Right On For The Darkness: The Black Futurist Gospel Of Curtis Mayfield

Masks are encouraged and appreciated, but not mandatory for this event.

PoetWarrior Productions, in association the Black Rock Coalition, present a live, all-star retrospective of music of Curtis Mayfield in commemoration of his 80th birthday. The concert, with support from the Mayfield estate, will feature the BRC Orchestra, the Black Rock Coalition’s all-star repertory company of premiere musicians and performers. Special guest performers include Grammy-winning luminaries such as Donnie, Kendra Foster, Melvis Santa, Carl Hancock Rux, Vernon Reid and Corey Glover of Living Colour and others (TBA in upcoming days, check here for updates).

The BRC Orchestra has honored Curtis Mayfield several times since his passing in 1999, but “Right On For The Darkness” aims to be a more contemporized and immersive experience. The music curation centers on Mayfield’s most resonant and topical material, highlighting themes that still impact America’s Black communities. The onstage performances will be complemented by thematic audio/visual projections behind the Orchestra, as well as snippets of Curtis Mayfield speaking about his music and his views on ongoing community challenges.

“Right On For The Darkness” will be the first of several projects PoetWarrior will be producing with the BRC Orchestra, with retrospectives featuring James Brown, Grace Jones, Prince, Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers and hip-hop’s 50 th anniversary are planned for the coming year. “2023 represents many critical benchmarks in Black popular music,” says McNeill, ‘We will make sure these stories, and others, are told. We’re not waiting for a seat at the table anymore. We’re building our own table and forcing the world to meet us where we are.”