Author: Rachel Stoler

https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135358034/otis-taylor-tiny-desk-concert

I’d never think that a banjo player could find my musical sweet spot, which falls somewhere between Mali and The Velvet Underground, but Otis Taylor hits it, spot on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Taylor_(musician)

Otis Taylor (born July 30, 1948,^[1] Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American blues musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. In 2001, he was awarded a fellowship to the Sundance Film Composers Laboratory.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5056291/erica-ash-dead

Comedian, actor, singer and model Erica Ash has died at age 46. She was best known for MadTV, the sitcom Survivor’s Remorse, Rosie O’Donnell’s The Big Gay Sketch Show and the Kevin Hart series Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Morning Glory Homestead

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aya_Nakamura

Aya Danioko (born 10 May 1995), known professionally as Aya Nakamura, is a French-Malian singer-songwriter.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a61701969/aya-nakamura-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-2024

Aya Nakamura Proves Why She’s France’s Biggest Star at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony

Her standout performance comes after months of speculation and controversy over her Olympic appearance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJkg6z7eoRs

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/11/g-s1-9486/the-wiz-tiny-desk-concert

One afternoon the Tiny Desk traveled to Emerald City. Or rather, we got to meet the cast of the newest Broadway revival of The Wiz. Debuting in Baltimore, Md., in 1974, the musical unapologetically centered Black culture in its reenvisioning of The Wizard Of Oz and helped usher in a new era of Black theatrical storytelling.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/15/g-s1-8939/dont-think-heat-pumps-are-sexy-this-slow-jam-could-change-your-mind

Don’t think heat pumps are sexy? This slow jam could change your mind

https://www.brownstonecowboysmagazine.com/bsc-10/brooke-williams

Who: Brooke Williams

‍What: Activist/writer/founding member Resistance Revival Chorus and also Editor at Large for Brownstone Cowboy (!!)

‍Where: @thisisauthentic

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‍We thought you’d also like to know that Brooke lives is Brooklyn, NY with her husband and daughter, was a National Organizer for the 2017 Women’s March, and co-wrote and sang with Beastie Boys on Hello Nasty.  You can check out Brooke’s BSC Conversation with cultural organizer Sarah Sophie Flicker, and listen to them both singing with theResistance Revival Chorus on their album This Joy.‍

https://www.volleyhall.org/rita-crockett.html

Considered as one of the best all-round volleyball players ever in the world, Rita Crockett has been a trailblazer in the sport of volleyball for parts of five decades and continues to be active in the sport today.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/17/1213897036/bernice-johnson-reagon-sweet-honey-in-the-rock-obituary

Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the African American vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, died Tuesday at the age of 81.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/18/nx-s1-5042174/wildfire-california-firefighters-prison-program

“I didn’t really know, like, you know, what a wildland firefighter was. But once I got there, as time went on, I actually embraced it and I fell in love with it. It’s definitely a dangerous job, right? But that kind of thing kind of, you know, thrilled me,” says Royal Ramey, the co-founder and CEO of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit based in California that helps formerly incarcerated firefighters find employment.