It may be the first year for Black Arts Fest MKE, but the brand-new summer festival is announcing its presence with authority, as it revealed the impressive inaugural batch of musical headliners hitting the stage Saturday, Aug. 4: blues legend Bobby Rush, R&B hitmakers Tony! Toni! Toné and hip-hop groundbreaker MC Lyte.
Bobby Rush is a living legend in the world of blues, building more than a half-century-long career with charismatic energy, genre-blending music and a tireless touring schedule that's earned him the nickname "King of the Chitlin' Circuit" from Rolling Stone magazine.
Over of his iconic career, Rush has earned several awards – including his first Grammy last year for Best Traditional Blues Album for his 2016 release "Porcupine Meat." He was also featured in a recent musical documentary, "I Am the Blues," selected to the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2016.
Bobby Rush will perform at Black Arts Fest MKE at 6 p.m.
Following Rush will be Tony! Toni! Toné!, the famous R&B trio from the '80s and '90s, cranking out soul hits including "Feels Good," "Whatever You Want," "It Never Rains (in Southern California)" and "The Blues." The nostalgia-soaked show will hit the stage at 8 p.m. (No word on whether the band's former fourth member, Tonee, will join.)
Closing out the night will be MC Lyte, who broke ground in the world of hip-hop as the first female artist in the genre, scoring honors as the first rap artist to perform at Carnegie Hall, the first female rapper to receive a gold single and the first female solo rapper to earn a Grammy nomination thanks to hits like "Poor Georgie," "Ruff Neck" and "Cha Cha." MC Lyte will hit the Miller Lite Oasis stage at 10 p.m., closing out the inaugural Black Arts Fest MKE.
The family-friendly festival, focused on African-American heritage, community and culture in Milwaukee, will take place on Saturday, Aug. 4, from noon until midnight on the Summerfest grounds – the first event on the grounds focused on the African diaspora since African World Festival in 2013. OnMilwaukee is one of the event's sponsors.
Tickets and more information about the brand-new festival are available at Black Arts Fest MKE's official website.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
