- Soho Rep presents
- Toshi Reagon
Songs of
the Living
in collaboration with Wise Reagon Arts
October 21 - November 13
âIt doesn’t matter if you can sing, it doesn’t matter if you’re melodic, you are a vibrational being. We are a vibrational species. What we call âmusicâ now is our communicative contribution as a species on and to planet Earth — and it’s one of our best contributions of all.â (Toshi Reagon)
Come sing with us this fall! Join Toshi Reagon, Alsarah and the Nubatones, TaĂna Asili, Morley and Chris Bruce âThe Brucesâ, New York Arabic Chorus, DJ Bill Coleman, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Nona Hendryx, Baba Israel, Yasmine Lee, Legacy Women, Miguel Luciano, Nile Nights, Lizzie No, The Soapbox Presents, DJ Leecy T, and more as we collectively learn to sing songs of resistance and resilience together.
Over four weeks, Soho Rep will partner with an incredible coalition of artistic and civic centers across all five boroughs of New York City including Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Bronxlandia, National Sawdust, Flushing Town Hall, Another World, Weeksville Heritage Center, Queens Public Library, Lincoln Center, El Puente, BAM, and more to produce eleven evenings of music and fellowship.
There is a song for everything! Songs are sacred, songs are history, songs are games, songs are recipes, songs are a technology for shaping our world. Not only will the first ten evenings each have their own themes â from Sacred songs, to Hip Hop, Disco, and songs for young people â we will have evenings inclusive of Spanish, Arabic, and American Sign Language. The eleventh night will gather all of the threads from the previous evenings into a single powerful congregation around these Songs of the Living.
Creative Team
Toshi Reagon
Songs of the Living Creator
Toshi Reagon is a singer, composer, musician, curator, and producer engaged in a decades long practice of activating community through song. Notable examples of Toshiâs powerful ability to merge art, fellowship and activism include the congregational opera, Octavia E. Butlerâs Parable of the Sower, which she created with her mother â activist, scholar, curator, composer, and singer â Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. Alongside the Opera, Toshi created the Parable Path, an enduring community co-creation with organizations, scholars and activists that galvanized intergenerational community and shone a light on local issues in each place the Opera was produced. Similarly, Toshi started Word*Rock*Sword, an artist-led festival of community events and actions in response to growing attacks on our human rights after the 2010 midterm elections. Always collaborative, Toshi has worked with many musicians, choreographers, film and theater makers, including Nona Hendryx , Lizz Wright, Dorrance Dance, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Meshell Ndegeocello, and her band BIGLovely. Toshi has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the APAP Award for Merit in the Performing Arts, the United States Artist Fellowship, and an Andrew W. Melon Creative Futures Fellowship Carolina Performing Arts. Toshi received an honorary doctorate from Emerson College in 2022. More info and music can be found on her website: wisereagonarts.com
Alsarah and the Nubatones
National Sawdust, 10/28
TaĂna Asili
El Puente, 11/13
The Bruces
Queens Public Library - Central Branch, 11/8
Husband and wife writing team, Morley and Chris Bruce, recently released their debut Childrenâs – Family album, Story of the Sky by The Bruces & Friends. Together they penned ten of the nineteen songs on Story of the Sky, many of which are now part of elementary schoolâs Emotional Development Curriculum. Chris Bruce is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, writer, recording, and touring musician. He is a longtime collaborator with Meshell Ndegeocello, Toshi Reagon, Lizz Wright, Seal, Trevor Horn, and many more. Morley is a singer-songwriter, producer, and curator, to date sheâs released eight solo artist albums under the auspices of Sony and Universal, as well as independently. Her music appears on major network television shows, in commercials, and human rights documentaries. Morley performs all over the world, both as a soloist and with her self- titled band. She spearheaded the fundraiser, Borderless Lullabies, which continues to be a source of revenue for KIND: Kids-In-Need-Of-Defense.
New York Arabic Chorus
Flushing Town Hall, 10/30
DJ Bill Coleman
Lincoln Center, 11/11
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden , 10/21
Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. Her work in this lifetime is to facilitate infinite, unstoppable ancestral love in practice. Herpoetic workin response to the needs of her cherished communities has held space for multitudes in mourning and movement. Alexisâs co-edited volume Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines (PM Press, 2016)has shifted the conversation on mothering, parenting and queer transformation. Alexis has transformed the scope of intellectual, creative and oracular writing with her triptych of experimental works published by Duke University Press (Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity in 2016, M Archive: After the End of the World in 2018 and Dub: Finding Ceremony, 2020.) Unlike most academic texts, Alexisâs work has inspired artists across form to create dance works, installation work, paintings, processionals, divination practices, operas, quilts and more.Her latest is the biography Survival Is a Promise-The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde. A Time Must-Read Book of the Year, A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year In Survival Is a Promise, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, the first researcher to explore the full depths of Lordeâs manuscript archives, illuminates the eternal life of Lorde. Her life and work become more than a sound bite; they become a cosmic force, teaching us the grand contingency of life together on earth.
Nona Hendryx
Lincoln Center, 11/11
Baba Israel
Bronxlandia, 10/23
Yasmine Lee
Lincoln Center, 11/11
Legacy Women
El Puente, 11/13
Legacy Women is an all-womenâs traditional musical group rooted in Afro-Dominican and Afro-Puerto Rican traditions. Our women are the next generation of NYCâs most gifted drummers, singers, and dancers of Afro-Caribbean music, including Palos, Congos, Salves, Bomba and other Afro-Indigenous roots music of the Caribbean. Our group makes music that celebrates the fiery, nurturing, defiant, yet wise touch that mujeres (women) have. We recognize that we possess feminine power that holds up our community, and honor the immense contributions women make everyday. Our performances are only part of our process of building sisterhood with each other and imbuing our audiences with joy and strength. Featuring original and traditional songs, our sultry and booming vocals, precision drumming and expressive dances encourages everyone to enjoy!
Miguel Luciano
El Puente, 11/13
Nile Nights
National Sawdust, 10/28
Lizzie No
Another World, 11/3
DJ Leecy T
Bronxlandia, 10/23
Event Schedule
SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER AND BOTANICAL GARDEN
Tuesday 10/21 at 7pm
Waterways & Work Songs
with TOSHI REAGON
and special guest writer, scholar, and poet ALEXIS PAULINE GUMBS
The Carpenter’s Shop at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden
Randall Manor, Staten Island
BRONXLANDIA
Thursday 10/23 at 7pm
Turntables Are a Must!
A Community Cypher
with BABA ISRAEL and DJ LEECY T
Hunts Point, The Bronx
The Africa Center
Saturday 10/25 (Time TBD)
Harlem, Manhattan
with THE SOAPBOX PRESENTS
NATIONAL SAWDUST
Tuesday 10/28 at 7pm
Field Recordings from Yousif Batil Camp: Aghani Albanat from the Warlines
with ALSARAH AND THE NUBATONES
and special guest NILE NIGHTS
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
FLUSHING TOWN HALL
Thursday 10/30 at 7pm
Toshi Reagon Meets the New York Arabic Chorus:
A Sonic Coming Together
with NEW YORK ARABIC CHORUS + TOSHI REAGON & BIGLovely
Flushing, Queens
ANOTHER WORLD
Monday 11/3 at 5:30pm
A New Song for Another World
with LIZZIE NO and other local artists
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
WEEKSVILLE HERITAGE CENTER
Thursday 11/6 at 7pm
A Sower Went Out to Sow Her Seed
with TOSHI REAGON and featuring songs and cast members from the opera Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the SowerÂ
Weeksville, Brooklyn
QUEENS PUBLIC LIBRARY - CENTRAL BRANCH
Story of the Sky
with MORLEY & CHRIS BRUCE “THE BRUCES” + TOSHI REAGON
QPL Central Branch – Childrenâs Library Discovery Center
Jamaica, Queens
LINCOLN CENTER
Youâre Having Too Much Fun So Weâre Gonna Have to Kill You: A Life Journey in DiscoÂ
with TOSHI REAGON
and special guests NONA HENDRYX and DJ BILL COLEMAN
Pre-show dance class with YASMINE LEE
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
Upper West Side, Manhattan
EL PUENTE
Thursday 11/13 at 7pm
Songs for Los Sures
with TAINA ASILI and LEGACY WOMEN
and special guest visual artist MIGUEL LUCIANO
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
BAM
Sunday 11/16 at 7pm
Songs of the Living Finale: Mapping a Path Forward in Song
with TOSHI REAGON & FRIENDS
The Adam E. Max Gathering Space (BAMcafé) at BAM
Downtown, Brooklyn
Ticket Information
Tickets for most events can be purchased HERE.
The event on 11/15 at The Africa Center will be a partially outdoor event and will be free, and first-come, first-served.
The event on 11/8 for children and their families at the Queens Public Library – Central Branch will be free and first-come, first-served.
The event on 11/11 at Lincoln Center is programmed as a part of the Lincoln Center Presents series of free events at the David Rubenstein Atrium, and will be free and first-come, first-served.
Tickets for the final, culminating event at BAM on 11/16 will go on sale at a later date.
