Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse at Brooklyn Museum

Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse (BKM 200th Anniversary Edition)

Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (BSAC) returns to the Brooklyn Museum with The Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse. A smorgasbord of avant groidd rock, soul, jazz, electronica, funk and hip hop featuring Brooklyn, New Jersey, New York, French and Swedish BSAC-member-led acts. This specially curated “savory & smokey” line-up reflects and honors the vibrant cultural mix the
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Burnt Sugar Arkestra. Photos by Shane Nelson

8th Annual Sugar Hill Music Festival Lineup & Details

Headlining the 8th Annual Sugar Hill Music Festival is Harlem’s own Allan Harris, a renowned jazz vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. Described by The New York Times as having a “formidable baritone with husky edges and deep resonant low notes,” Harris has received numerous accolades, including the Down Beat “Rising Star Jazz Vocalist” award, the prestigious
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Celebrating Ronny Drayton aka “Draytone the WirePuller”

Ronny Drayton aka Draytone aka WirePuller was an acclaimed guitarist known for his versatile playing style that spanned genres such as rock, funk, jazz and R&B. Born in 1953 Drayton’s career took off in the 1970’s where he became a sought-after session musician that collaborated with numerous artists. Drayton was celebrated for his innovative approach
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Lincoln Center Presents: MVP - a Tribute Concert to The World Of Melvin Van Peebles

MVP: a Tribute Concert to the World of Melvin Van Peebles

In celebration of what would have been Melvin Van Peebles’ 92nd birthday, Lincoln Center presents: MVP, a multimedia tribute concert experience created by his son Mario Van Peebles. Mario takes the audience through a glimpse into Melvin’s life and fascinations in the desert and cities through MVP’s films and music. The evening is scored by
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Artsplosure The Raleigh Art Festival 2024

Artsplosure’s mission is to produce quality events that make the works of the most imaginative and celebrated artists accessible to the public – all in an effort to enrich our community and inspire greater love for the visual and performing arts. Artsplosure, conceived in 1978 by subcommittees of the newly formed City of Raleigh Arts
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The Burnt Sugar Bowery Electric SmokeHouse

SlamJunk, Dead Flowers Productions, and Avant Groidd Musica presents The Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse, where you’ll experience a pu pu platter of Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber-member led bands with a Vernon Reid / Burnt Sugar Conduction for dessert.

Burnt Sugar surrounding Mikel Mwalimu-Banks. Photo by Ginny Suss

Artists For Mikel Mwalimu-Banks

After suffering a violent fall on a Lower East Side sidewalk in 2018, Burnt Sugar family member Mikel Mwalimu-Banks saw a neurologist. The appointment proved a fateful turning point in his life. Mikel was diagnosed with a form of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, a rare genetic disease that affects the muscles of your face, shoulders, upper arms, and lower legs. The devastating diagnosis upended what was once an active life in the arts, culture, and music industries. More egregiously, the condition devastated Mikel’s ability to generate a sustainable living from his craft. Having contributed his unique style of artistry, fashion, and overall humanity to New York’s progressive Black underground scene for more than 50 years—half a century—the community he inspired and influenced is now returning the favor.

Burnt Sugar Arkestra. Photos by Shane Nelson

More on ‘Hapo Na Zamani’

Led by Black artists, activists, and intellectuals in the 1960s and 1970s, the Black Arts Movement helped to shape the ideologies of Black identity, political beliefs, and African American culture at that time with an impact that can still be felt today. Hapo Na Zamani (Swahili for “then and now”) re-imagines a happening from that
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