John Lewis News

Offering a dark commentary on attitudes towards relationship taboos and the illicit desires that bond people or break them, this new black comedy is Animals of Farthing Wood meets American Psycho.  Claire and Gregg are, on the surface, the archetypal 'normal' couple: met at university, adored by each other's parents, co-owners of a pleasant suburban home and an efficient John Lewis blender. But as fantasy and reality begin to blur it soon becomes apparent that beneath their unassuming exterior they are united by an insatiable and horrific desire: to murder their neighbours' pets.

Flux Theatre presents Chutney.

Monterey Jazz Festival is proud to announce that drummer and composer Allison Miller and bassist, composer and producer Derrick Hodge have been selected as the 2019 Monterey Jazz Festival Artists-in-Residence and will work year-round with young musicians in performances and clinics at the 2019 Next Generation Jazz Festival, Summer Jazz Camp Intensive, with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and at the 62nd Monterey Jazz Festival, September 20-22, 2019.

NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Leon W. Russell announced the Association is soliciting nominations for the 104th Spingarn Award.  All nominations for the 104th Spingarn Medal must be submitted, in writing, on or before December 31, 2018.  To be accepted, the postmark date on the envelope must be no later than December 31, 2018.

Over 100 speakers, artists, activists and performers from all over the globe are set to take part in the International Human Rights Art Festival in NYC November 12-18 at Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street).

New Stage Theatre, a professional theatre located in Jackson, Mississippi, announces its productions for its Arts-in-Education statewide touring program available to schools, libraries, and community centers during the 2018-2019 school year.

CHUTNEY - a new two hander horror play by Reece Connolly coming to The Bunker from 6th November, has just announced their cast.

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) today announced the 2018 honorees to be recognized at the 21st annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, taking place Oct. 27-Nov. 3. Now the largest university-run film festival in the country, the annual tribute to excellence in film has screened over 110 Oscar-nominated films and honored over 80 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers and filmmakers from around the world.

New Stage Theatre, a professional theatre located in Jackson, Mississippi, announces its productions for its Arts-in-Education statewide touring program available to schools, libraries, and community centers during the 2018-2019 school year.

As a follow-up to 2017's acclaimed Ballet: The Music of Michael Gibbs, Seattle-based trumpeter Cuong Vu joins forces once again with guitar great Bill Frisell, bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Ted Poor on the boundary-pushing quartet outing for RareNoiseRecords, Change in the Air. With all the members of the quartet contributing compositions, this one finds the four participants on equal footing on ten adventurous originals. From Poor's dreamy, noirish opener 'All That's Left of Me Is You' and his lonesome echo-laden waltz 'Alive' to Bergman's dynamic 'Must Concentrate,' Frisell's delicate 'Look, Listen' and his beguiling heartland melody 'Long Ago' and Vu's angular 'Round and Round' and his edgy and electrified 'March of the Owl and the Bat,' these four stellar musicians are truly on one accord and dealing with a rare level of nuance and depth of communication on Change in the Air.

Offering a dark commentary on attitudes towards relationship taboos and the illicit desires that bond people or break them, this new black comedy is Animals of Farthing Wood meets American Psycho. Claire and Gregg are, on the surface, the archetypal 'normal' couple: met at university, adored by each other's parents, co-owners of a pleasant suburban home and an efficient John Lewis blender. But as fantasy and reality begin to blur it soon becomes apparent that beneath their unassuming exterior they are united by an insatiable and horrific desire: to murder their neighbours' pets.

RareNoiseRecords was founded in 2008 by two Italians, entrepreneur Giacomo Bruzzo and music producer Eraldo Bernocchi. Located in London, the label's mission is to detect and amplify contemporary trends in progressive music, by highlighting their relation to the history of the art-form, while choosing not to be bound by pre-conceptions of genre. It seeks to become a guiding light for all those enamored by exciting, adventurous and progressive sounds. For further information and to listen to excerpts, please go to www.rarenoiserecords.com.

Vegan SoulFest 2018, presented by Yelp, is scheduled for on Saturday, August 25th from noon-7 p.m. at Clifton Park, 2801 Harford Road in Baltimore. This Saturday, August, 25th, over 150 vendors, speakers from the documentary "What The Health," cooking exhibitions and musical performances by Baltimore's hottest, local artists and headliner, Mya (who happens to be vegan), plan to attract more than 10,000 attendees from the west, mid-west and south United States to the annual festival. The lineup of speakers and exhibitionists include Dr. Milton Mills (What the Health); Tracye McQuirter (By Any Greens Necessary); John Lewis (The Badass Vegan); and Afya Ibohmu (RBG Fit Club). Live entertainment includes vegan DJ Tee Brown, Baltimore's own national recording R&B artists, Ruff Endz, soultress Ama Chandra and The Fruition Experience and hip hop rock star, Femi Drifish and The Out of Water Experience. In 2014, Brenda Sanders, co-founder of Thrive Baltimore community resource center teamed up with Naijha Wright-Brown, co-owner of The Land of Kush, an award-winning, vegan soul food restaurant in Baltimore City to organize the 1st Annual Vegan SoulFest. The purpose of the collaboration was to bring information about the benefits of eating healthier foods to Baltimore City, and do it on a larger scale. "I've attended a couple of vegan festivals in surrounding county areas," Wright-Brown said. 'We felt the need to bring a vegan soul festival of this kind into the heart of Baltimore's inner city - making it accessible to people by car, train and bus." The inaugural Vegan SoulFest turned out to be more successful than the founders imagined. The expectation was to attract a few hundred people to a free festival about food. Instead, more than 1,200 people attended, resulting in coverage by Dan Rodricks of The Baltimore Sun who described it as a 'new food festival in Baltimore.' People came from all over Baltimore City and the surrounding counties - even as far away as Philadelphia, New York City and Northern Virginia - to learn more about the nutritional benefits of including more plant foods in their diets. They heard lectures from experts in plant nutrition and watched cooking demos on how to prepare plant-based foods from local vegan chefs. Best of all, they got to sample a variety of delicious vegan foods from dozens of vendors. In 2015, Vegan SoulFest's growth became exponential by entering into a preliminary partnership with Baltimore City Community College (BCCC). Nearly 100 vendors were present and 3,000 people attended - more than double the number from the first year. 'We've been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response we've gotten,' Brenda commented. 'I'm so honored to be a part of bringing this festival to the people of Baltimore!' In 2016, Vegan SoulFest attendance nearly doubled again, bringing out close to 6,500 people. In 2017, it's final year at BCCC, Vegan Soulfest entertained over 10,000 attendees. The annual "all vegan, all soul," "vegansoulicious" festival continues to grow each year. For more information about the festival, please visit the Vegan Soulfest website at www.vegansoulfest.com. Vegan Soulfest is a registered trademark and collaborative effort between Thrive Baltimore and The Land of Kush.

After selling out their first four performances, Trans Voices Cabaret returns to The Duplex with an even bigger cast of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming performers today, August 18th, 2018 at 9:30pm, with direction by Donnie Cianciotto and musical direction by Anessa Marie.

Pianist Aaron Diehl is one of the most sought-after jazz virtuosos, consistently playing with what the New York Times describes as 'melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint.' Diehl's meticulously thought-out performances, collaborations, and compositions are a leading force in today's generation of jazz contemporaries, spearheading a distinct union of traditional and fresh artistry.

After selling out their first four performances, Trans Voices Cabaret returns to The Duplex with an even bigger cast of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming performers on Saturday, August 18th, 2018 at 9:30pm, with direction by Donnie Cianciotto and musical direction by Anessa Marie.

On Sunday three songs from FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical were released in a compilation album that the show creators, Richard Allen and Taran Gray, named 'The John Lewis Chronicles'. The three choices from the musical are all songs that the character John Lewis sings in the show. The recordings are sung by Anthony Chatmon II who recently played John Lewis in the 2017 New York Musical Festival production of FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical.

This weekend marks the world premiere of UNBREAKABLE, an original work by composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa, co-commissioned by a nationwide consortium of ten gay choruses and featuring Lisa Vroman, Britney Coleman, and Marcus J. Paige.

Richard Allen and Taran Gray have released a song from their new musical, BAYARD, based on the life of Bayard Rustin, the activist and Civil Rights leader credited with organizing and conceiving the iconic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The musical will follow Bayard during his organization of the March for Jobs and Freedom and the obstacles he personally encountered being an openly gay black man.

Sonia Friedman Productions and the National Theatre present the West End production of Nina Raine's Consent following the 2017 critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Dorfman Theatre. Directed by Roger Michell and originally co-produced and commissioned by Out of Joint, Consent will playthrough 18 May for a strictly limited 12-week run.