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PLAYlist Concert Series
Soul Understated: PLAYlist Concert Series finale Friday
PLAYlist’s finale night, Friday, October 1, presents Soul Understated featuring Mavis “Swan” Pool! Led by vocalist extraordinaire Mavis ’SWAN’ Poole (Lauryn Hill, Prince) and powerful yet melodic drummer Jeremy ‘BEAN’ Clemons (who has performed with Gregory Porter and Burning Spear), Soul Understated delivers a beautifully performed organic sound with stellar musicianship. As a result, they’ve appeared at such major festivals as The Blue Note Jazz Fest, The Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest and Toronto Jazz Festival. Mavis appeared in the HBO series Vinyl! Check out this Kennedy Center footage and look at all this local talent rounding out the band:
Stephen Edgerton – Bass
Branden Williams II – Keyboards
Hugh Swaso – Guitar
Stacy Dillard – Saxophones
Al Strong – Trumpet
Brevan Hampden – Percussion
WNCU’s Friday night Funk, Old School and Disco show and its host, DJ Travis Gales, simulcasts live from Durham Central Park at 7 p.m. Soul Understated play a 90-minute set at 8 p.m. Local food and beverage vendors are Amagee’s, Oink n’ Moo, Epic Vegan Food Truck, JAM Ice Cream, Glass Jug, Bull City Burger and Brewery and Portfolio Group.
Reserve your free tickets and we’ll see you at the park Friday!
PLAYlist Concert Series Announcement
PLAYlist Concert Series Announcement: we were excited to share this year’s PLAYlist Concert Series lineup with you but, after much consideration and consultation with the City of Durham, NC Government, we have decided to cancel our 2020 PLAYlist Concert Series (June-Sept) in order to protect public health amid the #COVID-19 pandemic. We will miss gathering and the camaraderie of these concerts but feel that the risk and uncertainty is too great at this time. Photo credit Ryan Moeller Photography, 2018. #DurhamNC
Durham Central Park Update Regarding COVID-19
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Songwriter VAN HUNT headlines Durham Central Park’s PLAYlist Concert Series
“Inspired by the music of The Delfonics, Parliament-Funkadelic, Pink Floyd and Billie Holiday, Hunt chronicles love, loss, and nostalgia through the sounds of original funk and old soul. He achieves the kind of heated, raw sound that has virtually disappeared in to much of today’s overly-manicured R&B and Hunt never loses sight of the past as he progressively forges his own way forward” –The Boston Globe. VAN HUNT headlines PLAYlist, Durham Central Park’s free, annual concert series Friday, July 12, 7 p.m.
A Dayton, Ohio-born musician, Hunt made his way to Atlanta where he drew acclaim for his production efforts and crafty songwriting, featured on recordings by such diverse artists as Dionne Farris and Rahsaan Patterson, as well as the platinum-selling soundtrack, Love Jones. 2019 marks the 15th anniversary of his own self-titled debut album.
It instantly established Hunt as a distinctive and original talent with its idiosyncratic melding of R&B, soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. Hunt received a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, Dust featured on that album.
Parking is free in the lot beside Durham Central Park, and there are metered spaces along Foster Street which change to free parking meters after 7 p.m.
Picnics, blankets and folding chairs are welcome. Local food trucks and craft beer vendors will be on site serving at 6 p.m. There are restrooms at Durham Central Park and the venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit https://durhamplaylist.com/
PLAYlist Concert Series opens with Soul & Salsa: Alanna Royale, Ricardo Diquez
This third year of PLAYlist Concert Series features a few changes, inspired by audience feedback. We are extending the series into the fall, by presenting concerts every other Friday evening from June 14 to September 20. We have also shifted the time: local food trucks and craft beer vendors will start serving at 6 p.m. but music starts at 7 p.m. Finally, we are including more opening acts with the concerts.
One thing that has not changed is the fact that each of these concerts is welcoming to the whole community and, most importantly, absolutely free to attend! The series is curated by Tess Mangum Ocaña, who works for Durham Central Park and leads Durham-based production company Sonic Pie Productions.
The full line up ranges from progressive R&B to Latin, soul, Americana, hip hop and world music:
Alanna Royale-Friday, June 14
Ricardo Diquez y la Orquesta Trópico-Friday, June 28
An Evening With Van Hunt-Friday, July 12
Bull City All-Stars Drumline w/ Caroline Brodie-Friday, July 26
New Reveille w/ Raleigh Rockers-Friday, August 9
&More (Chill Moody & Donn T) w/ Niito-Friday, August 23
Project 919 Band w/ Empower Dance lesson-Friday, September 6
Les Filles de Illighadad w/ Diali Cissokho-Friday, September 20
The concert series also continues a tradition of community partnerships and free educational/experiential before or during some of the performances, such as an audience Q&A with Les Filles de Illighadad (from Niger) facilitated by Chatham County-based kora player Diali Cissokho. Cissokho will act as their French to English translator. “We are so excited to present this free concert series to the Durham community. Providing welcoming, inclusive and free programming is central to Durham Central Park’s mission” says Durham Central Park Executive Director Erin Kauffman.
Parking is free in the lot beside Durham Central Park, and there are metered spaces along Foster Street which change to free parking meters after 7 p.m.
Admission to PLAYlist Concert Series is free, due to support from sponsors North Carolina Arts Council, Durham Arts Council, Durham 150, WeWork, Friends of World Music, Urban Durham Realty, Resolute Building Company, Cambria Durham, PickleFest, 90.7 WNCU, Duke Performances, Acme, Morningstar Law, Pinnacle Financial Advisors and Downtown Durham Inc., Kompleks Creative.
Picnics, blankets and folding chairs are welcome. Local food trucks and craft beer vendors will be on site. There are restrooms at Durham Central Park and the venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit https://durhamplaylist.com/
2019: will you help build on this success and sustain the park into the future?
Thanks to your generosity through the years, Durham Central Park has become a unique, welcoming gathering space in the heart of our growing city.
Just a little over 20 years ago, Durhamites worked together to envision an urban park to engage the community and be a place to enjoy natural beauty, public art, community events, and playing in nature. Durham Central Park is different from other city parks. The city owns the land, but the park is managed, developed, and programmed by DCP, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We do not receive public funding. Friends of the park, like you, have generously supported the park every step of the way to transform five weedy, underused acres into this wonderful park.
As the skyline around the park continues to change, DCP, Inc. remains committed to our mission of Providing Space for Community. It is critical that Durham has a gathering space in the heart of the city where everyone can feel welcome. This year, along with the hard work of maintaining the park and continuing our free, inclusive programming, we have been able to make some great improvements. In November, we installed our new interactive pixel art wall where park-goers make new art every day. We planted 30 new trees. Moving into the winter, we will be installing a pollinator garden around the bee hotel, planting more trees, and adding several new benches.
In 2019, we will undertake the hard work of updating our strategic and master plans. In the park’s short history, with the constant support of the community, we have been able to build a great park. But, it is time to look towards the future and ensure that the park lives up to its full potential and becomes the jewel of downtown Durham that was envisioned from the start.
Will you help build on this success and sustain the park into the future? Your year-end gift, of any size, will help to safeguard this space and all that it means to you and your family.
· Make a Year-End Gift by mailing a check or donating through our website
· Become a Park Sustainer by making monthly, quarterly or annual gifts at durhamcentralpark.org/donate
We look forward to seeing you at the Park soon!
Erin Kauffman, Executive Director
Durham Central Park, Inc.
We need YOUR PLAYlist feedback–only takes 60 seconds!
PLAYlist is DCP’s 10 week summer concert series with shows every Friday night from 6-8 pm, rain or shine.
Thank you to our 2018 artists (Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Laura Reed, Aztec Sun w/ StArt of Cool, Valerie June, Kamara Thomas, Mamis & the Papis, Gemynii, Joshua Gunn, Devon Gilfillian, Empire Strikes Brass, Al Strong & the Fresh Five, Jenn Bostic), sponsors, donors, vendors and fans. We’ll see you next summer! Please take a moment to fill out this 60 second PLAYlist survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V27GY6W
PLAYlist Concert Series: What’s in a name?
PLAYlist Concert Series
This Friday, we will be unveiling the full lineup for our newly named PLAYlist Concert Series! You may be wondering what’s behind the name. Here’s why we named it PLAYlist.
Over the years, Durham Central Park has become a place for people of all ages to relax and play. As the park has developed, we have built physical playgrounds like Mount Merrill and our climbable statues, the skate park has become one of the most regularly activated areas in the park, and there is open areas where people can play with kids and dogs. But, it’s not just physical structures. We have worked to intentionally design events that cultivate community interactions and maintain a lighthearted and fun atmosphere.
Last year, as we expanded our concert series from 4 to 10 weeks and invited bands of diverse genres, we started noticing how playful the crowd had become. People of all ages and from all walks of life were coming together on a Friday evening, seeing friends, dancing, laughing, having a good time. As the organizer of this series, we were absolutely delighted to see a field full of happy people playfully enjoying a few hours together in the park. So, incorporating the word “play” into the name really felt like a natural fit.
You may have also noticed that before each concert, we have put together a custom playlist of songs to set the mood for the evening and get folks pumped up for the show.
As we build the series every year, we are also very intentional about the musicians that we invite to our stage. Each concert is meant to evoke an evening that feels spirited, soulful, refreshing, warm, and happy. We hope that concert attendees feel uplifted during the evening and can take that feeling into the weekend. What better way to do that, after seeing a great show, than to add the music to your own personal summer playlists.
So, there you are… PLAYlist.
We hope that you can join us for a fun and playful concert series at the park this summer!
More about PLAYlist Concert Series
PLAYlist Concert Series covers a wide range of genres (funk, soul, jam, jazz, americana, hip hop, etc.) and feature local, regional and national performers from diverse backgrounds as well as a diversity of age, race, and gender. The concerts are intentionally designed to be all ages, family friendly events that are welcoming to all. Every concert and event associated with the series is completely free of charge (of course, donations are always welcome). One of our major goals for this series to to ensure, as downtown changes and revitalizes, people are not priced out of enjoying live music. We hope that PLAYlist Concert Series enriches our community and deepens appreciation for the arts.
The 2018 PLAYlist Concert Series starts June 8th and runs every Friday evening from 6-8pm through August 10th.