Ashley Walters News

At 81 years of age, Wadada Leo Smith is deep in the midst of the most creative and prolific period of an already formidable career.

Get ready for an unforgettable musical experience as International Contemporary Ensemble kicks off their 2023-24 season with groundbreaking premieres at the TIME:SPANS Festival. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to witness the talent and innovation of the ensemble.

 International Contemporary Ensemble has announced two festival concerts this summer. The Ensemble performs as part of the SONiC Festival on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at Stiefel Hall at Mannes School of Music and at the TIME:SPANS Festival on Friday, August 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

Harlem Stage is continuing its season-long series Black Arts Movement: Examined with an evening convening playwright, journalist, librettist, novelist, poet, and screenwriter Thulani Davis; Pulitzer Prize-nominated trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith; and Smith’s Kikuyu Ensemble.

Harlem Stage has announced full programming for Spring 2023, continuing its Black Arts Movement: Examined series examining the 1960s/70s cultural movement led by Black artists, activists, and intellectuals.

Harlem Stage has announced highlights of its 2022-2023 season, whose centerpiece is a seven-event series devoted to deepening and unpacking understandings of the Black Arts Movement, its intersections with the larger Black Power Movement, and its historic and cultural relevance in today’s America.

Actor Marcos James, best known for his performance as White Rat in HBO's Emmy Award winning series Game of Thrones, will appear in a major role in the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) movie series Keeping Up With The Joneses, beginning in July. The production is executive produced by actress Vivica A. Fox (Empire, Kill Bill) who also appears in the leading role.

Rapper, beatboxer, theatre maker, and BAC Beatboxing Academy's artistic director Conrad Murray has released No Milk For The Foxes on YouTube, his 2015 co-production with Camden People's Theatre starring himself and Paul Cree. We caught up with him to hear everything about the perception of working class entertainment in mainstream media, where the gatekeepers are failing, and why the themes of No Milk For The Foxes are still a hot topic.