Social Power of Music
odd: label: Description
content: The 2019 Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes as its animating theme the "social power of music." Be it the lilt of a lullaby, the syncopated rhythm of a sacred drum, or the wail of a funeral dirge, music conveys cultural values while expressing an unlimited range of meanings and emotions.

When music compels us to engage and exchange, it displays a remarkable capacity to promote shared understanding, transcend difference, and fuel social cohesion. During moments of protest and resistance, it can express rage and hope in equal measure. Music's power—its social power—resides in its ability to transmit knowledge while synchronizing activities that create, sustain, and, occasionally, break bonds within and between cultures.

The 2019 Festival comprises two days of concerts, music workshops, and audio demonstrations. Beyond these two days with full programming, the program Social Power of Music partnered with the Downtown DC Business Improvement District to present a series of lunchtime concerts in Franklin Park. The very public nature of playing music in a city park speaks to the power of music outside of traditional club venues.
label: Production and Participants
content: Production

Folkways Curators: Huib Schippers, John Smith, Claudia Foronda
Baltics Curators: James Deutsch

Participants

The Bright SidersKristin Andreassen

Dr. Kari Groff

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Troubadours, Poets, and WordsmithsRuby Ibarra 

Quetzal featuring Alice Bag

La Marisoul   

Kokayi and Friends   

Grandmaster Flash Presents Hip-Hop: People, Places, and Things 

Jourdan and TarronTarron Stewart

Jourdan Jones 

Community Sing with Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr. 

Kokayi ft. Jenna CamilleKokayi

Jenna Camille

Elizabeth Mitchell and You are My Flower

Curating the Social Power of MusicCenter for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

National Museum of African American History and Culture

National Museum of American History

Hands On Music: Drum CircleJonathan Murray

Hands On Music: Zine MakingEvan Keeling

Sonia De Los Santos

Family Open Studio: Musical InnovationsFreer|Sackler exhibition Resound: Ancient Bells of China

Dan + Claudia Zanes: "Rock Island Line"

Baltics Song and DanceSudrabavots ("Silver Spring") 

Baltimore Lithuanian folk dance group Malūnas ("The Windmill") 

Traditional Estonian sack race

Kokayi: D.C. Vocalist, Underdog, Connector of Dots

The Sonic Landscape of Benin: Music from Smithsonian Folkways

TK Echo and the Social Power of Music in D.C.

Ian MacKaye on the Power of Punk

Hands On Music: Maracas Making Workshop
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2019 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.2019, Series 2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials