Electric Root Presents
The Sound of (Black) Music
A joyful reimagining of the Rogers and Hammerstein songs through a utopian, afrofuturistic lens.

Recognized as among the “Best of Theater, 2021” by the New York Times, The Sound of (Black) Music is a vibrant one-act concert reimagining of the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical through a utopian, afrofuturistic lens full of love. Cherished songs such as “Do-Re-Mi,” “Edelweiss,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain'' are recast through a Black roots music kaleidoscope of jazz, gospel, blues, soul, funk and Afro-beat.

The Sound of (Black) Music is co-directed by Shariffa Ali and Kamilah Long, with arrangements by Mathis Picard and music direction by Vuyo Sotashe. The concert channels the singular musical gifts of some of today’s most talented Black musicians into an overflowing celebration of Black Roots music. Vocalists Vuyo Sotashe, Brianna Thomas, Charenee Wade, Alexis Lombre and Zhanna Reed are supported by an electrifying band to bring to life the most joyous and loving presentation.

The Valerie A. Blackwell-Truitt Community Dance and Performance Arts Concert and Art Exhibition.   Friday and Saturday, 27 & 28 October, 2023 Curtain at 7:30PM.   Adults: $15.00 Students and Seniors: $10.00 Antioch College Students and children 8 and under: Free This year's concert will include Valerie's Grandchildren performing with their friends, an Aerialist, music by local artists, an […]

The Valerie A. Blackwell-Truitt Community Dance and Performance Arts Concert and Art Exhibition.   Friday and Saturday, 27 & 28 October, 2023 Curtain at 7:30PM.   Adults: $15.00 Students and Seniors: $10.00 Antioch College Students and children 8 and under: Free This year's concert will include Valerie's Grandchildren performing with their friends, an Aerialist, music by local artists, an […]

Kieran Kane’s seminal work in The O'Kanes and Kane Welch Kaplin, as well as co-founding the independent label Dead Reckoning Records, laid the foundation for the contemporary world of Americana music. A successful solo artist, collaborator, and songwriter (with songs recorded by Alan Jackson, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and many more), Kieran is a musician's […]

“Amba’s music is a chaotic spiritual exploration, a path to enlightenment strewn with skronking wails. “The music is God; God is the music,” she recently told the New York Times — a philosophy that, although old as time, has made her one of the brightest new stars in avant-garde jazz.” — STEREOGUM (Top 40 Band’s […]

“…trio picks up the pieces from the 1960s collision of black power and avant-jazz while dispensing with everything superfluous.”- Village Voice Lomax is the rare drummer who leaves you wanting more, leading his bandmates through a strikingly terse, brilliantly counterintuitive and ultimately joyous series of explorations. Dr. Mark Lomax, II, is a critically acclaimed composer, […]

Keep Marching: The Road to the March on Washington Presented by Mad River Theater Works Bringing collected oral history to life, this new one-act play with music explores the historic 1963 march on Washington. Revered as the day that Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in August of 1963, […]

Keep Marching: The Road to the March on Washington Presented by Mad River Theater Works Bringing collected oral history to life, this new one-act play with music explores the historic 1963 march on Washington. Revered as the day that Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in August of 1963, […]

The Outside Presents is a new, free quarterly concert series of experimental music in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Presented by WYSO's experimental music show, The Outside, the series aims to connect local audiences with artists and composers from around the midwest. Individual artists to be announced.