What's In A Name? Poetry & Music Extravaganza (IN PERSON)

NOTE: This contribution is for the in-person event only and does NOT include the livestream (CLICK HERE for the livestream page).

This year's Season Finale brings together artists who combine the imagery and dynamism of spoken word with the rhythms and melodies of music. When these artists join forces, they create SPARKS! Expect joyous collaboration and improvisation, including a renaming ceremony to celebrate Fred's birthday and honor his mixed anti-racist heritage. The first time they played Peoples' Voice Cafe in 2016, they blew the roof off!

Fred Arcoleo
Pat Lamanna calls Fred "Don McLean meets Phil Ochs." His RALLY FOLK! MUSIC addresses the difficult truths of our times with courage, tenderness, optimism, and determination. His three albums to date have charted on Folk Radio, reaching as high as #7. His newest song, the multi-genre "History Speaks," addresses the present global crisis.

Shanika Anderson
Shanika possesses a rare and magnificent voice. Growing up singing in the church, she started writing songs when she was 12. In her mid-20s, she began devoting her attention to music that spoke out against police brutality, systemic racism, and imperialist war, and promoted unity among working-class people of the world. Her song "Too Many Names," which pays tribute to victims of racist police murders, was featured in Kathleen Foster's award-winning documentary Profiled. She will leave you spellbound.

Demetrius Daniel
Demetrius is renowned on the New York City poetry circuit and an instant hit anywhere he performs, pioneering a poetry-music hybrid called TROMBOETRY, infusing his spoken word creations with a New Orleans-style trombone gumbo. Stark Reality's Viviana Grell says Demetrius keeps audiences "engaged, entertained, and awake!"
tromboetry.com

Freida Grace Jones
Freida is a visual artist, poet, and playwright. She is the author of Music Masquerades as Honey in my Hands, monologues and poems dramatizing our African American jazz legacy, and the play Lucky Strikes Legacy, inspired by the fusion of dance, music and spoken word. Freida's work has appeared in anthologies such as Callaloo, Drum, African Voices, and Soul Sister Review. She is a founding member of the Garden Collective, which grows new writing in the Bronx.

Amber Atiya
Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Amber's fiercely original multidisciplinary poetry mesmerizes audiences with her emotional honesty and profound insights into city life. A Poets House fellow, her chapbook The Fierce Bums of Doo-Wop is currently in its second printing.
poetryfoundation.org/poets/amber-atiya
poetshouse.org/profile/amber-atiya

(Looking for livestream? STOP! This page is for in-person event! See above for the livestream link.)

Check out other PVC events happening soon

COVID-19 POLICY
Effective March 23, 2024, the Peoples' Voice Cafe will no longer require that anyone who attends wear a mask. We will continue to keep a supply of masks on hand for anyone who wants one.
Also effective March 23, 2024, Peoples' Voice Cafe will resume the sale of snacks and beverages.
Other covid safety protocols remain unchanged. We will continue to limit in-person attendance to 85, we will continue to use three HEPA filters in the Assembly Hall, we will continue to offer live streaming, and we will continue to recommend (but not require) vaccination and/or testing.

After on-line sales for in-person tickets have ended, tickets will still be available at the door.