- Where: Historic Dunbar Pavilion
- When: September 25th, 2023 5-7pm
- Who: Open to the SBS community; students, faculty, staff and supporters
- Cost: Free, registration required
Come together and recenter through the collective healing, love, and nutritional uplift embedded in Black roots music. Join Arizona Arts Live and The College of Social & Behavioral Sciences as we welcome jazz musician, creative producer, and racial justice advocate Michael Mwenso for an evening of performance art and community connection at The Dunbar Pavilion.
Known for his work as bandleader of Mwenso & The Shakes and co-founder of Electric Root creative agency, Michael Mwenso’s focus on building solidarity and community through music will take him on a journey through the neighborhoods of Southern Arizona.
At the core of his work are artist-led ancestral listening sessions. In this joyful and immersive gathering, Michael will create a sense of community and connection by playing recordings of musical forebears that propelled the advancement of human connection and promoting participants to voluntarily share what they feel and hear in the messages.
The ancestral listening sessions reinforce Electric Root’s belief that joy and artistry is essential to the work of dismantling systemic oppression.
What is Electric Root?
Electric Root is the only nationwide curator, producer, and facilitator focused exclusively on Black Roots music in the Performing Arts. Co-founded in 2020 by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro, who both bonded over a personal connection with esteemed jazz artist Wynton Marsalis, Electric Root is a product of passion and urgency with a mission to revolutionize how Black music is presented, expose lesser-known artists, decolonize music curriculum, provide artist-led anti-racism training, and heal people.