Category Archives: Music

Music Curio: Improvisers Exchange Sheds Sonic Shreds

Posted on 12/31/2022 by Sarah Rose Stiles

Improvisers Exchange exudes experimental sounds at the Rose Bowl Tavern every first Monday of the month from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Organized and directed by Jason Finkelman, Improvisers Exchange is a fluctuating eclectic ensemble of musicians, all of whom share … Continue reading →

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Feminism, the Environment and Stolen Land: Socially Conscious Music from Africa and the South Pacific

Posted on 06/25/2022 by Al Kagan

Readers may remember my two previous world music reviews, in the February 2021 and Summer 2021 issues of the Public i. All of the music described here was reviewed in the great magazine Songlines. The music is available on Apple … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu, Hope, and Respect: Socially Conscious Music from the African Continent, the Indian Ocean, and North America

Posted on 08/03/2021 by Al Kagan

Music is often a reflection of struggles for social change, and a source for joy and hope for the future. This can be heard in the songs noted in my first music review article in the February 2021 issue of … Continue reading →

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Remembering John Prine

Posted on 05/26/2021 by Dan Gilbert

As we trudge through the second year of the pandemic, the calendar brings gloomy anniversaries. April 7, 2021 was an especially mournful day, marking one year since John Prine died from COVID-19 complications in a Nashville hospital at the age … Continue reading →

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Remembering: Anne Feeney

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Public i

She carried a business card that read: “Performer, Producer, Hellraiser.” And that is who Anne Feeney was throughout her time as a traveling troubadour on behalf of social justice. Born July 1, 1951 just outside of Pittsburgh into an Irish-American … Continue reading →

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“Congo to the Mississippi”: Recent Socially Conscious Music from Africa and the Americas

Posted on 02/06/2021 by Al Kagan

It is wonderful that so much music from around the world is now easily available to us, especially through the Internet and radio. My main source is Songlines magazine, a monthly published in print and online in London. Every print … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Ms. Franklin

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Patricia Simpson

Aretha Franklin’s musical talents were legion. Incomparable singer that she was, it is hardly surprising that multiple critics have identified her as the greatest voice in popular music of the 20th century. Labeled the “Queen of Soul,” she was in … Continue reading →

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