authentic and like a labor of love. But there’s also the branded marketing single “Levii’s Jeans,” featuring Post Malone. It’s a soulless corporate anthem which proves that when COWBOY CARTER is bad, it’s really bad. 

 It’s also worth noting the album’s two covers of “blackbird” by The Beatles and “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. Parton, for what it’s worth, has spent years cajoling Beyoncé to cover her song, and it appears that she genuinely loves the cover. Unfortunately, there are probably not a lot of people who can say the same. “Blackbiird” received similar praise from Paul McCartney, but fortunately works a lot better as a song. “Blackbiird,” originally written in support of the Little Rock Nine, also contains most of the album’s features: Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts and Tanner Adell.  

As much as COWBOY CARTER is a country album in genre, it’s an album about country music. Beyoncé was born in Texas to a Louisiana Creole mother. She grew up going to rodeos and has performed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo four times. Beyoncé is as American, and as country, as anyone else contributing to the genre. There are a lot of people who don’t agree with that statement, though, and there are some undeniable racial overtones in the discourse. Beyoncé is smart, and she’s aware of those overtones. Consequently, the resulting album has a lot to say about the identity of country music.  

In “Ya Ya,” Beyoncé describes the second half of the album using the term “rodeo chitlin’ circuit.” The Chitlin’ Circuit, a segregation-era phenomenon, was a group of venues across the southern and eastern United States that allowed Black artists to perform. The press release for the album draws attention to the fact that “cowboy” itself is a racially loaded term — white cowhands were, well, cowhands — but Black cowhands were called cowboys. In addition to the artists featured on “Blackbiird,” “COWBOY CARTER” also features country-infused rapper Shaboozey and Linda Martell, the first commercially successful Black female country singer. Beyoncé has a clear intention of saying, “hey, not only can I make country music, but other Black people can, too.” 

“COWBOY CARTER” is a weird album. It’s undeniably a Beyoncé album, and at times, it’s undeniably country. If anything, it reaffirms Beyoncé’s immense skill as an artist. A common phrase that comes up in negative reviews of the album is a facetious, “Why sing one note when you could sing 10?” But seriously, why not? At this point, Beyoncé isn’t showing off — she’s taking a victory lap.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

For the first time in 25 years, a new daytime drama has entered production: The Gates — following the lives of a wealthy Black family in their gated community — comes to CBS in January 2025.

The showrunner and head writer for the show is veteran soap scribe Michele Val Jean, known for her Emmy Award-winning work on The Bold and the Beautiful (B&B) and General Hospital (GH). Val Jean’s new job makes her the first Black person and first Black woman to oversee a daytime soap opera as showrunner/EP. She was also the first Black female head writer of a daytime drama. The Gates is a CBS Studios/NAACP production venture in partnership with P&G Studios (which long ago was behind As the World Turns, Guiding Light and Another World).

The time slot, premiere date and cast for The Gates are still to be determined, but it’s expected to occupy the spot vacated by The Talk.

The last time a broadcast network premiered a daytime soap that was centered on a Black family was in 1989 with NBC’s Generations, which Val Jean wrote for and which lasted only a year. An industry expert tells Yahoo Entertainment that she expects The Gates to do well and bolster the genre.

What does a new soap opera mean signify?

“A rising tide lifts all boats, so a new soap can only be good for daytime,” TV expert and Soap Opera Digest columnist Carolyn Hinsey tells Yahoo Entertainment.

It’s been a challenging decade for soaps. They became a fixture on TV in the 1950s; 20 years later, there were 19 on the air — with 50 million people, including many men, watching in a given week. Like other genres, soaps experienced reduced viewership with the rise of cable. The shows — known for their intensely loyal fanbases — were also treated as dispensable. Preemptions beyond breaking news — like airing O.J. Simpson’s 1995 trial (and 1994 pretrial) — deeply cut ratings. In the 2000s, as reality TV boomed and streaming was birthed, soaps were pulled by panicked TV execs for cheaper-to-produce talk shows.

Today, just four soaps remain: B&B, GH, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. (Days moved to streamer Peacock in 2022, ending its 57-year run on NBC.)

It hasn’t been lost on soap viewers — who still clamor for the return for All My Children, One Life to Live and ATWT, all taken off the air in the 2010s despite fervent “save our soap” campaigns — that, with the cancellation of The Talk, soaps’ replacements have now been axed themselves. While soap ratings have absolutely declined over the years, talk shows, even those headlined by stars like Kelly Clarkson and Drew Barrymore, have lagged behind soaps in ratings. To have a new soap launch, likely in the time slot of a replacement now 15 years later, brings it full circle.

Hinsey says she “absolutely” sees The Gates as a vote of confidence for the genre. “None of the talk shows that replaced soaps have shown the longevity of the shows they replaced — or earned the same loyalty from daytime viewers,” who have the shows trending daily on X.

As for the addition of a new show, “I’m surprised it took this long,” she says. “I honestly thought some combination of All My Children and One Life To Live would have been rebooted by now for the ABC lineup or maybe even for Hulu,” as has long been rumored. “Many of those ABC actors have cycled through General Hospital, so we know they still look great and are available to work.”

Viewer demand for drama series done right remains strong.

“I think the success of continuing dramas like Grey’s Anatomy, Suits, This Is Us, The Crown, etc., on streaming services bodes well for a new daytime soap,” Hinsey says. “There are so many ways to keep up with our shows now. I have a 78-year-old neighbor who watches Days of our Lives on Peacock. Where there’s a will there’s a way!”

Can The Gates accomplish what Generations didn’t?

Expectations for The Gates is high. Executive producer Sheila Ducksworth, who is president of the CBS/NAACP production partnership, said in March it will be “everything we love about daytime drama from a new and fresh perspective.” The show “will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved.” There will be “multidimensional characters, juicy storylines and Black culture front and center.”

“I’ve known Michele Val Jean since the 1990s, when she worked on GH, and I have a lot of respect for her work,” Hinsey says. “Michele understands the genre and is an excellent dialogue writer.” (Val Jean and Ducksworth were not available for interviews for this story.)

As far as casting, “Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams were wildly popular as Angie and Jesse on AMC, so they’d be a good start,” Hinsey suggests.

Many of today’s most successful Black actors got their start on soaps, including Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Michael B. Jordan. The late Ellen Holly had the distinction of being the first Black soap star in 1968. Y&R has been perhaps the most successful and robust family, striking gold with the Winters family: Shemar Moore, Victoria Rowell, Kristoff St. John and Tonya Williams. However, Black characters are seen as an unsung part of the genre.

Generations broke ground in 1989 as the first soap to debut with a core Black family. NBC pulled the plug after just 13 months, saying it didn’t perform. The odds seemed stacked against it, however; for one thing, it was up against the No. 1 show, Y&R; in other markets, and it aired at 2:30 a.m. in the pre-DVR era. It’s also been reported that Nielsen, which measures media audiences, didn’t track as many Black households. A 2024 Nielsen study showed that Black audiences consume more media than the rest of the population, and feel underrepresented in the media.

The Gates promises to deliver on representation. Teeing it up for success is diversity behind the scenes and in the writers room under the guidance of a woman who has penned more than 2,000 episodes of daytime TV. It also has NAACP backing, with the goal of increasing the visibility of Black artists on broadcast and streaming platforms. Technology has also greatly improved from the VHS era of the ‘80s. Instead of the show being pitted against the top soap, Y&R will be one of its lead-ins.

“Soap fans have lost so many shows since [Generations],” says Hinsey. “I think they will make a point to find The Gates and give it a try. It helps that it will air in the time slot after Bold and Beautiful on CBS. If people are setting their DVRs for Y&R and B&B, they can just add one hour.”

If the show does take off, it could be a much-needed boost for a popular genre that’s been underappreciated in the modern era.

“If The Gates does well, which I think it will, I wouldn’t be surprised if ABC rebooted AMC and/or OLTL” next, Hinsey says.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

As Cowboy Carter enjoys a second consecutive week atop the Billboard 200, the world continues to dissect Queen Bey’s latest opus. On Thursday (April 18), via a press release, Max announced a new documentary titled Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance slated to hit the streamer on Friday, April 26.

Produced by CNN FlashDocs, the upcoming documentary will provide a look at the impact of high-profile acts like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X on the contemporary country music scene and how their contributions connect to the history of Black artists in Nashville.

Earlier this year, Queen Bey made history with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the lead single for Cowboy Carter, announced and released during the 2024 Super Bowl (Feb. 11). On the chart dated Feb. 24, “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, marking the first time a Black woman had ever topped the ranking. The following week (chart dated March 2), “Texas Hold ‘Em” became the first country song by a Black woman to top the Billboard Hot 100. Following the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and its B-side, “16 Carriages,” streaming activity for other Black women in country exploded across the board.

Call Me Country will feature interviews with Grammy-winning country duo Brothers Osborne, “Texas Hold ‘Em” banjo player Rhiannon Giddens, Rissi Palmer, Aaron Vance and Denitia, as well as analysis from a slew of cultural critics and country music experts, including Touré and co-directors of the Black Opry Holly G. and Tanner D.

Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s eighth solo studio album, arrived March 29 with 27 tracks that pay homage to the Black roots of country music and envision a distinctively Beyoncé-esque future for the genre. The sprawling album included collaborations with several ascendant Black country stars including Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozey and Willie Jones. In addition, country music legends Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton voiced interludes on the album, which Beyoncé described as a “continuation” of her Grammy-winning Renaissance record.

Fans may still be waiting on the visuals, but, in the meantime, they can enjoy the Call Me Country documentary.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Shaylah Brown is a TribLive reporter covering art, culture and communities of color. A New Jersey native, she joined the Trib in 2023. When she’s not working, Shaylah dives into the worlds of art, wellness and the latest romance novels. She can be reached at sbrown@triblive.com.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

April 18

Thunder Thursday: Presented by Visit Long Beach & Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Pike Outlets. 6-10:30 p.m. Free. thepikeoutlets.com/events.

3D Sculpting with Sculpt GL: Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. 4-6:30 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Black Nerds Unite: Part 2. Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Brewitt Neighborhood Library, 4036 E. Anaheim St. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Signal Hill Library book sale: Thursday, April 18. 1800 E. Hill St. Fill a bag for $5. Cash only. Noon-4 p.m.

Dive into School: Early Math. Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, 5870 Atlantic Ave. 3:30-4:30 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Financial Literacy For Adults: “Increase Cash Flow and Debt Management.” Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Harte Neighborhood Library, 1595 W. Willow St. 5:30-7 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Read and Create: With Agape Children’s Museum. Burnett Neighborhood Library, 560 E. Hill St. 2-3 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

University Brass Quintet/ Brass Ensemble: Presented by Bob Cole Conservatory of Music. Daniel Recital Hall, 1250 Bellflower Blvd. 7:30 p.m. $10-$20. shorturl.at/hlG08.

April 19

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Runs through Sunday, April 21. Marina Green Park, 386 E. Shoreline Drive, Long Beach. For times and ticket cost, visit gplb.com.

Shared Science Hands-On STEM Workshop: Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Dana Neighborhood Library, 3680 Atlantic Ave. 10:30-11:30 a.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

String Chamber: Presented by Bob Cole Conservatory of Music. Daniel Recital Hall, 1250 Bellflower Blvd. 7:30 p.m. $10-$20. 562-985-7000, shorturl.at/hlG08.

African American Artist Showcase: Presented by African American Cultural Center of Long Beach and Museum of Latin American Art. Friday, April 19. Expo Arts Center, 4321 Atlantic Ave. 5:30-6:30 p.m.

April 20

30-minute Beach Clean-up: Presented by Justin Rudd. 1 S. Granada Ave. at Ocean Blvd. 9:30 a.m. shorturl.at/ahxEJ.

Arts Film Series: “Hamlet.” Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. Noon-2:30 p.m. 562-570-6729, bitly.ws/CtJx.

Blackout Poetry and Friendship Bracelets: Presented by Long Beach Public Library in honor of The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift’s new album. Harte Neighborhood Library, 1595 W. Willow St. 2-4 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Dia de los Ninos Family Event: Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Burnett Neighborhood Library, 560 E. Hill St.11 a.m.-3 p.m. 562-570-1041, bitly.ws/CtJx.

Earth Day Tree Planting: Office of Climate Action and Sustainability, E. 14th St., and Locust Ave. 9 a.m.-noon. 562-570-6396, shorturl.at/gtHW7.

Game Day: “Hnefatafl (Viking Chest).” Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. 3-4:30 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Music of the Spirit: Presented by Chamber Choir. Los Altos United Methodist Church, 5950 W. Willow St. 7:30 p.m. $5-$20. 562-985-7000, shorturl.at/hlG08.

Recycle? Upcycle!: Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Mark Twain Neighborhood Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St. 2-3 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Spring Tea Party: Presented by Long Beach Public Library in celebration of National Tea Day. Brewitt Neighborhood Library, 4036 E. Anaheim St. 1-2 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

The Fabulous 50s: Presented by the Long Beach Primetime Players. Long Beach Senior Center, 1150 E. Fourth St. Noon. 714-269-7496.

Vivaldi Il Veneziano: Presented by Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra. First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave. 7:30-9:30 p.m. $40-$80. 562-276-0865, shorturl.at/krxQZ.

Transparent Families Outing: Presented by LGBTQ Center Long Beach. Colorado Lagoon Park, 5119 E. Colorado St. 1-3 p.m. kcoughlin@centerlb.org for more info.

Dirtbags Pre-Game Concert: Presented by Friends of the Recreation Park Bandshell. 701-939 Federation Dr., across from Wilson High School. 4:15 p.m. Free. More info: forpbs.org/dirtbags.

April 21

Educational Symposium: “Jerusalem: Crossroads of Three Abrahamic Faiths.” Presented by South Coast Interfaith Council. The Pointe Conference Center at California State University Long Beach, 1250 N. Bellflower Blvd. 562-983-1665, shorturl.at/ruvyS.

Pop-Up Market: Presented by Rose Park Roaster, 800 Pine Ave. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. roseparkroasters.com.

April 23

Coloring Calm: Meditative Art. Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Harte Neighborhood Library, 1595 W. Willow St. 5:30-6:30 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Networking Luncheon: Presented by Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. Parker’s Lighthouse, 435 Shoreline Drive, Long Beach. 11:30 a.m. $25 for members/$35 for non-members. shorturl.at/hijLO.

Tie-Dye Textiles: Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. 4-6:30 p.m. 562-570-7500, bitly.ws/CtJx.

April 24

Drag Bingo: The Bungalow, 6400 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 200 7:30 p.m. bitly.ws/RUme.

Movie Trivia Night: Presented by the Art Theatre, 2025 E 4th St. 6:30 p.m. Free. arttheatrelongbeach.org.

Teen Cafe: Tiny Library Desk Listening Sessions. Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, 5870 Atlantic Ave. 4:30-6 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Teen Matinee: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” Presented by Long Beach Public Library. Los Altos Neighborhood Library, 5614 Britton Drive. 4-5:55 p.m. bitly.ws/CtJx.

Queer Film Club: Presented by the Art Theatre, 2025 E 4th St. 8:30 p.m. Free. arttheatrelongbeach.org.

Ongoing

Book Drive: AOC7 Neighborhood Organization is accepting new and gently used children’s books through April 30. Drop off location: 4362 Atlantic Ave. More info: tinyurl.com/AOC7BookDrive.

Art of Wood Carving: Presented by California Carvers Guild. Meets from 8 a.m. to noon every Monday and Wednesday. Senior Center, 1150 E. Fourth St., Room 207. 562-570-3500.

Club of Harps: The harmonica club for all skill levels meets every Wednesday and Thursday at the Long Beach Senior Center, 1150 E. Fourth St. 1:30-3 p.m. clubofharps.org.

Accordion Meet-Up: Accordion players (all levels) and listeners are invited to the jam held on the first Saturday of every month at the Long Beach Senior Center, 1150 E. Fourth St. For more information, contact program coordinator Dave at 310-210-3297.

Exhibit: “Portraits, Figures and Animals from the Artist Journey of Bernette Derpaulian.” Long Beach Playhouse Gallery, 5021 Anaheim St. Runs through April 28. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

“Hamlet”: Adapted by James Rice and Amanda Karr. Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage Theatre, 5021 Anaheim St. $10-$35. Runs thru May 6. shorturl.at/MSW89.

“Hat Box”: Directed by Lola Binks. Garage Theatre, 251 E. Seventh St. $20-$25. Runs thru Apr. 20. bitly.ws/BEY8.

“Million Dollar Quartet”: Presented by Musical Theatre West. Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St. Runs through April 28. $23 and up. 562-856-1999, musical.org.

Upcoming

59th Congressional Cup: World championship regatta presented by the Long Beach Yacht Club. Runs April 24-28. For more information: thecongressionalcup.com.

Festival of Great Reads 2024: Presented by Long Beach City College. 1305 E. Pacific Coast Highway. Saturday, April 27. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. festivalofgreatreads.org.

Tiny Film Fest: Saturday, April 27. Short film screenings at the Art Theater, 2025 E. 4th St. $25/program block; $35 for reception and daytime lounge access. tinyfilmfest.org/program.

Celebration of the Young Child: Presented by city of Long Beach. Saturday, April 27. BJK Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

7th Annual Touch-A-Truck: Presented by Justin Rudd. Sunday, April 28. 5000 E. Ocean Blvd. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Attendees encouraged to bring peanut butter/canned tuna for donation to local food banks. JustinRudd.com/truck.

Send calendar announcements two weeks prior to the scheduled event to editor@gazettes.com.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

ROYCE JONES, DELANA FLOWERS

Playing in the Hill District through April 28

by Genea Webb, For New Pittsburgh Courier

The thirst for good mu­sic, romance and a bit of history will be quenched when audiences at­tend the performance of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company’s sea­son-opening production of “Dinah: A Musical Re­vue.”

“People’s souls are starving for something of substance that they can relate to that won’t kill them,” explained the production’s creator, Er­nest McCarty. “This piece means a lot to the people who come to see it, to hear those old sounds and feel the old feelings because the radio isn’t playing Dinah Washington any­more. Where can they go to worship at the throne of Dinah Washington? ‘Dinah: A Musical Revue’ takes people back to that old feeling and those old sounds that they can’t get now.”

The show will run through April 28 at Pitts­burgh Playwrights The­atre’s 3401 Milwaukee Street home in the Hill District. It’s the second time Pittsburgh Play­wrights Theatre Compa­ny has produced the show. The first time was in 2015.

“I produced this in 2015 right before my accident. This time there is a differ­ent cast (except for Dela­na Flowers, who is re­prising the role as Dinah Washington). We have a live band with top musi­cians in the city—Roger Humphries, Dewayne Dolphin, Dewayne Fulton and Tony Campbell,” said Pittsburgh Play­wrights Theatre Com­pany’s Artistic Director, Mark Clayton Southers. “Ernest, who wrote the play, was in the produc­tion last time and he di­rected it, but this time I’m directing it. There are 10 new songs. We have swapped songs and this time the show is being performed in our permanent home. It will have a nightclub feel. It takes place in Bird­land in New York in the 1960s, so the theater is going to be transformed into a nightclub. It will be a nice night on the town for folks. We’ve been getting good com­ments from the audi­ence. It’s a really nice atmosphere.”

Flowers told the New Pittsburgh Courier she’s excited to reprise her role as Dinah Wash­ington.

LES HOWARD AS BROOK BENTON AND DELANA FLOWERS AS DINAH WASHINGTON

“When I played Dinah back then, I didn’t have as much relatable ex­perience,” said Flowers, who hails from Lancast­er, but has lived in Pitts­burgh 18 years and has been acting consistently since she set foot in the Golden Triangle. “Now I can relate more to her. Now I understand try­ing to fill an internal void. The research I’ve done and having more life experience is going into this performance. I want the audience to recognize that we are all human beings. We see people perform and we think they are won­derful, but they have problems, and they can’t have human experiences in the public eyes. There was a lot of segregation back then and the Black artists had to do a lot to survive. Every time I perform it’s special, I get to share the stage with living legends, and I feel so honored to share the stage with them. I am grateful that they were willing to trust me with this role again. This sto­ry is important to our culture, history, and I am grateful for this op­portunity.”

TONY CAMPBELL, DWAYNE FULTON, DWAYNE DOLPHIN, ROGER HUMPHRIES

In addition to Flow­ers reprising her role as the main character, other cast members in­clude former KDKA-TV reporter Royce Jones, Cheryl El-Walker, Katy Cotten, Les Howard, Sam Lothard and Chris Olshefski.

“I’m playing report­er Bob Hunter who does an expose on Di­nah Washington,” said Jones, who is making his professional acting debut with the role. “He has one night with her as she prepares for her Birdland performance. He becomes a fly on the wall, and he sees every­thing. This is the path I wanted to go down be­fore journalism. I believe I was born to entertain. I was ready to jump into this when Mark reached out to me…If you love Dinah Washington and she’s a part of your life, musically you are going to love it. If you are just entering Dinah Wash­ington’s world for the first time, then you are going to have an edu­cational experience. We have to keep our ances­tors’ stories alive and our ancestors’ names live for the next gener­ation.”

DINAH WITH THE DINAH-MITES (KATY COTTEN, CHERYL EL-WALKER, DELANA FLOWERS)

“Dinah Washington was about music and singing and songs. I constructed the play around music to put in a little history and I created dialogue that she may have said to fit with the music,” said McCarty, who wrote the play in 2009. “She was a performer and business­woman in a man’s world who booked herself. She owned herself. She said she was going to book her own self and pay herself 10 percent. She also booked other acts as well at a time when that was uncommon for women. The songstress battled weight, low-self-esteem, and other demons and tragically died of a drug overdose at the age of 39.”

Tickets for “Dinah: A Musical Revue” can be purchased by visiting Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company’s website at

www.pghplaywrights.org.

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RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

The most recent edition of Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world includes conceptual visual artist Jenny Holzer, curator Thelma Golden, photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier, designer Jonathan Anderson, and ARTnews Top 200 collector Larry Ellison.

Other members of the list include journalist Connie Walker, entertainer Dua Lipa, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

Jenny Holzer

Artist Kiki Smith recalled encountering Holzer’s “Truisms” photostat prints anonymously posted up in New York’s Lower East Side, where they both lived, in the 1970s.

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“We were members of the artist collective Colab and for a time lived in the same building. Jenny used words as agitprop. They were declarative, inflammatory, and provocative. She claimed no authorship but questioned the authority of language. They were rants that exemplified the predicament we faced in New York City in the late ’70s.” 

Smith also highlighted the visual artist’s 1989 show at the Guggenheim Museum and the upcoming solo show “Light Lines” opening on May 17. “Jenny has allowed her art to grow by embracing collaboration and new technologies, but her singularity as an artist has always persevered and her work continues to be radical,” Smith wrote.

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Playwright Lynn Nottage said Frazier’s intimate, collaborative photographs of workers across America “force us to confront how disenfranchisement, corporate greed, and government neglect have impacted the lives of people”.

“Her work captures the anxiety, the beauty, and the reality of people negotiating the complexities of life on the brink,” Nottage wrote.

The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner also highlighted Frazier’s upcoming solo show “Monuments of Solidarity” will open at New York’s Museum of Modern Art on May 12. The exhibition will include 100 works spanning two decades of the artist’s career.

Frazier won a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2015 and a Carnegie International Prize in 2022.

‘Icon’ Thelma Golden

Notably, former First Lady Michelle Obama wrote the TIME essay on Golden, the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem. Obama called Golden a “paradigm-shifting curator” who often shocks people who underestimate her based on her short appearance.

“As one of the most influential people in art, Thelma knows the power of flipping an assumption on its head,” Obama wrote, noting Golden’s steadfast work bringing much-needed attention to Black artists and curators through exhibitions at the Studio Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Golden is also a board member of the Barack Obama Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Crystal Bridges Museum.

Her career in the art industry was also featured in a New Yorker profile earlier this year and she wrote an essay in support of artist Faith Ringgold for TIME’s list of influential people in 2022. Ringgold died on April 12 at the age of 93.

Jonathan Anderson

Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino described the work of Loewe‘s creative director as “always ahead of the curve.”

“Jonathan is one of the most intelligent, empathetic, and curious people I know, but he also has a wonderful sense of humor, and a capacity not to take himself too seriously,” The director of “Call Me By Your Name” wrote.

Anderson has led high-profile collaborations with artists including Julien Nguyen, Lynda Benglis and Richard Hawkins.

Anderson’s collections often include references to visual art, and the designer’s influence was evident in the brand’s first public exhibition “Crafted World“, currently on display at the Shanghai Exhibition Center until May 5. The exhibition included 150 artworks from the Loewe Art Collection, including items commissioned for fashion shows and an entire room of winning examples from the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, which awards annual prizes of €50,000.

Larry Ellison

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair praised Ellison’s work co-founding the technology company Oracle, and his vision for managing a significant portion of global data.

“Larry has the mind of an engineer, the curiosity of a thousand cats, and the humility to keep learning—which is the chief characteristic of the true changemaker,” Blair wrote.

Ellison, who is still chairman of Oracle’s board, is the fifth wealthiest person in the world. He is also an avid art collector, specializing in ancient to early 20th-century Japanese art and late 19th- and early 20th-century European art.

In 2013, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosted an exhibition of 60 works of Japanese art from Ellison’s collection, some of them more than 1,000 years old. It was the first time items from Ellison’s private collection were available for public viewing, including a wooden Buddhist sculpture from the 13th century depicting Prince Shōtoku, a figure from Japan’s classical Asuka period.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment