The $25K phone call, Whippoorwill Arts Festival, Duke Performances and Rolling Stone–a smokin’ hot August for Kamara Thomas!

/0 Comments/in /by
Duke Performances presented Kamara Thomas (represented exclusively by Sonic Pie Productions) as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding area home. The series brilliantly shifted Duke Performances’ longtime summer series, Music in the Gardens, normally held outdoors at Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke’s campus, to an online format in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Filmed by: Saleem Reshamwala, John Laww, and Ismail Abdelkhalek. Audio recording and mixing: Ryan Pickett Audio technician: Christopher Scully-Thurston Production: Suzanne Despres and Sibyl Kemp

The $25K Call From California
Imagine getting to pick up the phone and share THIS news with your artist, like SPP CEO Tess Mangum did a few weeks ago…”An out-of-the-blue phone call that quickly leads to a $25,000 grant for a little-known musician sounds too good to be true. North Carolina singer-songwriter #KamaraThomas wasn’t sure at first if it was a prank, but her scheduled appearance at the Whippoorwill Arts Festival of Americana Music this weekend is proof that the Bay Area organization is an all-too-rare bright spot for Americana performers contending with shuttered venues and a dearth of gigs”
San Francisco Chronicle

If it weren’t for Covid-19, Kamara would be in California right now, for the festival, along with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Brittany Haas, banjo-forward songwriter Snap Jackson and more. “Go” to the festival via YouTube or Facebook livestream or check out the schedule of workshops.

Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation
If you missed Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation, sponsored by the Americana Music Association featuring panelists Marcus K. Dowling (moderator), Adia Victoria, Rev. Sekou, Lilli Lewis

Kamara Thomas Music, and Jason Galaz of Muddy Roots Music Festival watch the Zoom. Or, read the review in Rolling Stone Magazine. Microaggressions, stereotypes and judgement calls, at best, are a frustrating distraction from the real art and business of expressing yourself. At worst, they costs artists millions of dollars in lost wages and can make you want to quit the biz altogether.
Outdoor wedding venue

Sonic Pie Event Venue Now Accepting Outdoor Event Reservations!

/0 Comments/in /by

Looking for an outdoor wedding venue you can make your own? We’re accepting reservations for outdoor weddings and receptions at our farmhouse! Read about it in Chapelboro.com. “Sonic Pie Productions already has PA systems. Staging. Lavalier mics. The ability to stream. Why not host micro weddings, receptions and birthday parties? Why not give folks a way to quietly celebrate the joyous occasions in their lives?”

#microwedding #dogfriendly #affordable #fourmilesfromDuke

Email sonicpieproductions@gmail.com to schedule your visit or view our slideshow.

Sonic Pie Productions 2020 Crew

Downtime is the right time to create a strong “new normal”

/0 Comments/in /by

The SPP Crew Takes Advantage of “Downtime”

The Sonic Pie Productions 2020 dream team! Left to right: Atiba Berkley, Scram Reynolds, Ryan Moeller, Jasmine Dml Battle, Tess Mangum and Jick Wins-Low.

 

What exactly is the “new normal” in the live events industry?

Look closely at the photo above and you’ll notice the full crew is masked up and distanced. It’s the “new normal.” Hand sanitizer is good for hands, but you can’t dip a microphone in it. With our entire high season cancelled due to Covid-19 mandates, we’ve been using the downtime (not downtime) to attend meetings via Zoom, scrub stage panels, wipe down muddy cables, write for small business grants, check in on colleagues, stay updated on production protocol and take care of and homeschool our children while schools remain closed.

Event Safety Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to promoting “life safety first” throughout all phases of event production and execution, has published a comprehensive 29-page Reopening Guide. This guide addresses health and sanitary issues that event and venue professionals need to consider in order to protect both patrons and workers.  It talks about sanitizing high touch items, staggered, scheduled bathroom visits, face masks, venues operating at lower capacity, how to pull off socially distant intermissions and concession sales…it’s an incredible resource.

GoFundMe, MusiCares, SoundGirls and the PPP

Thanks to you, we not only met but exceeded our first GoFundMe campaign goals with a total of $1185 in donations! Thank you so much. Thanks to MusiCares, SoundGirls, IBMA Covid-19 Relief Fund, Durham Arts Council Arts Recovery Fund, Durham Artist Relief Fund, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other grants are also helping us get through, as our next live gigs might not come until fall.

Durham From The Heart concerts

Though that special magic of festival and outdoor music season is on hold, Downtown Durham Inc. has us managing a new project–Durham From The Heart.

Durham from the Heart is a weekly online performance featuring Durham musicians. Tune in to facebook.com/DowntownDurham at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays to experience some of what you love about Durham and connect, virtually, to the downtown Durham community. You can comment, cheer them on, or even play with them from the comfort of your home. Follow #durhamheart for up-to-date information and details. Featured next Tuesday: Jay Attys. Performers are paid a stipend but to tip him virtually via Venmo: @Jay-Attys, or CashApp: $JudnerAttys. Here’s why he’s one to watch!
Jay’s M.A., from NCCU, is in Jazz Studies.

“I remember when I first saw the picture of Emmett Till and the feeling it brought. I was in the 4th grade at Whitney Houston Academy. It made me sick and brought me to tears. They made it a point to teach us about our history and our music. Although I was born in Haiti, I felt a visceral connection to the culture of Black America. I was especially drawn to the music. There was something about Gospel, Blues, Soul, and R&B that moved me. The struggles and stories of a people were embedded in those sounds. Music spoke to me louder than words ever could. It healed me where medicine could not go.

Recently, I have been feeling that same feeling that I felt in Ms Wood’s class in the 4th grade. The only thing that brings me peace is music. I laid a foundation for my sound at Duke for undergrad. I had the distinct honor of pursuing a Masters degree in the great African American tradition of Jazz at the best HBCU in the world: North Carolina Central University. I am so grateful I got to go to a place that cared about a tradition that has been ostracized from pop culture. I am now a storyteller.

In my sound I hope to uphold the integrity of the history while presenting a voice that is uniquely my own. I want to heal as I have been healed, love as I have been loved and continue the walk to preserve our history that was started thousands of years ago in mother Africa.

Durham from the Heart is a weekly online performance featuring Durham musicians. Thank you Sonic Pie Productions for selecting me as a featured artist. Tune in to this link 1-2 p.m. on Tuesday for some music therapy. I have worked to pour my SOUL into every note of every phrase of every song. The world needs some sonic healing right now.”

The story behind the name Sonic Pie Productions

/0 Comments/in /by

With a name like Sonic Pie Productions, you might hope to find a bakery, rather than a sound production company, but there is a pie connection. Choosing a name when incorporating a business is harder than it seems. It’s got to somehow represent a worldview, mission and purpose. It should be easy to remember, timeless–and you must research beforehand that it’s not already in use. The last thing you want, three years into your branding and brand awareness is a cease and desist letter. So, here’s our story behind the name Sonic Pie Productions.

Sonic alludes to the importance of one of our five sense: sound.

Productions: we curate and produce concerts and events.

But why Pie? The way we figure, anything inside flaky dough is good. Peach pie, Jamaican beef patties, samosas, empanadas…they’re all good. When you go with Sonic Pie Productions, your pie might have some jazz in it–some soul–or rock and roll. Maybe you need help producing a street fair, vintage motorcycle rally or literary event. Your pie is going to be great!

Pictured above is a pie Sonic Pie Productions CEO Tess Mangum made today, in her beloved grandmother Kate’s 50(?) year old pie and biscuit pan. If the house was burning down, she’d grab the kids, the dog and this pan.

Live Music Fans Help Tess+Sonic Pie Productions

/0 Comments/in /by

StArt of Cool jazz students get BIG gig opportunities with our gear and staging!

/0 Comments/in /by

Need something UPLIFTING? How would you feel, performing in front of more than 1000 people? These kids did just that, June 28, uunder Al Strong‘s wing, using Sonic Pie Productions’ gear, staging and crew at Durham Central Park. LISTEN to the ravishingly talented Ricardo Diquez, so generous of spirit, talk about how great they are, opening for him. UNC-TV, The Art of Cool Project, you rock. This is why sponsorships and grants are so needed.

This camp jazzes up summer for kids in Durham

The StArt of Cool makes jazz, well, cool for youth. ?This special summer camp, spun off the The Art of Cool Project, teaches elementary, middle and high school students the fundamentals of jazz. The week-long session culminates with the student ensemble performing as the opening act for the Friday night concert series in Durham Central Park.

Posted by UNC-TV on Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Curator: Tess Mangum Ocaña in Durham Magazine’s Women’s Issue

/0 Comments/in /by

Sonic Pie Productions’ CEO Tess Mangum Ocaña is featured in the new issue of Durham Magazine!

Sonic Pie Productions presents All-Ireland Uilleann Piper JARLATH HENDERSON 5.1.19

/0 Comments/in /by

Jarlath Henderson is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and doctor. Hailing from County Armagh, Ireland, Jarlath Henderson is the first Irish solo artist to win the prestigious BBC Young Folk Musician of the Year Award, which has led to performances at festivals throughout Europe and to GlobalFest in New York City. Jarlath combines modern, rhythmically intense, percussive electronics to his traditional singing style to create a signature sound that is all his own. He is a masterful balladeer, three times ‘All-­­Ireland Champion’ Uilleann Piper, a teacher both in Ireland and Scotland and has featured in numerous BBC television programs on piping and music. A talented and versatile multi-instrumentalist, Jarlath also plays whistle, flute and cittern.

See them live at Rhythms Live Music Hall, in Lakewood’s Reuse Arts District, between The Scrap Exchange and Scrap Thrift Store. (Tons of free parking.) This is a seated, all-ages evening presented by Sonic Pie Productions. Tickets: $15 adv, $18 day of show

We Are Durham Movers & Shakers

/0 Comments/in /by

The city of Durham, North Carolina celebrates its 150th birthday this year. We Are Durham is a project created by Unscripted Hotels to honor this through the art of storytelling and authentic experiences.

Last year, they interviewed some of the prominent movers and shakers in the community (such as Sonic Pie Productions’ CEO Tess Mangum Ocaña) and asked them to break it down. What is Durham’s special sauce? What are two words you’d use to describe it? They’ll be featuring a new face each month in a fun Q&A series that showcases the progressive energy that pulses through Bull City.  Catch a preview of the interviews in the video below.