The 2021 Atlanta Music Festival—focusing on Proctor Creek and the West Atlanta watershed, tributaries of the Chattahoochee River that flow through the West side of Atlanta and the communities that surround them—will offer daily performances and engagements online from January 25-January 30, 2021. The performances are intended to entertain, stimulate, engage, and open the hearts and minds of audience members to the confluence of the environment, social justice and racial reconciliation.
Proctor Creek was chosen as the focus of the festival because of its complex community history in which race, poverty, segregation, environmental degradation and commerce intersect. The Atlanta Music Festival is an annual series of events dedicated to promoting the arts and social justice through the presentation of African American concert music and poetry. The 2021 Atlanta Music Festival (AMF) addresses the importance of the environment to social justice and equality through the arts.
Dr. Dwight Andrews is Artistic Director; Dr. Steven Darsey is Music Director. Performances by musicians, poets, dancers, and visual artists as well as interviews and lectures by scientists, environmentalists, educators, students, historians, and activists are designed to contribute to a deeper understanding of Atlanta’s racial and environmental history.
The week will culminate with a concert featuring opera stars Morris Robinson, tenor Timothy Miller, and the Meridian Chorale, performing the concert music and poetry of African Americans focused on the natural world. Molly Samuel and the Reverend Thee Smith will narrate.
Find more details about the event here.