The
Pulse of Entertainment: Masterful Performance by Blues/Rock's Kenny Wayne Shepperd Band at the Cerritos Performing Arts
Center, a Stop on Their ‘Ledbetter Heights' 30th Anniversary' Tour
"Masterful," is what I thought after
leaving the Cerritos Performing Arts Center reviewing the concert performance of the seven-time Grammy Award nominated Kenny
Wayne Shepperd Band, a stop on their "Ledbetter Heights: The 30th Anniversary Session" tour. "Ledbetter
Heights" was the debut title single of then 17-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepperd on his debut album on the Giant Records
label.
Considered a Blues/Rock band, Kenny
Wayne Shepperd had his band playing for two hours straight, no break. Masterful. The band consists of a horn
section of three musicians, a drummer, a base player, a keyboardist, lead singer and guitarist, and of course Kenny Wayne
Shepperd who provided lead vocals as well. However, Kenny's guitar playing was center stage of it all.
I brought my eldest daughter with me, and before the concert
started, she asked me why there were so many difference guitars on stage. I told her because each has a different sound. To
prove me right about the different guitar sounds Kenny... Read the full July 10, 2026 column here...>
The Pulse of Entertainment: School Yard Rap Founder
Rapper Griot B Releases ‘Fresh Out' Video and ‘Good Trouble' EP
"The beauty of family get-togethers,"
said Griot B (Brandon Brown) about the imagines in the music video to his latest single "Fresh
Out" featuring Haillie. "It's to celebrate the holiday...Juneteenth. Some people have to work Juneteenth...still
there's the need for them to celebration."
The
single "Fresh Out" with its music video showing families getting together at cook-outs and BBQs, also coincides
with the upcoming July 4th holiday when me and my (west coast) family will be getting together to celebrate "America,"
and the celebration of America's 250.
I told Brandon
that I just recently learned what Juneteenth was all about because my daughter is into the history of African-Americans pre-Civil
War and she took the week off to celebrate. So, its recognition is to highlight the "actual" end of slavery in America
(when a high-ranking military official openly declared all slaves are free in Texas), two years after Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation. I can see Juneteenth as a deep and hard pill to swallow for some.
"That's what I do. I'm the greatest educator...I'm the Griot," he emphasized happily.
Jazze Pha's Search for
the Next Star Via 'The Launching Pad Music Stage: Season One' in Atlanta is Opening the Door for the Next Big Music Sensation
(Atlanta, GA) - Grammy Award
winning music producer Jazze Pha (Ciara, TI, Mary J Blige & Ludacris) recently held "Launching
Pad Music Stage: Season One" in Atlanta at Square Globe Studios. The Launchng Padf Music Stage: Season One event
was designed for performers ready to move beyond the local stage. With live performances, real opportunities, and major exposure
at the center of the platform, this new series is built for artists who are ready to launch to the next level. Casting for The Launching Pad Music Stage: Season One was
held June 30, 2026. This casting experience gave rising talent the opportunity to perform in a professional creative environment,
connect with industry-connected decision makers, and position themselves for greater visibility. Selected artists that day will have the chance to compete for a career-building
opportunity package designed to move their music forward. Opportunities include a track produced by Jazze Pha, Sony Orchard
distribution with marketing, a headline show at Square Globe Studios Live, and a music video with distribution. Each element
is designed to give artists more than a performance slot by creating a pathway for development, content, promotion, and industry
growth.
Rams Head Presents Lalah Hathaway at Maryland
Hall November 16, 2026
(Annapolis, MD)
- Rams Head Presents Lalah Hathaway at Maryland Hall on November 16, 2026. The five-time
Grammy Award winner shares a record with Beyoncé for the ‘Best Traditional R&B Performance' at the Grammys,
each holding three. A sought-after collaborator to some of today's top hitmakers Lalah Hathaway has released seven solo albums
full of collaborations with the likes of Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Anderson. Paak, Robert Glasper, Rapsody,
Snoop Dogg, Esperanza Spalding and more. Hathaway is the daughter of the late great Donny Hathaway.
(Baltimore, MD) - The More Than a Fraction
Foundation (MTAFF), is leading the nation's conversations on the real history of pre-Civil War Africans and African-Americans
in America. The mission for MTAFF is to re-explore pre-Civil War American history from the point of view of the African peoples
of the period, and to explore and identify the influence of that history on modern subjects. Most recent it sponsored the
"Saturday Dinner at Grandma's House" at the Solitude House located on the campus of Virginia Tech, which was part
of the Smithfield plantation where about 200 people were enslaved. That event was held in collaboration with Virginia Tech's
History Department and supported with a grant from the Virginia Tech Appalachian Studies Program. On the same weekend, MTAFF
hosted the "Story Time Tour" at the Historic Smithfield museum where Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs provided a tour of
the museum using excerpts from her book More Than A Fraction: Based on a True Story.
In September 2026 MTAFF will present research findings at the American Association
for State and Local History/National Council on Public History Annual Conference in Providence, Rhode Island from September
16 - 19th , and on September 13th they will present at the DEC-UVA (Descendants of Enslaved Communities) Symposium in Charlottesville,
Virginia. In October the MTAFF will present its educational research at the International Universities Studying Slavery Fall
Conference at University of Maryland (College Park) from October 22-25th.
Highlights from 2025's MTAFF activities include providing
commentary in the PBS documentary "Resolved to Live and Die," presenting a conversation at the "Engagement
Scholarship Consortium," hosting its Fraction Juneteenth Family Reunion, and providing research at the "Raising
the Shade" community-driven project of the Franklin County, Virginia NAACP Chapter to honor 70 African-American men who
served in the United Colored Troops during the Civil War.
In
past years the More Than a Fraction Foundation has sponsored the recognition of the Merry Tree on the grounds of Virginia
Tech, where enslaved people gathered for 150 years. It was to highlight its importance to the enslaved African community,
and how the tradition is continued by the local community today. The Merry Tree fell from a storm in 2020, though a stump
is still there. That program was supported in part by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The More Than a Fraction
Foundation operates under the mantel "From Separation to Reunification."
