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BlackLift Music & Poetry Festival

February 21, 2019 - February 22, 2019

The second annual BlackLift Music and Poetry Festival will take place from Friday, February 22 through Sunday, February 24 and will bring together Nashville for a multi-day, multi-venue experience combining poetry and music as we celebrate the power, influence, and potential of Black culture past, present, and future.

Event

When

Location

Sips & Stanzas

Fri., Feb. 22 – 6p

Renaissance Hotel

On Friday, February 22, at 6:00pm at the Renaissance Hotel, attendees can join NMAAM’s Sips & Stanzas for a panel discussion facilitated by music producer and vocal artist Shannon Sanders featuring Caroline Randall Williams, Shawn Whitsell, and Constance Bynum. The conversation will focus on the nature of artistic development from youth to adulthood and how we all can engage our gifts of creative expression throughout our lives.

  • Shannon Sanders has worked with artists like India.Arie, Jonny Lang, John Legend, and Robert Randolph; holds two GRAMMYs, two Emmys, and one Dove award; and is the founder and program director of Nashville’s 102.1 FM THE VILLE.
  • Constance Bynum has performed her poetry at TEDxNashville, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, War Memorial Auditorium, OZ Arts, and Cheekwood. She emerged through Southern Word’s workshops, performances, and slams and focuses much of her writing on further understanding of mental health issues. She is presently a student at Austin Peay State University.
  • Shawn Whitsell is an actor, director, playwright, and poet. He is founder of the Destiny Theatre Experience and a mentor with Southern Word. He has received a number of awards and recognition for his works in the arts, including the NAACP 45 Leaders Under 45, Stay On The Go 40 Under 40 Award, and The First Night Star Awards.
  • Caroline Randall Williams is the author of Soul Food Love, The Diary of B.B. Bright Possible Princess, and Lucy Negro Redux. Part savvy lit-crit, part blues chart, part imagined interracial romance saga disguised as poems, Lucy Negro, Redux by Caroline Randall Williams explores themes of love, otherness, equality and beauty by invoking Shakespeare’s mysterious “Dark Lady.” Working in collaboration with Paul Vasterling, Artistic Director of Nashville Ballet, Lucy Negro, Redux has also been translated to the stage.

 

Black History House

Sat., Feb. 23 – 2p

East Branch Library

On Saturday, February 23, Southern Word and Studio NPL will host the annual Black History House emceed by Rashad thaPoet at East Brand Library at 2:00pm. New and established youth poets will share pieces commenting on Black culture past, present, and future sparked by their heroes and influences. The event includes a Freestyle Gallery in which some of the city’s top and newest freestyle artists take prompts from the audience and weave them into powerful messages about the past and future.

    • Rashad is eight time NIMA award winning spoken word and hip-hop artist from Nashville who has performed at the areas top venues and shared the stage with Big Boi, Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killah, P.J. Morton, Saul Williams, Dwele, and Bilal.
    • Southern Word is one of the nation’s leading spoken word and youth development organizations. Young writers emerging from their work have consistently inspired and moved Nashville audiences for the past 10 years.

 

Fine Tuning Master Class

Sat., Feb. 23 – 4p

Bongo East

At 4:00pm at Bongo East, Shannon Sanders and Shawn Whitsell offer a blended writing, performance, and feedback workshop as part of NMAAM’s Fine Tuning Master series. Fine Tuning is a master class that consists of instructional, contextual, theory-based lessons and professional development for aspiring artists and vocalists.

  • Shannon Sanders has worked with artists like India.Arie, Jonny Lang, John Legend, and Robert Randolph; holds two GRAMMYs, two Emmys, and one Dove award; and is the founder and program director of Nashville’s 102.1 FM THE VILLE.
  • Shawn Whitsell is an actor, director, playwright, and poet. He is founder of the Destiny Theatre Experience and a mentor with Southern Word. He has received a number of awards and recognition for his works in the arts, including the NAACP 45 Leaders Under 45, Stay On The Go 40 Under 40 Award, and The First Night Star Awards.
  • The National Museum of African American Music mission is to educate the world, preserve the legacy, and celebrate the central role African Americans plan in creating the American soundtrack.

 

Lyrically Speaking

Sat., Feb. 23 – 7p

Third Man Books

At 7:00pm, Third Man Books will host Lyrically Speaking, a line-up of rappers and poets making a name for themselves through their mastery of fresh language. The event will feature rappers Tim Gent and Petty, poet Caroline Randall Williams, and spoken word artist Debria Love. Tickets are available for $10.

  • Tim Gent is a 25-year-old artist from Clarksville, TN who has been making a name for himself since the release of his 2015 mixtape Clarksville Nights. After appearing on Case Arnold’s debut album ‘SO(U)L Theory,’ Tim continued seeing success with the release of his first fully-distributed single “Lady America.” The track garnered heavy attention across many online outlets, charted #1 on Spotify’s United States Viral 50, and recently earned Tim a spot as one of the only up and coming artists on Spotify’s new Patriotic Passion playlist. After spending the 2nd half of 2017 releasing a string of singles, Tim started garnering even more of an online buzz, which led to features from Hot New Hip Hop, Sway’s Universe, The Tennessean, and a full-length interview with NPR: World Cafe. Tim is now spending the rest of 2018 releasing a consistent flow of new content attached to his most recent release of full-length project, Life Away From Home, of which was named Best Hip-Hop Project of 2018 by Nashville Scene.
  • Bishop Petty, a local rapper and emcee from East Nashville, has been given the title by many fans as the King of Southern Renaissance, OG Bishop Petty Kane JR, aka Lil GOAT, or more simply known as PETTY. PETTY embodies every characteristic of southern hip-hop that is nearly extinct in today’s world. By attempting to revive truthful and lyrical styles, the Nashville native is truly paving a path of his own with an unfiltered personality who can execute almost any flow, from quick-witted braggadocio and aggressive, street-themed rhymes to heartfelt, honest material. PETTY spent years building an impressive catalog of mixtapes, albums and loosies, which put him on the radar of major publications, such as: Huffington Post, NPR, Vibe, DJ Booth, Hot New Hip Hop, Elevator, Nashville Scene and many more. Notorious for taking time with his art, the celebrated emcee continues to prove why he’s one of the most talked-about names in the entire state of Tennessee. Putting an end to his hiatus, PETTY spent 2018 feeding fans multiple short projects and tracks, and he plans to keep his foot on the gas all 2019 and beyond.
  • Caroline Randall Williams is the author of Soul Food Love, The Diary of B.B. Bright Possible Princess, and Lucy Negro Redux. Part savvy lit-crit, part blues chart, part imagined interracial romance saga disguised as poems, Lucy Negro, Redux by Caroline Randall Williams explores themes of love, otherness, equality and beauty by invoking Shakespeare’s mysterious “Dark Lady.” Working in collaboration with Paul Vasterling, Artistic Director of Nashville Ballet, Lucy Negro, Redux has also been translated to the stage.
  • Debria Love loves to tell stories that make you laugh, think, and heal all at the same time. She is a first-generation college student Middle Tennessee State University, where she majors in Mass Communications and a minor in African American studies. Debria has been part of Southern Word’s slam team for the national teen poetry slam festival three times. Debria is all about provoking thought and conversation and she does this on her Radio show on 88.3 WMTS on Tuesdays from 11am-noon or on her YouTube channel DebriaLove.

Sunday Night Soul

Sun., Feb. 24 – 6p

The Five Spot

Hosted by Jason Eskridge, the night will showcase Nashville’s finest soul artists at one of Nashville’s hippest venue. Featured artists include Bammie Davis Jr. and Friends, Lauren McClinton and Jamiah, and Constance Bynum. Tickets are $10. Attendees must be 21+.

  • Lauren McClinton is a neo-soul and R&B singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA. Music is what she’s meant to do. While working on her debut EP, she continues to perform in the Nashville area. Lauren’s main focus is to create feel-good music and use the gift that God has given her to the fullest extent.
  • Jamiah Hudson is an aspiring R&B/Pop singer, songwriter, actress, and model from Augusta, Ga. Her love for music began as a toddler. By age 5 she was leading songs in her church choir. She moved to Nashville at the age of 17 to focus on her music and songwriting career. Since then, she has performed all around Nashville and has also connected and written with numerous artists, songwriters, and producers. She currently attends Belmont University in Nashville, TN.
  • Constance Bynum has performed her poetry at TEDxNashville, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, War Memorial Auditorium, OZ Arts, and Cheekwood. She emerged through Southern Word’s workshops, performances, and slams and focuses much of her writing on further understanding of mental health issues. She is presently a student at Austin Peay State University.
  • Bammie Davis Jr. is a drummer and songwriter from Nashville emerging through his collaborations with other rap, neo-soul, and R&B acts who are coming into their own.
  • Lovenoise had humble beginnings as Nashville’s urban answer to the Blue Bird Cafe’ by providing a weekly performance platform for local urban artists. Every Sunday night Music City’s best spoken word poets, bands, MCs and DJs gathered at the Bar Car for an out of town urban experience in the heart of Nashville. Fast forward 15 years and Lovenoise is still leading Nashville’s most talked about urban music experiences! We have cultivated relationships with the cities top live music venues and promoters ranging from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and City Winery to AC Entertainment to continue to provide Music City an urban beat! From these partnerships and various events we have grown a trusted email database and social media following . Lovenoise followers reach an engaged and powerful regional demographic that seek out urban music and cultural experiences in Nashville,TN.

Sponsors

The BlackLift Music and Poetry Festival is presented by the National Museum of African American Music and Southern Word in partnership with Lovenoise, Third Man Books, Nashville Public Library, Nashville Public Library Foundation, HCA TriStar Health, Bongo Java, Studio NPL, Tennessee Entertainment Commission, Metro Arts: Nashville Office of Arts + Culture, and the Tennessee Arts Commission.
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Festival Map

 

Details

Start:
February 21, 2019
End:
February 22, 2019