This year’s ELEVATE Art Festival examines arts and culture through the lens of our changed reality due to the COVID-19 pandemic, racial unrest, economic recession, and a divisive political climate. Dance performances being presented are dazzling, dreamlike, and defiant. They provide insight into issues that we, and our communities, are dealing with including inequity, food insecurity, and isolation, but also seek to inspire hope, resilience, and activism as we move forward. Join this year’s virtual programming from Sunday, October 4 through Saturday, October 10.

NEWS SOURCE:  Hatchett PR

​The City of Atlanta - Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs will bring its annual ELEVATE public art festival to Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood from Sunday, October 4 to Saturday, October 10, 2020. This year’s festival events will be virtual. 

​• Musical performances by Kebbi Williams and The Wolf Pack, The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, Gritz and Jelly Butter, Tony Hightower, and Julie Dexter. 
​• Mural installations honoring civil rights leader Reverend James Orange and Black women activists from the West End community. 
• An online and in person voter registration event at the West End MARTA station. 
• A conversation with New York Times best-selling authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones, who frequently feature Atlanta’s West End community in their work.  
• The opening of Hammonds House Museum’s exhibition Elements of A Revolution. 
• A conversation between the executive directors of Atlanta Contemporary and Les Abattoirs/Toulouse to discuss challenges of promoting art during COVID-19, issues of gender equality and racism in their field. Since 1974 Atlanta and Toulouse have been Sister Cities. 
• A screening of the stirring new documentary, “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” an intimate account of the legendary U.S. Representative’s life, legacy, and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism. 
• An Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance of Lazarus created by acclaimed hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris. The ballet connects the past and the present in a powerful work that addresses racial inequities America faced when Mr. Ailey founded his dance company in 1958 and still faces today.
• Renowned artist Carrie Mae Weems, in collaboration with SCAD, will launch RESIST COVID/TAKE 6, a public art initiative raising critical heath awareness about COVID-19 and the ways racial inequities have manifested in the pandemic. 

​Percussionist YemiConga shares with When We Speak TV, how he became the only musician in his family.  

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KEYWORDS
yemiconga - song of hope - african drums - african drummer - afrojazz - yoruba music - atlanta musicians - jazz - jazz in the alley - african conga - percussionist - yoruba percussionist - african music - percussion - when we speak tv 

​Remey Williams is a Drummer, Producer, Singer, Songwriter, and Performer.  He has toured all around the world with artists like Summer Walker and has opened for artists such as Jagged Edge and Carl Thomas.

​Actor, Jermel Howard, speaks about growing up in foster care, acting, auditions, and how acting changed his life.  Jermel Howard has acted in such shows and films as, Power, Luke Cage, Orange Is The New Black, and All Eyez On Me.  

​Grammy nominated guitarist, Rod Harris Jr shares with When We Speak TV the joy of being a musician.

Many 2020 events have been either cancelled, rescheduled, or going virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic.....added to that list is the Riverfront Jazz Festival in Dallas, Texas.

The Riverfront Jazz Festival founded by Curtis King, President of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, is a multistage musical festival, that promotes, cultivates, and spotlights renowned musical artists from around the world as well as promising young artists from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

​The perfect online platform for exhibitors around the world to meet, showcase their products and services, and connect with the largest minority-owned hair care customer base in the world. 

​The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) President and CEO H. Beecher Hicks III and Mayor David Briley signed lease that officially gives the museum control over the space the museum will occupy at Fifth and Broadway.

​​The 51st Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will be held across the country and around the world as the race moves to a completely virtual event in 2020.

We have definitely learned plenty since the start of When We Speak TV. 
Jermaine Sain​, owner of When We Speak TV, shares what he attributes to be the most valuable lesson he's learned about starting a media company.

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​​We had so much fun speaking with Rhonda Ross and she was super cool and down to earth!  We feel so blessed for this opportunity and hope that this interview inspires you!!!! 

​During the 2019 Black Music Honors Red Carpet, singer, Major., salutes When We Speak TV of Atlanta.

​​​Jermaine Sain, shares his childhood memory of calling the radio station and requesting "My Liberty", recorded in 1982, by Southeast Inspirational Choir with Yolanda Adams on lead vocals.  

​Huge thanks to VoyageATL for featuring Jermaine Sain and When We Speak TV!!!!  Thank you so much for the love and support!!!! 

​Along with vision and hard work of Jazz in the Alley’s creator and Event Director, Ziggy Warfield, JITA has become one of the most sought after jazz events held in Historic Downtown Norcross, GA. The annual summer series has gained local notoriety from artists and jazz enthusiast of all ages.

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​WATCH THE FULL SEGMENT WITH EMRAH KOTAN ON WHEN WE SPEAK TV 

Can you find Jermaine Sain singing in this video?
Happy Birthday (Gospel Style)

​Established by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the CreATL Relief Fund facilitates private philanthropic grants to the independent creative industry workforce engaged in creative industries and entertainment. Artists, creative entrepreneurs and entertainment professionals generate an estimated $62.5 billion in economic impact each year in the State of Georgia and represent 5% of all employment and 4% of all business revenue in the state. This Fund provides a means of addressing the negative economic impact of the measures taken to control the novel COVID-19 virus in the U.S., Georgia, and particularly in the city of Atlanta.

Few bands arouse a crowd into a collective shake like Flow Tribe. The six-member band’s onstage chemistry reflects a seamless combination of soul and movement that hits the audience within the first few notes. Virgin listeners and avid fans alike are drawn in by the distinctive sound that feels both familiar and original. Outfitted for each performance in colorful, carefully selected suits, it’s clear their focus is sharp and the party has begun. This is the work of professional musicians who’ve found their passion, and are living a dream where everyone’s welcome.

Second line brass and Cuban-Caribbean rhythms meld with R&B, soul, rock, and hip-hop beats in high-energy performances that turn every show into a celebration. New Orleans is influence itself, the unparalleled free and easy city weaving its way into track after track of original scores that make up a single definition of sound, which Flow Tribe has dubbed “backbone-cracking music.”

K.C. O’Rorke (vocals, trumpet), John-Michael Early (harmonica, washboard, vocals, keyboard), Russell Olschner (drums), Chad Penot (bass, vocals), Bryan Santos (guitar, timbales), and Mario Palmisano (guitar) are native New Orleanians and high school pals who’ve been writing music and playing live shows since the band’s inception in 2004. 

​Post graduation, they went their separate ways, but after Katrina, each returned to their hometown, inherently becoming active members in the rebuilding of a community that’s stronger than ever. Flow Tribe may well be the city’s next music ambassadors.

With two full-length albums and several EPs under their belt, the crew is currently building Downman Sounds, a studio in New Orleans East where they expect to cut their next record. The Tribe can be found crisscrossing the US just about every week of the year, from Key West to California, including regular performances at the notable New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest and Voodoo Fest. Look for their next project to be released in early ‘17, a full length album entitled “BOSS” produced by New Orleans’s own Mannie Fresh.