Columbia Experimental Music Fest closing night concert! 

Mourning A BLKstar - Cleveland
CLEVELAND DIY AFROFUTURISTS MOURNING [A] BLKSTAR BLEND 70S SOUL, EXPERIMENTAL HIP-HOP, AND POSTPUNK AMBIENCE 
This remarkable combo from Cleveland only formed at the start of 2016, but they’ve grabbed my attention with a flurry of recordings since then. Led by producer RA Washington, Mourning [A] BLKstar features a trio of dynamic singers—James Longs, LaToya Kent, and Kyle Kidd—and an indeterminate number of musicians. The ensemble traffics in a gritty strain of DIY Afrofuturist soul music, balancing hip-hop production techniques with lo-fi experimentation that bathes sultry grooves in darkness, either in scratchy samples or washed-out synth tones.

Jennifer Simone - Cincinnati
Perrenial festival favorite, Jennifer Simone is an experience that defies words. Powerful, transcendent, ecstatic deep listening.