APR 7, 2019

About this commission

Soundtrack of America opens The Shed with a five-night concert series celebrating the unrivaled impact of African American music on contemporary culture with performances by today’s most exciting emerging musicians. Conceived and directed by Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen, and developed with music visionaries and academic experts, Soundtrack traces a musical “family tree” of spirituals and blues, jazz and gospel, R&B, rock and roll, house, hip hop, and trap that has inspired a new generation of artists who continue to develop that legacy.

Special guest Natasha Diggs will play a DJ set for an hour before the concert begins.

Artists

Portrait of Braxton Cook
Photo: Lauren Desberg.
Braxton Cook
Portrait of Kelsey Lu
Photo: Matt Lief Anderson/Pitchfork.
Kelsey Lu
Portrait of Jade Novah
Jade Novah
Portrait of Tank and the Bangas
Photo: Nick Spanos.
Tank and the Bangas
A portrait of Soundtrack of America artist Natasha Diggs
Special Guest: Natasha Diggs
A portrait of Soundtrack of America artist Brandee Younger posing with a harp
Photo: Kyle Pompey.
Spotlight Artist: Brandee Younger
Braxton Cook
Maryland-raised saxophonist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, Braxton Cook is a Juilliard graduate who first broke out on the scene with the 2017 release of his solo debut album Somewhere in Between. Heavily influenced by John Coltrane, Frank Ocean, and D'Angelo, Braxton mixes the improvisatory elements of jazz, the soulful melodies of R&B, and deeply emotional songwriting into a fresh sound all his own. His music pulls from his experience as a millennial Black jazz musician in America, and his music aims to speak to the margins in society.
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Kelsey Lu
Although North-Carolina native Kelsey Lu is a classically trained cellist, her artistic practice sits comfortably at the intersection of visual art, activism, performance, and music. Her debut album is out spring 2019 on Columbia Records.
Jade Novah
Jade Novah is a singer, actress, songwriter, and internet sensation who has garnered over 55 million views for her sketches and music. After singing background vocals for artists including Rihanna and Lady Gaga, Novah created several viral videos that showcase her amazing vocal range and spot-on celebrity impersonations. Her videos have been featured on Good Morning America, Headline News, in Rolling Stone, and elsewhere. Novah recently released her highly anticipated album All Blue, which debuted at number two on the iTunes R&B charts and has amassed over six million streams. Novah will be starring in the new FuseTV animated series Sugar & Toys, which debuts later this year.
Tank and the Bangas
Coming from New Orleans, Tank and the Bangas are surrounded by plenty of grand musical traditions. The five-piece group has a rare knack for combining various musical styles—fiery soul, deft hip hop, deep-groove R&B, and subtle jazz—into one dazzling, cohesive whole that evokes the scope of New Orleans music while retaining a distinctive feel all its own.
Special Guest: Natasha Diggs

Natasha Diggs is one of the most versatile and well respected DJs in the world, playing to crowds across the globe in cities such as New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Prague, Sydney, and Beijing. From amassing a huge record collection in her teenage days to being dubbed The 45 Queen known for rocking crowds with her signature all 7” vinyl sets at downtown New York City parties including her weekly Mobile Mondays event, Diggs has gone on tour with Grammy Award-winning singer Lauryn Hill, has held an residency with hip hop luminary Q-Tip at New York City’s famed Output Club, DJ’d for Damien Marley’s inaugural Welcome to Jamrock cruise, and has shared the stage with countless notable artists, such as Erykah Badu, Bruno Mars, Maxwell, Questlove, Santigold, Hiatus Kaiyote, Rakim, Dam-Funk, Kenny Dope, Kamasi Washington, Anderson. Paak, and others.

Her broad taste in music allows her to be equally comfortable playing underground loft parties as massive events like Central Park Summerstage for thousands, earning her respect in the world of music and a solid reputation amongst her clientele. Diggs has been called on as a trusted party-starter for numerous celebrity, club, and corporate clientele including Pharrell, Spike Lee, Jay-Z, Google, L’Oréal, Samsung, Adidas, Grey Goose, Nickelodeon, Vanity Fair, Lincoln Center, and MoMA. In addition to her success as a DJ, Diggs has been recognized by the fashion world for her iconic style and has collaborated with global brands such as Fendi, Net-A-Porter, and Levi’s on everything from music supervision to being featured herself in major campaigns.

When not traversing the globe, Diggs can be found holding down the decks at her weekly New York City residency, Soul in the Horn, the city’s premiere dance party and live music showcase celebrating horn-infused music from around the globe while bringing together the best New York City talent in one room. She has also appeared on Fuse TV’s Crate Diggers, MixMag Lab, and Boiler Room. Diggs is featured worldwide on Apple’s Beats1 station playing alongside Q-tip for the weekly Abstract Radio show.

Spotlight Artist: Brandee Younger

A fearless and versatile talent, contemporary harpist Brandee Younger defies genres and labels as a classically trained musician playing in the avant-garde tradition of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger delivers a consistently fresh take on the ancient instrument as an educator, curator, performer and leader of the Brandee Younger Quartet. Younger has produced an impressive body of work since the 2011 debut of her seminal Prelude EP, including Brandee Younger Live @ The Breeding Ground, a breakthrough performance on Bluenote Records; Revive Music’s 2015 Supreme Sonacy Vol. 1 LP; and the more recent release of her critically acclaimed 2016 Wax & Wane LP. Known for expressive interpretations of traditional harp repertoire as well as her continued work with a diverse cross section of musical talents, Younger has shared the stage with jazz leaders and popular hip hop and R&B titans including Ravi Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Charlie Haden, Jack Dejohnette, Reggie Workman, The Roots, Common, Maxwell, John Legend, and Lauryn Hill.

Younger has taught at Adelphi University, Nassau Community College, The Hartt School Community Division at the University of Hartford, and currently maintains a rigorous schedule as a private instructor and teacher at Greenwich House Music School. She has lectured and conducted master classes at The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), University of Birmingham (UK), Howard University, Drexel University, Princeton University, Tulane University, Trinity College, The Hartt School, Elyrica Summer Music Program, Connecticut Valley Harp Intensive, and NOLA Jazz & Pop Festival. She also serves as symphonic and jazz harp artist in residence at the Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts. Younger served as curator of the weekly Harp On Park concert series for Arts Brookfield and most recently curated Divine Ella, a concert dedicated to the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald as part of the historic Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture’s annual Women’s Jazz Festival.

Location and dates

This event takes place in The McCourt.
8:00 pm

Details

  • Running time: 120 minutes
  • No intermission
  • All ages welcome
  • Please note that each night of Soundtrack of America is a unique show with a different line-up
  • Membership does not guarantee ticket availability, so we encourage you to book early
  • All tickets sales are final; times and performers are subject to change
Seat Map
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Thank you to our partners

Major support for Soundtrack of America is provided by
The Founding Bank of The Shed is
The Shed is connected by

The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by The Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and The Shed Commissioners.

Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund.

In The Works