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Leon and The Peoples Headline The NECF 2007!
The Fourth Annual New England Culture Fest
September 1st 2007, 2-10PM
Enterprise Bank Parking Lot, Downtown Lowell, MA 01852
In an exciting fusion of film, fashion, world culture, and fair trade advocacy, The Fourth Annual New England Culture Fest benefit extravaganza returns to the Arts District of historic downtown Lowell, Mass. Enterprise Bank Parking Lot (2-10 PM) on September 1st 2007 with a touch of Hollywood in headliners, Leon and the Peoples , featuring Leon the star of films such as blockbuster “Cool Runnings,” “Above the Rim” and “Waiting to Exhale.” Out of a love for music apparent through his award winning performances in “The Temptations” and “The Little Richard Story,” Leon bursts onto the scene with his signature Reggae - Soul sound in honor of the economic empowerment work of the non-profit organization, Second World.
“I am honored and excited to be part of 2007 New England Culture Fest Benefit! This festival embodies so many of the aspects of this world & community that Leon & The Peoples stand for. I can't wait to bring our brand of Reggae/Soul Live and Direct!!! Respect & Love - Leon “
Leon and The Peoples hit the Culture Fest stage at 8:30PM.
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Atlas Soul - 7:00PM
Atlas Soul is a Boston and New York based six piece powerhouse performing original music that celebrates Afro-Mediterranean cultures. The members are from Tunisia, Morocco, Israel, France, Cuba, Italy, Lebanon and the United States representing a genuine fusion of traditions and inspirations geared towards better understanding and world peace. |
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Janelia Soul Afrique - 6:00PM
Fast rising stars this Nigerian DC based neo-African-world fusion-soul band makes the crowd move! Janeila's songwriting and vocals speak to her dual Nigerian/American heritage and absolutely brilliant love of life. Her husband Nigerian bassist/arranger, Femi Sanya, is as much as a showman as she. Nigeria's "Uncle" Frank Martin on lead guitar and the dynamic percussionist, Aloyes, join the groove master, Ethan Clark on drums with back-up vocalist, Ama Pipim from Ghana. From uplifting soul tunes to Fela Kuti classics, a musical celebration of life in English and Yoruba. In addition to building a local following in DC, Janelia and her band JaneliaSoul Afrique have toured the USA nationally, performing at various colleges, concert series, theaters and music festivals such as the Detroit World Music Festival and Artscape. Janelia Soul Afrique have also performed with artists such as Bongo Muffin, Habib Koite, Raheem DeVaughn, and King Sunny Ade. |
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Jen Kearney and The Lost Onion - 5:00PM
Jen Kearney and the Lost Onion are a 7 piece original soul/funk/Latin band from the Boston area. With comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Irma Thomas, Eddie Palmieri and others, they have been bringing their sound to the Northeast in a layered frenzy of soul food spice.
"A few weeks ago, I found gold during a marathon listening session"...something close to the wondrous flavor of prime ’70s Stevie...Kearney qualifies as a well-kept local secret..." - Larry Katz, The Boston Herald |
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Pie Boys Flat - 4:00PM
Pie Boys Flat hit the NYC music scene in 2003 with their unique blend of Reggae, Blues, and Funk. Their writing shows influences ranging from Bob Marley to Jack Johnson to Sublime to Paul Simon and has melded into a form of ethnic Rhythm and Blues that sits firmly in the pocket of a style all its own. Laced with soaring three-part harmonies, their music is the manifestation of a many year friendship and collective musical intuition. Patrick Hambrick (Guitar/Vocals), Fitz Harris (Percussion/Vocals), and Jason Liles (Bass/Vocals) met in the late 1990’s at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, where the trio formed a bond that is now apparent in both their writing and performing. |
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The Boston Horns - 3:00PM
Think Galactic, Maceo Parker, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, or the soundtrack to Jack Kerouac adrift on the Internet highway, stranded somewhere between today’s Beirut and pre-Katrina New Orleans. These veterans of the Boston Globe Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival are currently being played on XM Radio; this autumn they will be on tour in Japan. Their instrumentals hark back to the legendary Dizzie Gillespie, Art Blakely and Charlie Parker, producing “a jazz version of jam bands.” This is where Superfly, Shaft, the Meters, Funkadelic and Parliament collide, their sonic landscapes simultaneously recall the ability of music to bridge differences, instill a sense of world citizenship, and George Bernard Shaw’s observation that “all great truths begin as blasphemies.” |
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Eastman
An amazing feat each year at the New England Culture Fest is the inspirational Culture Fest Art Fence created by the most talented area artists. This year, an amazing artist known as Eastman has created a fence to be unveiled on September 1st which will span the length of the venue on Middle Street (Enterprise Bank parking lots.) The fence features a theme of empowerment, color and movement and is made from fabric spun in the historic Boott Cotten Mill, a Lowell National Park monument in motion. Eastman is a part of of Movement City and helps to build an ever-expanding network of young Lawrence Massachusetts youth who are exploring and shaping their own future and participating in shaping the future of the city. Movement City is a 'virtual city' where young people explore their potential through design and performing arts and choose to participate in a wide range of economic, academic, leadership development and collective action activities. |
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Organ in Orbit - 2:00PM
Organ trio from Jeremy Parker of the Freelance Bishops - Parker's love of jazz-laced funk is matched by his skill in piloting the mothership of all keyboards. With the help of special guests, Bruce Bartlett on guitar, and Steve Langone on drums, this trio is heavy in every sense of the word. |
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The Fashionably Fair Runway Show - 7:45PM
Despite popular misconceptions, popular fashion can make people aware of and act upon global inequities. One of the highlights of this year’s New England Culture Fest will be a runway show featuring cutting-edge ethical fashion. with top Boston photographers like Arturo Martinez and Dustin Gray and featuring designers like No Sweat, union made apparel, The Odd Showroom’s recycled and altered vintage and hand knitted pieces, exotic threads from Ganesh Imports ,Drishtee North Indian fair trade fibers and Princess Cornflower ,organic “Frocks and Such” by professional models from agencies like John Robert Powers -- all against the industrial brick and cobblestone backdrop that is the historical home of the US industrial revolution: Lowell, Massachusetts. Participating designers like No Sweat (pictured Photo: Dustin Gray) will present both male and female formal and informal wear, inspired by fashion trends from such widely divergent and exotic locales as India. Ethical fashion never looked so hot!
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Zebbler - 7:30PM
VJ Zebbler is an artist and a long time activist in his native country of Belarus. Some may remember Zebbler from his arrest and subsequent press conference after shutting down the city of Boston by putting up l.e.d. (mistaken for i.e.d.) ads for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. He used the global attention to spotlight the obsession of frightening people to get higher ratings. His plea to every human is to dismantle fear inducing media and have a reasonable and educated discussion about the problems the Earth faces and ways of solving them. Zebbler is no stranger to the need for fair trade and fair salaries for all of the people in the world. Zebbler will head up a team of video artists projecting vibrant images from the Second World Fair Trade Stories Film Archive on the history filled brick mill buildings of Downtown Lowell MA, where back in the day folks demanded their rights and we can now thank them for landmarks in working conditions, like the minimum wage and labor rights in the US today. It is his hope that:
"...one day the financial inequality on our Earth will stop and fair pay would be given to anyone in the world for their services, regardless of their location, ethnicity, sex or nationality." |
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