in association with New York Music Month Extended Play, an initiative of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Entertainment

Musician, artist and social commentator Michael Mwenso offers his unique and ancestral perspective on Black music and its power to heal us. As an African-born queer man growing up in London and New York, Mwenso will dive into a wide range of his own discoveries while shedding light on the Black experience through interludes of his own music.  This live studio recording with Mwenso and the Shakes and commentary with arts journalist Shannon Effinger (New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR Music, Pitchfork) will take us on a ride through the continuum and power of Black roots music. He will be joined by his group, Mwenso and the Shakes, a multicultural New York jazz group.