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Urban Music Fest
April 5, 2009
Urban Music Fest: Scene report 2
As the sun dipped below the horizon and a hot day cooled into a perfect Spring night, the crowd at Auditorium Shores grew thick. At fifteen dollars, Urban Music Festival ticket prices this year were significantly lower than in the past and, in its fourth year, the festival’s audience finally seemed to swell enough to fill the massive, somewhat daunting, venue field at Auditorium Shores. Families clearly took advantage of the free admission for children twelve and under and the junior set was well represented. As the grown folk got their groove on, kids entertained themselves dueling with five dollar light sabers hocked by roving vendors and dancing with abandon at their parents feet. A football game featuring members of the under thirteen set even broke out in one corner of the field. At the food court, lines at many stalls, notably, that of Mr. Catfish, were long. On the other side of the field, a woman selling cowry shell earrings and Obama gear printed on imported African cloth reported a slow day of sales.
While I wasn’t able to stay long enough to catch Cameo’s headlining set (tiny baby at home, etc.) the evening’s theme was established by the two opening acts. The emcees from the Sugar Hill Gang, the “world’s first successful rap group” declared at the beginning of their set, “We want to turn this into an old school basement party.” And so it went. They shouted out the over thirty, over forty and the over fifty crowds to wild responses, paid tribute to fellow hip-hop originators Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five with a cover of “The Message,” and hosted a dance contest accompanied by beat-boxing when the sound system gave out briefly during their set. The audience rapped along with most of their material and when they closed their set with the seminal hip-hop hit “Rapper’s Delight” even another sound issue couldn’t quell the crowd’s enthusiasm.
Later, as darkness enveloped the field, r&b superstars Boyz II Men continued the evening’s old school motif with a set comprised largely of classic Motown hits, executed with smooth vocals and debonair Temptations-style dance moves. The screaming female contingent was particularly delighted, crowding the front of the stage in the V.I.P. section and passionately singing along throughout the crowd.
All in all, a festival that has grappled in its early years with everything from an inopportune Easter weekend event date to a freak April ice storm finally seemed to hit its stride. If the event’s goal is to provide Austin with a definitive family-friendly celebration of urban culture imbued with an exuberantly positive vibe, that was certainly accomplished tonight.
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April 4, 2009
Urban Music Festival: Early scene report
Now in its fourth year, the Urban Music Festival organizers seem to really have the formula for the event worked out. The festival is timed to coincide with the Texas Relays weekend, one of Austin’s biggest African American social events, which brings an influx of people from all over the state into the city. Couched as a family-friendly alternative to the party scene downtown, the event kicks off at 11 a.m. The crowds, however, don’t tend to roll in until the relay events at the University shut down for the evening and the sun begins to dip.
Rather than resist the phenomena, this year, festival organizers seem to have accepted it, breaking the festival lineup into two distinct programs, one national and one local. While the big draw for the festival is the national program that begins at 6:30 p.m. with rap originators Sugar Hill Gang, the early part of the fest provides an invigorating celebration of the local urban music scene with an inspiring focus on Austin’s young talent. When we showed up at 3:30 p.m. the Reagan High School band marched in front of the big stage, performing to a small but enthusiastic crowd seated in lawn chairs, using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun.
Meanwhile, on a makeshift side stage tucked away by the bathroom station UpRise Productions hosted a program of youth rappers and dancers. Using a low-key sound system and performing to a group of friends and family clustered under a few shade trees, these young people threw down hard. Vigorous break dancers from Out of Control, a razor-tongued female rap duo called Graffiti Tongue, and a large collaborative crew called the Cipher Warriors all showcased their skills. The day was young and the crowd was still somewhat sparse but there was already plenty of talent on display.
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April 2, 2009
Urban Music Festival preview: Word Up! chatting with Cameo
As the Urban Music Festival enters its fourth year, the event boasts a solid lineup. The national entertainment part of the festival kicks off at 6:25 p.m. with a performance by hip-hop originators the Sugar Hill Gang. R&B juggernauts Boyz II Men take the stage at 7:30 and the evening’s entertainment will reach a climax at 9 p.m. with a performance by Cameo.
Currently working on a thirtieth anniversary album, Cameo began dropping hits back in the late seventies/early eighties, when tracks like “Rigor Mortis” and “Shake Your Pants” burned up the dance floors at r&b clubs. With the release of “Word Up” in 1986 the group skyrocketed, their unique take on new wave synthesizer funk, coupled with outrageous visual presentation earning them international fame. We caught up with Cameo front man Larry Blackmon over the phone from his office in Atlanta and took a few minutes to talk about electro-funk, hip-hop and the effect of Cameosis.
Music Source: I read that you attended Juilliard, how did your background as a classically trained artist influence your pop sensibility?
It was an extension program that Julliard was offering to those not able to afford to go. Drums were my primary instrument but it was also for composition. There was a lot that I got out of it, not much musically as much as organization. I worked with strings as well as horns and others and working later as a producer [that] helped a great deal in orchestration. There was nothing about Julliard that I found enjoyable because I thought they pretty much had their heads up their [explicative]. [I was] hearing statements like “no one made any contributions to pop music outside of the Beatles.” And I love the Beatles, don’t get me wrong, but I just thought the professors teaching the classes were bitter. Most of the people you had to listen to were dead anyway. I dropped out after probably a year and a half because during that same time I was pursuing a record contract with Casablanca records and trying to make it happen.
There was a moment in the 80s when a lot of musical purists seemed afraid that synthesizers were going to kill live instrumentation. How did the introduction of synthesizers into pop music affect your process?
I saw synthesizers as a new hue or color for the brush depending on what you were trying to accomplish. To be able to come in the industry at a time when synthesizers were just making their debut was really interesting for me, because at the turn of the electronic movement I brought with me a lot of the foundational older ways of achieving the sounds you wanted.
Your music seems to exist at a point of transition from analog soul to new wave funk. Do you consider yourself pioneers of that sound?
We consider ourselves pioneers period. Mainly because we created our own autonomy within our organization in several different ways, musically and organization wise. Instead of the record company being a part of anything we created, we were self contained and conceptually self contained as well. So yes, pioneers with a lot the ways we used what we did as well as our attitude. We don’t see ourselves as a part of the target chasing its tail. We still demand the right to musical freedom.
In addition to the music, your group has always been at the forefront of visual presentation. Can you talk about your influences in that regard?
It’s the same thing, the attitude of being mavericks. I don’t want to say we came in to be revolutionaries, but the journey, when you reflect upon it, that’s pretty much what it was about because we felt that we had to have impact with whatever we did. If it didn’t have impact we didn’t want to do it. We didn’t want to buy into the McDonald’s commercialization with how we thought.
You’re sharing a bill with Sugar Hill Gang at the Urban Music Festival. You were in New York City when hip-hop culture was taking root, were you in tune with that scene in its early days?
Well that’s hard to say. What we call hip-hop to us is funk. And everything emanates from having its roots far away in blues. Having attended the Apollo Theater since I was like 5 years old and being fortunate enough to have seen every late great black performer, I’ve watched the growth of a lot of things. I think I saw the first show of Parliament turning into Parli-funkadelic-ment with George Clinton. Having seen several shows of James Brown, and having a family connection by uncles and cousins having performed for him, it made it that much more interesting to see all of these acts and to see the evolution of whatever it was. And I believe it was Dyke and the Blazers had a song called “Funky Broadway” that really started a different thing with the drums at a time when I was becoming addicted to drums. Hip-hop to me, again, is funky music. After the Sugar Hill Gang came out with “Rapper’s Delight,” shortly thereafter we came out with “She’s Strange” which was our version of an intelligent man’s rap.
How have your shows evolved over the years, and what can Austin expect from your performance at the Urban Music Festival?
It’s rare that you get people coming to a Cameo show unless you’ve been exposed to Cameo. We call it the effect of Cameosis. We still have loyal fans and as we prepare to work on our thirtieth anniversary recording, they know what to expect, the same craziness, but the same sensitivity to the material.
The Urban Music Festival takes place Saturday at Auditorium Shores. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. $50 V.I.P. seating is available online only. Children 12 and under are free. For more information see urbanmusicfest.com.
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Urban Music Festival preview: Mariah Roberson
While the big names at the top of the bill are surely the draw for the Urban Music Festival, the community-oriented event also provides an outlet for Austin’s young r&b and soul artists to strut their stuff. Last year we discovered Mariah Roberson. She was thirteen at the time with a lithe physique that could barely contain her explosively soulful pipes. Mariah returns to the festival for the third time this weekend after a string of exciting opening spots and with a small film role in the works. Mariah is now fourteen and a freshman at Stony Point High School in Round Rock. We caught up with her through the email to chat about her budding career.
Music Source: Since we caught up with you at the Urban Music Festival last year you’ve had quite a few exciting performances. Who are some of the people that you’ve opened for and what’s the coolest thing that’s happened at one of these shows?
Mariah: I opened for Sean Kingston, the Manhattans and Anthony Hamilton since last year’s Urban Music Festival. I am also scheduled to open up for Maxwell at the Austin Music Hall in May. The coolest thing is meeting the established artists and learning so much from them about the positives and negatives of the music business. I really enjoyed performing for 7500 people when I opened for Sean Kingston, it was amazing seeing that many people looking at and listening to me.
We heard you recently won the American Idol Experience competition at Walt Disney World Resort can you describe that experience?
It was so much fun competing at the American Idol Experience at the Hollywood Studios at Disneyworld. I competed against 400 people, then they narrowed it to 21, then to the final seven. I won with the song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston. It was just like being on American Idol,including the three judges who critiqued our performances. I liked that the judges gave us constructive criticism and advice during the whole competition. After I won the competition, they compared me to Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Alicia Keys is my idol and I hope I can follow in her footsteps. They also said that I am going to be the next Pop Star. I hope they are right.
Do you hope to compete on ‘American Idol’?
Yes, it would great to compete on American Idol. By winning the competition, I earned a gold certificate to audition for “American Idol” when I turn 16. However, I heard that Mr. Simon Cowell wants to reduce the age requirement to 14 or 15, which would make me eligible next year.
Who’s your favorite ‘Idol’ contestant and why?
Carrie Underwood. I love her voice and one of my favorite songs is “Jesus Take The Wheel”.
What about your favorite judge?
Simon, Simon, Simon. I love Simon. He is so honest and he provides constructive criticisim. He sounds harsh at times, but he is really providing great advice, which can help you as an artist. I don’t know why the audience is always booing him since he is the most honest on the panel. I would be a little nervous, but I would love for Simon to critique my singing and provide any feedback. If he gives negative feedback, I am sure my parents and sister would boo him, but any feedback would be helpful.
Now that you’re in high school, how do you balance your performance schedule with your schoolwork?
Academics must come first. I practice at night after I am finished with my homework.All of my performances have either been on a Friday night or a weekend night, so I have been fortunate to avoid any conflicts.
Can you talk about your role in the upcoming film “Mama, I Want to Sing?”
I am going to play the character of Amara Winter, an aspiring singer, on the verge of pop stardom. I play Amara when she was 13 years old and singing in the church. Ciara plays the older character of Amara. I have a few scenes in the movie, but it’s just exciting to be in it. I also get to perform a few songs in the movie and on the soundtrack. My dad is Reverend Dr. Kenneth Winter (played by Marvin Winans and mother, Lillian Winter (played by Lynn Whitfield). Patti Labelle, Ben Vereen and Billy Zane are also in the movie. Amara becomes a pop star and she has to balance her career in the pop world with the pressure of her mother to sing gospel music in the church. I was supposed to play the part on Broadway, but the play was pushed back because the movie was delayed. But hopefully, the movie will come out later this year.
This is your third year performing at the Urban Music Festival, what’s your favorite part of the festival?
That is easy. Performing in front of your hometown and having so many people out there support young artists trying to succeed in life. Austin is a great city and we are fortunate to be able to have an Urban Soul Festival.
Mariah will perform a solo set at the Urban Music Festival at 12:15 p.m. She will also perform two songs with Urban Soul at 12:30 p.m. and two songs during Blue Mist’s set at 5:30 p.m. The Urban Music Festival takes place Saturday at Auditorium Shores. Tickets are $15.
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March 19, 2009
SXSW scene report: Radio Room on Thursday
Radio Room was absolutely scorching Thursday afternoon.
“It’s so hot,” Wrens frontman Charles Bissell howled. “We’re from New Jersey! But you are the most beautiful sweaty people we’ve ever seen in our lives!”
We were lucky to be there. At 3:30, the line to enter the Paste magazine/Brooklyn Vegan party stretched longer than a block down Sixth Street. It stayed as long until at least 5:15. Luckily, the scowling, disaffected doorman at the rear alley entrance could’ve cared less who went in the back way. So, we did.
Austin folk hero Daniel Johnston performed earlier to mixed reviews. “I’m a big Daniel Johnston fan,” said Greg Hazel, a volunteer manning Seattle’s KEXP radio table, “but the crowd didn’t react the way I wanted. I think they were surprised at his age and the lisp.” Two passers-by nodded at the comment, while another young lady succinctly summed up his set: “Excellent.”
Few seemed disappointed in the Avett Brothers. North Carolina’s rising heavy-metal bluegrass quartet — brothers Scott and Seth Avett, plus bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon — took the stage 45 minutes late but delivered immediately. Fan favorites such as “Shame” and “Die Die Die” from 2007’s“Emotionalism” ignited an obvious spark.
“This one’s about going down the road over and over and over, a decidedly human affliction,” Scott said introducing “Distraction #74” from 2006’s “Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions.” “Well, these humans anyway.” The peaking roar suggested a universal understanding.
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April 5, 2008
Spring smiles on Urban Music Fest
Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
- Photos: 2008 Urban Music Festival
- Video: A Texas-sized ‘Cupid Shuffle’
- Video: 13-year-old r&b singer Mariah Roberson
- Video: Is there a future for the Urban Music Festival
After last year’s Urban Music Fest was hampered by inclement weather — including a freak April ice storm — today’s bright sunshine and clear blue skies were no doubt a big relief to everyone involved in this year’s one-day event at Auditorium Shores.
While the festival’s headliner, Jeffrey Osborne, was geared to an older crowd, the early part of the family-friendly event focused on showcasing young talent. Solo artist Tje Austin, accompanying himself on guitar, performed acoustic soul reminiscent of a young Ben Harper. Meanwhile fast-rapping ATX youth KJ Hines brought a hype man and a team of backup dancers onstage with him.
Hines, referring to himself as ‘The Prince of Austin’, plugged his new shoe endorsement deal, coaxed a shout out from the parents for his obscenity-free rhyme style and used his backing line to demonstrate his new dance track ‘The Beach Bunny Hop’. Taking a cue from 17-year-old rap sensation Soulja Boy, Hines is hosting an online video competition around the dance.
Between sets the audience, scattered across the lawn in camp chairs shaded by brightly colored umbrellas, was entertained by short sets from the Reagan High School marching band.
One of the early standout acts of the fest was Mariah Roberson, a 13-year-old R&B singer with killer pipes well beyond her years. Mariah emerged last year from the Soultree Collective, a mentorship program for young R&B and soul musicians.
Since her involvement with the Collective, the Ridgeview Middle School student from Round Rock has established herself as a powerful solo artist on the rise. Mariah is scheduled to begin filming a 20th Century Fox movie, “Let The Church Say Amen,” featuring Marvin Staples and R&B singer Maya in July. Early next year Mariah will travel to New York to appear in the Broadway production ‘Mama, I Want to Sing’.
As the sun began to dip in the sky and the Texas Relays competition at UT closed down for the night, fans of the more established acts on the bill began to filter into Auditorium Shores. But those of us who showed up early were left with a striking sense that there’s a wealth of young talent in our city that extends far beyond Austin’s well-hyped schools of rock.
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