NASTY GAL: THE MUSIC, FASHION, AND SEXUAL POLITICS OF BETTY DAVIS

Revolutionary art-rock and new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx is a vocalist, songwriter, musician, and multimedia artist. Tackling social issues, love, and politics, Hendryx’s career spans decades of sound and style evolution. Longtime fans know her as one of the groundbreaking group Labelle, and their No.1 worldwide hit "Lady Marmalade (Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi C'est Soir?)" Hendryx came into her own as a solo artist, post Labelle, on Rock infused albums including her 2012 album Mutatis Mutandis (changing those things which need to be changed), Hendryx blends her music with lyrics expressing a global, social, and political zeitgeist, and is an Ambassador for Artistry in Music for Berklee College in Boston Conservatory and BerkleeNYC. She curated and performed in a production she created for The Metropolitan Museum entitled "Nona Hendryx and Disciples of Sun Ra in the Temple of Dendur." She composed music for The Roundabout Theatre's production of the Broadway debut of Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, directed by Charles R. Wright, and received a grant from Jazz South Arts to compose music for a new play about People of Color in the fields of science, Young Nerds of Color by Melinda Lopez, directed by Dawn Meredith Simmons at Boston’s Central Square Theater. An Afrofuturist and visionary, Nona develops XR installations, incorporating Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality. Nona is passionate about music, visual art, and technology and continues to be a prolific artist.

If you’ve listened to radio, danced at a club, or played a recording during the past 50 years or so, you’ve enjoyed the rhythms of legendary drummer Greg Errico. As a founding member of the influential Rock & Funk group Sly & the Family Stone, Errico’s innovative drum performances and use of the hi hat and bass drum on recordings like "Dance to the Music," "I Want To Take You Higher," "Everyday People," "Thank You Falettin’," "Hot Fun In The Summertime," and "Stand,'' among many others, helped bring about the fusion of rock, funk and jazz. For this accomplishment alone, Greg would have deserved his 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the R&B Foundation “Pioneer Award” given to the group at the Apollo Theater in 2001. In the more than 45 years since Sly & the Family Stone broke up, Errico’s performances have been sampled literally thousands of times by various artists and bands. He continues playing and recording on some of rock and roll’s most historic LP’s and tours.

jessica Care moore is one of the leading voices of her generation. An award-winning poet, recording artist, book publisher, activist, cultural arts curator, and filmmaker, she is executive producer and founder of Daughters of Betty (the 20-year-old rock & roll concert and empowerment weekend powered by Black Women Rock!) and founder of The Moore Art House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating literacy through the arts in neighborhoods and schools.

Dr. Danielle Maggio is an ethnomusicologist, writer, educator, vocalist, and DJ based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the Associate Producer of the 2017 documentary Betty – They Say I’m Different, and the liner notes author for the reissues of Betty Davis’s albums: Betty Davis, They Say I’m Different, and Crashin’ From Passion. In 2019, she sang lead vocals on the first new song written and produced by Betty Davis in forty years, and established the Betty Davis Scholarship, an annual award for a graduating high school senior who is pursuing music at Ms. Davis’s alma mater. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University and University of Pittsburgh where she teaches Global Pop Music and is working on a book project about the life and music of Betty Davis.

Baltimore singer/songwriter/DJ/producer and music legend Ultra Naté has been adored by electronic, dance, and pop fans since the early 90’s. Ultra is celebrating her 30th plus year in the game having debuted on the scene in 1989 with the early underground favorite, "It’s Over Now" and her revered 1990 album, Blue Notes In the Basement, which spawned the hits “Rejoicing,” “Deeper Love,” “Scandal” and “Is It Love?” Ultra was one of the first house music artists signed to a major label deal when she inked with Warners UK. Throughout her career Ultra Naté’s sound has embraced a variety of genres including house, soul, disco, electro pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock. Her catalogue is one steeped in timeless classics, impressive accolades and creative highlights with everyone from The Basement Boys, Nellee Hooper, D-Influence, Mood II Swing, Nona Hendryx, Lenny Kravitz and Frankie Knuckles to N'Dea Davenport, NERVO, Todd Terry, Michelle Williams (of Destiny's Child), 4 Hero, Deee-lite, Masters at Work (Louie Vega and Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez), Roger Sanchez, and others. She is honored to be considered an icon of the Dance and LGBTQI+ communities worldwide.