Music
Welcome to Oakland North Radio, our new podcast! Ever wonder what happened to all those 60s radicals? Reporter Sam Laird has the story of one activist and freedom singer who’s still spreading the message of love and peace — albeit to a much younger audience.
A sustainable garden, hip-hop and multimedia production — the Green Youth Arts and Media Center opened on January 14th in Oakland. It’s mission: to connect environmental sustainability to cultural practices and to mentor Oakland’s future leaders. Jun Stinson reports.
After the earthquake, Haitian dancers Portsha Jefferson and Colette Eloi were hearing from loved ones in Haiti who needed help. So they came together with other artists in Oakland, California to perform at a benefit concert. The money they raised was sent directly to friends and family in Haiti, where it will be distributed in their communities. Kate McLean reports. Photos courtesy of Congo SQ West, Rita Daniels and Rara Tou Limen.
On Sunday evening in Oakland, approximately 3,700 miles away from devastated Haiti, more than 180 Bay Area musicians got together to deliver the sound of hope to the Haitian people.
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir performed its annual Christmas concert on December 23 at the 12th Street City Center.
Music lovers might be comforted to know that North Oakland is still a great place to look for vinyl LPs and singles, whose popularity has taken a surprising upturn.
At the Eastside Arts Alliance, historian Robin D. G. Kelley speaks about his new book examining the life of pianist Thelonious Monk, and upends the myth of Monk as a reclusive jazz genius.
Video report: Michael Jackson devotees dressed as zombies and assembled in North Oakland on Saturday as part of Thrill the World, a yearly event when thousands of people around the world dance to the song “Thriller” at the exact same time.
At the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in downtown Oakland, Portsha Jefferson and the Rara Tou Limen Haitian Folkloric Ensemble use dance and performance to educate the Bay Area about Haitian culture. The ensemble is organizing a fundraiser this Wednesday, October 21, at San Francisco’s Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.