Michael Jang Offers a Fresh Look at a Retro California
It took 40 years for Michael Jang’s photography career to take off, and to tell you the truth, he’s thrilled. “This delayed gratification thing? It couldn’t be any better,” Jang says in the kitchen of his house, which is filled with framed prints for his first retrospective show. The prints of various sizes are neatly wrapped in…
Inside a Modern Alaskan Boarding School
In 1867, after its territorial acquisition by the United States, Alaska began a system of compulsory education for Indigenous children. It endured for more than a century, experimenting with different models of schooling Alaska Native youth that ranged from well-meaning paternalism to the overtly sadistic. Children as young as 5 were removed from their families…
On the Road at Newport Folk Festival
One of the unique aspects of Newport Folk Festival, which this year celebrated its 60th anniversary, is the interconnected community of the artists who perform each year; there is a sense of musical camaraderie there among both the artists and the fans. A good percentage of performers in any given year are returning alumni, and…
On the Road with the Black Pumas
The Black Pumas are a heavy-grooving soul-rock band from Austin that came together around the collaboration of big-hearted singer Eric Burton and Grammy-winning guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada. Quesada has a rich background playing and producing soul, funk, and Latin music, and he earned his Grammy as a member of Grupo Fantasma in 2010. (The…
On the Road With Lee Fields & The Expressions
With the release last month of It Rains Love, one of his most nuanced and hypnotically grooving albums yet, Lee Fields is celebrating 50 years as a soul journeyman. Fields, who has deep roots in the golden era of funk and soul, paved the way for artists like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley—he counts them…
On the Road with J.S. Ondara
Six years ago, Kenyan folk singer J.S. Ondara left his home country behind to live with an aunt in Minneapolis and pursue his dream of becoming a musician. Though he was wholly unprepared for the windchills of the northern Midwest, he’s been able to channel his experience as a stranger in a strange land into…