Great Art, Big Ideas Podcast
Festival 2024 Playlist
Stir The Style
We’re breaking the “rules” of narrative events with Stir the Style, exhibiting every method of storytelling imaginable -- from spoken word to poetry to folktelling to personal narratives to rap and...
OPEN MIC NIGHT
Come out to Open Mic Night at the Festival Center for an evening of listening and being heard. The show will be emceed by professional performing artist and mentor Influence (Sharmont Little), with...
DARREL WALLS
Multi-Grammy-nominated Gospel songwriter and vocalist Darrel Walls is the eldest of the four siblings comprising The Walls Group, a Houston, Texas based singing quartet raised on the tradition of...
THE LEGEND DRAG SHOW
Drag royalty are descending on New Haven, ready to WORK this town into a fun-filled and informative tizzy. In this legendary mainstage event, drag performers and educators will display drag...
BASSEL & THE SUPERNATURALS
Bassel Almadani brings a Syrian heart and a Chicago soul to his singular, funk-inspired compositions. The Syrian-American led group has recently performed at SXSW’s special showcase ContraBanned: #...
STORYSLAM
Our festival is usually a space of community-building and collaboration, not competition. But sometimes a winner just has to be crowned. Join us for a festival storytelling slam, where a group of...
ROMEO AND JULIET
Can star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet put a stop to inner city gun violence? Anything is possible when the youth group stars of the Elm Shakespeare Company tackle Shakespeare’s classic tragedy...
GRACE KELLY
Before the age of sixteen, Korean American singer, saxophonist, and composer Grace Kelly performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration and was a soloist with the Boston Pops. Her star has only risen since...
CHILLIE WILLIE GROOVE BAND
“Shake Your Body Baby” isn’t just a Chillie Willie song title, it’s a lifestyle. William Portela, aka “Chillie Willie Groove," fuses funk, rhythm and blues, soul, smooth jazz, and salsa influences...
LADAMA
Ladama smile effortlessly almost the entire time they are performing. It’s hard not to join them, clapping and grinning as you’re carried away by the bubbling sound of the Venezuelan guitar of the...
EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH, YOU CHANGE: VISIONARY SCIENCE FICTION AND LIBERATION
Social Justice meets sci-fi meets songwriting in this panel discussion between musician, composer, and curator Toshi Reagon; cultural producer & sacred artivist Hanifa Nayo Washington; and writer,...